Monday,
1
March
2010
Week 3
Personal Development
This week I have gotten to know my flatmates a bit better which is nice. They invited me to
have a drink with them and some of their friends in the flat – drinking games in Spanish will
certainly help my vocabulary! This is really good for me as it means I am feeling at home in
my flat now and we can talk about this and that which helps my Spanish. It always takes
me a little while to settle in and I’m quite shy so I knew we’d be chatting away eventually.
I’m finding the lack of sleep hard to deal with here. The students who live in halls never
seem to sleep which is not good for me as I need it! I’m slowly but surely getting used to
the noises and a pair of earplugs has helped me no end! Usually, people sleep or rest in the
afternoons but my timetable is so packed I hardly ever have time to do that!
It was my best friends 21st birthday this week too and it was not nice not being able to give
her her present and going out with her on her birthday! Luckily her present arrived in the
post on time and I know she had a great day in Denmark as her sister and brother in law
were visiting! I think I’m getting more used to being away from home and my friends and
definitely am settled in here.
Cultural Development
I’m really loving Spanish culture now. I love going for tapas and having a good chat while
I’m there. I don’t know how I’m going to adapt to going back home without it there – that
and siestas! Added to this, I’m becoming more confident with speaking to people in Spanish
which is helping me to embrace the culture. I’m learning new words and phrases all the
time and I even went to buy earplugs from a chemist and was understood!
However, it is still nice to be friends with all of the English speaking people who are doing
Erasmus and be able to talk and joke about our culture too! There are people from Germany
and Finland as well as America, England, Scotland and of course Northern Ireland in our
group and its really nice getting to know more about each country.
I had the chance to go on a trip to the outskirts of León this week to Astorga but
unfortunately I slept in! It would have been lovely to see a bit more of Spain but no doubt
there will be plenty more opportunities for me to see the country during my time here.
Professional Development
My uni classes eventually started this week! My first was on Thursday and I was a bag of
nerves going by myself! I didn’t think that I was going to understand a word of what was
said but luckily I got most of it and the lecturers were really nice and told me if I ever
needed anything to ask them and I’m sure they spoke more slowly than usual taking into
account that I was there. The class is about how to teach Spanish children Spanish and
looks at how the language is formed and common errors that are made – difficult as I
probably make them too. I think it’s going to be a really interesting module.
Another class that I’m taking is to do with the civilisation and culture of English speaking
countries, History is my main subject so it seems like it will be quite interesting! It seems
like it is going to be taught in a cross-curricular way bringing history and geography into the
module as well as looking at film and literature which will help with the understanding of the
class. This enforces in my mind the importance of teaching in a cross-curricular way in the
classroom and will hopefully give me ideas for some topics as there is a bit of overlap with
what is taught in our classrooms at home. Another advantage of this class is that there is a
summary each day in English which means I won’t miss out on anything and will hopefully
be able to do my exam in English!
I was going to do a module on Special Educational Needs but I went to the first class and
didn’t understand a word the lecturer said and it was only the introduction week so I am
currently trying to fill the gap that this has left in my credits- I think I’m going to do
something related to art to give me more ideas for the classroom.
The final class that I’m taking is English as a foreign language. I’m hoping that it will give
me lots of hints and tips that can be transferred into teaching any modern foreign language
which is a subject that really interests me!
Beginning classes made me think about EAL students in classrooms at home as here I am
experiencing what they go through and I have thought a lot about how to include them in
classes so far during my time here. Lots of resources and pictures could only help – we are
spoiled in Stran, here we have a blackboard and talking in lectures which is sometimes a bit
hard for me to keep up with!
No photos this week as my internet is SO SLOW at uploading them! :(
Posted by Emma at 15:14
Week 9
Personal Development
This week I have embraced my love of travelling on an Erasmus trip to Andalucia! I had
forgotten how fun (and how quickly it makes time fly) it is to move from place to place and
not have any idea where you are without having to consult a map. It was an excellent week
for talking to other Erasmus students, many of whom I’d never spoken to before. The bus
journey down was an experience in itself…12 hours on a bus! I wouldn’t recommend it to
anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. We left at 10pm and didn’t arrive in Granada
until the next morning and coming home we left at 5.30pm and I wasn’t in my flat until
after three! I also have learned that no matter how much sun cream I put on or how often I
apply or how long I spend in the shade I WILL get sunburned and there is nothing I can do
to stop it, it’s a losing battle for me! Also, my friend from home is studying in Granada so it
was really nice to have free time to catch up with her and see where she lives! I’m seeing
loads of her at the minute because we are going to Barcelona next week then I am taking a
trip to Malaga in a few weeks and meeting her there too!
I had LOADS to do before I left though so I tried not to get too stressed and made a big list
which I had great pleasure in crossing off when I completed something haha! It also meant
that I didn’t have time to see all my friends here for the whole week and I really miss
seeing them because it feels like it has been ages. It’s hard to get the balance between
socialising and work at the minute, exams aren’t for ages but I’m trying to give myself a
good head start and do really well in any coursework because I know how difficult the
exams will be for me with them all being in Spanish!
Cultural Development
As I have previously said, I was on an Erasmus trip this week. We visited the south of
Spain; Granada, Malaga, Seville and Cordoba. It was a lot to pack in to five days but it was
a great experience and allowed me to experience a culture that is completely different from
that of the north of Spain. For a start, the south was roasting when we were down, it was
35degrees everyday and I could clearly see why siestas exist in Spain as there is no way
anything would get done in the hottest hours of the day! The south is much more touristy
than where I am in Leon but I had expected it to be much more geared towards English
tourists which it was not! The tourists in the south all seemed to be Spanish and although
there were more English translations than I am used to there were not as many as I had
expected. The Spanish accent in the south is completely different to the north too and I had
a big of trouble picking it up, the letter s is practically non-existent! We saw a lot of
churches and gardens on our trip including the cathedral in Seville which is the 3rd biggest
in Europe and therefore, the biggest in Spain. We also had a tour around the bullring in
Seville. I’m really not sure where I stand on the topic of bullfights. Part of me would like to
see one for the cultural side and to see how proud some Spaniards are of their tradition but
I can’t help but think about the cruelty towards the bulls and horses that are involved. We
also got the chance to visit the Feria de Abril which is a big festival that takes place in April
in Seville. There was a firework show the night we visited and it was amazing!
Unfortunately, we went to the Feria on the last night and all the stalls were packing up so I
didn’t get to experience it properly! We saw flamenco dancing too which was a real
experience with the guitarist, singer and dancer. The dancers are so talented and your eyes
can’t help but be fixed on their feet when they move.
Professional Development
This week in art I was a bit frustrated because I hadn’t picked up the week before that the
teacher needed us to bring extra materials (a million miles away from home where
EVERYTHING is provided) but luckily some people in the class were able to help me out and
I could do the task with everyone else. We had to trace a picture and then copy it out onto
three different pages in our sketch books; each picture would show a progression of how we
use line to form pictures. This work is going to take us a few weeks but I think that I will
really enjoy it.
School is always a learning curve for me and this week it was as interesting as ever even
though it was only for one day because Friday was a festival! From almost being vomited on
to being licked, it just shows that children are the same no matter where in the world you
are. I had a class with a class that I’ve never met before and there is a boy in the class who
clearly has severe behavioural problems. The way that it is dealt with here was interesting
for me to see as if he misbehaved in the slightest he was sent straight to the corner and
missed out on the work that was being done. He was only spoken to in Spanish while the
rest of the children were spoken to in English and given a translation if they didn’t
understand and I couldn’t help but feel this boy was missing out on so much and if he was
engaged in his English work then perhaps his behaviour wouldn’t have been so hard to deal
with. There were also visitors in school, two famous sportspeople from Leon. One was a
handball player, which is very popular here, and the other was a FIFA representative who
had refereed in lots of football matches and had photos of him and many famous
sportspeople. His talk was very interesting and the children hung on his every word, he was
telling them how although sport is important, school work needs to come first because
without it there is no way they can succeed in sports especially with regards to English. He
told a story of a FIFA meeting he was at that was solely English without translators which
underlined its importance. I think such visits are good for children as they do look up to
famous people and can be influenced by what is said to them at a young age. I found his
talk really inspiring too and it made me realise how lucky I am to be in the position to be
able to teach children and inspire them to follow their dreams.
P.s. Lack of pictures because I now have wireless internet in halls and its even worse than it
was before :(!
Posted by Emma at 15:06 0 comments
Week 10
Personal Development
Week 10, I can hardly believe it! This week I have definitely been learning how to function
on very little sleep. I got back from Andalucia at about 3am on Wednesday morning and had
class from 9-2 and then 4-6 and at half ten I had to catch a bus to Madrid to be on time for
my flight to Barcelona the next morning, to say it was all go would be an understatement!
Barcelona was amazing and again I met up with some friends from home as well as having
a friend from León there! It made me realise how small a world it is when we met up with
my friend’s friend from UU and she was friends with a girl from Queens who is currently
teaching in Barcelona and happens to be the daughter of a lecturer from Stran!
I also found out about my final exam this week. I had been a bit worried because it is on
29th June but I asked the lecturer if there was any chance that I could do coursework
instead because the price of flights home just rocket after about the 24th June. He called
me over after class and told me that I had to do the exam but that I could do it whenever I
wanted as soon as classes ended so that I could get home. This meant I could book my
flight and now have a date to go home, the 22nd June. I’m excited to go home but I know
that it will heartbreaking leaving here because I am having such a good time, learning so
much and have made amazing friends.
Cultural Development
Again this week, I left León and experienced a different part of Spain – Barcelona! The main
difference between Barcelona and León (except the fact that it’s a big city and very touristy)
is the language. I knew that they spoke Catalan in Barcelona but I didn’t really think it
would be that much different to Castellan. However, I was wrong! It looked a bit like
Portuguese or French when it is written and I was able to work out most of the written stuff
but when people spoke it to each other, I was lost! Luckily everyone spoke Castellan or
English too so we had no problems! Barcelona made me paranoid as I had heard so many
stories about pickpocket on the street and especially on the metro. My bag was stuck to me
the whole time and I’m very proud that we all survived without being pick pocketed!
Barcelona is the home of Gaudi and we visited the Sagrada Familia which he started but ran
out of funds to finish. It is still being finished now and it was amazing to see the old part
and the new part that they are building from the surviving plans. We also visited Gaudi’s
house but didn’t go in and Park Guell which he designed too. Gaudi designed a house here
in León too which is now a bank so it was cool to see his work in Barcelona. We also saw a
fountain show and visited an icebar, which was cool (quite literally at -15degrees!). We
went to Nou Camp too which is Barcelona’s football ground and it was good to see around it.
However, if you ever have a chance to go there of the Bernabeu in Madrid, definitely pick
the Bernabeu – it’s a much better tour!
Professional Development
This week I didn’t have school as I was away and I really missed it! I really like being in the
school even if its sometimes a challenge when the children speak to me in Spanish! I
handed in my first assignment this week at uni. It was a joint assignment which is
something I am not used to doing but it was about the political revival in Ireland and with
me being a history student, I’m hoping to do well!
This week in predeportes, the children had free play as it is la semana cultural and there
weren’t many children there as many are involved in other things. During predeportes,
there were displays happening too so I got the chance to see some of the other
extracurricular activities that the school offer such as floor gymnastics and karate. I couldn’t
believe how good some of the children are at their activities or the wide range that is on
offer! The children start doing them from such a young age which I think has positives and
negatives as if they are doing too many activities it would just be too much for them to
handle but at the same time it’s good to experience a broad range of hobbies when you are
young so you can decide what you prefer as you get older.
Posted by Emma at 17:06 0 comments