Teenagers...

I wish I could add an audio file of me sighing to this blog. Teenagers are... frustrating shall we say. Bear in mind I myself am one of them and I still recognise various issues. My favourite was when I'd been a class of 15-16 year olds for all of 30 seconds, introduced myself, and a boy at the front went "ay angustias" - essentially, god this English girl is a pain. In all honesty it was the funniest part of my day, it just caught me by surprise 😭 the same teen then called me a "guiri" which turned out to be a slur for uncouth foreigners... guess that's me then 😁 I'll remember that one for the future. I suppose it does take some time to earn their respect...

It's funny though, as I remember exactly how they all feel, as the memory of secondary school is still so fresh in my mind. Seeing someone like me come into school would have immediately triggered the "easy target" radar. I think I need to do some research on showing no fear/sadness when they're slightly rude. I just assume everyone's going to be as nice and sensible as I definitely was... 😬

Today was definitely much better than my first introduction to the older years (although one girl was genuinely horrified when she realised I could understand everything she'd been saying about me in Spanish hehe 😏). I was with the oldest year at the end of the day and I have to say it was the best lesson I've been in so far. All of them are so kind and funny and really respect and appreciate their teacher. The feeling is definitely mutual, as she said to me she would have quit the profession if it weren't for this class! I guess it's true what they say about the extreme highs and lows of teaching haha! 

The teacher had prepared a whole lesson about relative clauses and I was ready to chime in and get into some hard-core grammar. But then she got so enthralled in the conversation and swept up in the comedy of the class that the whole time was spent telling me about traditional Spanish food and the tortilla/onion debate (which apparently is the "Brexit" of Spain). It was so reassuring to see what a great connection and rapport she had with them, and I left school feeling the best I had in days. I know that not every class will be like that, and there will be difficult times, but I'm so excited for the day when I have that one class that keeps me going!

Not much teaching this week as the whole of secondary is doing exams soon, but I have a lot of lessons to plan. I'm nervous but also excited - I suppose at some point I should actually start planning some! 

Got invited to another coffee with the teachers today, and made a Spanish friend who wants to practise her English. She also gave me the insider info on the best clubs and cafes León has to offer, so I'm looking forward to visiting a few this weekend 😋

Hope everyone is having a great week 😀¡Hasta luego!





Location: León, Spain

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