Children, anyone?

Coincidentally, both Sara and one of her friends wrote a post about children while I was thinking about this children-related post for my blog. There must be something in the air.

Those of you that know a bit more about what I did in Sydney last year know that children are still not my idea of fun. Even when I get paid for it I can only just tolerate them. Don’t get me wrong, I like some children. The ones that are related to me for example, but only if they are smart and well behaved. And they need to like me too. I also like the ones that like to read, as in, like to sit in a corner with a book and stay there quietly for an hour. And it helps if the parents are around to take them back when they start annoying me, or if I am allowed to bribe them with chocolate or tv. To cut a long story short: working with children definitely doesn’t belong on the ‘things I like’ list.

My life here in Barcelona seemed to go pretty smoothly. In the week since my arrival I arranged a room, a job interview that actually led to a job, my work permit and social security number. Not bad, especially considering everyone was telling me it would be very difficult to find a job. I got a job as an English teacher at a small language school. Yesterday was my first day and you can imagine my joy when it turned out I had to spend 90 minutes trying to teach three 5-year-olds some English. This was when I remembered that I DO NOT like kids. And also, that I do not like teaching! (Duh, might that be why you didn’t pursue your career as a trainer even though you spent a year of your life getting a masters degree in that area??)

So today I did something that I am not proud of. Even though my other classes wouldn’t be with children, even thinking about going to work made me feel stressed and unhappy. And trust me, this is not because I just generally don’t want to work, because I really do. Today I was supposed to assist another teacher so I could get to know the students and take over next week. But on my way to the school all I could think was ‘I don’t want to go, I don’t want to go I don’t want to go’. So, I just didn’t go.

Hey, aren’t we always bombarded with magazine articles that tell you to listen to your feelings? Well, that’s what I did. I got off the metro, walked around to the other platform and took the next metro back. I am not proud of what I did but I feel so happy and relieved about not having to do that job! I have no idea what I am going to do now, but I am sure good ideas will come to me soon.

So now I am in Barcelona with no clue about why I am here. Barcelona was on my list of cities-I’d-like-to-live-in, so I guess that’s why . But I’d better come up with some more reasons soon! I just can’t help but compare everywhere I go with Sydney, and Sydney always wins. I know that that’s the place I really want to be, but I just don’t really see how I can make it happen. If anyone has any good ideas, please let me know. If you are male and Australian I consider a marriage proposal a good idea too.

For now I will stay here in Barcelona, watching Italian movies dubbed in Catalan. Joy!