have you got any brothers or sisters?

Yesterday and today were my first days teaching at the schools. I am beginning to get use to the ease of the metro and bus system and the schedules but as I learned today, I definitely don't have it down yet. My first class went really well. I had the best students- all about 16 in a special class just for learning about culture and other interesting topics in English. I told them about myself, showed them brochures about UA and bragged about how amazing we are at American football. They asked questions and then I taught them how to play this game called, "Take a Hike." In this game, everyone sits in chairs in a circle except for one person. The person standing in the middle says, "Take a hike if you..." and if whatever is said applies to you, then you have to get up and switch to a new chair. One person is left standing every time and they are the person that starts the next switch. It's fun, a good way to get to know people and also was valuable in helping me understand how to relate to them and how good their English is. Now I realize, I will have to come up with fun games to play every time so maybe it wasn't such a good idea haha. In one of the classes yesterday, WITH THE PROFESSOR still in the room, one of the kids said, "Take a hike if you like the smell of marijuana..." oh man, my little private school education-self was totally stunned. I'm not in Kansas anymore by any means. With one class today a girl said, "Take a hike if you prefer Stephanie to our regular teacher" and everyone got up and switched chairs so that made me feel good.
    A few of these 16 year olds are little brats. They're going to be my favorite though I think. I never was that kid in school, but I feel like I just graduated from high school yesterday so I'm ready for whatever antics they've got. Or at least I think I am. We will see. Two days in and I needed a nap this afternoon. It's going to take more than two cafe con leches to handle these teenagers, that's for sure. I really like all the teachers I am working with. It's looking like I'll be spending at least an hour a week preparing lessons but I can re-use lessons at the two different schools and in the different groups of the same level, so that will help. I'm excited!
     I was intrigued that most of the time, for anything I said there was one student who would spit out the Spanish translation for the rest of the class. This theme carried on throughout my day today. The students are timid at first and for anything I say, yell out in Spanish, "I don't understand anything that you say." Clearly, they do understand because I am speaking slowly, clearly and saying things like, "My name is Stephanie. I am 22 years old." By the end of the 50 minute class session, miraculously they are able to speak English fairly decently most of the time. The game was brilliant.
        Though I was almost 30 minutes late to the school this morning, no one seemed to care at all so that was good. My first class this morning went well and the rest of my classes the same. I have mostly classes of 16-18 year olds and then I have one class of 12-13 year olds. All day long I was berated with questions I rarely ever answer. What is your favorite subject? Do you collections of anything? What is your favorite actor? What program do you like?
And the strangest, their textbook teaches them to say "have got," which I would say is incorrect English, but I suppose is common in British English. So they were saying, Have you got any pets? Have you got any brothers or sisters? I was thinking, "Uh, am I suppose to say, 'no I have not got any brothers or sisters' because I refuse to say that." I guess its like whenever someone corrects my Spanish that I learned from a book for 8 years. Hey Alabama and GAC, I'd like a refund on my education. Please? In all seriousness though, my Spanish is atrocious. I want to enroll in a language school and take Spanish classes at night in the next few weeks when I have my law school applications almost completed.
        The greatest challenge other than my list of errands I need to run and the application process is that my key to the main door into the apartment is impossible. The landlord explained to me that its just very difficult and gave me careful instructions on how to open it. Mario was able to open it after a few tries, but I still never could get it. Today, I was standing at the door trying it for a solid five minutes before one my roommates sitting with a huge group of his friends at a cafe nearby got up from his table and came over to let me in. It was pretty embarrassing considering we haven't exchanged more than about five sentences in the five days I have been living here. Anyways, I begged for a new key when the landlord came by this afternoon to show the room that is up for rent. He caved but not until he made me walk downstairs with him and prove that I am incapable of opening the door with that key. He gave me a new key he says is "a slight bit easier" and demonstrated how to do it with a tutorial. I hope that this key is better and I don't spend any nights sleeping on the street. But seriously.
    Alright, I think that's all for now! Tomorrow is a holiday so I don't have to go to work. I am hoping to make my next post about the strike since some of you have been asking me. Keep reading, comment below and let me know if there's anything you want me to write about that I haven't yet. And email me too!