Let the chaos begin!

Let the chaos begin...

The month of September "se ha echo eterno." I feel like it's never going to end. I think that's because I'm finally back to work after summer vacation (a rather lengthy one, may I add) and it hasn't been exactly, well, a pleasant transition back.

So, I got the job I mentioned before. I suppose the initial lack of communication from the part of my future bosses was a harbinger of days to come. Okay, in all fairness I was warned that the first 2 weeks at the academy were going to be a complete "locura," but I guess I underestimated. Greatly.

Let me rewind a bit. Two weeks ago Friday we had our first staff meeting. The company I work for is called Dini Idiomas. I say "company" because it's this giant English academy that's been around for more than 20 years and has 4 different locations in Vitoria. I really enjoyed working at a small independent academy last year, especially given Ana María's alternative methods, which were great AND really effective, but there it was more important to keep the parents happy (as customers) so we ended up taking a lot of crap from the kids every now and then. I’ve been told that at Dini that will never happen, because losing one student is less important than messing up an entire class, according to my new boss, Presen (short for Presentacíon; talk about a Pilgrim name)… I was like “HALLELUJAH!”

So anyway, I work at the main office and as of right now I have 20+ different classes. The academy's specialty is exam preparation, apart from just your basic English classes for all ages. I'm teaching anywhere from 9 year olds to retirees and helping teens and up prepare for a variety of official English Language exams (mostly Cambridge, First through Proficiency), which is quite important and rather prominent here in Europe. What I love: teaching adults! It's so great to be able to explain things at that level (instead of a bunch of singing songs and making arts and crafts). The thing I hate: the adults who look at you like "What the f**k are you doing teaching this class? You're 12."

So, I think that the job is going to be very rewarding intellectually, but for right now things are just crazy, as we all get acclimated, get our materials, get to know our students… Honestly, it’s the first time in my life I’ve ever been super stressed out by work, plus I’m sick, which doesn’t help. Last night I slept light and feverishly, dreaming of color-coded binders and notebooks and textbooks and attendance lists… What a nightmare!

And I haven’t even begun teaching at the high school yet! Just wait until my internship starts. It’ll be lovely. We have our orientation on the 5^th. It should be pretty good. I still have to prepare my little talk. Speaking of which, I met the other guy, Nicolas, from Quebec, and some other auxiliares here in Vitoria and they are total gems. Apart from my new French Canadian friend, the others are mostly from California and GB, but I did meet one guy from South Dakota—Midwest represent! He and his two roommates are actually working in a small town nearby, called Miranda de Ebro, but living in Vitoria because it rocks. Miranda is actually in Castilla y León so they started on September 15^th like me last year. And they apparently report to the same horrendous bitch, Lola. Ah, good times.

Apart from that nothing else is really new; working like crazy and occasionally going out to explore my new city. This weekend I’m heading to Valladolid (!!!) to see my friends from last year. I’m really excited and a little bit nervous. Not gonna lie, I have a lot of mixed feelings about going back.

More to come!

Love,

Katie