La última semana

 

The final full weekend in Leon included a guided tour of the city’s main attractions, the jewel of which must be the gothic Cathedral. We learned that it contains over 1800 metres of stained glass, some of which dates from the 13^th century, creating a light—filled, ethereal space, full of beautiful and unusual reflections.

At the other end of the spectrum we watched the England v Ireland encounter in the Six Nations Rugby Championship in the Harley Sports Bar in the Plaza Mayor. Despite having a dozen or so TV screens, the staff always seemed reluctant to show the rugby matches and it usually took several attempts to persuade or cajole someone to change the channel from basketball or football, by which time the first quarter had gone. With representation, in some shape or form, from all the home nations amongst the Leonites, there has been plenty of tension and friendly rivalry during these encounters.

My final observed lesson with Class 5A fell auspiciously on St. Patrick’s Day, so, of course I designed it around Ireland’s famous patron saint. Some holiday photos and symbols helped to elicit Patrick’s name and his adopted homeland. A matching quiz followed, with teams pairing facts with questions about Patrick’s life. I finished with a minimal pair pronunciation game, helping the class to identify and practise the phonemes which Spanish speakers typically struggle to differentiate, like “live” from “leave”, “had” from “hat”.  This can create amusement and confusion, such as when a student in an earlier lesson, describing the rooms in her house, told me she had a “chicken” downstairs. I wondered what kind of menagerie she lived in, until I realised she meant “kitchen”! On the whole I was happy with the lesson and felt it charted the progress I have made over the last four weeks, gaining in confidence and ability in the classroom.

On our final working day, after all the lesson observations were over, the Leonites met, together with our wonderful UKLC mentor Emile, in the atmospheric surroundings of the cloisters of San Isidoro for a delicious lunch and a chance to relax and reflect on our unique Leonese experience.