school
I have been placed at an elementary school in Vic called Pare Coll School. The instruction is taught in Catalan but I am placed with all English teachers so that I can communicate with the teachers. It is a small private school in the heart of the city of Vic.
my spanish school
My new Spanish school is incredible! Although there are many similarities between the schools here in Spain and the ones in America, I was shocked at how different they were. I know a little bit of Spanish which I thought would help me in the school, however in Vic they all speak Catalan. The children are learning English and most of the teachers know English so I did not have to use my Spanish very much or worry about trying to learn Catalan. This school is unique because it begins at the infant level, three years old, and goes all the way to high school. Their high school in Europe only goes until they are 16 years old and then students have the option to go to a transitional school between high school and attending a University. While at school, I get to meet many teachers and visit all of the grades during their English classes. One difference between the schools was that the teachers switched classrooms and the students remained in the same one. In America it is the opposite but after seeing the way they do it in Spain, I believe their method is more efficient.
a typical day
Each day I walk 15 minutes to my school through the cobblestone streets and arrive by 8:45. School begins at 9am in Spain and students have their breakfast at school after their first class. All of the students in my school wear matching smocks all through primary school and the teachers all wear aprons. The children have similar personalities to American children and it is fun to interact with them. After the first two classes the students and teachers have their breakfast and then take a break to play. Their typical breakfast consists of french bread, finely sliced meats, and European cheeses. After breakfast we go to two more classes then it is time for lunch. Lunchtime is a two hour time from 1-3 in the schools. The students and teachers either stay at school for lunch or many go home for a meal with their family and a nap. I eat lunch at the canteen with some of the other teachers and it is some of the best food I have ever had. Unlike American cafeterias, our canteen has a chef that makes a main course, a meat and cheese board, salad, various fresh meats, finger foods, homemade bread, and anything you ask the chef to make. For dessert they have fruit and yogurt then the teachers head to a local coffee shop for a dessert coffee. When we walk back to school, we attend two more class periods and then I walk back through the city with the view of the mountains to home this month.
famous
I'm not sure if it is my fair, blonde hair or my lack of Catalan language, but I am famous around my new school. Everywhere I walk students are yelling "hello!" or "Margaux!" like I am a celebrity. In a 5th grade class, I taught them how to country line dance and it was posted all over their school instagram. Now they all have asked me to teach them to country line dance. If they have learned anything from America it's country-line dancing and holding up a "Go Frogs" symbol. All things considered, that isn't so bad!