Haiku 4: At School - Colegio La Asunción

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Yellow stone hallways

are lit by half-open doors,

glowing from inside.

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I think for a long time after this trip I’ll dream about the corridors of Colegio La Asunción. 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 some lovely kids – but it was hard today. I’m learning fast about classroom management, ways to subtly shift power dynamics…

This is my fourth day in León. It’s beautiful here - it's weirdly barren, the horizon seeming to stretch out to the sky, except on one side where there’s dark mountains. The yellow stone of the buildings almost gives the city centre a cosy glow. I am yet to do all the exploring I’d like to while my ankle heals, but already the people are so friendly, even if we can’t understand each other there’s this feeling of being welcomed. And with the school I decided to just go in at the deep end – on my second day I started teaching, at first no idea what the teacher really wanted me to do, and I’ll be honest it felt like a half-lesson, not my best. But I’m getting a crash course in how long it can take to get round to activities with a classroom of kids, and about how to plan quickly and think on my feet on the day. Since then I’ve taught twice more and I’m learning from each one, as well as getting more confident. If I were to talk to future Erasmus+ trainees (I really hope this project happens again in the future!), I’d let them know that nerves are normal, but that there’s no need for them. I’ve found the teachers at the school so helpful, the kids (for the most part) so engaged and willing to learn anything they can. I just needed to release the controlling grasp I had on my lessons during CELTA and understand lessons are growing and changing creatures, and you’ve got to let the students help you fully form them.

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