Teaching English In Spain: Auxiliares de Conversación March Update
Hola! If you are new to my blog, bienvenido! You’ve stumbled upon my monthly Auxiliares de Conversación update, where I share all about my experiences teaching English and living in Spain. If you are interested in teaching abroad, are curious about life as an auxiliar, or simply enjoy keeping up with my Miss Adventures, then you are in the right place!
This month I’ll be sharing all about my experiences working as an auxiliar de conversación this March! From the crazy weather we’ve been having to the auxiliar renewal process, what it’s like working with Spanish niños everyday, and Spring Break! (Spoiler alert: I went to Poland!)
Rain, Rain, Go Away
I’m sure you’re familiar with the expression “April showers bring May flowers.”
Well, whoever said that was wrong. At least in Andalusia.
This month has been filled with rain, rain, and more rain. As someone who spent four years attending University in Southern California, I have to admit that I can’t stand rain, and the weather this March has been bumming me out. Majorly.
After all, I chose to teach English in Andalusia for a reason-the region is known for its plethora of sunny days. This March has honestly felt more like living in London than the south of Spain, and I’m not the only one who thinks so! My fellow teachers have also commented on how unusually rainy it has been-one even joked that this year I must have brought the bad weather.
All I know is that the rain in Spain is driving me insane, and I am definitely hoping for some better weather and warmer days in April!
Renewal Process
If you’ve been keeping up with my monthly updates, you’ll know that in January I decided to apply to renew my status as an auxiliar de conversación for the 2018-2019 school year.
On March 2, I received an e-mail saying that I was officially accepted to the auxiliar de conversación program for next year. Now I just have to wait for 2 more e-mails. The first e-mail will tell me what region I am teaching in, while the second will tell me which school I will be placed in. I decided not to renew for my same school, in the hopes of getting assigned to a school more centrally located in Sevilla (fingers crossed!).
The Niños
In my February update, I talked all about why I love the teachers at my school. This month, I figure it’s about time to talk about the niños (as I call them when I’m not at work)!
Like any job, teaching has its ups and downs. Some days, the students I teach (1st-6th grade) behave like angels, and other days they have so much energy I feel like I need a double espresso to get through the day! That being said, most of the time the students I teach are incredibly sweet, and I often find myself cracking up at the cute and funny things they say throughout the day.
Being an auxiliar de conversación is much easier than being a full-time teacher, because we always have another teacher with us to help settle the class down. (It also helps that we only work 12 hours a week!) I spend much of my time in the classroom singing songs, playing games, and doing entertaining activities with the students, so typically they are excited to see me-they know games are in store as opposed to a regular lesson. Walking around the school is a little bit like being famous-all of the kids say “Hello Catalina!” and I am frequently greeted with a barrage of hugs. It really is a great mood booster!
Here are just a few of the funny things that my students say and do that I’ve been saving up:
- iPhones-My students are obsessed with my iPhone. Any time I pull it out to check the time they ask me what number it is. Bonus points if your phone has a pop socket. Then the kids really get excited!
- Sex Education-Yep, I had the pleasure of reading all about human reproduction to a group of 6th-grade girls and boys. “It’s pronounced (VA-JI-NA) not (VA-HE-NA).” As you can guess, that was an interesting day at work!
- My retainer-I have a permanent retainer. The day one of my 2nd grade boys saw it, I had to spend the rest of the class walking around showing all of the students the inside of my mouth.
- Names in English-Lately my first graders have been asking me how to say their names in English. They get so excited every time I say something like “Maria is Mary.” Unfortunately, some names don’t translate, which never fails to disappoint!
- This dance-Seriously. If I never have to see this dance again, I will be a happy woman.
- Personal Questions-Do you have a boyfriend? Do you like Donald Trump? How old are you? Do you have children? You get the picture.
- The troublemakers-Is it wrong that I sometimes think the class troublemakers being naughty is hilarious? While I have mastered the art of directing stern looks at misbehaving children, I can’t help it if I have to stifle a smile when they are doing something truly ridiculous.
- Spanish-Students are told that I understand zero Spanish. While I don’t know a ton, that isn’t entirely true. If they ever hear me speak Spanish to a fellow teacher, or if I respond to a question they ask in Spanish, I always get a win eye-ed look and “tu entiendas?!”. Followed by a chorus of “Say Hola.” As if I had no clue how to say hello! This never fails to crack me up. One time I accidentally slipped and answered a student’s “Catalina?” With the word “Que?” instead of “What?” Oops!
- So much more-truthfully, so many of these little moments happen each day that it would be impossible to write them all down! (or it would make for an extremely long, boring blog post!
Spring Break Forever
What is even better than Spring Break as a student? Spring Break as a teacher! We had a whole glorious week off during Spain’s Holy Week, or Semana Santa. While Semana Santa is a very big deal in Sevilla (there are endless processions, traditions, and other religious goings-on throughout the city all week) I chose to take advantage of the week off and travel to my 29th country-Poland. My roommate and I (a fellow auxiliar) had an excellent break visiting Warsaw, Krakow, and Wroclaw. While Poland isn’t first destination that comes to mind when thinking Spring Break, it was a great country to spend a week in, and most of Europe’s beach destinations aren’t quite warm enough by the end of March. We also really appreciated how inexpensive Poland is-it helped make a week-long trip work with our auxiliar budget!
Speaking of which…
Budget
I recently put together a post which details everything I make and spend each month in Spain! While you can learn more about my auxiliar budget here, this is a quick snapshot of this month’s spending!
Next Month
Stay tuned for an update on what I got up to in April! I’ll be updating you on my experiences at the famous Feria de Sevilla, my renewal process, and travels to Italy!
Interested in learning more about life as an Auxiliar de Conversación? Then be sure to check out these posts:
- 10 Essential Tips For Your First Day Teaching English In Spain
- My First Month Teaching English In Spain As An Auxiliar de Conversación
- Auxiliar de Conversación Budget: Exactly How Much I Make (And Spend) Each Month In Spain
- Teaching English In Spain: Auxiliares de Conversación November Update
- Teaching English In Spain: Auxiliares de Conversación December Update
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