Fun Facts for my Followers :)

I’ve resolved to update my blog more often because when I wait so long between entries, they get really long and they take a long time to write. So, I’m going to try to update at least every other day from now on...the key word being TRY.

FIRST AND FOREMOST, I’ve finally figured out the easiest way to send email updates when I update my blog. You can disregard all the other crap I’ve sent you…sorry for that confusion by the way! All you have to do, is type your email address in the little box on the righthand side of the blog, click subscribe, then enter the security code, click submit again, and you will receive a confirmation email. Open the email (it’ll be in English this time, I swear!) and click the link, and you will then be signed up for email updates! YAY!

Now, some about school. This is how I start my classes everyday…

Me: Hello!

Class: Hello! How are you?

Me: I am fine, thanks. How are you?

Class: I am fine, thanks.

This dialogue is something Yolanda has taught all of her classes and it is ALWAYS the same. If it changes at all, even one tiny word, like I say “good” instead of “fine,” it blows their minds and they have no idea what to say hahaha. That should give you an idea of the level of English I’m working with here. It’s kind of frustrating because I was hoping that some of the older kids at least would be more advanced, and I’d get to work some grammar with them. I don’t really have high hopes for them getting much more advanced as I don’t really get to spend enough time with the older classes to be able to teach all the stuff I wish I could.

FUN FACT 1: Today, one of the teachers asked me to start English classes for her kids (2 kids, one is 11 and the other I think is 9?)! She said she wants the older kid to have at least 2 hours a week with me and the younger, at least 1. And she’s gonna pay me 10€/hour to do it! Last year, her oldest kid took English classes with Olga, the girl who was the auxiliar de conversación in Rioja last year, so she’s hoping I can replace Olga. Since I’m going to start English classes with Lourdes and her mom anyway, I figure this would be a good opportunity to make a little extra spending money, if nothing else. I’m hoping with one-on-one lessons, we can progress much faster than in a class and hopefully I’ll be able to teach some more advanced stuff.

FUN FACT 2:  I’ve found another favorite class! Math with 2º ESO (8^th grade equivalent)! Today, Alberto let me teach the order of operations in his class…

Parentheses

Exponents

Multiply

Divide

Add

Subtract!

Thanks Mrs. Langston haha! But anyway, this class is really good! I’m not sure if the class is generally this well behaved or if it’s only because Alberto is the principal, but either way, very enjoyable AND I get to teach math! Today I was reminded of the fact that there’s a difference between knowing how to DO something and knowing how to TEACH something.

 EXCITING NEWS! I got in touch with the American who plays for Unicaja Almería, the men’s pro volleyball team! I sent him a message telling him that I was looking for a team and/or people to play with and he sent me back all kinds of good stuff. Gave me information about a possible club team I could play on--although he did say, to quote him, that “they don't have a women's team in any of the higher divisions so "competitive" is probably a loosely used term for this team”…bummer. Also, he told me that if I wanted to come to some of the games, he could try to get me tickets. And most exciting, he said that he and his wife don’t really have much to do here and would love to hang out sometime! Soooo, hopefully, sometime here in the next week or so, I’ll get to meet up with them! YAY for potentially having a pro volleyball player for a friend! hahahah

FUN FACT 3: The silly band craze has finally hit Spain. YAYYY for getting to experience it twice hahaha

And finally, for the FUNNY STORY of the week! This past Saturday, some friends were in our building for botellón. I was out with Lourdes and her friends for the night, so I missed the whole incident, but they told me about it the next day. I'm not sure if this happened on their way up to our piso or when they were leaving, but 3 friends, Juanmi (short for Juan Miguel), Fran, and Manolo, got stuck in our elevator for 90 MINUTES! bahahahhahahhahah

Manolo (left), Fran (center), and Juanmi (right) looking very distraught about being trapped in our tiny elevator for an hour and a half hahahahah

And to clarify, elevators here are NOT like elevators in the US...they're tiiiiiiiiiiny. You can fit a maximum of four people in each elevator...5 if you don't mind being really uncomfortable and being smashed up against the other 4 people. It makes me uncomfortable to be in the elevator with 1 other person that I don't know, so imagine being in this tiny space for an hour and half with three people! Tomás has theorized that they were probably jumping in the elevator (definitely sounds like something they would do) and since our building is pretty old, it made the elevator get stuck! Needless to say, I have been avoiding that elevator like the plague ever since Saturday.

Adios! And enjoy your automatic email updates with my next post!