Well firstly, let me inform you of my three day weekend. Yes you read that right. There was a bank holiday in Valencia on the Friday so a well needed extended weekend took place. On Friday night, me, Jody, Rhiannon and Diana went to Café de las Horas for some Agua de Valencia. This is a cocktail that contains champagne, orange juice, vodka and gin. You have to try it at this place, it does the best and it's so yummy! The inside of the café is also gothic and beautiful. Really great vibes there.
On Saturday, I met up with some of the Moncada and showed them around Valencia. It was lovely to see them. It felt like it had been ages and it was like a reunion. It was interesting to hear about what their experiences have been like. We had a three course lunch, during which Ed kept saying 'muchos grascias' every time the waitress came and brought out food or took away our plates. We and the waitress found this very amusing as in Spain it's not necessary to say thank you all the time. After lunch, we went for a walk in Turia Riverbed Park up to the Aquarium. Unfortunately it was shut when we got there. However, the views and modern architecture was stunning and well worth a see. In the evening, we had a drink in this retro looking bar. It was nice to catch-up with Marcelo and Raynal, who joined us later on. We rounded off the day in an Irish pub eating club sandwiches and burgers. I know, shameful! But we were tired! Sunday was my lazy, lesson planning day. But it felt so nice to just sit down and have a quite one.
So back to the here and now. I've done my first two lessons today! I'm absolutely shattered, but pretty happy too. My first lesson went fairly well! From the English lessons I've observed, the students don't do a lot of drilling. So I went drilling mad. I got students to drill in rows with a competitive element. They found this really amusing. I also did a flash drill, where I flashed pictures quickly and they had to identify the correct word which went down a treat. Thanks for this one Jenny! Classroom management wasn't too tricky although I think I need to establish more ground rules. The students on the whole were a really nice class! During class feedback, I nominated a student and then got them to nominate the next person. They really liked doing this. They really like it when you give them a context and get them involved, so don't be afraid of this! Some things I will say is you really don't have long (50 minutes) and it's really hard to get through all the course book material given to you. I did feel a bit like a was racing against the clock.
My other class was more challenging. There were 33 teenage boys in the class so as you can imagine classroom management is hard work! I felt I had to put on a slightly stricter persona and was a little more didactic which I don't like doing. But hey ho, I elicited quite a bit from them and they were engaged a fair few times throughout. Just, be extra careful with these E-workbooks because I kept accidently revealing the answers prematurely in which they quickly jotted down! Katy, who is the teacher of the class, was so sweet afterwards and said I was a natural. That meant a lot. Guys, honestly you can't be perfect in classes this size, so just be prepared for repeating yourself a few times and being patient and ok with it.
Life at the apartment is going pretty well. The washing machine has been are biggest problem. It kept not turning on. We discovered it's very temperamental and won't work if you put too many clothes inside it. We all get on really well, which is just as well in such a small living quarter. I couldn't have asked for a bunch of nicer, interesting and supportive housemates. Thank you guys for making this experience that much easier and nicer.
I have primary these next three days so will let you know how these go. Until next time.. aka when I have time!
Hasta luego,
Caroline xxx
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