Hello everyone!
I know that it’s been a long time since we’ve written a blog but things have been very hectic for us lately. Let me explain…
At the end of January, I left my job in Algeciras and accepted a position in Alcalá de Guadaíra at the school Mark teaches at. Mark’s roommate decided to return to the US for family reasons and once the position was open, I applied immediately.
There were many things I did not like about my position or life in Algeciras, but I don’t want to go into too much detail. Most of my role at my old school was to take out students individually or in pairs and give them a Cambridge Oral Examination. To be honest, it was very boring and I was not getting the classroom experience I was interested in. Overall, it was not a good fit for me.
After a few Skype interviews, I was hired by Mark’s program to work until June at the school as an Assistant Teacher. This is now my second week of work and I love my new job! In the morning’s I am in the classroom assisting the head teacher for 4th, 5th and 6th grade. I am much more active in the classroom and often help teach lessons. In the afternoons Mondays-Thursdays, I teach my own classes. I have one second grade class, one 4th grade class and two high school classes. On Monday’s, I also help coach soccer to an all-boys group (it’s just as crazy as it sounds) but I have a Spanish helper who keeps them under control!
In every way possible, I am much happier here. I like Alcala much better than Algeciras (we are only 30 minutes outside of Sevilla, my favorite city in Spain). My work is much more engaging and fun than before. Oh, and my new roommate is pretty cool too! (It’s Mark!!)
We live 2 minutes to the nearest grocery store and 5 minutes from where we work. Our apartment is not the Ritz Carlton but we have a living room, kitchen, bathroom and 3 bedrooms! (Perfect for any guests we have coming to visit!)
We promise to be more active on the blog now that we are settled once again! We are currently working on two projects, a video blog about our everyday life in Alcalá as well as a post about Spanish tapas and food. At the end of next week, Mark’s brother Mike is coming to visit and we are planning a surprise trip for him, so stay tuned!!
Much love, Amanda
