back to school

So, funny story. Instead of being an auxiliar de conversación at an elementary school, I'm actually co-teaching freshman English and social studies at a bilingual high school. You may wonder when I had time to acquire teaching credentials between college and law school and life and work; the answer to that would be never. Despite my telling them repeatedly about my lack of qualifications (at increasingly panicked decibels), the ministry of education was decidedly no pasa nada about the whole thing and sent me on my merry way.

Despite my initial trepidation, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic (we're just a few days into the school year so this may change). I'm still concerned that I'll ruin these children's future by educating them poorly, but I guess if the ministry of education isn't concerned, I shouldn't be either? On the plus side, the students are awesome--they're funny, smart, and seem excited to learn. Freshmen are also very wee and adorable. They still look like little kids!

Yes, I blurred out the name of the school.

My students have been giving two minute presentations about themselves all week and their verbal skills are quite good, across the board. This is what I've learned so far this week:

- Don't mention fútbol. I made the mistake of asking whether I should root for Atlético or Real Madrid and basically incited a riot. 

- Boys everywhere love Call of Duty. (They pronounce it "cowl" and it's adorable.)

- Justin Bieber is still popular, as is One Direction. There's also something called "5 Seconds of Summer"? Google says that they're an Australian pop-punk band. They appear to have a penchant for sticking out their tongues in photos, so I can only assume that they consider themselves very punk indeed. 

I can't wait to hear what else they have to say!

Ah, the sweet sound of silence.