I survived!

So I survived my first day at school! Did a lot more learning that I did teaching but generally had a pretty fun day painting, introducing myself 100 times and being mobbed by cute Spanish kids. Why are 10 year old girls so keen to know if I have a boyfriend?!

Godella seems like a nice place from the hour I spent walking around lost after getting off at the wrong stop but I finally made it home (after bumping into an also lost James B, asking every local for directions and finally rescued by Iris!) to the view from our balcony which is #flawless.

Actually excited to go to school tomorrow which is definitely something I've never said!

My sense of direction is as terrible as Spanish hospitality is amazing.

Of the 9 hours I've been out of the flat today I've spent roughly 4 of them lost. In the morning I spent 45 mins looking for Burjassot-Godella station, which is only 3 minutes from my flat, and in the afternoon I spent 3 hours and 15 minutes looking for my flat leaving from Burjassot-Godella.

For those of you who're familiar with the very first Legend of Zelda and 'The Lost Woods Puzzle' (don't let it be said that I don't bring great literary references into this blog...) imagine that, but replace the forrest with endless ochre coloured streets.

This aimless odyssey was mercifully put to an end when a lovely Spanish lady walking an adorable puppy offered to walk me back to Burjassot-Godella station, whereupon I bumped into Daisy - also lost - and we were ably guided by Iris back to the flat.

The intervening time between my two strolls around Godella (and likely quite a few other places, as very often when asking for directions I was informed that "Godella...this is, very, very far away...very far) was spent being shown around a charming school by charming people. However, I don't think they got the observation memo as I was asked to teach 30 seconds before going into my first class! This was made up for by being offered red wine at lunch by the headmistress!

Roll on day 2.

I'm so relieved to be in a nice, warm and cosy bed! What a full-on day!  We had a wonderful surprise when we saw how nice our apartment is this afternoon and then to make it even better I won a coin-toss for the Ensuite!

We had a rather exhausting but informative trek around this lively city checking out where all our respective schools are.  Night night to everyone!  All the best for tomorrow. Tara xxx

I can't sleep but I can blog.

It is 1:05 in the morning. In a little under 4 hours I'll leave behind my delightful homestay family and their adorable dogs to make my journey to Spain to teach English Language.

Although I need to finish packing and plan a lesson for tomorrow, I'm feeling very relaxed - lets hope that continues.

James.

Uno

A month ago today I had just finished my CELTA, I was: sleep deprived, excited, caffeine dependent and brimming with newly acquired knowledge.

This evening I have just finished my UKLC training in Chester, I'm: sleep deprived, excited, caffeine dependent and brimming with newly acquired knowledge.

At ridiculous o'clock 3.15am we're off to Valencia, where did the time go?

Big thanks to Carolyn and all the team at UKLC for organising everything and an equally big thanks to Michael & Emile for preparing me for all the classes that await me in the next 4 weeks. You're all amazing.

Wish me luck (I'm certainly going to need it)

Michael

Hola Amigos

So first blog post! Feeling so excited to see Valencia but I am definitely not looking forward to getting up at 3:00am. Thanks to Michael, Emil, Carolyn and Amy for all your help over the past few weeks. I can't wait to see my school and put my some of the amazing games into practice.

Hopefully this time next week I will be drinking Sangria and wondering what I was so nervous about.

Peace out.

My First Blog Post

Here it is ladies and gentlemen, My First Blog Post.


We've now reached the end of the training week, and will be on our way to sunny Spain very very soon. It's been an interesting couple of days, and it's bound to become even more so when we finally step foot in Valencia.

I feel everybody bonded really well during our short (but intensive!) week together, and it's kind of sad to think that we'll be parting ways once we get to our respective placements. I always get a lot of energy out of being with a group of people (especially with everyone being so nice!). But I'm sure we'll have a great time with just the Gandia crew as well.

The training has been especially good to refresh some of the concepts we've learnt on the CELTA/Tesol course, and to see Michael's and Emile's take on teaching young learners. They obviously love doing it, and I think they've warmed most of us up to the prospect as well.

This doesn't mean I won't be really nervous the first couple of days, but at least I feel a little bit more prepared. Fact is, no training in the world can compete with actually standing in front of the classroom and just going for it. I'm sure we'll crash and burn a few times, but that's all part of it, right?

That's all for now, hopefully I'll be able to include a few beach pictures next time!


Tom