So it begins...

Hi everyone! (or should that be hola)

An introductory post to start off with; myself, my life and why I'm starting this blog.

I'm Lizzie, a 22 year old French & History graduate, originally from Preston and currently living (and working) in Barcelona. I finished uni with no worthwhile job prospects at home or much hope of finding any in the near future. I decided going abroad was the best bet and having already spent a year teaching in the south-west of France as part of my degree, plus considering the number of TEFL jobs available for native English speakers with even the merest teaching experience, I applied, was interviewed and got my present position in the space of a week.

The company I work for is pioneering a new programme, placing native English speakers within the Spanish education system in the hope of prioritising and improving oral English in schools, where previously writing and reading have been given precedence. I work at an all girls Catholic school on the outskirts of the city, teaching 4-8 year olds for approximately 11 hours a week.

As for my reasoning for writing this blog, other than the fact that it appears to be a necessity when starting any relatively new and exciting phase in your life, I started some form of blog for my year in France which rather pathetically petered out after a few entries. I am determined to see this one through, firstly as a nice personal record for me to look back on. Also, as a self professed not natural teacher with only basic knowledge of Spanish (one of my goals for the year is to become at least semi competent), I thought it might be interesting to ponder on the great, the challenging and sometimes downright bizarre musings of living in a foreign country, the profession of teaching and TEFL in particular, and my perceptions of the Spanish education system as a whole.

The name of my blog is (I hope) an appropriate and relatively cute pun, encapsulating the job and my personal aim of bringing an English sensibility, of language, culture and attitude, into my classes. Also, fantasy fans should be able to spot the reference in the title of this post... That's all for now folks, I will try to update at regular intervals. Comments and questions would be most welcome but not mandatory.

:)