One of my favorite things about teaching English in Spain is the fact that all of the English teachers in my elementary school speak the Queen´s English.
In my classroom, third-graders ask me every day if they can “borrow a rubber.” Ana, a bright student with beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes, forgets hers every day and I hope that she never goes to the United States and asks that same question.
At lunchtime, when the kids have patio or recess, the girls always ask me, ¨Have you got a boyfriend?¨ We´ve been going over “he’s got” or "you’ve got” phrases (he’s got short hair, you’ve got a scarf) with my second-graders and I cannot help but laugh to myself each time that I teach this grammatical structure.
It is now my third week as an English teacher in Madrid. Each day, I am happier and happier with my school, and above all else, with my students. They are the reason I wake up each morning, happy to go to work. I feel incredibly fortunate that I am a recent college graduate and excited to go to work. Yet I can’t help but think about the other things going on in mi vida that I am not completely happy about. Contrary to popular belief, being abroad isn't always so glamorous.
So what have I got?
I´ve got a second job that takes up a great deal of my time. My time is spent with two 4-year-olds who are constantly misbehaving, calling me tonta, and attempting to run away from me. I am with them Mondays through Thursdays, 5:30 p.m. to 9 pm, and then Friday mornings for an hour and then in the afternoon, from 4:10 - 9 pm.
I´ve got weekends that are completely dedicated to studying, babysitting, and laundry. I´ve got too many decisions to make and my December LSAT to study for.
I´ve got no money or family here. I´ve got no bank account or opportunity to open one until November because I am not able to receive a non-resident certificate until then.
I think, above all else, I´ve got regret about planning this year abroad too far ahead of time. I planned to be an aupair at the beginning of September because I did not want to worry about housing when I arrived to Madrid. Granted, this plan worked out wonderfully my first week in the city as I moved in right away with the family, but I wonder what it would be like had I found my own apartment. Or found a second job teaching English in a private institution.
One of the only things getting me through the situation at hand is that, come Dec. 22, I will leave this family, only to return to Madrid with my own apartment and time.
Clearly, I´ve got a bad attitude and need to think of all the positives of living here next year, when I am no longer nanny Kah-tee. There will be free time and choices, followed by questions: Do I stay here another year? Do I begin job hunting back in the States? The more I think of it, the more appealing working in Europe seems, given the situation of the U.S. economy. Until then, just getting through each day is my goal.
I’ve just got to live and learn along the way.
