Why I Was in Spain

The program I participated in in Spain was called "Auxiliares de Conversacion norteamericanos" and it was run by the Spanish Ministry of Education. These are all fancy words for the Spanish Government paid me to help teach English at a school. My school was in a small town called Cambil in the southern part of Spain. Specifically, it was here, in the eastern part of Andalucia. A town of about 3,000 people, when I received my placement in July 2008 I immediately google maps'd it and found the nearest big city. About 20 miles north is a city named Jaen, which is actually the capital of the province my school was in, and that is where I decided to live. All that I had to do until my September 17th departure date was worry about whether or not there would be a train, bus, bicycle, even a tractor that would be able to take me to my school.

Fortunately, about half the teachers at my school lived in Jaen and I found a ride and it was even in a car and I did not tell anyone about my willingness to have gone there in a tractor if it kept me from living in a tiny town. The school had one class of each grade from first through sixth and I spent an hour each week in each of these classes. My main role was to help with pronunciation, which if you've read my previous post, you know didn't go so well, but I also lead activities and games. Before I went to Spain, my knowledge of Spanish consisted of what I had learned in half a year of Spanish classes in high school, meaning that I did not and could not speak Spanish to my students. When I gave them instructions, I gave them in English. When I helped them with their assignments, I helped them in English. When I attempted to speak Spanish, I learned I was really good at making them laugh. Even though most students were not able to understand my instructions and other such things and required that the main teacher translate into Spanish, I was always amazed by the few kids in each class who were able to understand me and started working before the teacher translated.

One of the things I miss most about Spain are my students, even the bad ones. I feel like I got to know them pretty well, considering of course the language barrier and that we didn't share a love for High School Musical (yes, that movie made it to Europe). I think my kids liked me; after all, if nothing else, I didn't understand enough of what they were saying to know when they were saying bad things and punish them. Sure, I got made fun of, and I think I was pretty good at catching when that was happening because I'm pretty sure pointing at someone and giggling is universal. And eventually I learned enough Spanish to help them with assignments and things like that.

I'm not planning on teaching here in the US, although it is something I'm keeping in mind as I try to figure out what I want to do. Teaching elementary school-aged children in Spain gave me a different perspective on the country than I otherwise might have had if I were teaching adults or working in a different field altogether. You see so many older people there and know that if they are seventy or older, they have lived through a significant civil war and a ruthless leader and through them you see where the country has been. With children you are able to see a bit more of where the country is going, and although this obviously isn't specific to Spain, it is specific to my experience and an experience that I hope all people who get to live in a foreign country are able to have.