My New Job

Now, we all have heard tid-bits about my lack of money coming in, but what I haven't shared is how completely and totally miserable I have been without work or income whilst I've been in Spain. After a month without money, and a phantom 300€/month job through UMA's International Relations Department [from whom I still haven't received a response], it's safe to say that I was going a few steps away from a full flight. I'm not very good at not working. :~] I have been working since I was 15, and I've held at least two jobs since I turned 18, so having no control over my finances wasn't sitting well with me.

This, my dear friends, is why I began jumping up and down [squealing like a little girl] when Tessa (my friend from Australia) told me that there was a postion available at the English school where she teaches. And just like that, after weeks of posting ads on and offline, a job fell into my lap.

Miss Mendez is my new boss. She moved to England when she was in college, and lived there [working as a teacher] for 15 years before moving back to Spain. She's absolutely wonderful, patient, and understanding of my school schedule, and she REALLY knows what she's doing with these kids! Also, she knows English grammar better than I do...

I teach an adult class on Monday nights, a group of teens on Thursday nights, and children between the ages of 6 and 10 on Friday nights and Saturday mornings. Starting off was a little bumpy, considering that I didn't know the first thing about teaching English [let alone managing a classroom full of children]. I thoroughly enjoy my time with the teenagers and adults, but entertaining and educating kids left me having to remind myself that I still want them one day. Luckily enough, however, Tessa has been there to help me control the masses, and Miss Mendez is always willing to pick up the slack, in terms of grammar, when I need it.

The funniest experiences that I've had so far have stemmed mostly from having to alter my English in order to better prepare the kids for their Cambridge exams. Examples include learning that the English refer to pencil erasers as "rubbers." My biggest task of that lecture was holding back violent laughter while asking each of the children whether or not they "have got a rubber" and, if so, "what colour is said rubber?"

V.S.

I think this job is going to be "lovely". I'm really excited about it!