enseñando inglés a niños!

Our school here has a really cool program where you can teach local Spanish children English and get paid. I signed up for it and was assigned my family. I e-mailed the mother, Maria, and we were able to work out a day (Tuesdays) for me to go to their house to 'give classes' to her two oldest children. Claudia is 9 and Fernando is 7. I went for the first time yesterday and absolutely loved it! I called Maria on Monday to see if she wanted me to start this week, and we talked about plans over the phone. This was a bit challenging since it was all in Spanish. She said that the office where she works is near my school, so she gave me the address and had me meet her there at 4:45. I would then drive with her to her house, meet the kids, and start teaching them.

I found the building with no problems and met Maria. She was very friendly and wearing a very stylish outfit. She told me that she works for Conde Nost, the publisher of lots of magazines, including Vogue, G.Q., and the New Yorker! I thought it was AWESOME when she told me she worked for them. I think she works in the accounting department. Conde Nost also does travel magazines, and she gave me a Spanish travel magazine of Madrid, which was so sweet! :)

We walked a few blocks to an underground parking lot where her car was, and drove to the house. (I think driving cars in España is really rare, so if you do, it means you have a pretty stable income- if you know what I mean). She showed me where the Metro stop closest to her house is and explained to me how to get to the house from there and how to go home. They live in a very nice area north of where I'm living here. The house/flat is a very nice size and really cute and modern! Claudia has her own room, and Fernando shares a room with his little brother, Javier, who is 5. The kitchen and the living room are pretty big.

When they got home from school, Maria introduced them to me, and they seemed a little nervous. I tried to tell them that I was kind of nervous too because my Spanish is not perfect! Maria left for a meeting, but the nanny/housekeeper was in the house the whole time I was there. She gave me a diet coke and this seemed like a treat because at home we only drink water, and coke is expensive in restaurants.

I had a lot of fun teaching the kids. I had 45 minutes with Claudia and then 45 minutes with Fernando. It's nothing too complicated, since they're so young. They each have little English/Spanish activity books that I worked with them in a little bit. Then I taught them some basic phrases, like how to say "How are you," "I am good," "I like to dance," etc. As time went on, they warmed up to me. I talked to them mostly in Spanish, but Maria wants me to speak mostly English and explain things in Spanish if they don't understand. So next time I will.
I really liked talking to them. I told them that not only will I be helping them with their English, but they will be helping me with my Spanish. It is going to be a very rewarding experience.