My First Month of Teaching (Time Sure Flies)

My First Week of Teaching - 28/3

So I started teaching full time this week with 15 hours to start. The teaching part is really fun!! The agency allowed me to do a getting to know you and question words lesson so it was super fun and very little prep and lesson planning. All the classes went really well and the students are lovely! All the levels are represented and they range from A1 to C1 which will be good because it'll keep me on my toes.

The hard part about teaching, I'm learning is the lesson planning. It's really hard to decide what to do and then once you decide, you never know how it's going to go over. Not to mention creating the actual plan. I'm right at the start of my second round of classes and I have a lesson plan prepared (the agency is incredibly nice and helpful and they let me use my lesson plans from my TEFL course) but I'm still nervous. I didn't have time to really prepare as I was sick last night and this morning I didn't get as much done as is hoped.

I can't believe how much time has passed since I wrote the paragraphs above. Since life is so routine now, it's hard to find the time to write. I'm now starting my fourth week of teaching and it seems like it's old hat now. The lesson planning is much easier now that I've found online resources in the form of pre-made lesson plans. The way I'm looking at it is that I get paid for my hour of teaching, not for lesson planning. It now only takes me an hour or two to prepare for my week. Every teacher I talk to basically says they do the same thing.

I do love my students and the time I spend teaching. I'm really having fun with it and I think the students are having fun and even learning things. They do complement me and always thank me after class. I'm trying to think what to write here as I'm not sure what would be interesting. What questions do you have for me about teaching?

I also had my NIE appointment this week. It is a two step process to extend your Visa from 3 months to 12 months. The first appointment is called the empadronamiento. It's basically you proving that you live in Madrid and you'll have a place to stay the year. You need to show your contract (lease) signed by the landlord and you. It's not a bad appointment but it's annoying and intimidating. The second appointment is the bad one. First, it's really far away. Second, it's in a converted prison with tents they added on so it's bizarre. Third, there are typically long lines and most people have to spend anywhere from 2-4 hours there, waiting on line. I got lucky. First, I went with a good friend of mine and second, we only had to wait about an hour. Now I have to wait 30 days to pick up my NIE and I'll be official here. I'm official here for another 6 days then I can't leave the country until I get my NIE. It is exciting though.

So I've definitely been keeping myself busy here. I've joined a few networking groups and attended my first meeting on Friday. It was really great. There were some great folks there and the information was interesting. They meet once a month so I'm going to try to attend as much as I can. Also, I found house concerts here in Madrid. When I lived in Colorado, my friend Andrea turned me on to house concerts. And now I can start going to them here. If you're not familiar with the concept, they are small intimate gatherings (only about 20 people) and there is a musician or two who perform. No amps or mics just the singer and his/her instrument. I'm so happy I found it and hope to attend as much as I can.

There are two 4-day weekends coming up in May here in Spain. I'm hoping to go away for both. I'm thinking the Canary Islands and Majorca. I love that about living here - just picking up and taking off for a long weekend. There are so many things I love about Spain and living here. I feel so lucky to be here having this amazing experience.

I am so sorry that it's taken me so long to update my blog. I think about it all the time and I'll try to be better! What do you want to hear about? I'm never sure what to write about. I'd love your thoughts, suggestions, ideas, feedback, etc. I hope all is well wherever you are and please keep in touch!

Blog - My Spanish Sojourn