my job, etc.

I've been working at my high school for a good 6 weeks now, and thinking about it, it seems like I've been there way longer, though I guess in hindsight, time always flies. Time is such a strange concept in this country on any level anyway. I can't believe it's already mid-November. Halloween, Election Day, and my big 2-2 all have already come and gone, and Fall is finally settling in. I'm thankful to be here this year and that snow and ice will not be a part of the horrible season called winter.

So far, I have been pleasantly surprised by how well the whole "language assistant" job is going. I never studied education or really thought about being a teacher: this job was simply a means for going back to Spain and to be able to do it legally of course. By some sort of luck though, I enjoy going to work because it seems like I'm doing something different everyday and I haven't fallen into the whole monotony of routine. The teachers I work with keep me entertained and make my job even better. My schedule is different almost everyday and even from week to week. One day, I'll mostly do class prep, working one on one with certain teachers, and another day, I'll be in the classroom helping to teach math, technology, or English. Some days I work evenings as well teaching a private class to a group of students or working with adults (mostly other teachers) who are learning the very basics of English. Honestly I think I like teaching math more than any subject, especially English language.. just because someone speaks a language does not mean they should be teaching it.

When I first started working with my students, I tried to pretend I didn't know Spanish. In the end that hasn't really worked, especially with the non-bilingual classes. I always tell them over and over to only speak English to me, but it doesn´t work all the time. My students´English levels range from pretty bad to almost conversational. Yesterday, I was having a funny chat with one of my students about whether Mexico spoke English and if it was a part of America and not until 5 minutes into the talk, when he said to me, sii entiendes español, and I said nooo, did I realize the whole time he'd been speaking Spanish to me and I was answering him in English.

I really need to sleep more.