INTERVIEW MARC MUÑOZ

We have interviewed Marc Muñoz, the English teacher, by Lia Cárdenas and Sheila Cuesta 

WHAT ARE YOU TEACHER OF?

I am teaching English and geography but well I do geography as a CoTeacher and I just help there with the English.

HOW MANY LANGUAGES DO YOU SPEAK

I speak Catalan, Spanish, English and that's it. Then I know some words in other languages but I wouldn’t say I am fluid in those languages.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A TEACHER?

Well I started as a Camp Monitor when I was sixteen and I got involved with the children of that camp and I really enjoyed that part so I decided to do that professionally but with the teaching part in it.

DO YOU LIKE TEACHING? WHAT DO YOU LIKE THE MOST? WHAT DO YOU DISLIKE THE MOST?

I do like teaching. The part that I like the most is when I see in the faces of the children I teach their expressions when they miss understand something which they are struggling to comprehend. The thing I dislike the most is dealing with the attitudes of some students who are … to learn and to let the others learn.

IF YOU HADN'T BEEN A TEACHER, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN?

I am a geographer, I studied geography at the university so probably I would be doing maps.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR FREE TIME?

Well, I do many things but the things that I like the most are walking my dog and doing mechanical things with my bike and my car mainly.

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRAVEL?

I would travel anywhere really, traveling is something I like to do and for now I have Japan in mind, Icelands and maybe even … but I have to figure it out.

IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

I would probably buy a house and travel, that’s what I would like to do.

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE ERASMUS PROGRAMME?

It was a coincidence really. We had a meeting with all the teachers and they were looking for somebody who could take care of some students who were about to go to Greece and I proposed myself as a volunteer.

WHERE DID YOU GO? 

I went to Aigio and Patras, which are in the Peloponnese Region.

WHO DID YOU MEET?

I met (name), which was the English teacher of Aigio and also (name) which was the principal of the school. And also in Patras I met “George” and the headmaster, but I can’t remember the name.

HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE IN GREECE?

It was nice, it was diverse. I had to do many things and work but I had the chance to meet a lot of new people and to learn new things about the culture I didn’t have the chance to know or to meet and for me it was an overall nice experience.

WHAT DID YOU DO? 

Well I was the … teacher of the students and as a … teacher I was supposed to take care of them while they were with their families in Greece. Also I did … shadowing which was to be a teacher in the shadow. And well I mainly did an observation of the other teachers and I took notes in order to compare the both of the educational systems.

DURING YOUR WORK THERE, DID YOU DO ANY SIGHTSEEING?

I did. During my stay in Aigio I went to … which is a mountain … region and I also went to … which is crossing the bridge of the Peloponnese Region. It is a coastal town which was created during the … times. Apart from that I went to Athens the day before we left Greece, so yes I did some sightseeing. Also in Patras I went to see many things because it was a Sunday and everything was closed so I didn’t see much in Partas.

WHAT WAS THE THING WHICH SURPRISED YOU THE MOST ABOUT GREECE?

I think their culture and their way of being. This refers to how their people are and how close they are to you even though you are a stranger to them. But they are very open minded and they show you  the things that they care for really fast and this is something compared to here in catalonia maybe people tend not to do that fast. Also the language of, well, the Greek language shares a lot of things with some words we use now and by learning some words I could understand the origin of the other words we use here.

ANY USEFUL VOCABULARY?

Many many useful vocabulary I would say Kaliméra which is good morning and also Tikanis which is how are you. Tikanis you can respond Kalá which is good or … which is so so, so for example all … is would be kaliméra Lia tikanis and you would say kalá, kalá is ok right so this is something you would use and also if you need to ask for anything you would say for example ordering food … which is one Gyro made up of pork meat. I think if I mispronounce something people would tell.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRAVEL AGAIN TO GREECE?

Sure about there are a lot of people I met there which I’d like to see again and I would like to learn more of that language because a lot of the words I learnt in the very beginning I think that I’ve lost their pronunciation or even I have forgotten of their meaning.

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND GETTING INVOLVED IN THE ERASMUS PROJECT?

Most definitely, you will be able to meet new people. I think you will exit your comfort zone which is something really important to put into practice and test your english level and also it is something fun, because you are not with your family and you have to be on your own. This is something you can test in a  friendly environment  which is  being supervised by a teacher or by a local family. 

WITH ONLY ONE WORD HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE?

Marvelous, marvelous experience.