FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! And Logistics

I had my first day of school yesterday at IES Cristo del Rosario. For the most part it was uneventful, but it was still very exciting. My schedule is still not quite set, but tomorrow I am meeting with the whole bilingual section department to fix it. There are seven English classes in the bilingual section, 3 first year classes, 2 second year classes, 1 third year class, and 1 fourth year class. In addition to those 7 classes, I will have four content classes. So far, it seems like those classes will include natural science, arts, and something else.

I arrived at the school around 10AM to meet with my mentor, Chus, and tour the school. Just to see how a lesson goes, I sat in on a 2nd year English lesson. I was surprised by how good they were. They were learning about possessions. I had to explain the difference between a wallet, a purse, and a bag, which is a lot harder than you would think. Then Chus had to leave to take care of some family things, so I went with Antonio to tour the school and attend his last two classes. The first one was 1st year bachillerato, which is the first year of school after the 4 years of obligatory secondary school. It wasn’t bilingual section, so the students were of a lower level, and I won’t be working with them again most likely. It was kind of scary because Antonio just had me stand in the front and answer questions. I answered questions ranging like do I have a boyfriend (No), do I like Spanish boys (don’t know yet, but they smoke :/), do I like Spain (yes), and are cheerleaders in the U.S. what they seem like in the movies (no, lol). Then I had to ask them questions for them to answer in English, which was even harder. Finally the students begged to help me practice my Spanish, and I actually did alright :) The next class I sat in on was the 1st year bilingual section, so like 12 year olds. They seem so young and adorable. The class followed the same format, but the students were much more comfortable asking me questions. I am glad that I will have so many opportunities to work with the younger ones; I LOVE THEM ALREADY!

After school, Marissa and I tried to get phones, but the store only had one, so she got it. I went back today, and they said they are out indefinitely. I really don’t want to spend €50 on a cheap phone, but that might be what I have to do. We also tried to figure out what to do for internet, but the problem is that we really can’t get a 12-month or 2-year contract and many places want you to have your NIE card, which will take at least a couple more weeks. We ultimately settled on a modem with 5GB/month, but we needed a bank account with our passport. This morning, after stopping by the school to work on my schedule, I went to the bank and managed to open an account (ALL BY MYSELF!), though I need to go back with a phone number and my NIE card. Unfortunately, still no internet because when I went back to the store, they wrote my information down and told me Friday, but Friday is la Feria, so everything is closed. I think we are going to go back tomorrow and try to figure things out. ¡Qué complicado! It is a pain, but in the end, I will have internet at home and will be able to communicate with the outside world!