This week starts the beginning of a full schedule of English classes. I start off the day teaching 40 some-odd year old businessmen how to string together information they studied 2 decades ago. Then I segue into the pre-school class and repeat nursery rhymes and Disney episodes until I can't take it anymore... and once I've reached that point, I have to finish the remaining hour and 20 minutes of class, at which point I am safe to go home. I have a few conversational classes sprinkled in between on odd days, for a grand total of 15.5 hours of teaching a week. And surprisingly this is enough to pay rent and a couple of kit-kats, so I am finally able to let out a sigh of relief...unless I get the flu which affects 70% of people in Madrid and I can't work for a month with no compensation...
At this time it would be appropriate to put out an advertisement for English in Madrid to any native speaking males, for a couple of reasons. I'll begin with a fellow teacher's testimony, who, after showing up to "teach the most beautiful woman [he'd] ever seen," voluntarily extended free lessons an hour and a half after class dismissed; with eyes glazed, he said, "I can't believe I'm getting paid for this." So the clientèle is...diverse. The second reason being that it is an ideal setup for the "non-communicative male." While barely communicating with others in the native language and communicating even less with those whom you teach, it is possible to pass several days without saying much more than commentary on the weather, state of hunger and the occasional pangs of laughter during a daily viewing of the television. Combined with the topless beaches..."Un Paraiso."
However, I must begin my early schedule of teaching in the morning (which is comparable to teaching at 6 in the morning in the States)...so, until next time.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Takin' It To The Streets
It's a long time coming, but come Monday, I will be an officially certified English as a Foreign Language Professor. Which signifies the initiation of several things...
With an EFL certificate begins a new found poverty. At the moment I am raking in figures in the double digits, almost paying off a half portion of my room, but conservatively limiting me to a 2 inch parameter around my bed. From which comes the theme for October, Takin it to the streets. But this prospect does not concern me as much today, due to the discovery that a local bar serves the famous Doner Kebaps all day, drinks and tapas in the evening, and breakfast the following morning. If one doesn't sleep, the absence of a bed is...trivial.
An EFL certificate also ensures the unavoidable acquisition of English as a Sense of Humor. Whether we're in class or at a city-wide fiesta, we English teachers inevitably find ourselves congratulating one another on excellent usage of present Perfect tense or challenging one another's usage of Future Continuous. To extend this unfortunate hobby into the realm of the hilarious can only mean one thing...EFL certification. I attribute it to delirium resulting from being overly infused with English grammar...but then again, I'm quite proud of that gerund which I just formulated.
Aside from the certificate, I have begun to glean some teaching experience. So far I can summarize my attempts as artful practices of aversion. While I thought that teaching my native tongue would be the easiest thing to start off with, I am finding in fact that Mama was right...those who can do can't teach. But, I will not be intimidated by my surprising lack of grammar knowledge and explanatory skills...instead I have discovered the universally useful line of "We'll look at that in the next class."
As this next week begins, I will make an effort not to take it to the streets, since I happen to like my living situation, and look for yet more employment.
All of this and I have forgotten that I still have yet to take my test for certification...but nothing...a mere formality.
With an EFL certificate begins a new found poverty. At the moment I am raking in figures in the double digits, almost paying off a half portion of my room, but conservatively limiting me to a 2 inch parameter around my bed. From which comes the theme for October, Takin it to the streets. But this prospect does not concern me as much today, due to the discovery that a local bar serves the famous Doner Kebaps all day, drinks and tapas in the evening, and breakfast the following morning. If one doesn't sleep, the absence of a bed is...trivial.
An EFL certificate also ensures the unavoidable acquisition of English as a Sense of Humor. Whether we're in class or at a city-wide fiesta, we English teachers inevitably find ourselves congratulating one another on excellent usage of present Perfect tense or challenging one another's usage of Future Continuous. To extend this unfortunate hobby into the realm of the hilarious can only mean one thing...EFL certification. I attribute it to delirium resulting from being overly infused with English grammar...but then again, I'm quite proud of that gerund which I just formulated.
Aside from the certificate, I have begun to glean some teaching experience. So far I can summarize my attempts as artful practices of aversion. While I thought that teaching my native tongue would be the easiest thing to start off with, I am finding in fact that Mama was right...those who can do can't teach. But, I will not be intimidated by my surprising lack of grammar knowledge and explanatory skills...instead I have discovered the universally useful line of "We'll look at that in the next class."
As this next week begins, I will make an effort not to take it to the streets, since I happen to like my living situation, and look for yet more employment.
All of this and I have forgotten that I still have yet to take my test for certification...but nothing...a mere formality.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
La Tomatina and the Grand Tour
Much has happened since I last wrote, so I won't bother to use flowery language for this entry.
La Tomatina was more and less than I expected. Thousands of people, crammed like slimy worms in a bottle of diced tomatoes into a tiny alley in an obscure town in Spain. Perfecto. The tomatoes, sangria, flying flip-flops and body fumes circulating from one sweaty body to the next was, of course, quite exciting. The most memorable part was the resulting fear from the trucks driving down the street, when I wondered if I would perish by truck wheel or being crushed by a neighboring tomato festival participant. But my new found friend Ginny, all the way from "just north of Birmingham," and I survived to tell the story.
This past weekend a friend from Holland came to visit, and I finally conquered all of Madrid. Tapas, Flamenco, Spanish art, calamare bocadillos...we saw and ate it all. The good news is that I will now make an excellent tour guide. The bad news is that eventually I may find these things all a bit boring.
This week I taught my first practice class in English, and it went well, I think. I will have a video tape soon and can see how bad it actually was. Classes are interesting, and its nice to meet 25 new people and to be learning how to teach finally. This week my roomates also returned, so I am not living by myself any more. They are good people and are very patient with my horrible espanol.
That's all for now.
Luego.
La Tomatina was more and less than I expected. Thousands of people, crammed like slimy worms in a bottle of diced tomatoes into a tiny alley in an obscure town in Spain. Perfecto. The tomatoes, sangria, flying flip-flops and body fumes circulating from one sweaty body to the next was, of course, quite exciting. The most memorable part was the resulting fear from the trucks driving down the street, when I wondered if I would perish by truck wheel or being crushed by a neighboring tomato festival participant. But my new found friend Ginny, all the way from "just north of Birmingham," and I survived to tell the story.
This past weekend a friend from Holland came to visit, and I finally conquered all of Madrid. Tapas, Flamenco, Spanish art, calamare bocadillos...we saw and ate it all. The good news is that I will now make an excellent tour guide. The bad news is that eventually I may find these things all a bit boring.
This week I taught my first practice class in English, and it went well, I think. I will have a video tape soon and can see how bad it actually was. Classes are interesting, and its nice to meet 25 new people and to be learning how to teach finally. This week my roomates also returned, so I am not living by myself any more. They are good people and are very patient with my horrible espanol.
That's all for now.
Luego.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
