Auxiliar de Conversación: Year 1

This past week was my last contracted week at my school, Hipolíto Lobato, in the town of Coría del Río in the Sevilla province:

Building 1

Building 2 across the street ...

Overall, I did enjoy my experience there, although by no means would I say I loved it. This may sound incredibly negative, but in terms of my overall experience in Spain, this specific "teaching" aspect honestly will probably leave the smallest impact.

Now, let me be clear: I didn't have a bad experience. The kids all treated me like a celebrity, even if half of them couldn't understand a word I was saying, and all the teachers were very kind to me, a couple of them whom I have formed a good relationship with. In fact, on my last day the teachers surprised me with this "goodbye" gift (there's a back story to the wallet and coin purse, which made me appreciate the gesture even more):

Even though I'm most likely returning next term

But if I were to evaluate my "job" in-and-of itself, the English language assistant position in which I served, I won't say it was entirely meaningless ... but close. As a natural cynic and an avid language and linguistics student, I'm probably way more critical about the auxiliary program than most people. It actually really starts with the poor excuse for a "bilingual" education system in Spain (unqualified Spanish teachers teaching English to children, bilingual coordinators who can't speak English, complete lack of language teaching methodology, etc.) So, as you can imagine, the auxiliar program seems like it was haphazardly thrown together by the Spanish educational powers-that-be in a desperate attempt to improve the quality of the children's English education.

Pretty much tells the story

I can probably write an essay analyzing all the flaws I see with this program, but I will refrain to just describing my personal experience. In short, I felt (almost) entirely useless. I worked 12  hours a week and my hours were distributed in such a way that I was in 12 different classes for 45-50 minutes a week. Without going into too much detail (again, I could probably write an essay's worth of reflection), such a short weekly investment in each class made my contributions rather minimal. Mind you, 45-minutes was the most instruction time I had if the teacher gave me complete control of the class; in other classes (e.g. English-language class), I did a good amount of bench-warming until the last 10-15 minutes, most of which was spent on the failure-to-comprehend phase. It also did my self-esteem some real good when the English teacher basically told me my activities were too boring, cause for the kids becoming restless and unresponsive. But hell, if they can't understand me, they get bored. It also doesn't help that I only get 20-minutes at most of classroom interaction with them each week. Really, ¿qué puedo hacer yo? What can I do?

Maybe the little time I have with the students does make a small difference, but even if that is case, this is not a teaching job. Not to suggest I don't try to help the kids learn with the opportunities that I have, just as the Spanish teachers try to do their best given the less-than-perfect circumstances, but the bottom-line is this program is a big joke and an opportunity for English-speakers to be on vacation in Spain. I mean, for the little work that I do, I get paid pretty damn well, so I can't really complain, right?

ANYHOW, so why come back for year 2, to this specific school, with this specific program, after all this ranting? Clearly not for the professional experience but rather for the relationships. Just by sitting-in on different conversations amongst (some of) the teachers at my school, I've learned that we share the same values when it comes to education, kids, and, in general, life. Also, my bilingual coordinator and I from day 1 have hit it off seamlessly - de puta madre - and have effortlessly gotten along real well. Oh, by the way, we have the same birthday and live 5 minutes walking-distance from each other; our car rides together to and from school have probably been the highlight of my experience in Coría. Also, I've started a basic friendship with a couple of teachers who don't speak English, so now I really want to improve mi español to deepen our relationship. And, of course, some of those kids are damn cute and really fun.

In conclusion, being an  auxiliar de conversación isn´t actual work, which is why year 2 will absolutely be my last with this program, but it does give me another 8 months to foster intercontinental relationships with fellow educators that I hope will last for a lifetime.

Lazy Days Ahead

"Springtime" in Sevilla typically involves days on end of 90 degrees weather until the summer when, uh, it gets hotter. Needless to say, being from the Pacific Northwest, this just ain't cool:

Low/High

Precipitation

Tonight May 03

Mostly Clear

59°

0 %

Sun May 04

Sunny

88°/59°

0 %

Mon May 05

Sunny

91°/59°

0 %

Tue May 06

Mostly Sunny

92°/63°

0 %

Wed May 07

Partly Cloudy

90°/65°

0 %

Thu May 08

Sunny

92°/65°

0 %

Fri May 09

Sunny

96°/66°

0 %

Sat May 10

Sunny

98°/67°

0 %

Consequently, during the day, the streets tend to be significantly less crowded until it's bearable to step foot outside (i.e. nighttime). That is, after the Feria de Abril (The April Fair) - which ironically takes place next week, in May, this year due to the "obligatory" two-week gap following Semana Santa - an extravagant, week-long, Flamenco party. Men dress sharply in suits, women doll-up and wear classic flamenco dresses, and everyone drinks rebujitos (apple-flavored wine mixed with 7-UP) while dancing Sevillano from midday till dawn the next morning, all the while sweating like (classy) pigs.

 

 

It's also very exclusively Sevillano, meaning you need to know friends who own casetas (tents) because evidently only in Sevilla are they privadas (private). Also, from what I've seen and heard, there's also a ton of pressure to dress up to fit in, and believe me, those flamenco dresses aren't cheap. Throughout the rest of Andalucía, Sevilla's fair has the reputation of being pijo (posh). Regardless, it's still a culturally significant, uniquely Sevillano spectacle, like Semana Santa, which is why I would like to fully partake in the festivities .... next year.

For now, at the risk of being called lame and boring, I'm taking the quiet, non-eventful approach to life, as anti-Spanish as it may seem. In all honesty, I've been on a personal journey for the last month or two, irrespective of this unique opportunity I've been fortunate enough to have to live in Spain. It's just them roots, Seattle-grown for the past twenty-plus years, deep and tangled ones at, have sort of been a pain, ya hear?

But, bueno, as they say in Spain, tranquila (be calm), poco a poco (little by little). Sevilla as a city I have enjoyed immensely, although taking naps in the sun like this is now a gloriously uncomfortable sweat-fest/sunburn/headache waiting to happen:

....not too long ago

Despite it being a struggle at times, I'm committed to repeating this experience again for another 8 months. In fact, this past week I received official word that my application for renewal had been accepted. Not only am I placed in Sevilla again, but I've been assigned to the same school in Coria del Río, so I can continue to build relationships with the teachers and the kiddos. Additionally, my current flatmate is already inviting me to come back next term, as well as the academy I work at on the side. So, in certain ways, I feel like I'm establishing new roots in Sevilla. I just have to figure out these old ones, because, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Sevilla is happening again this coming fall.

So, in the two months I have left before heading back to Seattle, I'm going to try to survive this heat and enjoy what I have left of (half) year one - calmly. But really, in deadly heat like this, you can't help but wish Sevilla had a beach; lo unico que falta Sevilla es una playa (the only thing Sevilla needs is a beach):

In Cádiz, "the beach of Sevilla"