No time for blog posts

Well, it appears I went on a blogging frenzy the last time I posted (I think it ended up being three posts in one day) and now it seems that I have hit a dry spell. Well, there's a reason for that. I am no longer BORED TO DEATH in the afternoons anymore as I have some new work. Here's how the story goes.
So I am sure you all know of my awesome friend Bern who lives in Motril....yep, that's him!

Well, he applied for a job with an American study abroad company that has an office base in Granada (International Study Abroad) and he got it which required him to move to there. What does that have to do with me you might be asking? Well, when he was living here in Motril, he taught English at a language academy (Center for Languages and Studies) and also gave private lessons to some kids. Who is the lucky girl that got to inherit his entire line-up of work?
This girl

I was so fortunate that Bern talked to his boss in Granada and told her that he had a possible replacement. I emailed off my resume and expressed my interest in the job and my phone was ringing within the hour of me sending it. I had to go to Granada for an "interview" and the job was mine. I now work every afternoon at a different school than the one I teach at in the mornings. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I have one class of nine kids (all in first grade - so around 6 years old). On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have two classes. The first is another class of four first graders and then a class of nine second graders (7-8 yrs old).
Let me just tell you a little bit about these classes. Although they are learning English, I do most of the talking to them in Spanish. I have to constantly be on my toes as they are witty and can spit Spanish out much faster than I can. They are used to having Bern as a teacher who not only speaks perfectly fluent English but also Spanish (duh, he's from Spain!) Anyways, I came in at almost the end of the trimester so tomorrow and Thursday I am giving them a test. Luckily I didn't have to make the test but it's still not the most opportune time to change a child's routine. Some of them are absolutely adorable and I will have to get a picture soon to share with you guys. I've only been with them for three weeks now and I am already dreading the day I have to say goodbye to them (well, all of them but one....and I think I'll just leave it at that for now).
In addition to putting me in contact with the academy, Bern also gave all of his private lesson kids my phone number. I now give private English lessons to two sisters - Isabel is 13 and Laura is 17 and also to Paola who is 17.

IT'S NOT AS EASY TO TEACH ENGLISH AS YOU THINK! Passive voice? Reported speech? Modal verbs? Adjective clauses? Relative clauses? First, second and third conditionals? What?!!?
It's a good thing I have the internet - it has quickly become my best friend when trying to teach English. Ok, it seems silly - we all speak English right? And I am sure that most of you have even been corrected by me at some point in your lives because I am such a grammar freak. But that doesn't mean we all have the ability to teach these things. There are so many things that you learn in a native language just from conversing or that you inherently know. Who remembers all the way back to their middle school or high school English classes and learning about prepositions or why you use "in, on or under" in certain cases? Or why sometimes you can use the infinitive of a verb and other times it has to be conjugated? My point is: it's a challenge and I am learning right along with the kids. However, I am enjoying it.
Long story short - I used to work 12 hours per week. Last Tuesday I worked 12 hours in ONE day. Instead of getting home every day at 2 and sitting there bored out of my mind (and wasting my life away drawing pictures like this one..........)I now have things to do and get home around 7ish and am exhausted!

In other news.......I am also in the process of gathering all the necessary materials to apply for this job again for next year. I am sure that isn't a shock to most of you as you are well aware of how much I love Spain!

Also, my roommate Tad and I have just planned a trip for part of Holy Week.
In April

will be going to............

Edinburgh, Scotland!
Tad found some cheap tickets and he also has a friend living there so we will be able to stay with her. It should be fun! I never thought I'd be going to Scotland but I am excited. Now that I have this extra work, I have to spend my money somewhere!
Love you all from Spain!

P.S. I may have read this over at least twice checking to make sure the grammar was decent....oh boy. :-D