Long time no post. This is simply due to the sheer amount of time I have spent in camp in the last two weeks. We can't say we weren't warned. I was nervous on the train down for the first day, I had never done a camp before. What if the kids were horrible? What if I had to take part in lots of crappy activities? What if I lose a kid I was supervising? I needn't have worried I have really enjoyed the two weeks so far. It is very time cosuming, the first week was a seven day week and I've done a few 15 and 16 hour days but it has been worth it.
We have class in the morning and the best part from my point of view is that I get to play with an interactive white board. The kids were excited by the novelty for 20 minutes to half an hour, I on the other hand am still absolutely loving it. I can cut and paste things from the internet, I can hide certain things, I CAN ADD A JINGLE! It's been a lot of fun. Class is easy as they are in 50 minute chunks, the kids just want to play games and even if I'm shit they get packed off home in two weeks. The down side has been that I know feel very old. I play some music in the background when they are working and they can choose what they want and I am unfamiliar with most of it. Who is Pitbull? That's a dog isn't it? Iyaz? His ipod is stuck on replay apparently. Feel like my grandad.
The strange new thing for me is all the activites and the day trips. The main one was London. I love London but this visit was terrifying. I had seventeen kids with me, all with short attention spans and easily distracted and that is not ideal when in the middle of a huge city. For example one little Turkish boy turning around and walking away to take a picture of a squirrel and almost giving me a heart attack when I counted up and was missing one. We saw Buckingham Palace (they weren't fussed), the Houses of Parliament (much more impressed), St James Park and the highlight seemed to be the London Eye. We were all getting nagged and prodded to go to Oxford Street and specifically Abercrombie and Fitch. We were told specifically not to go but one girl cracked and when they turned up with Abercrombie bags some serious shit went down. One girl played the Daniel Pouter song 'Bad Day' at me, I got sworn at in German and one French girl told me that she hated me. It then pissed it down and when I thought it couldn't get worse we had to endure the film 'The Holiday' on the coach home. I think it is sad that the one thing they really want to do in London is shop but once again I sound like my Grandad. Shopping is a big part of this trip, these kids are loaded.
Other activites have included a lot of football, badminton, arts and crafts, casino night, volleyball, the cinema and something truly ominous entitled Mr and Mrs Canterbury. It involved covering heads in shaving foam and throwing wotsits so they stuck to their head. Mainly I walk around just making sure they aren't getting into much mischief. At night it is pretty dull and the main thing is just to ensure TV watching is appropriate, girls and in boys room and vice versa and arbitrate games of Jenga. Strangely it is smiley Simon is the good cop where as I am normally shattered by this time which means my attitude is bad cop. I AM THE LAW.
The setting is beautiful, a very expensive private school called Kings. I've been looking at the photographs and it gives you an idea of who goes to this place. My favourite is the hilarious joker who is pulling up his trouser legs to reveal that he is wearing odd socks!! Odd socks!!
Otherwise it's all gone wedding crazy. We are starting to get plans together for Matt's wedding, John is now the sad spinster of the Whittaker family as his little sister has just got married. My parents are at one this weekend and there are more in the pipeline. Too close to being an adult for me. I have managed to catch up with people in the few odd moments off which has been great and once its all over I'll have the money to get around and see people. Sorry for lack of contact. As I said, it's been busy this is the first day I've got a whole of cricket watching in.
love love love x
Sunday 24 July 2011
Friday 15 July 2011
I Luv I Jah
No post for a while and not even really today as since camp has started life has become
work, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep etc etc
Of course there are train journeys inbetween these things. On Wednesday night we had a drunk shouting at some Aussie back packers who had been minding their own business about them wanting to come over and convert us all to Republicanism, he seemed to think Australia was a republic. Yesterday we had a truly nasty bloke screaming some really filthy abuse at his girlfriend and today there was even a tragic accident. I dread to think what will happen tomorrow. Talking of tomorrow I'm up in a few hours so I'll post properly when I don't feel the overwhelming urge to sleep.
Camp itself is awesome though but thats for another day
love love love x
work, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep etc etc
Of course there are train journeys inbetween these things. On Wednesday night we had a drunk shouting at some Aussie back packers who had been minding their own business about them wanting to come over and convert us all to Republicanism, he seemed to think Australia was a republic. Yesterday we had a truly nasty bloke screaming some really filthy abuse at his girlfriend and today there was even a tragic accident. I dread to think what will happen tomorrow. Talking of tomorrow I'm up in a few hours so I'll post properly when I don't feel the overwhelming urge to sleep.
Camp itself is awesome though but thats for another day
love love love x
Tuesday 5 July 2011
Scary Kids Scaring Kids
Home! Hurrah! It's been really good so far. Not that I have done very much but then that has been what is so nice.
The last few weeks of school are normally quiet, followed by a mad rush in the last few days to mark exams, write reports and complete all the fucking paperwork. After exams students basically stop coming for the last two weeks which means you spend a lot of time sitting in an empty room or even worse if just one comes and you have an awkward conversation for twenty minutes before they make an excuse and leave. Then comes the form. At the start of the year we get giving all the textbooks we need and an mp3 player and speakers to do listening exercises in business classes and other delights. At the end of the year you have to give them back and get each item signed off before you get paid. Oh. I straggle around looking for myself I am able to give back my advanced text book minus its back cover, the speakers without mentioning that the left one doesn't work and CDs so scratched Molly from Dublin from exercise 2 sounds like a mouse. Then comes the lying on the register, putting those lies into the computer for the last month so it looks like its done for the entire year and when asked answering yes of course I have cleaned out my locker. Add 200 teachers doing the same and its a headache. You have to get it signed (some are much more willing to sign than others) so you can pick up your last pay cheque. You have to do it in person and take to the bank. My bank and I have a hate hate relationship. I managed to catch them in one of their five minute windows of actually being open. I took my cheque and my card, filled in their slip and strutted over beaming with pride to pay in my cheque. She took the cheque, pressed some buttons and then the computer said no. I don't have my official NIE document. I had it one ten other official government documents and three from the banks themselves, she can see it matches on her screen but no. She phoned a mysterious man known only as Jose Luis who apparently said yes, but I needed my passport. I had to run home to collect it, home was 15 minutes away and the bank closed in 35 minutes to it was going to be tight but we managed, she even gave me a sweet to celebrate. I need that money to, you know, live this summer so it was stressful.
All this was a few hours before my flight and the flight got a little exciting. A man was forcibly removed from the flight. He didn't want to get off but a camp steward known as 'Mike' (if that is in fact his real name) threw him off. People were a little shaken. He was in the row behind me and three rows in each direction were security searched. They wanted to know where my luggage was, they pulled up my seat, they apologized constantly, it wasn't very Die Hard. It turns out the guys passport got wet and the picture was unclear. As I said, not very Die Hard.
The biggest part of the last few weeks however is saying goodbye. I have been lucky to meet some truly wonderful people and at the end of the year we spread and scatter. I don't think anyone in Madrid reads this, mind you I'm not sure if anyone reads this, but I would like to wish them all the luck in the world and I look forward to seeing them again, somewhere, sometime.
Home has been good. Had a nice birthday with my family, even managed to see my sister, anything longer than 2o minutes is asking a lot. A group of us have dedicated this summer as "The Summer of Spanish". I've got the time and damn it I'm going to study. I'm typing and learning verb conjugations with the aid of pretty colours on the computer. I'm listening to a really patronising podcast and I'm looking up all those words I have meant to but never did. So far mixed results. Because I was thinking about it I said gracias to the guy in the newsagent who looked at me as if I was the most pretentious twat he had ever come across. The other thing is rejoining battle with my old nemesis, the verb llevar. Llevar depending on the context can mean:
- to carry
- to have something on one's person
- to take
- to move something somewhere
- to cope with or tolerate something
- to transport
- to wear
- to include an ingredient
- to lead to
- to drive
- to direct/run/lead a business or organisation
- to bear a name
- to keep account
- to last a certain amount of time
- to charge (money)
- to take away (food)
- to get along with someone
- to win or recieve something
Fuck.
Plans are being made which is great I even got rained on today which after the weeks of 40 degrees was incredible. Dad and my sisters boyfriend are passive aggressive with each other, my Mum is appalled by my choice of footwear and the tabloids are being unspeakable cunts. It's like I've never been away.
I hope to see you soon!
love love love x
The last few weeks of school are normally quiet, followed by a mad rush in the last few days to mark exams, write reports and complete all the fucking paperwork. After exams students basically stop coming for the last two weeks which means you spend a lot of time sitting in an empty room or even worse if just one comes and you have an awkward conversation for twenty minutes before they make an excuse and leave. Then comes the form. At the start of the year we get giving all the textbooks we need and an mp3 player and speakers to do listening exercises in business classes and other delights. At the end of the year you have to give them back and get each item signed off before you get paid. Oh. I straggle around looking for myself I am able to give back my advanced text book minus its back cover, the speakers without mentioning that the left one doesn't work and CDs so scratched Molly from Dublin from exercise 2 sounds like a mouse. Then comes the lying on the register, putting those lies into the computer for the last month so it looks like its done for the entire year and when asked answering yes of course I have cleaned out my locker. Add 200 teachers doing the same and its a headache. You have to get it signed (some are much more willing to sign than others) so you can pick up your last pay cheque. You have to do it in person and take to the bank. My bank and I have a hate hate relationship. I managed to catch them in one of their five minute windows of actually being open. I took my cheque and my card, filled in their slip and strutted over beaming with pride to pay in my cheque. She took the cheque, pressed some buttons and then the computer said no. I don't have my official NIE document. I had it one ten other official government documents and three from the banks themselves, she can see it matches on her screen but no. She phoned a mysterious man known only as Jose Luis who apparently said yes, but I needed my passport. I had to run home to collect it, home was 15 minutes away and the bank closed in 35 minutes to it was going to be tight but we managed, she even gave me a sweet to celebrate. I need that money to, you know, live this summer so it was stressful.
All this was a few hours before my flight and the flight got a little exciting. A man was forcibly removed from the flight. He didn't want to get off but a camp steward known as 'Mike' (if that is in fact his real name) threw him off. People were a little shaken. He was in the row behind me and three rows in each direction were security searched. They wanted to know where my luggage was, they pulled up my seat, they apologized constantly, it wasn't very Die Hard. It turns out the guys passport got wet and the picture was unclear. As I said, not very Die Hard.
The biggest part of the last few weeks however is saying goodbye. I have been lucky to meet some truly wonderful people and at the end of the year we spread and scatter. I don't think anyone in Madrid reads this, mind you I'm not sure if anyone reads this, but I would like to wish them all the luck in the world and I look forward to seeing them again, somewhere, sometime.
Home has been good. Had a nice birthday with my family, even managed to see my sister, anything longer than 2o minutes is asking a lot. A group of us have dedicated this summer as "The Summer of Spanish". I've got the time and damn it I'm going to study. I'm typing and learning verb conjugations with the aid of pretty colours on the computer. I'm listening to a really patronising podcast and I'm looking up all those words I have meant to but never did. So far mixed results. Because I was thinking about it I said gracias to the guy in the newsagent who looked at me as if I was the most pretentious twat he had ever come across. The other thing is rejoining battle with my old nemesis, the verb llevar. Llevar depending on the context can mean:
- to carry
- to have something on one's person
- to take
- to move something somewhere
- to cope with or tolerate something
- to transport
- to wear
- to include an ingredient
- to lead to
- to drive
- to direct/run/lead a business or organisation
- to bear a name
- to keep account
- to last a certain amount of time
- to charge (money)
- to take away (food)
- to get along with someone
- to win or recieve something
Fuck.
Plans are being made which is great I even got rained on today which after the weeks of 40 degrees was incredible. Dad and my sisters boyfriend are passive aggressive with each other, my Mum is appalled by my choice of footwear and the tabloids are being unspeakable cunts. It's like I've never been away.
I hope to see you soon!
love love love x
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