Erasmus+ Leaders In Language April-May 2022

I feel like the good habits I built in the UK slipping. I have very scarcely been practicing Yoga which I had managed to get an hour of each day in 2022 before I came. I haven't run since I have been here or done any conditioning. I found myself pointlessly browsing the internet (when you get an advertisement for a book on ADHD you know you've been algorithym'd) even though there's so much to do. Even my prose is slippery. I imagine this is due to the fact that I haven't been speaking much English (in my head at least)! After 12 hours of practice yesterday during my school's festival, I reached a level of competency where I managed to get the number of a American lady before she noticed my +44 area code (though she said she had to be very patient to understand me, thinking I was a Polish man with very basic Spanish skills). Anyway my pen has ran out of ink and I can't be bothered to walk to supermarket so I am writing this blog post in the stream of consciou...

Being in Valencia has been the most amazing experience and I’m loving it. My apartment is close to my school and the metro is easy to use. My school is supportive and I’m learning so much from this teaching development opportunity to grow, change and development skills, knowledge and experience. 

 We have finished our first week of school in Valencia and it has definitely taken some getting used to. After some initial problems with the school I have been made to feel very welcome. All the teachers stop and say hi to me in the staff room but I am surprised at how little English they speak and unfortunately my Spanish isn’t great so we are limited to talking about the weather. The classes are quite intimidating and it has been overwhelming at times but I am finding my feet now and getting involved in the lessons. It’s a difficult group of teenagers to teach as they have no motivation and very little English is spoken in the lessons. My mentor is great though, she has been very welcoming and encouraging. I have planned some lessons for next week but there are a lot of exams taking place so I’m not sure which ones I can do just yet. It can get a little lonely in the home stay on my own as Yolanda is rarely at home. I am more used to a very noisy house, but the Valencia gir...

                Time flies and a week has passed. This is an overwhelming week, full of surprise and shock, which eventually faded off, and it left with joy. 😁               I think I didn't expect that the incompetency of speaking Spanish can cause such a huge disruption in my daily routine that is typically mundane. I have to admit, without those lovely people who speak Spanish, I wouldn't survive this long. 😂 Mireya and Bethan always come to my rescue!!              At first, I was a bit frustrated, when I can't speak Spanish and ask for help in certain ways. Despite putting lots of effort in hand gestures, there is no idea I can find out what others are saying, because they are speaking in Spanish, and none of the words sound comprehensible to me.           However, I think, everything depends on our attitude and perspective.  ...

 Que pasa! I couldn't bring myself to blog yesterday as the 2 hours sleep and the constant travel left me exhausted! Set off from Grosvenor at 2.45am and within about 10 minutes the coach had broken down. Hopped on a new one and made it to Stanstead successfully.  Flight was fine, but unfortunately I can't sleep on any form of transport so felt knackered by the time we made it to the accommodation about 4.45pm. Once we arrived I realised I was going to be living with two Spanish students and not Patrick as initially stated. But I've chatted to both students since who are both easy going, so have been enjoying my stay. Only issue was that you can hear a pin drop in the kitchen through the bedroom door, but some ear plugs solved that problem.  Even though I started writing this blog on Monday 25th it will probably show the posting date of today 29th. My lesson schedule has been from 9/10am to 5pm every day, so with lesson planning too, I've had little time to get this blo...

 This week has been incredible, but it's also gone by incredibly fast! Monday was a holiday here in Valencia, so we all went exploring in the city for a while, walked along the beach and through some beautiful parks. The architecture is stunning! My school wasn't ready for me until Thursday, so I spent Tuesday and Wednesday evening observing Schola students (which involved a lot of songs for the 4 year olds!). On Thursday and Friday though I went to my actual school and it was lovely. My mentor is very nice and theatrical, and the kids clearly love him. Even though I was just observing, he got all the children to introduce themselves to me and he kept me involved throughout the lessons by having me read aloud some excerpts and be the 'English expert' example for some of the vocab. I feel like the shiny new toy for the students; they're always coming up to me to ask my favourite colour and animal, how old I am and basically any question they know how to ask! All of t...

 --- Yellow stone hallways are lit by half-open doors, glowing from inside. --- I think for a long time after this trip I’ll dream about the corridors of Colegio La Asunci ó n. It’s a huge, gorgeous, intimidating school made of yellow stone and once inside it’s quite dark and cold, with this sometimes eerie glow of daylight coming from the classrooms and at the end of some corridors. The echo is incredible, and the Spanish kids are loud. As I walk down towards my lessons, I’m almost sure to hear a “Helloo!” from one of the students I’ve taught. The idea that we’re living ‘parallel lives’ came from Lieve over dinner one day, and I think it sums things up perfectly. I feel different from how I am in the UK - there’s a ‘Spain’ Lucy, one who has started to greet people in Spanish without thinking, and who is working out her new teaching persona. I had a class of 12 year olds today and they were rowdy ! I worked out my own way to make sure we got some work done, and there were s...

After a slightly bumpy start due to the accommodation plan suddenly changing when we arrived, I am starting to feel really settled here. My flatmates are very sweet and have invited me to go out with them tonight, and my Spanish has improved so much!  My first few days in the school have been a bit odd as they've been preparing for exams all week, so it's just revision lessons which isn't much to observe. But I've been making good use of the time helping the kids if they have questions, checking their work for them, trying to remember as many names as I can - and my way around the labyrinth of a building😂- so I'll be familiar with everything and ready for next week when it really starts.  My mentor is lovely and told me that on Monday they are moving on to the next part of the syllabus so it will be back to regularly scheduled lessons and I can start to do proper observations and teaching. I asked her to send me the modules they will be covering while I'm here,...

 Today is my first day of teaching! I’m excited and nervous at the same time. I woke up earlier than usual to make sure I have everything prepared ! I’m teaching 4 different levels and the last one have a grammar lesson, their level of English is quiet good so I guess it won’t be that hard (hopefully lol). One of my classmates on the CELTA course gave me this lovely book on the last day, I thought this is the best time to use it for my lesson plannings!  I’m on the train heading to my first class so wish me good luck everyone and I hopefully you have a great day too ✌🏼☺️

So I’ve had my second day at my school and feeling a lot more comfortable. I will be teaching 8-12 year olds rather than 3 year olds which is probably for the best as it will be a lot easier trying to think of topics! The teachers and kids are really lovely and welcoming. A few of the children in my classes are disabled, including some that have Autism and Tourettes which I have had no prior experience teaching so I’m hoping it will go smoothly. I am not sure when I will be able to start teaching as there are currently teaching assistants at the school who are conducting lessons for their exams over the next 2 weeks, but it’s a great experience seeing how they plan and present their work! Looking forward to the second half of the week and getting to know the kids better :)

 Hi readers, Sunday, we arrived in León, after leaving England at 2:45 am, breaking down at 3:30 am, and arriving at the airport, leaving the Valencia lot with very little time to make it. We arrived in León around 5 pm, and were given our rooms - which were different o how we had previously been told, I was originally looking forward to sharing with a Spaniard, and a fellow colleague, but it still worked out well. Today is my third day in Maristas Champagnat, and already I'm teaching! In fact, on the first day, I had to teach for half an hour, completely unprepared. So, I introduced myself, opened up google maps, and was showing them my hometown, and that I live next to Nottingham, to which they all shouted Robin Hood at me, so I now know that for that class, I will prepare something based on Robin Hood 😂 Yesterday (Tuesday), I was in nursery (3-5 year olds), and for that class, I was teaching them 4 British meals - Sunday dinner, English breakfast, bangers'n'mash, and fi...

 The first few days in Valencia couldn't have been better. I spent all day on the beach when we first arrived here and got a bit sunburnt - typical Englishman! We had a brief swim in the sea but it was clear why there was no one else in there, it was freezing. Beautiful though.  We have already sampled plenty of the local chorizo and yesterday me and the others in our apartment cooked a big pot of chorizo pasta and sat on the balcony together to eat. We may have overshot the amount of pasta slightly as we now have enough leftover to feed Gandia. 'The Andreas' prepared a bit of a care package for us with lots of essentials in - was such a sweet gesture considering how lucky we have been with everything else.  My first day in the school was fantastic, absolutely hectic but everyone there was so friendly and chatty (both students and tutors). I observed a couple of lessons and then me and Craig M ended up doing a bit of a joint speaking lesson at the end of the day. It's r...

 First week in Gandia – only had to lightly jog a couple of hundred yards to make it on the plane so it went pretty smoothly. Craig 1 and I were somewhat perturbed to see the people we had spent 10 minutes waiting outside a duty-free toilet for somehow already on the plane ahead of us, but at least everyone made it. Though if Alex hadn’t we wouldn’t have had to share rooms here. First day at school – teachers all lovely and accommodating and helpful. Children very nice. Most first day lessons just 45 minutes of being asked questions at the head of the class and being applauded for liking pizza margherita, football and Spain. Syllabus and classroom technology a bit of a mystery. Will need to start finding out tomorrow and beginning to arrange taking on teaching roles. Leo and I told when we got there the first day that one of us going to the secondary part of the school and the other to the primary. Thought about tossing a coin for it, in the end I said I’d go for the primary. ...

  I've worked with both my teachers now and they're lovely. Still got to meet one year group tomorrow, and then I've seen them all. One of the kids wanted to know my age and guessed at 45. That's probably ancient for him but I thought it was a good result. Exams this week are slowing things down a bit but I am teaching years 3 and 4 at the end of the week. Currently working on ideas leading to lesson plans. Both teachers are allowing me a degree of freedom so that's good. They are really slick at grammar! Having worked out many lessons I need to plan over the coming weeks, I have decided to follow their coursebooks for some of those. Judging from reports, everybody's experience seems to be different but with plenty of scope. I hope everybody's happy!  

First day at Escolopias today. The teachers are all really supportive and the students are inquisitive and good fun. Can't get over the fact that all students have their own iPads and every classroom has apple TV. Looking forward to planning and delivering a lesson on my own when I feel ready (which hopefully shouldn't be far away).

After a stressful journey to Valencia, it has been great so far. Yesterday all the girls in Moncada went into Valencia on our day off to find our school routes and enjoy the gorgeous weather! We went to the beach and explored the city which was a nice way to acclimatise ourselves and prepare for the week. Me and Amy did our first food shop and did the 35 minute walk back to our house. A ripped bag, four blisters and a bleeding finger later we arrived back exhausted. I think we'll get the metro next time!  Today we went to Santa Ana and met our mentor and teachers. The teachers are so lovely and welcoming and it was very interesting observing my classes and meeting my students. One thing I was not expecting was how noisy the classes are and how much talking there is when the teacher is talking. So I think dealing with that will definitely take some getting used to. 

Today was the first day of school. It all feels so non-stop. I am exhausted already and there is a whole week ahead. I still cannot quite process what is going on. UKLC have flown me out, given me five-star training in Kent, provided great and uncomplicated accommodation, fed me and have basicaly done everything from putting me on the plane in London through to just short of tucking me into bed in Spain. It's like magic. I realised today that being here for such a short time makes my place at Pastorina (my school) all the more important. ‘There’s nothing worse than a handshake agreement reinforced with legal paperwork, humbling generosity and notable kindness’, I thought. ‘I’m in big trouble here…’ We were driven to the school by Sophia from Language Kingdom who was lovely and spoke with perfect English. Stepping from the car, I was greeted by the sound of Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley in the air. As we were led to the school, the sound seemed to grow louder until we reached a ...

 A semi-stressful start to our journey thanks to the coach, probably more so for Fran and Emile! But no problem, we all managed to arrive here in Valencia together and we are all enjoying the bank holiday before the hard work begins.   Today we had a trial run into town to find our schools before we wake up early and head there tomorrow morning. For ourselves in Gandia it was incredibly straight foward, a 10 minute bus ride and the school is 30 seconds away from the bus stop. I think we are all feeling positive of what our experiences will be, although of course we each still have our doubts too. Tonight we plan on looking over grammar rules in the anticipation of any questions heading our way! Gandia itself is a lovely place, very beauftiful. We are living a stones throw away from the beach, quite literally. I can see it from here!! Our guide Andrea was incredibly welcoming, and very, very helpful. The journey from the airport was around an hours drive, during which we w...

Although it wasn’t the best start to the trip… We have finally arrived and with my day off, need to work out where I’m going to break this bad boy!

 Sitting on our roof terrace with my first morning coffee in Spain and realising that actually I am not just going back to London. Found our school, which looks a little bit fancy, which I guess in a way ignites the nerves even more. Anyway, I have never written a blog before; I am not convinced that the world wants to hear my inner thoughts and feelings, but hey let's give it a crack. So for a start I am just going to keep it short and sweet and say that it was good to meet you all in Ashford and I hope that you all have a sweet time in Spain.  PS. I wanted to add a picture, but I have no idea how. Maybe next time.

The day before we left for Kent, one of my friends asked me how I was feeling... and I thought about it, and realised that I didn't feel particularly excited or nervous. I barely felt anything.  Not in a bad way, but because I had no idea how I was going to feel until I actually got here, until I met everyone, until the moment was actually around me. That feels like a surreal amount of time ago now. As does travelling here and meeting everyone for the first time… like we’ve been in Kent and known each other for longer than four days. I think because we were thrown straight into living on top of each other and eating together and studying together non-stop, it caused us all to speed run the stages of friendship😅 And it’s a lovely thing. I noticed it when we were in the pub yesterday... a moment of clarity as I looked round at everyone: that that confusion I felt on Tuesday night, not knowing how I would feel until I got there… that this is then . That moment is around me. Thi...

  --- I feel closer now to the people from Ashford here asking for help ---   This haiku is from my first day here in Ashford, spending my evening at the hospital after falling on my ankle in the afternoon. It was during the climbing activity, but the funny thing is I wasn’t actually doing the climbing, I was just leisurely walking down to watch other people climb and tripped on the edge of the pavement. Pathetic as this was, thought best to get it checked out as it was swollen to the size of an orange and I’m about to go away for 4 weeks. The lovely Joan and Lieve came along with me to the hospital and I am oh so grateful for all they did for me that night. Two incredible women. Long story short, after 4.5 hours in the waiting room they never got round to seeing me – the nurse and GP finished their shift and that was that… what a night! After a few days of hobbling, my ankle’s now turned from a lovely sky blue to burgundy/violet and I’m starting to see shades of...

Tomorrow we will be getting up at 2am to fly to Spain. I am not a morning person, as much as I have tried to be in the past, so I can't say I will be on best form tomorrow morning. However, the excitement of what lies ahead over the next four weeks will pull me through. Having received my timetable and accommodation information I am feeling a mixture of emotions. I'm feeling excited but also apprehensive as everything still seems like it's not really happening.  I have really enjoyed my time here in Kent, meeting all these great people who are going to share this experience with me. They have all made me feel at ease and I feel we have all bonded really well as a group.  Looking at my timetable it looks relatively good from what I can gather. Having looked at the ESO classes, I will be teaching 14-17 year olds which I'm a little nervous about. I'm worried as they're not that much younger than me that the teenagers on the older end of the scale won't respect ...

 It is definitely a long journey from Coventry to Kingswood. And the time taken was longer than I expected😰 because we have taken a wrong route. Surprisingly, there is no UBER in Ashford, which is a kind of pain. We ended up travelling by bus. This part is still fine. Yet, the worst part is the Google Maps brought us to the back entrance...?😮 Anyway, after arriving, I can't be bothered to have my mountain climbing as initially planned.  Apart from all this, I have to say... I LIKE this city!  I LIKE the trees a lot... it's nice to look at them😍 Between, as a first-time drinker, I have tried a wine yesterday, which is GREAT! It doesn't taste like alcohol at all!  The first day went well, however, unfortunately, I ended up with my day with COLD FREEZING shower. Apparently, the tower rail is not working at night.  I can only say, it's a PAIN of dealing with cold freezing water at night😭 Still, looking forward to the rest of the days:)  

  It’s the first morning away from home and everything is quiet. That feels very strange to me and makes me miss home. I love morning snuggles with my two boys even the pushing and squabbling as everyone fights for a space in the bed while my husband just rolls over and somehow manages to keep his half of the bed to himself. Then we snuggle together and read through a mountain of books and it’s one of the best parts of my day. We start the in person training today so I’m hoping to be kept busy with that and I’ve met lots of lovely people who enjoy talking about teaching and languages and that feels great. I’m going to have a wander about and see if there are any more early risers – breakfast isn’t until 8:45!

I’m sitting on the first of two trains to Kent right now, feeling a mix of apprehension, excitement and disbelief! I still can’t quite believe that we are going to Spain so soon, and I can’t believe we’ll all be meeting even sooner.  I don’t think the reality of a month in Valencia has hit me yet, nor the reality of teaching, and I’m not sure it will until I’m in my first class. Having heard about this course in November but not going till April has given me time to romanticise it a bit, it’s like this magical impossibly perfect opportunity. In fact, I think I’ve been talking about it a bit too much with my friends, so they’re probably happy that I’m finally going so they don’t have to hear about it anymore! But jokes on them, I’ll have so much more to talk about when the month is up.   I think it’s about time to end my first blog, I don’t even think I’ll be able to post it till we’ve arrived in Kent and I’ve met you all, but I’ll end this by saying that I’m really looking for...

We're here at Grosvenor Hall and everyone is being so lovely. I've climbed a wall (almost to the top) and eaten in the diner. Currently contemplating a trip to the pub. At some point, I need to remember why I'm here

I looked through all the blog posts from previous years and could not find anyone who has posted a complete list of items they packed. I thought I would do the honours instead. This might be the last year of the Erasmus+ because of Brexit, so I'm not sure if this will be so useful for future applicants, but in case the government changes its mind and restarts the programme (perhaps not named after a dutchman but someone more relevant to the 21st century like Bernard Matthews or Ainsley Harriet) refer to calm your minds, people from the future! - Passport  - CELTA Certificate ( Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults, not the  Certification in Elephant and Lion Taming--easy mistake to make!)  - GHIC Card - Proofs of Address used for DBS Certificate - Jeans - Shorts (jorts?) - Medication (meditation?) - Coat + hoodie ('expect an arctic tundra' is what I heard in conversation with permanent staff) - GoPro (odd name for a camera used exclusively by amateurs) - Sock...

 

 I don’t know about you all, but at the moment I feel like a headless chicken! I’m running from one last task to another last task and back again! I must not forget to look at that and write a note, list etc. of all the things that need doing in the house and …behind me, right now, lies our lovely dog, sensing that there is no suitcase for her and being anxious. I shall miss her very much.  However, I also know that when I am off on this journey, I will be excited and see things differently! Kent tomorrow, Spain Sunday! A new adventure begins!

So, with two days to go until I meet everyone face to face, and until we start our training in Kent I am feeling only positive emotions! 😁 Ever since the date of travel became closer and closer I have tried to picture myself in a classroom in Spain, surrounded by either very small children or teenagers. I have tried to mentally prepare by imagining many different scenarios, and how I would react (for instance questions about grammar rather than a child swallowing a pen...that kind of thing).  Each member of the UKLC has been incredibly helpful on every step along the way. So informative, communicative, resourceful and the online meetings have all been beneficial. Without those things I don't think I would be as confident. It is incredibly evident that they have a passion for what they do, and they want to see us all to succeed. The rest of the people on this journey with me all seem lovely, and I'll be glad when I can meet face to face with the people destined for Valencia to...

This morning I was sat amongst a mountain of clothes, shoes and bags and wondering how on earth I was going to fit it all into my suitcase. I can now say, after sacrificing several items including my faux fur lined DMs (which were of course unnecessary and impractical for sunny Spain but they would've looked good!) I'm all packed and ready to go.  Up until now I was feeling that this experience was a distant reality that I wouldn't need to face at any point soon. But walking out of work for the last time on Friday, it suddenly hit me the choice I have made, this leap of faith into the unknown. Sat reading my leaving card surrounded by presents and flowers from my colleagues, feeling very emotional I must admit, I wondered if I had made the right decision. Weighing it up in my mind, I know that I couldn't stay working there, it wasn't a job I particularly enjoyed however I felt comfortable. But being in a place of comfort means you're never going to improve. I...

 This time next week I will be in Valencia! It's been a long time coming, but it seems to have come so quickly at the same time. I have been packing today, organising what I should and shouldn't take and getting final things in order. I had my last roast dinner for a month last night ;'( , but I'm sure I'll find more amazing food in Spain!

  --- I look up  León New language rolls on my tongue I’m mapping my routes --- León  looks incredible. Really enjoying working out the places I might like to visit – so far it’s the big park, a few cafes and a bookshop. I’m also looking forward to the places I stumble across when I’m lost looking for somewhere else. Just a few days to go until Kent – I’ve been enjoying the warmth of the Easter weekend with family and have been learning a bit more Spanish. I remain anxious, and sad about leaving my partner for a month. But I also know from past experience that it's important to try and train my own brain to think optimistically. Still trying out the haikus, yet to find one I love but it'll be a numbers game I'm sure!

  In seven days I am travelling to Spain. It is a part of Spain I have never been to. I am travelling as part of the UKLC Leaders in Language project. It feels mad that I knew nothing of this project a month ago, but now here I am packing a giant suitcase! UKLC seem awesome. I have, of course, heard fantastic things about Erasmus+ who provide funding to this project and feel very privileged to be part of it. At the same time, however, I don’t deny being a little apprehensive!   As I pack the biggest bag I have ever packed , I realise I have never spent this long packing for anything. I have never spent this much money on a suitcase. I’ve never even bought a suitcase. I feel as though I am about to embark on  a huge solo expedition alone with just a bag that is big enough to sleep in. Sort of like Shackleton, but with less ice because it's Spain.  I am trying to suppress the excitement of working with such a diverse group. People from different places, different c...