The end is approaching...

Today I taught my last four lessons, it was a pleasure to hear 12 year olds all reaching out of their seats, screaming ‘me, me’,  vying to be the first to give the answers  about computer games I had put them. In the course of the past month, I have learned how to manage classes of over 12, the importance of eye catching visuals to keep students engaged, give better step by step instructions and I am learning not to panic when the technology doesn’t work as planned.  At lunchtime I bid farewell to the teachers and we wished each other well.  

Last night was the last of the CEFIRE sessions and the director of the institute personally thanked us and we were given a gift and certificate of appreciation.  The evening session, was spent listening to one of the primary teachers sharing a lot of his knowledge on how he supervises and entertains the kids –very interesting. I sensed similarities to what we learned in Chester. The session ended with some Spanish type nibbles – savoury pastry with some tasty sauce inside, little shortcake biscuits with nuts in them and a sponge cake made from pumpkin.  At the end, as the Spanish love to talk, everyone mingled and spoke to one other. This was so unlike in the UK when all attendees would just say ‘bye’ and rush off. Hugs and kisses all round as everyone finally left.

The day before was our last planning session for CEFIRE and we had an end of course lunch. This was a very low key affair at the local bar. This had been pre-booked with the owner Julio who served up homemade paella , light fizzy sangria served with ice and lemon both of which were mouth-wateringly delicious.  A Valencian salad (lettuce, tuna, olives, tomato)  followed by a milk pudding  accompanied  by a very moorish pastry which has added an inch to my hips, and customary coffee to finish.

Tomorrow is a team building event; I am unsure what this entails but the instructions are to be at my local metro station for 1 pm.  So I get a lie in tomorrow morning as I have already done most of my packing.

Then on Sunday it is the start of a disinclined journey home. I have checked the BBC weather forecast and it is indicating typical English Sunday afternoon of rain…