| Thursday, 20 Sept. 2001: First days of school... |
| Well, Monday marked the beginning of the school year. Because I didn't know any better, I showed up expecting to teach. Little did I know that that was the silliest thing I could have thought! The first day of school here is a celebration. The mayor attended, along with all the students and most of the parents. The students all bring flowers for their teachers, and I have a bunch in my apartment right now. I met my class for the first time and they were pretty cool. The rest of the english classes were actually upset that I wouldn't be teaching them. That made me feel really good. Tuesday, I went to school expecting to teach, and once again, I was surprised. I went with my neighbor/collegue (the other english teacher) to one of her older classes, and they spent the class period asking me questions and talking to me. I was shocked to learn that one year ago they couldn't speak english at all. These kids are really pushed here, and they simply rise to the challenge. I taught my first real class yesterday afternoon. My schedule right now is teaching the same class, 8G, 3 periods in a row, in the afternoon. I have a lot of flexibility with them, the only requirement is that I teach for 2 hours. The periods are all 40 minutes each, and if they can handle not having breaks, we get out of school pretty quickly. Unfortunately these students have been studying english for 2 days, and I think I really confused/frustrated them yesterday. They ended up doing really well, as we only went over very basic things. The alphabet, basic greetings, and some simple vocabulary. I love the kids already! I have already been able to pinpoint the class clown, the slacker, and the over-achiever. I'll keep my eye out for the others. I know that we will have a great year together. Please be patient with me and emailing. I've been able to actually get online about once every 2 or 3 days. Well, I can get online, but I can't get into my email. It's so incredibly frustrating. I can't wait until I get the internet in my apartment!! I guess that's all for now. I don't have much else to tell you that I haven't already. I love you and miss you all. Take care Love, Sarah |