7.05.2011

I am a teacher!

I survived my first day teaching English (barely).
So many things went wrong...  but I believe that it was most likely a cleverly placed Providential move.  I planned and planned and planned and when I finally felt that I had everything right where I wanted (in my control), it all fell apart.  I had to completely trust that Jesus had everything under HIS control, and that was all that mattered.  [I am having a great deal of trouble with this next sentence because I can only form it in spanish.]  I was forced to remember that he is faithful to me and that it is not by my power that his work happens.    I had to rework my entire lesson and do it without the powerpoint that I had so meticulously created.  At least I still had the pictures saved on my computer.  Oh, wait.  No.  They blew a fuse downstairs and we lost our fans (we don't have air conditioning, only fans), and the projector.  The five and six year olds were too hot and too tired and too riled up to learn vocabulary and grammar.  So, I gave up and tried to teach them only vocab.  Then I gave up and tried to teach them one solitary word.  Butterfly.  At the end of the most tiring hour, I pointed to a picture of a butterfly on the board for the hundredth (literally 100th) and said, "what is this?  Que es eso?"  The response?  "MARIPOSA!"  Ok.  Yes.  Mariposa.  Go in peace.

Though I didn't have my precious plans, the rest of the classes went really well.  I enjoyed the kids and they didn't seem to hate the lesson.  I know many things that I will change, but it went really well for falling apart ten minutes before the children came...

Tonight was also the first night of adult classes.  I'm teaching the Intermediate class and my class dynamic is very interesting.  I have six 14-16 year olds, and eight ladies in their 40s and 50s.  :-)  I was very nervous and so were they.  We only got through half the lesson and class had hardly begun when I realized that my lessons are too advanced for them.  I had been told I would be teaching a class of Intermediate-high and Advanced-low students.  Instead, I have a class of mostly Intermediate-low students and a few Intermediate mid level.  Despite this change in my plans (again), we had a good class and then a fabulous conversation hour.  I love my students!  I am humbled by the fact that I am still a student and they wish to learn from me.

I could go on for hours...  but I won't.  Some interesting things:  I see signs admonishing us to "vote communist!"  and grafiti that says: "a good nazi is a dead nazi".  I saw a dalmation today.  I miss my dog.  You can buy cheese in the market shaped like a giant hershey's kiss... it is called "titty cheese" in spanish.  Yes.  Because it is apparently shaped like a boob.  In my personal opinion, the person who named it has never seen a normal boob.

I must go.  Vaya con Dios.

2 comments:

  1. "titty cheese?" Awesome.

    Sorry class was rough today. I hope it will go better tomorrow! I'm really proud of you!

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  2. Pa really enjoyed the last sentence. We love you and are praying for you.

    ReplyDelete