jueves, 31 de enero de 2008

Demise of the polyglot

Whenever someone asks which languages I speak fluently, I hesitate to respond. What is meant by fluency? What kind of communication(s) does it involve? Solely oral communication or literacy as well?

From the looks of me (or my surname), many people assume I speak Mandarin Chinese; this is my physical linguistic mark, as it were. Filipino (Tagalog), however, is my native tongue, and although I'm lacking vocabulary here and there, I'm still able to speak it flawlessly, sans accent. Indeed, when I see other Filipinos, especially here in Spain, I'm almost eager to show how I've retained the language after "all this time" in the U.S., and not having grown up within "the community." I'm eager precisely because of this lack, because language is the only thing that has bound/is binding me me to a country I can hardly remember, I'm almost imagining.

I'm even more eager to show how deftly I switch between Filipino and English, my other tongue, the other tongue, the language in which I've lived most of my life.

So, I explain this (in a nutshell) to the mother of a potential student. A colleague forwarded her my contact information and within a day or so, she'd emailed me, asking me about by educational and linguistic background. Yes, I explain that Filipino is my mother tongue but that I grew up in the U.S., insinuating that I speak English as though it is the only language I have ever known. I know it like the palm of my hand. As an aside, I also shared that I spoke French and Spanish.

The mother sends an apology. Because Tagalog--and not English--is my first mother tongue, she isn't be able to hire me.*

Pero, ¡¿qué dices?!

I was incredulous. Too much information, I guess.

In a somewhat calm reply to her rejection, I suggested that perhaps the experience of learning and juggling multiple languages might help her child, too.

No response yet.




*I've also heard tell of preference of British--instead of American--tutors.

miércoles, 30 de enero de 2008

cambio de fecha Jornadas de Formación

De: "FERRER ALVAREZ, SALVADOR"
Enviado el: miércoles, 30 de enero de 2008 13:57

Un saludo a todos,



Esperamos que todo vaya bien en los Colegios e Institutos. Os escribimos para recordaros que se acercan las fechas de las Jornadas de Formación para Auxiliares de Conversación a las que sabéis que tenéis que asistir. El primer grupo tendrá su Jornada de Formación el próximo 8 de febrero a las 10 horas en el CRIF “Las Acacias”. Para el segundo grupo, cuya formación estaba prevista para el día 15 de febrero, hemos tenido que cambiar la fecha; la Jornada de Formación de este grupo será el 22 de Febrero a las 10 horas en el CRIF “Las Acacias”.

Si tenéis algún problema con las fechas, por favor, avisadnos con suficiente antelación a la celebración de las Jornadas.



Un saludo cordial,

Subdirección Gral. Programas de Innovación
Consejería de Educación

martes, 29 de enero de 2008

Eureka! (and other happenings)

I spent the last weekend in Córdoba and when I came back, I had a room. I also had a last unpleasant (financial) surprise from my ex-roommates, but nothing could really hold me back from the thought of high-tailing it out of there. So, the apartment is at the opposite end of the city from work, and so, I have to walk through the roommate's apartment to get to the bathroom. The location is closer to places where I actually hang out, everything is new-ish, IKEA-ish, the walls are a cheery yellow, and the roommate herself seems clean-ish and responsible. Both she and the landlady agreed to let me move in a week earlier, so more points to them.

Nevertheless, my bubble was burst too soon. You may or may not remember my having tripped on a USB cord, then trying to jam it into the port anyway, and then crashing my motherboard. Or maybe not. In any case, I took it back to the U.S. with me to get it repaired. Now, all fixed up, it's in the hands of Spanish customs officials who want me to claim it with my internet receipt because they think it's a recent purchase and thus want me to pay duty on it. Issue one.

Issue two. I jaunt up to my nearest post office to retrieve a wire transfer. I grin, say I don't have a second name, which would technically be my mother's maiden name. I'm not handed the money over because none of the ID I brought with me states my full name, precisely the one with my mother's maiden name. I jog back to my new place, sure that all that grandeur is on my passport. No! Just the middle initial. I scurry through all the documents I have; an acceptance letter from grad school has saved me. Back at the post office, the very amiable clerk--who likes García Lorca and Machado, he admits during small talk--regrets that he still can't dole it out, due to some spelling mistake on either the sender's or the US post office's behalf. This is the reason I don't use her name.

Issue three, something I've been handling as best as I've been able to, is the illness of the teacher with whom I work, and the school's bilingual program coordinator. She's prepared me with as many activities and worksheets than you can shake a stick at. Last week, other teachers were rotating the disciplining and monitoring duties, and all I had to do was implement the very meticulous lesson plans. This week, the school's even hired a sub. However, it's quite clear to me that I'm so very not a professional and whatever dreams I entertained about teaching languages to primary school children is fast spiraling down the drain. Then again, I suppose that this itself is such a non-issue, and I ought to deal it with the way I do.

Even after these small trials, though, I no longer fear going home. There, I can blow off steam, relax a bit, and wonder how best to tackle the next day. For once, I'm perfectly content in my own very tiny corner of the world. Worry-free, if only for a short while.

jueves, 10 de enero de 2008

Looking for a few good (wo)men

De: LLANEZA VILLANUEVA, JOSE AURELIO
Enviado el: jueves, 10 de enero de 2008 12:40
Para: FERRER ALVAREZ, SALVADOR
Asunto: Mensaje para auxiliares


Mensaje para todos los auxiliares de conversación:

Espero que hayáis tenido unas buenas vacaciones y que todos estéis ya de vuelta en vuestros centros llenos de energía para el resto del curso. Desde la Consejería de Educación queremos desearos un feliz año y aprovechamos para haceros una petición: Tenemos tres puestos vacantes para el resto del curso académico. Si conocéis a alguien que pudiera estar interesado/a, por favor, pedidles que se pongan en contacto conmigo urgentemente para concertar una entrevista. Os recuerdo que los requisitos legales serían ser de nacionalidad de algún país de la Unión Europea o residente legal en España (con visado de trabajo o estudiante) y tener estudios universitarios.



Un saludo a todos,

Aurelio



Comunidad de Madrid

J.Aurelio Llaneza
Asesor Técnico Docente
Consejería de Educación, COMUNIDAD DE MADRID
Gran Vía,10; 5ª Planta
28013, Madrid
91 xxx xxxx
-------.-------@madrid.org

martes, 8 de enero de 2008

Third time's the charm

I've never pegged myself as a romantic--or as unbearably bourgeois, for that matter. At least, not until I found myself wandering around Plaza Santa Barbara and C/Lagasca, for example. There, looking at beautiful wrought-iron doors and up at soft glows from behind willowing textiles, I felt a tinge of envy for the imagined cosiness. There, my ideal place, my home away from home, a respite from the hustle and bustle in the city, still within the city.

Ok, I take some of that back. A person who works 20 hours at the very most doesn't really need a "respite."

I am, however, looking for a place where I can at least have a hot shower.

Here's the story: I found both of the apartments in which I've lived through easypiso, an internet site which allows you to browse for free. The trick is that you must pay a fee in order to actually get a hold of anyone. I caved before leaving the states, in a mission to NOT spend my first few weeks in a hostel. My first roommate, A, sends an email informing me of an availability in his apartment, with the other two roommates being "girls" of around 50 years. Sure, it didn't have internet, but who was I to complain? There was no contract to be signed and I figured I could just hop on down to the nearest internet cafe.

The two roommates turned out to be A's mother and aunt. So, I was living with a family. Were this my first time in Spain or in Europe or traveling/living by myself, I would've stuck it out. I also realized that I missed the internet more than I thought I would have, and it took about an hour and a half by metro to go to work at the other side of the city, and took about 35-40 minutes to get to where I actually wanted to hang out. (Hey, I'm in my twenties.)

So, I high-tailed it out of there when another opportunity came up. This was from P, a guy I'd contacted in the summer. He and the other roommate had no luck finding a roommate for September. The rent was only a bit more expensive than A's, there was no window and I'd have to sign a lease until the next September, but there was internet AND it took only 15 minutes to get to school. I would "probably" get my deposit back even if I left in June, when my contract was up. Sweet.

A few months later, I find myself on the prowl yet again. Mostly due to passive-aggressive roommate issues (on all three parts), but also to (me) feeling like a houseguest. I've been confined to my windowless shoebox because when the roommates are home, they really do occupy ALL of the rooms, and I don't just mean their respective bedrooms. To top it all off, I think I paid a little too much for my share of the utilities for the month previous. This, considering that I'd only had about three or four six-second hot showers (I swear!) since I'd moved in. Being passive-aggressive, however, I merely paid what was charged of me and sulked about it in private (read: complained about it to whomever would listen, including reader(s) of this blog).

And, coming back from my break in the States, I came home to the news of broken appliances and a new roommate.

I suppose that I'm very slowly learning my lesson. For sure, this month will be frenzied, harried, and that I must be very careful when choosing the next "right" place. I'm no longer asking for anything even close to pretty, only somewhere that feels somewhat akin to a home away from home 'cos, as I've found out, there's no place really like it.