A Change in the Weather

The title for this post is both literal and metaphorical.  Literally, the weather really has changed.  For the very first time since coming here, I've actually been on the verge of saying that I'm chilly in just a t-shirt.  It was also the first time that I've been able to walk home and not be super sweaty and sticky by the time I arrive.  I mean, maybe a little, but not to the usual extent.  The sun stayed hidden the entire day today, and when we took the children to go line up for the buses at the end of the day, it was sprinkling.  I told the children that it was my first rain in Spain since my arrival - haha.  It didn't really rain to hard at all, but I've been told that it can get quite bad in November.  It's a tropical climate here, so that means tropical rainstorms.  I think I will have to invest in a rain-coat.

As for the metaphorical meaning behind this post... well... I'll write about what's been going on and hopefully you'll make the connections.  All of those days of looking for the deeper, literary meanings in high school English classes really do come in handy sometimes!

Well, firstly, in my last blog I totally forgot to mention something pretty significant.  As of yesterday, I've officially taken over teaching all the "maths" lessons!!! (They call it "maths" here, not math)  So I've taught two days of maths so far.  Things went ok yesterday, but honestly I had a lot to improve on.  My classroom management?  Great!  My time management?  Yeah... not so great.  My problem?  I spent too much time talking and not enough time actually allowing the students to have a go.  I think I wanted to make sure that everyone understood the content before I set them loose.  The problem with that, though, is that there is a wide range of abilities in our classroom.  So once the higher-achieving students have a grasp on the lesson they disengage, and the only way to keep them involved is to set them loose and let them put their knowledge to the test.  Well anyway, today I did a recap on yesterday's lesson and allowed more time for them to actually use their knowledge.  And the result?  It went SO much better!  I honestly felt great after teaching today, and now I'll hopefully be able to go into next week much more confident and ready to improve my skills as a teacher even further.

Secondly, I forgot to give an update on that church that I was planning to go to a few weeks back.  Long story short, the church no longer exists and I've been bummed about the idea that I might not get any Christian fellowship during my time here.  However, that all changed this past week.  After sharing my story of the failed church-going event with both Ali and Fiona (my cooperating teacher and the head of primary), each of them pointed me in the direction of the part-time music teacher here at the school.  I had talked to him just a little last week because I've been hoping to find a violin teacher during my time here.  So on Tuesday I talked to him again and asked if he knew of a church that I could attend.  Unfortunately, he told me there are no English-speaking churches here.  BUT... *Note: this is where the story gets good*... It turns out that he and his wife and children are highly involved in ministry and hold Christian meetings of prayer and worship in their home once a week!!!  He invited one of the Danish students, Christina, and I to his home last night to have dinner with him and his family.  Then, after dinner we had a time of worship, followed by talking and prayer.

Seriously.

Talk about awesome!

To make a long story short (not sure if I'm succeeding at the whole 'short' thing), I am now connected with other believers in the area and I'm SO excited about it.  It seems as though God is continually reminding me that He has me in the palm of His hand, and that everything is going to be ok.  Even when things look bleak (like when the church thing fell through), I just need to remember that God has a plan and that everything is going to work out one way or another.

So yeah... this past week has definitely been a change in the weather for me... in more ways than one! :)

Hasta luego mis amigos!