The teachers! (Pira edition)

I’ve talked quite a bit about the students, but I haven’t talked about the teachers as a whole very much. Javi’s the physical education teacher for all for schools, and his wife, Cati, teaches the little ones in Barberá (where Sergio goes as well). Aside from them and the other English teachers, I know the teachers in Pira the best so far. I’ve met the teachers from all four schools and see many of them during our Friday lunches together in different restaurants, but at this point, I’ve spent a lot more time with everyone in Pira. This includes Anna María, who teaches the 4 and 5-year olds, as well as Montse, Juanjo, Carme, Ramón, the director of Pira (María), and the Religion teacher (Josep).

Josep is around Javi’s age (early 40s) and is probably the calmest and quietest teacher. I don’t really talk very much when I’m in a large group of teachers, and he talks even less than I do! :-) But he’s really nice and gave me several addresses and names of protestant churches during my first week here. He has a quiet chuckle, and when he does speak, everyone listens.

María, the director of Pira, has two daughters in their twenties and lives in Montblanc. She’s given me rides to and from Pira several times, and even though I don’t know her too well (she does more administrative things), she’s really nice.

Montse and Juanjo (short for Juan José) are probably the “trendiest” teachers. I don’t think either one is married, and Montse wears a little nose ring, and Juanjo wears earrings. They’re both really nice though! Montse smokes, which is the worst part for me, so I’m usually trying to suppress a cough if she drives us to a restaurant or if the Pira teachers go out for coffee or something. She teaches the 1^st and 2^nd graders. Juanjo teaches the 3^rd and 4^th graders, and he was my “potential roommate” that I firmly (but kindly!) told Laura in an email before I came that having a guy roommate wouldn’t work. He’s friendly and from Valencia (so he had lots of tips for my trip), but I can think of few things more awkward than having a guy roommate!

Ramón teaches the 5^th and 6^th graders, and while Javi and Juanjo are always talking and entertaining people, Ramón tends to be more like Josep: quiet and serious. He talks more than Josep, but I don’t see him very much. I spend the most time with Anna, Laura, Juanjo, and Montse in Pira. There’s also Soco, the cook, and a woman who cleans the classrooms in Pira (but I don’t know her name), and both are mothers of students.

I’ll get to know the other teacher better as I switch schools. Speaking of which, let me talk about the other English teachers!

Laura’s my “tutora,” which means that she’s the official English teacher who makes sure everything’s okay for me, does the most with me, etc. However, Olga and Elisabeth are English teachers in the other schools. Olga’s in England until December, so a young teacher, Cristina, is substituting for her. Elisabeth is new this year and broke her wrist on her first day of teaching, so she’s been unable to drive and teach since then. Andreu, a younger guy, is substituting for her. I’m also the first assistant to the schools, so the whole English department is quite confusing for everyone this year! :-) But my next session will be in Solivella and with the younger ones in Rocafort. This will technically be with Elisabeth, but the first few days/weeks will probably be with Andreu until Elisabeth’s wrist is fully functional. With them, I’ll have Fridays off. With Laura and Olga, I have Mondays off.

Since Andreu and Cristina are both new teachers and not here with us for very long, Laura’s had some problems with them at first. The English teachers meet together every Wednesday, and our first few meetings were a bit awkward. Laura’s in charge of the program and knows what to do, but the other two couldn’t find materials, didn’t know what to do, weren’t very helpful, etc. I also felt like they didn’t talk to me very much, and Laura later talked to Javi about the problems she was having with them. Either Javi talked to them or they just improved a lot on their own because the passed few times with them have gone much better! We’re all getting along now, which helps a lot. :-) Elisabeth came to our last meeting, and I think we’ll work well together. Olga and I have been in contact via email since May, and we’re both excited to meet each other in December or January!