Settling In & Our First Trip

Ferrol is beginning to feel like home. We had some unfinished projects in our apartment (our shower lacked doors) and we didn't have hot water for a couple days. Luckily, these two events coincided so we didn't have to take a freezing cold shower. There were other odds and ends that had to be sorted out as well, but everything has come together well. I have a Spanish bank account, my NIE (foreign identification #), and an extra gig teaching English on Wednesday nights at the language school in town.

Work has been fine so far. I have a pretty good schedule, so I can't complain. I enjoy working with the younger students (6th graders) more. Some of these teenagers are pretty rowdy. Their English levels are all very varied, so it makes class time interesting. Their class time with me is usually spent on speaking activities about whichever subject they've previously covered in their regular class. It's my job to get them to talk. Some students don't understand a word I say. Others are thrown off by my accent as they're used to a British English one since that is what they learn in school here. Not only am I learning some new Spanish, I'm learning new English as well.

For our first long weekend trip, we went to Portugal. We got to Porto early Friday after a fun night out in Vigo Thursday. We did some exploring Friday and then had a tasty dinner at a cute Brazilian restaurant. We continued exploring the town on Saturday with a visit to the beach, lunch at a nearby restaurant for some Bacalhau (cod), a walk down by the river, and a Port wine tasting.  We had a good time, but it was nice to get back to Spain :) We have the two days after Halloween off, so we'll see where it takes us!

the beach

 wine tasting

Douro River

Ferrol en fotos:

doniños beach

san jorge beach

We finally have internet in our apartment so I thought I would give you all a little photo update. 

Everyone has off this Friday since it's a holiday so we will be traveling to Vigo (Southern Galicia) tomorrow night and then to Portugal on Friday. More pictures & a more detailed update soon!

-J

Greetings from Ferrol!

It's been a busy couple of days here getting settled in and exploring the town. I got lucky, though, that things have fallen into place relatively easy. Found a place to live, in a great location, and with girls my age that are also doing the program. One is from Minnesota and the other is from Scheffield, England (she has the best accent!). Last night was our first night out and we met up with others doing the program as well as some local guys. 

I start classes Monday and have them through Thursday. I'll be teaching 6th, 7th, and I think 9th. I am also assigned a gym class on Wednesdays and a Music class on Thursdays, so those should be fun :) My school is located in the part of town called Canido, hence the school name IES Canido. It's a small secondary school of about 300 students and about 40 teachers. Canido is mostly uphill, but the walk isn't bad, plus I get this view: 

So far, so good! I really like it here and can't wait to explore what all it has to offer. Everything is pretty much walking distance, which I love. You can walk most of Ferrol in a day and so far the weather has been great (mostly upper 60s). Although I was welcomed with a bit of rain on Wednesday, the next two days here were sunny and beautiful. The time change and lifestyle here will take some getting used to, but I don't think I'll have any problems adjusting :)  

hasta pronto chicos,

         J


p.s.

Here is a link to a map of Ferrol:

http://www.ferrol.es/turismo/pdf/RUEIRO_TURISMO_FERROL_2012.pdf

I live on Rúa Sol, right in Magdalena next to all the shops and cafés. You can also check out this website for any other information about Ferrol: http://www.ferrol.es/contidos.aspx?id=16