So, what did you study?

Fine art...I did..

Fine art.

Yeah, yeah..erm...

And did you work in fine arts? I mean, have you always been teaching?

No, no...er...it was a little bit of serendipity, basically, the way it worked out. Just because, so before I...I came here, then I...I was working down in Brighton with my friends, we all moved out to try and find...follow the rock and roll dream, we sort of went over there as a...as a band plus all our mates to go and take over the world, kind of thing. Er...I used to play the drums and we thought, we had visions of grandeur.

What sort of music did you play?

Indie... indie rock, I guess. Yeah, kind of harmonic indie rock, I'd say.

And this was around the 80's?

No, no blimey no, no, no! That would have been...I don't know...so, if I was...

After punk.

....about 20 I guess. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it would have been like...I suppose about '98, '99 I guess, when we moved down there. Erm...and so yeah, this is...this is the plan, and then obviously the sort of...the day to day grind took over I just started working in offices instead, and sort of justified this existence that I hated by sort of at the same time thinking "I know inside I'm going to be a rock and roll star" and all this sort of rubbish, obviously this sort of delusion.

But did you get gigs? Did you play?

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah we played and obviously we thought that we were very good, but I think we were just a bit lazy and rested on our laurels. We thought "well, we've got good songs, so...people should come to us and discover us." But we realized that, I think if you want to make it, in this...in any business obviously, you need to...you...you've got to go out there and you've just got to sell yourself.

Did you have a manager?

No, no, no. We didn't even get that far. It was just, we were literally just doing gigs and basically it would just be like our mates plus other hanger-ons and all that sort of stuff and....no, it...it was mainly just...I think looking back it was just a bit of a laugh.

So, what sort of office jobs? You said you were doing office jobs.

Er....working in...I worked in banks for about three years, I worked as like a...a personal assistant for a couple of years..erm...just generally sort of administrative, soulless work basically, that I just hated, and it wasn't me in the slightest. Er...and then one day I sort of woke up and had a little bit of a revelation and just thought 'I need to get out of this, this life 'cos it's not...it's not good'. Er...so then I went to university. So I went to university when I was 25, I think. So I was a little bit of a...a late bloomer. But I wasn't really ready when I was younger. I don't think I was mature enough.

So, how did you get into teaching?

Oh yeah, that was the...that was the purpose, wasn't it?

I'm gonna start my cake, I'm sorry.

No, no go for it! So...

Tell us about teaching.

...er....so I finished....so I finished my degree and I thought, right, what can I do to sort of keep my hand in the degree. Oh sorry, while I was doing my degree I went over and did an Erasmus year in the Bauhaus in...in Germany, and this was fantastic. Just being there walking around the same streets where, and drinking in the same pub where..er..Itten, one of the...like a of hero of mine, used to sort of sit there and where he designed his...his er... colour printables and things like that, it's just really inspiring.
And while I was there then I...I was living with some Spanish people, er...had a Spanish girlfriend, just hung around with lots of Spanish people and just basically started learning Spanish and basically fell in love with Spanish culture.

But what came first, teaching or your love for Spain?

So, while I was...er..finishing my degree I was thinking ok, I know that I want to go to Spain, I had like a Spanish girlfriend and I was thinking it's all gonna...it's all leading towards this...something...something different. Erm...and maybe doing some kind of creative work over there. Er...and so I was looking for jobs in video editing over in Spain there's like a new...er...studios that just opened up outside Alicante, so I was looking there and sort of applying for work and things like that. Er...and I thought right, ok I've finished university, I'm going to save up some money I did a load of factory jobs and all that sort of stuff just to work out...just to work and so I had enough money to pay to live here for a couple of months. And then just before I came I suddenly had the brainwave, hold up! Er...if it doesn't work out, I need something to fall back on. So I..er..I came and did a CELTA first thing over here. It...it was the first thing I did. Erm..did the CELTA, loved it. Started teaching straight away and just fell in love with teaching instantly, basically.

Wow! That's interesting.

So..er..

So, you haven't been teaching that long.

No, no. I...er..I did..I was..er..my mum was a teacher, my uncle was a teacher, so when I was at college, then I wanted to be a teacher. Erm..but then, like I say, I sort of went off...did a sort of follow this rock and roll route for seven or eight years, and so that kind of took me away from that, and then went to art college, obviously, and that took me away, so when I came back....it...it was something I'd obviously thought about when I was younger...er...I did...I had some experience as like a teaching assistant at a primary school...er.....so it wasn't like a million miles away, but when it came it wasn't....it..it was a surprise. And I just...I loved it and stuck with it, basically. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

What...erm...what do you like most about teaching?

Er....the people. Just meeting different people, meeting interesting people every day. Er...no day...no two days are the same. Er...everything depends completely on....you never...you...you can have everything planned and you can walk into the classroom and it can completely...change, no? Obviously, this you know. Er...and so I love this. I love the fact that you're always switched on when you're in the classroom. You've got to be completely aware. It's...your mind's never wandering you're always aware and focused.

What do you dislike about it?

Erm..the administration, basically, the admin yeah..writing reports...the paperwork. It's not a major...it's not a major hatred. It's just the fact that...I know it comes with the part and parcel of the job, but I would prefer not to have to do it. I know what's going on in my head, I've got it all organized. I know what the kids are like, and all that sort of stuff, but I know obviously I need to....

Do you prefer teaching kids or adults?

I'd prefer to have a...as much variety as possible. Just sort of keep it interesting. I teach...at the moment I teach a lot of private..erm...adult classes. I teach business classes..erm...large groups of adults is...is fantastic obviously, 'cos you can....

That's my favourite

..yeah?...it's you...you just....I don't know...it's the most...

'cos they're motivated, usually, erm....and you don't have to be a policeman in the classroom...

Yeah, no exactly...

You just go with....with, y'know, with their motivation...

They're...they're paying to do it....and they're doing it for a reason and they know why they're doing it. They haven't been sent by their parents.

So...so do you see your....your near future here? Any plans to move elsewhere or...

Yeah, yeah..I mean...I think the most important thing is to be open to the change...er...to anything that comes along, basically. I...I've just started...er...well, I've been going out with a Spanish girl for about eight or nine months now and I'm...falling...falling in love with her. Everything's going....everything's hunkey dory basically. Er...job's going well. Valencia, I love Valencia. I love my girlfriend. I'm I'm...just....if...if something happens, I'm open to change, but at the end of the day..erm...I..I'll see what happens really.

What's been your most memorable moment in the classroom?

Er....the...the first year I think it's all...well the first couple of years it's all...they're all memorable, aren't they? because you're just learning so much. Everything is new, you've got new classes, new levels..erm....so my first year, just...I suppose, obviously there's lots of heart-warming moments, but I'll talk about a couple of the...the weirdest moments when...well, first when...my first class when I finished the CELTA course which is obviously learning how to teach adults, and my first class with four and five-year olds and I had no experience....

It's a different thing..I mean, I've taught children it's completely different...

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

.....different methodology.

And I...I...I had nothing, basically. So, on the first day my...my boss said to me, "Have you met Norton?" Norton? Who's this? Is this, like, another teacher? And Norton was a...a toy parrot that I used, I was meant to use to turn the pages in the book, and I was just thinking, "What am I doing here? If my friends could see me now!" Er...there's another one...

Did you keep on with Norton through the term, or...did you...put him in the box?

Norton came out from time to time. And as soon as Norton came out the kids would want to try to pull his eyes out. Poor Norton!

That's your lovely seven-year olds!

Exactly, no, four and five-year olds, these were. So, poor Norton after being abused for several months and then put back in the box. There are other times that I remember....because obviously on a CELTA course you learn all these mingle exercises and things like that, and it was...we were doing one of those...one of those ten-year olds, ten and eleven-year olds, and I remember I was listening and, ok, identifying errors and putting them on the board so we could look at them afterwards, treating it as if they were an adult class, obviously...er....and as I was writing something on the board I turned round and there was this little ten-year old girl lying on the floor doing snow angels on the floor in the middle of the class. And then I was just....what do I do?..and...er...I chose to just ignore her. I just stepped over her and carried on listening to...and it turns out it was the right thing to do because she just stood back up and joined in.

She wanted the attention.

Yeah, exactly. But I'd say the worst one, sorry I gotta go....just get this one out....was when erm....I learnt that you can never lose your temper, you can never get angry. As soon as you get angry with kids, then you've...you've lost, basically. Er...and er...once I...I...before I realized this, obviously, I was against a point, I was trying to say to them. Right, ok, I'm going to have a chat with them today, so I walked in, slammed the books on the table, and I said, "Right listen".....all in Spanish this was..er..."this is the worst class I've got to teach all these different students and you're the worst of the lot." Erm....and this rant went on for like about 5 or 10 minutes, or something like that, and in the end I was building up to this new word, I'd just learned how to say 'I'm fed up' in Spanish, and so I slammed the books again on the desk and I said "¡Estoy completamente harta!". Er....and the kids just went "!Haha! Rich es una chica!". And I was....ok..fair enough, and that was the moment I realized you need to...prevention is better than cure, no? If you make the classes interesting, if you make them fun, then you don't lose them and you don't have to lose your rag.

Ok, so, i mean you...you said that you teach here and you...you've got...you've got private lessons. What do you do when you're not teaching?

Erm...

What do you do with your time?

I love cooking and I love eating good food. That's my primary love. I love cooking for my girlfriend. I love having her cook for me...er...and just sharing good food with...with her. I love watching football..er..I love...er...I like painting. I like playing my guitar.

You still play.

Yes. What the guitar?

Music. You still create.

Yeah, yeah I wish I...actually it's unfortunate that I can't have a drum kit here. So I'm saving up for an electric drum kit, because obviously it's flat-friendly, no? But er...

Would you consider joining a band here?

Playing the drums?

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah I'd love to. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Er...why are you....are you a musician?

I'm not a musician, no. But if anyone's watching....

Ok, ok.

If anyone's watching and would like to hook up, in the Valencia area.

Yeah, yeah, yeah exactly. Er...no that would be fun, just something to pass the time, to have a bit of fun, basically. Nothing too serious..er...yeah, that'd be....

We'll put it out there.

That would be a craic, why not? Exactly.

Rich, what advice would you give Spanish speakers who are trying to learn English?

Er....don't be afraid to make mistakes. I'd say, it's better to try and fail than to not try at all. I don't know who said that, but I'm stealing it. Erm...and don't worry about what other people think, basically. You've got to just...you've got to talk, you've got to communicate. And it's the communication, the expression is more important.

That's a common problem in my conversation class is that they've studied grammar, they've got wide vocabulary, but there's that shyness there...that...that feeling that if they open their mouth and a mistake comes out it's the end of the world. Well it isn't.

Yeah, yeah, yeah exactly.

So, that's good advice. So, no inhibitions, get out there, start speaking...

Exactly.

...and communicating in English

Practice! There's no point having all this information...and you...you can't talk with a book. You can't walk around the streets writing little notes in your notebook and all that stuff. You...you've just got to...you've got to do it.

So can you talk a little bit about what you hope to do in the future. You said your happy here, life's good at the moment. Erm...do you see yourself staying in teaching?, would you like to go into management?, materials development?, teacher training?

I'd say, like I say, I'm not much of a planner, I have to say. I'm not much of a...I'm very much...I think if you spend too much time thinking about the future, you don't enjoy what you've got. And life is very good at the moment. I'm very happy..er..I've just finished the diploma, so I'm going to see how that...

You're going to have a rest over the summer, presumably?

Yeah, exactly. I want to try and incorporate all the new things that I've learnt into my teaching. I want to see...like I say, I'm falling deeper in love with a...a beautiful lady and I want to see where that goes...er...I'm very happy with Valencia. It's just a question of...ok, if something comes I'm open and ready for it, but I'm not in any rush to change anything right now.

If you could change something about yourself, what would you change?

Er...ok, let me see. Erm...I believe that...ok, if you...I'm thinking....I'm sorry I did think about this before...er...if you plant two seeds in the ground either side of a...a brick wall basically, and you've got one that's got perfect sunlight, perfect conditions, perfect soil then it's going to grow exactly as it was genetically programmed to...to grow, no? If, on the other side of the wall, you plant it, the soil isn't so fertile, the roots have got to grow a little bit further which sort of stunts the growth of the tree..er...the plant...er...maybe it doesn't get direct sunlight so it has to sort of twist and turn to reach the sunlight, maybe the winds blowing so it has to sort of bend itself to brace against the wind...er...and I think these...the twists and the contortions and the...the defects in..in the plant is what makes it beautiful, no? and makes it interesting and makes it individual...er...and I think it's the same...same for us, basically. Er...I..I've got...I've got things that I need to work on, but erm....I don't know...I...er...I'm happy with them 'cos they make me....they make me me, no? So,...

I used to go out with a girl, an American girl, and erm...I used to get very annoyed when I...when I bought something new and it would get scratched or damaged or chipped. Erm... and sh...she always used to say to me, "That's what gives it character. Now that it's got that scratch or that chip, it's got history."

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's a similar analogy.

Exactly.

...and it's very, very true.

I...no, I...we're...we're animals, no? We've got animal urges, animal desires, er...but we...

Nobody's perfect.

No. exactly, we live in this kind of civilized society, but at the end of the day we're monkeys in suits, and I think you have to embrace that and...and deal with it.

Monkeys in suits?

More or less, man! That's what we are. Er...you've just got to...be a good person, treat other people how you want to be treated yourself..er...try and be a better person the next day..erm...but I think it's quite sad if you sort of look at yourself and think..ohh..no!...I don't know, I'm short, I'm not the best looking, but I'll....

You...you're a very positive person.

Well, I think that's all that one can do, no?

Finally, if you had 6,000 euros to spend on yourself, er...what would you buy?

I reckon I would...er...take myself and my young lady friend to...to Japan for a month, or something like that, 'cos it's somewhere we'd both love to go..er...

What...what attracts you..er..er...to Japan?

Erm..the...the culture, the spirit of the people. I practise er...Japanese archery. It's this, like a zen practice. Erm...so, I'd love to go and go to a proper Japanese dojo and shoot a few arrows there and just sort of soak up the ambience. Er...yeah...and the food, I love the food! So, and...'cos it's just such a long, varied country. To sort of go up north and sort of explore there the countryside and then come down and se...see the...the crazy metropolis that is Tokyo. Er...love to sort of sit in a...a thermal bath, the kind of...y'know...where you've got these...these...I've...I've got this very romantic vision of just like these tatami floors and the little paper screen doors and things like that...

And great sushi!

Yeah, exactly! This is it! Although...I'm just a dream.

Ok, thank you very much. I didn't...I didn't know if there...you can start

Try the cake

You've managed to resist, I've nearly finished mine.

I've just been gassing too much!