First week in the classroom and my birthday celebration

So this week I officially started helping out in the classrooms as an Auxiliary. On Wednesday I had my first two classes where I gave the students a short presentation about New Hampshire and Amherst to provide them with a better idea of where I come from and what my culture is like. My presentation included a lot of pictures and maps which I think definitely engaged the students in what I had to say and made it easier for them to understand my English. I wasn't really sure what to expect before getting up in front of the class but once I introduced myself and started speaking it was really easy to continue with my presentation. I found that I had to constantly be asking the students questions with the help of the professor to keep them focused and from losing their interest. They all seemed very interested in what I had to say and where I come from which made it a lot easier. I have no doubt that they will continue to enjoy all of the information I bring to the class regarding my culture. The two classes I did my power point presentation for are the higher level English classes. The students are in their last year of high school and they understand a good majority of what I say however I need to be constantly speaking very slowly with the use of simple words. These are the classes where I will be taking over once a week to present a specific topic or theme to the class such as an American holiday that is coming up.
In addition to these two classes I will also be helping in lower level classes. In these classes I will act more as an assistant to the teacher in class. My role in these classes will consist of helping with specific English grammar being taught in the class or directing a discussion on readings done in class. I may also spend a small portion of the class informally talking about my culture so they can learn about the differences of the American culture to that of their own. Most importantly my purpose is to encourage the students to practice both their oral and listening skills in the English language helping to improve their overall conversational skills.
So far I have only been assigned to work 7 hours in a week in the classrooms. However, I will be putting in a little time outside of class each week to prepare for my presentations. I am hoping that I will be able to find either students, parents, teachers at the school or other people in the city who I can tutor English to. That is something other Auxiliaries have done in the past to earn some extra cash and give them something extra to do. The English teachers at my school have not been too helpful with recommending anyone who may want to learn English but I have posted flyers at my school and the University and hopefully that will spark some interest. I have been given Mondays off so hopefully that will make easier for me to travel frequently on the weekends. I have spent the past two weekends in Vitoria which has been nice but my friends and I from my program are hoping to make it somewhere next weekend relatively close to Vitoria just to see something new.
This past week I also celebrated my 23rd birthday. Wow I can't believe I am already 23. I had a nice celebration with the other teachers in my program along with my three Italian roommates and my Japanese friend I met the first day on the bus from Madrid to Vitoria. They all came over for a Mexican fiesta at my piso. We made fajitas and guacamole, it was great to have a change from Spanish food. My roommates were all confused about what Mexican food was, apparently it is something you don't eat too often in Italy but they ended up liking it a lot. After our dinner my roommates surprised me with a cake in addition to the brownies I had made because I was craving some type of American sweet. Also, at midnight on my birthday the night before they sang to me Happy Birthday and gave me a pair of slippers because they were concerned that my feet were too cold. They actually have come in handy because it is starting to get very cold in Vitoria. Living with them has been a great experience however the language and culture barrier can be a little frustrating at time. I guess that is all part of the experience. My one roommate has even invited me to her house for Christmas. I have not decided if I am going to go but at least I have the offer.

So there is my update on how my first week of school went. I am sure once I spend more time in the classrooms, I will start to take over the classes more and have more of an influential interaction with my students.

(Above I am with my three Italian roommates)

The other Auxilliares in my program and my friend from Japan, Chisako.