Reproduction and flying pencils

Friday, October 1^st, was the first day working as an auxiliar (English language assistant) in Madrid! After the last three weeks of searching for a home, settling in, and exploring Madrid I was more than ready to start some sort of a structured routine. My school is an hour commute from my apartment but from the sounds of it most auxiliares have a pretty comparable commute. I will save my ranting about the public transportation for another day but I have a feeling the 2 hours on metros and trains will take a toll on me.

9 a.m. I start work and am scheduled to be at the school until 4 p.m. I leave from my apartment at 8 a.m. and if all goes well will be walking in the door at 9. This Friday the English coordinator distributed our schedule and besides the fact that I am in a different class with a different teacher every hour every day I think it is going to be manageable! I have a 2 hour break for lunch so I am either going to need to find some serious good reading ASAP or make friends with the people across the street at the cafetería so I can score a free beverage now and then.

The first class I attended was a 6^th grade science class and, of course, Friday’s discussion was reproduction. I’m still not sure if I am mature enough to talk about the birds and the bees with a group 25 eleven-year olds so my morning obviously was off to a great start. After that the kids have recess for about half an hour while the teachers meet for a breakfast break. My next class was a 3^rd grade English class and the kids were learning how to tell me what they did “at the weekend” – I don’t think I will ever get used to the British English.

After we had a two-hour lunch break and then I was helping with a 1^st grade English class where I witnessed Spanish discipline in action. As I was displaying flashcards with vocabulary words (as I was directed by the teacher) I was pelted with a lead pencil - apparently the kid wasn’t digging the class as much as I was. From there the teacher yanked the kid, screamed at him, and continued to humiliate the poor first grader in front of the class. I really hope this isn’t something I have to get used to during my time here.

Other than that, work will be great! I think after about a week at my school I should have a better grip on how things will work and have some better stories to report. The teachers and auxiliares I am working with are all so great and welcoming and I am glad to report that I will be speaking Spanish with them during my breakfast break (and hopefully over the 2 hour lunch as well)!

Un beso, Rachel