Yesterday was my first day of school, I was very nervous walking up to the school, but by that time there was no turning back. I had already obsessed about everything obsessable and changed my clothes eight times. I should not have been worried with 18 years of school under my belt, school should be pretty second nature to me, but every first day is all new and exciting. However, when I walked up and saw the other people milling around the front door, it became clear this school will be only slightly different from every other school, there will be lectures, there will be tests, there will be cliques and fights and new best friends.

We were eventually let into the building exactly on time but after the bomb squad had paid a visit (I don’t know why they were there and nothing appeared to be wrong). The students all took seats around a big dining room sized table and class began with introductions. We were to state our name, where we are from and our pastry background. I had three people before me which is plenty of time to freak out, especially as the teacher only allowed the first guy two sentences before he started grilling him on specifics. I don’t know if it’s because I have clearly second-rate Spanish or because I have a strong pastry background, but when my turn came he only asked for clarification on places I have worked and how I heard of the school. The people who really got questioned were those with little or no pastry background of which there are quite a few.

The rest of the class was something of a blur. I’ve had classes in all Spanish  before, but never at quite such a fast speed. I found I could understand most of what was going on as it was happening, but then I couldn’t remember the conversation 5 minutes later. This necessitated note taking, but I couldn’t take notes and listen at the same time. It was a bit of a conundrum, but luckily most of the day’s information was general knowledge about the class, the school’s purpose, and things we need to buy much of which I knew already. My teacher is very nice, he stopped at one point to make sure I knew that, if I didn’t understand something, I would ask. The other students are also very helpful.Only two of them speak any English, but I walked one of them home and he made sure I hadn’t missed anything of immediate relevance. I think this is going to be an excellent class, and I’m really looking forward to learning as much as I can.