Teach Me, Spain

Throughout Andalusia, Americans are busy teaching their language and culture to Spaniards of all ages. For their services they are repaid with new friends, memories and life lessons that won’t soon be forgotten.

By Danny Hart

The sun comes up in the morning and goes down at night, and that is about where it ends. That was Maxime Lanman’s response when asked about the similarities she sees between her life in Massachusetts and her life in Utrera, Seville. Maxime, a Spanish literature and biology major from Boston, is one of the many teaching assistants stationed throughout Andalusia in a Teach in Spain program. And like others in the project, she is discovering that knowledge and lessons are often found outside of the classroom, that even teachers can be taught and that learning never stops.

The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) is an organization dedicated to supporting learning and teaching abroad. Often, these two ideas are one and the same. One of their many opportunities is the Teach in Spain program, which accepts American or Canadian college graduates in any field or major. While a background of at least four semesters of college-level Spanish is encouraged, those who don’t meet that criteria are still able to join by taking a CIEE sponsored Spanish language course. The real prerequisites for this program are an interest in Spanish language and culture and a desire for adventure.

Upon acceptance to the program, participants go through classes aimed at orienting them in their new surroundings, each class varying in length depending on the participants’ backgrounds. If a member studied in Madrid during college, for instance, their class would be shorter and less intense than a participant who has never left Wyoming before. After these classes come to an end, the teachers are sent to their destinations in local schools throughout the south of Spain. And so begins the adventure of a lifetime.

All Teach in Spain participants log in classroom hours as teaching assistants. They aid their professors by injecting their fluent English language and American culture into the dynamic of the class. Watching a student learn something new is one of the most rewarding aspects of the program. For Kirsten Hansen, an American studies major from just outside of Boston, this moment came quickly. In one of the after school-classes she assists with, Kirsten spent time teaching a young boy how to tell time in English. When the boy’s mother arrived, she was greeted by a triumphant shout from her son: “It’s 6:10!” The mother’s look of surprise and happiness was well founded: her son had never been able to tell time at all before.

Along with their everyday lessons, the young Americans are teaching Spaniards of all ages about their own culture from the United States. Maxime showed some of the American outdoors spirit to her Spanish friends by making a bonfire, complete with roasted marshmallows and campfire stories, though she is quick to point out that the campfire stories didn’t go as well as planned.

Kirsten has a friend who teaches in New York City. To improve her students’ English levels, as well as open their horizons to new people, she created a pen-pal program. Now the students write letters to each other, seeing how someone their same age thinks and lives halfway across the world. By introducing small slices of Americana to the Spaniards, Teach in Spain participants actively connect two different cultures and societies.

While their lessons continue in the classroom, so too do the lessons that Andalusia and Spain in general have to offer the young teachers. These lessons can be simples ones, such as how to make a tinto de verano, find an apartment, pronounce phrases in Andalusian Spanish (más o menos becomes maomaeno) and how to correctly cheer at fútbol games.

Beyond the day-to-day examples, these teachers are learning much larger ideas. For many, this opportunity is their first taste of the real world and living independently. Dorianne Rodriguez, a participant finishing up her Teach in Spain commitment in May, is getting a crash course in reality. This is the first time she is living on her own without financial support from her parents. She described Teach in Spain as “the perfect transition to life in the real world.”

Having studied four years at Boston College supported by her parents, she sees her opportunity to teach and live in Spain as a stepping stone to her next major adventure: a full-time job in the United States. She has to manage her money now, pay bills, cook and clean, all while teaching seven different English classes. Balancing her personal and professional life has been difficult at times, but rewarding nonetheless. And though she plans to return to the states, she is open to the idea of returning to a country she has called home for the last eight months. “I have to leave to know if this is the right place.”

Dorianne’s class struggled at the start of the year, barely comprehending any of the basic material laid forth for them. They were slow to participate and even slower to attempt to talk in English. While her students struggled, so too did their teacher. Dorianne is a native Puerto Rican who speaks Spanish fluently. As part of her contract with Teach in Spain, she promised to not speak Spanish so that her students’ English could flourish. This promise seemed hard to keep, as she felt a distance growing between her self and her students. She wished she could speak Spanish to them to let them know she understands the difficulties of learning another language. But slowly, her students began to comprehend their lessons.

She has noticed a vast difference from the start of the year. And while they are overcoming their obstacles, Dorianne was given hope that she would overcome hers as well. Her best day of the year came at an International Food Party thrown by her school. While eating and socializing with other members of the school’s staff, her students made a point to come over and talk to her in English. She won’t forget that day, when her students finally saw her outside of her role as a teacher and embraced her as a friend, laughing and talking at a party. And while their English is far from flawless, Dorianne knows that it has nowhere to go but up.

Some lessons in life come only after things are put into perspective. This was most certainly the case for Lindsey Ashjian, a San Diego State University alumnus. After spending nearly three months in her host city of Jaén, Lindsey returned home to Fresno, California for a two-week break. She tried to cram as much of what home is into those 14 days, and did more than one would think possible. She ate at her favorite restaurant, spent a weekend at a beach house with her extended family, got to see her sister play in a volleyball playoff, spent time with her best friends and got to watch her brother get married with her whole family in attendance. That doesn’t sound like a taste of home; it sounds like a huge bite of home.

But upon landing in Spain, she came to a very quick realization. Perhaps it was when she dropped something out of her bag and instead of “Oh my gosh,” “Ay Dios mío” was what left her lips. Or perhaps it came as she demonstrated her mastery of Spanish public transportation. Whenever it was, it was undeniable: Lindsay has two homes. Upon seeing her walking into school, her students ran from a line to greet her with hello’s and hugs, asking her all about her other life. She walked confidently through her barrio, passing someone she knew on nearly every corner. She spent Thanksgiving, an American holiday based around family, with her new family, a collection of friends and colleagues. They say that home is where the heart is. By teaching in Spain, Lindsey just proved that it’s possible for the heart to be in more than one place at a time.