First day of classes

Yesterday was the first day of school for me. I taught the first of my English classes, went to my first Catalan class, and signed up for a French class that starts later in September.
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My English class went a lot better than expected, but there was definitely room for improvement. My roommate Alex had an awful experience on Friday with one of her English classes, so I was a little nervous. In one class she had to send three boys to the principal's office, and I was not looking forward to anything like that. My class, though, was fine. They were second year English students, so probably about 14 years old, and there were 10 or 11 in the class. They were fairly well behaved, some understood and spoke pretty good English, but a couple had no idea what I was saying. We were told not to let the students know that we speak Spanish or Catalan, but with the first year students, it seems impossible! You can only repeat your directions so many times and in so many ways before you just need to say it in Spanish and get on with the activity. At one point after giving directions, I was met with a class full of blank stares. Not good! Luckily some of the students translated the directions for the others, but as we’re supposed to speak only English, I will have to practice being more clear and concise. I'm glad I had such an easy group of students for my first class, and now I know a lot of ways that I can improve the lesson plan.
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I was supposed to have another class of fourth year English students, but Jordi called and insisted that we all go to the government building to meet the minister of foreign affairs. Most of us had to miss class, and the school seemed okay with getting substitutes, but with it being the first week of school I felt really bad not being there. When we got to the government building, Jordi told us that today we have to miss class again to meet the minister of education. So I am missing my only Tuesday class as well. I have no classes tomorrow, just meetings, so I won't teach until Thursday where I have five classes! We'll see how that goes! The meeting with the minister was fine, he basically thanked us for being in Andorra and told us how good Andorra's relationship with the U.S. is, and then invited us for Thanksgiving dinner in November. It took all of twenty minutes. It's an honor to be able to meet these government officials, but at the same time, couldn't they have picked a more convenient time where we don't have to miss school?
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Last night I also started my Catalan class. I signed up for the second level because I have been trying to teach myself Catalan since last summer, but when I got to the class I was afraid the teacher would send me down to the beginner level. There were about seven in the class, of various ages, most having lived in Andorra for at least a year. When I told the teacher that I’d been here for only two weeks, she claimed that it was a record. We read out of the textbook and answered questions, and I think that I will be able to catch up pretty quickly. I understand most of it, but I haven’t had much speaking experience so that is where I fall behind. Here is where I am in terms of language: I feel comfortable with Spanish, I understand and speak some Catalan, and I am a beginner with French. While this is more than most of my friends at home, it is far behind all of the others here. The Oxford students are both beginners at Catalan, but they are studying Spanish and French in the university. The other Fulbrighters have all taken Catalan classes, speak Spanish, and are at a much higher level of French than I am (as well as having studied other languages like Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Hungarian, and Bulgarian). For example, my roommate is half Peruvian so she peaks fluent Spanish, she has studied French since high school and has spent time in France, and she has been taking Catalan for a year. I feel so far behind!!! I am not used to being the slow one in the group, and it is really uncomfortable.
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Other news: We are getting a little sick of living at the aparthotel, what with unreliable internet, little space, and no oven (three of the other Fulbrighters are major foodies). Yesterday they turned off the water and didn’t bother to tell us. So while I was at Catalan class, three of the others went out to meet somebody about a potential apartment. It has four rooms, so four of us will live together, and the other Fulbrighter found another apartment nearby that he will probably take. I am a little nervous about it because I don’t feel like I fit in very well with the others. I’m not sure if it is because they are all from the East Coast and constantly talk about places that I am not familiar with, or they all studied linguistics and talk about things I don’t know about, or they are all foodies and are constantly cooking and talking about food that I have never eaten. It also might be personality differences, because even though I like all of them, I feel like I am constantly being talked over or ignored. When I do manage to say something, I get the feeling that they only listen to be polite. I just haven’t felt myself around them and I can’t pin down why. We can potentially sign papers for the four bedroom apartment on Saturday, so in the meantime I have tried to start looking at other places just to see what my other options are. I feel really bad about potentially bailing on them, but I just want to see what else is out there. But, if nothing turns up, at least I know that I would have my own room and that I would be eating well! (We’ve already had four feasts so far, and with a bigger kitchen, they would only be getting better!)
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Well, that’s all for now. Fins demà!