The Xunta Orientation

For many first time auxiliares the Xunta orientation in Santiago de Compostela is seen as an opportunity to get to know other auxiliaries from around Galicia and to bond with members from your own school and city. However for more seasoned auxiliaries, the orientation is eight hours of sheer boredom. That is the misfortune many of us first years have to experience on our own.

Sine we work together, Jennie and I caught a ride in the early morning with a couple other auxiliares who were teaching at EOI and drove to Santiago. The conference rotated between different speakers and representatives from the Xunta’s department of Language and Culture. It wasn’t long into the presentations that I learned the conference is more so tailored to auxiliar advisors at the individual schools and not the auxiliares themselves. Additionally, on account that the majority of Galicians speak Gallego, the presentations were conducted in Gallego as well. Although the language is very close to Spanish—in that I can read and understand most by ear—even auxiliares with a limited Spanish background had to sit through hours of mumbo jumbo.

The Xunta building is located on the outskirts of Santiago and contains many different government factions along with a couple museums on the property. While the day was filled with presentations and getting to know one another, I thought the architecture of the building was one of the most interesting parts of the orientation. Even though we spent a total of ten minutes entering and leaving the building, the architecture reflects a series of costal waves as it ripples up and down covered with sheets of limestone. It's not everyday you are able to see a building such as that.

While the orientation did include a musical number in Latin and an abundance of coffee and tapas throughout, I found the only part of the actual conference which was of any use to auxiliares was the last ten minute presentation. During this, they quickly gave us ideas about lesson plans. Not to mention, the ability to chat with and get to know fellow auxiliares from your region during the breaks was a great bonding experience. Overall, while the food was tasty—and most importantly free—the orientation was truly one of the most boring seminars I have had to sit through. However, while experienced auxiliaries should skip this orientation altogether—I would recommend first-timers to make the pilgrimage to Santiago and go though this rite of passage...albeit a boring one.