Orientation

Today was orientation. I was glad I got to go to orientation this year, since I arrived too late to do it last year. They got buses to take the auxiliares from Corte Ingles to the building where we were having the orientation (close to the castle). I headed towards Corte Ingles in the morning and stopped off at Colombia 50 (a café) for coffee on the way. I ran into 2 people speaking English and asked if they were auxiliares. Sure enough, they were. After enjoying our coffee we headed off. We passed another girl that gave me a look I’ve recognized on myself before…a look that said “I think you’re an auxiliar” or “I think you speak English.” Again, another auxiliar. She joined our little group and we headed off to Corte Ingles to catch the bus. All the auxiliares from Jaén and the neighboring small towns gathered there to catch the bus and we headed off.

When we got there they gave us folders with an itinerary, paper and a pen and we shuffled into the conference room. I ran into Marta, one of the teachers that I assisted with the adult language school class in Siles last year. It was such a pleasant surprise to see a familiar face. There was also a news crew interviewing people and filming.  

Overall the orientation wasn’t quite was I expected. It was nice to gather with other auxiliares and meet people but I thought they were going to give us advice and ideas on creating lessons and activities we could do with the kids. The orientation was more focused on giving us background about the Spanish education system, our appointments in the extranjería (foreigner’s office), the importance of bilingual education in Spain, etc.

The best part of the orientation was the lunch at the end. They had a huge complimentary lunch for all of us. I met a bunch of people and even a few people from Seattle and Centralia. One of the orientation leaders came by and asked if I would be interested in working in an English academy since I was a 2^nd year candidate. I explained that I wasn’t really comfortable with teaching English grammar, but if they needed someone to help with listening, speaking and conversation I’d be more ok with that. We’ll see what comes of it.

When we got back to town I bought another light bulb and some groceries. Yes, I bought a light bulb yesterday too. This morning when I was in the shower I heard a loud noise. I thought it was Luisa slamming her window shut like she does most mornings, trying to give the neighbors yet another hint to shut up. However, when I went back to my room and tried to turn on my lamp I noticed that the light bulb had exploded. There were little pieces of glass EVERYWHERE. I don’t know what the problem was because I took a picture of the sticker on the lamp that said what light bulb I needed and showed the picture to the woman at the lamp shop so there would be no doubt about what light bulb I needed. I also looked at the package to make sure it was a 40 watt like I needed and it was. So, I have no idea what happened. It’s a brand new lamp with a brand new light bulb. I was nervous to put another light bulb in, and afraid it would explode when I was actually in the room, but so far it seems fine.

Later I went to the plaza near the cathedral to use the internet. Of course all the old men and women were camped out on their benches catching up with their friends. I sat down on one bench that was filled with old ladies on one side, but only one on the other side. I sat down at the far end of the bench. I spent some time getting work done, chatting with my family and uploading pictures. At one point I asked this little old lady what was in salmorejo. She and her friends chatted with me about salmorejo recipes for a while, then her friends headed off. So I became her new friend. Every few minutes she would scooch a little closer…then a little closer…then a little closer. I laughed inside. I’ve said many times that the Spanish just don’t have the same concept of personal space that Americans have. So apparently just could handle being all the way on the other side of the bench from me. It was cute.

A little while later I headed off to D’Canas for tapas with Ana (from Chicago), Kristin (from Texas), and Mini (also from Chicago). We enjoyed tinto de verano (red wine with lemon Fanta) and patatas con 3 salsas (potatoes with 3 sauces). The potatoes had a bravas sauce (spicy), an alioli sauce (garlic) and a Roquefort sauce. When we went inside to pay this Spanish woman started talking to me. After chatting with her for a few seconds she said “You speak Spanish really well.” She was obviously pleasantly surprised and from there she seemed to adopt me. She introduced me to her husband Bartolome, sat me down at her table and went on and one about how pretty she thought American girls are because we don’t wear as much makeup. From there she went into mom mode asking if we were going out, making sure I don’t drink too much and eventually ending with if I needed absolutely anything to let her know. Most importantly, now that we know each other, she gave me strict instructions that we would saludar (greet) each other when we saw each other in the streets. I told her I had to get going because the girls were waiting for me with the shots the bartender had “invited” us to (free).

We headed off to Tijuana for a while, then Sal and Pimienta for a drink. Afterwards we couldn’t decide where we wanted to go, so we bought a bottle of rum, some glasses and some Coca Cola and headed off to a park to botellón. One of Kristin’s Spanish friends from last year (Rafia) showed up and we all hung out there together in the park. Eventually we meandered off to the discoteca Don Miguel to finish out the night.