A long, arduous day...

Sigh, where to begin???

So, this week has been BUSY to say the least. I woke up this morning, ready for the three classes I had to teach, complete with my very own drawing of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer to accompany the listening activity I'd planned for my 7 & 8 yr-olds. As I walked into school to copy said drawing along with some additional exam materials for another class, who should call but my boss at IML? "I can see you from my window!" he says. (I was just below the school, which is on the 3rd floor, crossing the street as he called.) "Just a sec, I'm coming up there!" I replied. When I got there, he gave me the usual raised-eyebrow, anticipatory stare that he always has when he's about to ask me for a favor. Basically, he asked me to cover for another sick teacher tonight - two classes, just after my final class which ends at 7pm. This means working until 9:30pm and putting off the MOUNTAIN of work that I have to get done tonight. I agreed - hey, I need the money.

Anyway, so fast forward to my class with the 7 & 8 yr-olds, where I get the students into groups and very excited about the listening activity. I suddenly realize, I've misplaced the cd I burned with not one but FIVE different versions of "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" on it so that they can listen and put the lyrics in order. I ask another teacher to keep an eye on the students as I dash downstairs to dig for the cd, thinking I'd mistakenly put it into the wrong cd case with all my materials which I'd left downstairs. It wasn't there!! So I ran back up to the classroom, dug through my bag, and found it after all. I began to play the song, just as chaos broke out amongst the students. The usual suspects were screeching strange Spanish syllables (how's that for alliteration??) that I couldn't understand let alone speak over. I lost it. I turned off the song, just as the other students were really starting to figure it all out, and forced the students to write sentences instead. This meant they would NOT be rewarded for completing the task and also that I basically hate them. Some of the students complained (the good students), while the ones who routinely cause trouble just went on being bastards. Effing brats. Sometimes I hate teaching.

So then, flash forward to just after that class, where I brought up the topic of my transportation money to my boss as she was driving me back to the city center so I could catch a bus to my next class. I had sent her both an email AND a text message on the subject, saying I had to recharge my bus card this week and that I had the receipt, and could she reimburse me soon. So, I bring it up in the car, and she quickly changes her tone and says she "has to discuss it with Catarine," the other director. Something else about how "we agree to pay for some of your transportation costs...." So I immediately mounted the defensive and brought up the fact that, had I been given a choice (I hadn't) to accept or not accept these classes that are in Granada's B.F.E. region, knowing that transportation wouldn't be completely covered, I'd have been CRAZY to accept them. She said she was upset to hear that I felt that way about the scheduling, and I continued to tell her (most politely, of course) that the scheduling isn't the issue - I love my classes, have no problem with them, etc. - but that scheduling, i.e. WHERE the classes are, is related to transportation, which is the issue at hand. We were both in a rush to get to our next classes, so then as we were getting out of the car, still discussing the matter, she reaches into her purse and thrusts a 10 euro bill at me. I tell her, "Look, I've got the receipt, all I need is 5 euros to cover what I recharged on the card, you don't need to give me 10." And she keeps on insisting, saying, "No, no...I don't want to quibble about 8 euros." And I'm thinking, "Hold up - 8 euros is a lot of money, yo! I can buy breakfast for a WEEK on 8 euros." I took the money, and then I felt guilty (which I think, in retrospect, may have been her intention in just throwing money at me). So then I bought 2 packs of cigarettes with the 5 euros, and put the other 5 on my bus pass. Ha.

So THEN...

Flash forward to my 2 completely unprepared classes where I filled in for another sick teacher. The first one was a piece of cake - FCE students who have already taken the exam, and only 2 of the 12 showed up! So, we talked about Christmas, I presented them with the Rudolph activity which I'd so lovingly prepared and had to forfeit with the intended recipients, and the time flew by. Then, there were 4 students that showed up for the 2nd class - CAE (aka more advanced) students, who were quite suspicious about me from the beginning since I'm not their normal teacher. I did the Rudolph song with them, and they breezed through it on just one listen (typical of CAE students, but you can't blame me for trying). Then, I dished out a worksheet that I handmade a few months ago for another CAE student. This kept them occupied for 10 minutes, wherein I vigorously took notes, frantically trying to come up with ideas to fill the next HOUR of class. Somehow - and I have no earthly explanation for how the hell this came to be - visions of all those immaculate lesson plans on the TEFL course came flooding into my brain. It was automatic - I thought of a great role-play idea for my Production stage, then I thought about possible lead-ins and topics (Christmas shopping and associated problems), and all the Practice stage pieces just fell into place from there. I even started it off with a bogus story about how I recently purchased an ipod for my boyfriend, found out it was broken, then had to get this resolved at the store. This led to a discussion of aggressive, passive, and assertive behavior - in the moment, I remember that there's an entire UNIT in the CAE course book about "assertiveness," and "Hey, Presto!" I had a lesson. The students were interested and engaged, cooperated perfectly with the role-play, and perhaps even had a little fun. And the best part (which I attribute completely to the PPP model) was they didn't even realize they were learning!

I left work feeling euphoric and "in the zone" in a way I've never felt before with teaching. I mean, I've felt it's my calling before, but never so strongly. At this moment, I feel like all the "sink or swim" experience is FINALLY paying off, and I know for sure that I'm a swimmer.

To top off the euphoria, I rode the bus home listening to the playlist I recently uploaded to my mp3 player - songs from our set list on Friday. [Background: I'm singing on Friday at the IML Christmas party with a band comprised of 5 other TEFL teachers, and we sound awesome, if I do say so myself.] I've got blisters on my fingers from practicing the guitar for a solid week, ppl who genuinely think I can sing, and some new tunes to focus my attention on: HAPPINESS.

Oh yeah, did I mention I haven't eaten today, and I've got THREE full exams to prepare, plus report cards to fill out for 20 students, and a 12-hr teaching day tomorrow?? So, the day's not over. And all I can say is, thank god for momentum.