Woke up and had a coffee in the town before work. Work was pretty good as we went on a trip to alcazaba which was interesting as it showed me some of the culture and history of the city .It also aloud me to bond more with the children and really get to know them and them a little more with me as we chatted walking around and most of them have somewhat good English. After work we made home made meals in the kitchen together for a change . The city walk added more information to my knowledge and history of the city which is always a great thing . In the evening we chilled out and watched super bad in the cinema

Day 4

Wasn’t a great start to the morning as the water was out in the accommodation so it disrupted my routine, but once I got to work everything was back to normal. Started the day of with a maths class and then science in which a brain was dismantled and was intriguing to see the kids in the environment. I was then lunch so I went and had an ice cream in McDonald’s.After lunch back in the school was great , a teacher came in and I’m not sure what was going on or what the game I was participating in but from my understanding it was like group bonding and teamwork and it was great fun with the kids. To finish the school day off for the last hour and half or so I was in class where a game was played with a Spanish boy who’s becoming an English teacher and he created a game between two groups and one section was mine to read a sentence out in English and I had really good fun watching the kids struggle with my pronunciation. After work I was wrecked so I had a nap. When I woke up I went to the beach and had a swim with eveyone. I went home a refreshed and then we went into the town as a group for dinner and a few non alcoholic cocktails . We finished the night with some uno downstairs on the bean bags

After a long day of working in the nice weather we decided to go to the beach and watch the sunset.

I made it into work just about on time but quickly got settled into painting. When work finished up, myself and Kyle spent about 40 minutes looking for a spot for lunch, afterwards, a group of us went to the beach and we watched the sunset over the mountains. It was nice to meet up with the other people on the trip and mix groups for the evening.

Today in work the 4th graders dissected a small little animals brain first class. There was no problems there – all the children were engaged. After was a class which is similar to communications where the children done activities that get them talking while also making it fun and engaging.

Next up was Maths, the kids are doing adding, subtraction and multiplication. After was recess which is 45 minutes which is their only break during the day. There is no split yard based on there grade they all run freely through the courtyard and PE yard. Last class was some sort of ethical/geographical education class, I didn’t understand at all what was going on and the child who can usually translate a small bit for me found it difficult trying to explain it. The teacher showed them a video of the haka. At 2pm school finishes.

After work I chilled out for a while then went to the beach with the girls and met up with a big group of us. Then we went on a bit of a walk. Some decided to go for food and others including myself just stayed in for the night.

Today my day in my work placement was pretty much the same as my previous days except that we had two extra people in to help. The morning was the same as in we played TV-time songs. Then afterwards the teachers set up a table with a backlit top. See through plastic pictures were put on the table top and the children each took their turns with shapes and numbers. There were pictures of tractors and animals and they had to find the corresponding shapes and put them on the pictures etc.. This afternoon after lunch and quiet time, the children all had free time on iPads until finish time.

We went up near the Amphitheater and found a lovely place to eat, ordered a Lasagne, chips and a cappuccino, the first decent coffee I’ve found since we got here. My meal only cost me €14.65, great value and a great service. Planning on going back there again before the return trip home.

I groomed more lovely dogs and got quite emotional at seeing how scared and vulnerable some of them were. I got quite teary and Paula and Laura decided to choose that moment to visit me in work and ask for a photo with the Erasmus flag which was great 😂😂 I have been really enjoying working for my supervisor Silvia so far, she’s been a great help and creates a lovely calm and pleasant environment to be in.

After work, we saw just around the corner from our accommodation where they make the huge thrones for the Holy Week in Malaga during Easter. We had learned about them on our city tour the day before but seeing them in real life and up close, and going inside to see how they make them was really surreal. The size of them really astonished me. We met some of the men that build and carry the platforms through the city, they are part of a brotherhood that perform this ritual around the city every year. The man showing us around was so so nice, he showed us photos of how he has been bringing his daughter every single year since she was born to the festivals, and showed us photos of his family every year for almost a decade. It was really nice and sentimental and gave me a whole new perspective of the ceremonies during Holy Week; I’d definitely like to experience the festival one day.