Needless to say THAT didn't go quite as I imagined.
Here's the surprise though: I think I'm actually not bad as far as teachers go! Remember the worst teacher you ever had? Yeah, I'm a little bit better than that.
My students are absolutely adorable. And then at the same time kind of horrible. They listen. Sometimes. They sit down. Sometimes. They talk. All the time.
After day one I think I've begun to settle into the routine and figure things out. 2nd grade is split into two groups and while one group is learning all their lessons in Spanish the other group is hearing is all in English. And then they switch. I often dread the 2nd group because 1) I have them after recess (which of course is too short for any of them to be sufficiently worn out and ready for Round 2) and also 2) poor planning on the school's part resulted in a class full of only kids whose legs don't bend (seriously, chairs are fire to their behinds).
I have some students who only talk to me in Spanish (if that tells you anything about where their language skills are at), some students who are quiet geniuses (the kind you wish you had a classroom full of), other students who are loud geniuses (ones you're always asking "Is your name Amanda?"), and a handful of "ADD doesn't even begin to describe it" kids.
But they are so CUTE! It makes it nearly impossible to discipline!
Take this example:
All the kids have wheelie book bags. So one day we were (supposed to be) sitting quietly in class calming down and getting ready to switch. But this one boy would not be quiet and instead kept grabbing the handle on his book bag and screaming "1 2 3 4! Are you ready to rock???"
And then today, I was teaching them about urban versus rural. I brought in some fruits and vegetables for them to guess where you would most likely find them being grown (for all you slow-pokes that would be in rural areas). I gave one fidgety kid an apple to hold and next time I turn around he's eating the apple! Uh, hello?!? When in that interaction with him did I say "This is your snack. Bite in and enjoy!" Answer: never.
Everything with the school is...annoying. The schedule changes and disorganization and lack of materials and penny-pinching ways (despite the $7000 payments the kids make every year) make it all incredibly frustrating. You're never told anything-it's all just shock and surprise. Supervisor observations. After school meetings. Procedures you should have been following since day 1. Some surprises are pleasant ("You mean free coffee is provided for the teachers? Even though I've been paying for it every day this week!?"). Others not so (It's quitting time on Friday and you want to have a 2 hr conference now?!)
But all in all, I'm pleased. And I already discovered the perks of being a 2nd grade teacher: Hannah Montana birthday parties
;)
Friday, August 29, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
this is it
after changing the date x many times, it is officially official. i start tomorrow.
i am nervous. i am excited. i am full of anticipation.
the kids spend half of the day speaking english in my class, and half of the day speaking spanish in a class taught across the hall. the other second grade teacher told me i look fragile. i don't know if that's a compliment or a warning...
something to get used to: being called teacher lesa. one person at the school even introduced herself to me as teacher nellie. it just sounds so...so...not cool
on a side note, i found a church today! it's called the hub, and even after one time i'm already hooked. it's a bunch of americans either teaching down here or doing peace corps. it also doubles as a hostel! and they've got a library where you can check out english books. which is great considering i've almost used up the supply i brought down here with me!
now i have something important to share.
i have fallen in love. with the dominican republic.
yesterday we took a bus to sosua, the most BEAUTIFUL beach i have ever seen! the crystalest clearest bluest water you have ever seen, sea side manicure/pedicure stands, the smell of frying seafood filling the air, dogs and cats roaming freely (that says something for hygiene), souvenir shops upon souvenir shops (i found a "wall's mart" and "bob barker's price is right" stand), and a sense of "this is where it's at" lingering over everything. on the bus ride to and from my eyes couldn't soak up enough of the gorgeous landscape whizzing by. rolling green mountains, lush fields of palm trees.
i certainly have my moments (hours, days??) of frustration with the country, but at the same time it's all so forgivable.
i do not like the fact that paper plates don't exist here. i do not like the fact that the country doesn't recycle. i do not like that they turn off the water to my building and i can't take showers at night (which is G-Rossss considering how much the human body can sweat in a day!)
but then going up on the roof and looking at the sun setting behind the mountains surrounding santiago with the wind cooly blowing in that "it's about to rain" way, it feels amazing.
i can't wait for what the year has in store. bring it on
i am nervous. i am excited. i am full of anticipation.
the kids spend half of the day speaking english in my class, and half of the day speaking spanish in a class taught across the hall. the other second grade teacher told me i look fragile. i don't know if that's a compliment or a warning...
something to get used to: being called teacher lesa. one person at the school even introduced herself to me as teacher nellie. it just sounds so...so...not cool
on a side note, i found a church today! it's called the hub, and even after one time i'm already hooked. it's a bunch of americans either teaching down here or doing peace corps. it also doubles as a hostel! and they've got a library where you can check out english books. which is great considering i've almost used up the supply i brought down here with me!
now i have something important to share.
i have fallen in love. with the dominican republic.
yesterday we took a bus to sosua, the most BEAUTIFUL beach i have ever seen! the crystalest clearest bluest water you have ever seen, sea side manicure/pedicure stands, the smell of frying seafood filling the air, dogs and cats roaming freely (that says something for hygiene), souvenir shops upon souvenir shops (i found a "wall's mart" and "bob barker's price is right" stand), and a sense of "this is where it's at" lingering over everything. on the bus ride to and from my eyes couldn't soak up enough of the gorgeous landscape whizzing by. rolling green mountains, lush fields of palm trees.
i certainly have my moments (hours, days??) of frustration with the country, but at the same time it's all so forgivable.
i do not like the fact that paper plates don't exist here. i do not like the fact that the country doesn't recycle. i do not like that they turn off the water to my building and i can't take showers at night (which is G-Rossss considering how much the human body can sweat in a day!)
but then going up on the roof and looking at the sun setting behind the mountains surrounding santiago with the wind cooly blowing in that "it's about to rain" way, it feels amazing.
i can't wait for what the year has in store. bring it on
Monday, August 18, 2008
whoops...
i think today during my $3 manicure i might've accidentally got recruited to be a Jehovah's Witness. and i think i might've agreed to go to a Jehovah's Witness church service. and i think i might've agreed to meet a nice Christian husband there...
stupid language barrier!
don't worry, they don't have my number
stupid language barrier!
don't worry, they don't have my number
Saturday, August 16, 2008
the moment of truth will soon arrive...
Next Thursday is my first day of teaching. The make or break day. Am I ready?
That would be a big fat NO.
Partly because a large part of my training was in Spanish, so all those procedures and rules are (and most likely will remain) a mystery to me. What attendance policy? What discipline system? What code of conduct towards minors?
And I still don't know who my supervisor really is. Nor do I have all the books I'm supposed to teach from. And my schedule hasn't been given to me yet.
Disorganization down to the wire!
On the plus side I now have a bank account and debit card. So the (very very) important stuff is settled. One thing down!
I have begun to explore Santiago a bit more, so I am on my way to becoming a veritable Santiagian. I've sung karaoke (a big bar sport here), gone to the opening of a bar ("Rojjo", where everyone was told to wear green??), seen el monumento, eaten delicious Mexican and sushi (but not at the same sitting), and done a little bit of shopping (well I have to fit in!).
Plus, I AM GOING TO SEE AVENTURA PERFORM LIVE IN SANTIAGO! 2 WEEKS!
On a side note, the 80's seem to be in full swing down here. Ladies, get out your scrunchies! ;)
That would be a big fat NO.
Partly because a large part of my training was in Spanish, so all those procedures and rules are (and most likely will remain) a mystery to me. What attendance policy? What discipline system? What code of conduct towards minors?
And I still don't know who my supervisor really is. Nor do I have all the books I'm supposed to teach from. And my schedule hasn't been given to me yet.
Disorganization down to the wire!
On the plus side I now have a bank account and debit card. So the (very very) important stuff is settled. One thing down!
I have begun to explore Santiago a bit more, so I am on my way to becoming a veritable Santiagian. I've sung karaoke (a big bar sport here), gone to the opening of a bar ("Rojjo", where everyone was told to wear green??), seen el monumento, eaten delicious Mexican and sushi (but not at the same sitting), and done a little bit of shopping (well I have to fit in!).
Plus, I AM GOING TO SEE AVENTURA PERFORM LIVE IN SANTIAGO! 2 WEEKS!
On a side note, the 80's seem to be in full swing down here. Ladies, get out your scrunchies! ;)
Sunday, August 10, 2008
mas de mi nueva vida aqui
So I had training in the capital this past week and I found out that this upcoming year I will be a 2nd grade teacher! I will have a teaching assistant and grades will be subjective (good for them because I bet I could come up with some mean tests...). I am very very excited! I was given the curriculum and apparently I will be teaching things like gravity, the Pilgrims, China's ancient civilization, antonyms and synonyms, telling time, Venn diagrams, matter, compound words, and fractions. It was a little bit daunting reading everything we'll be doing this year, because I wasn't sure how well I remembered those topics myself! But it will be fun, I just know it.
During training I got to learn a lot more about the school and how it's set up. One thing that I thought was SUPER neat was that one of the daughters of the President of the Dominican Republic (Leonel Fernandez) is a student at the school in Santo Domingo. As a general rule these students are all very well off and most have their own chauffeurs; some even have their own bodyguards! When there's so much poverty around me sometimes it's hard to reconcile the fact that I'm working at this well-off school and not doing more to help out those less fortunate. But I'm going to give it my all regardless
And sorry to disappoint but so far I am not fluent. I did learn the word for prune, due to an unfortunate incident involving prune yogurt. From far away prunes may look like yummy cookies, but don't let that fool you; they taste very very different.
From here on out my days will be filled with even more training and then non-stop lesson planning. I start at the end of August, so let's hope I'm ready by then! And let's hope the kids are ready for me!
During training I got to learn a lot more about the school and how it's set up. One thing that I thought was SUPER neat was that one of the daughters of the President of the Dominican Republic (Leonel Fernandez) is a student at the school in Santo Domingo. As a general rule these students are all very well off and most have their own chauffeurs; some even have their own bodyguards! When there's so much poverty around me sometimes it's hard to reconcile the fact that I'm working at this well-off school and not doing more to help out those less fortunate. But I'm going to give it my all regardless
And sorry to disappoint but so far I am not fluent. I did learn the word for prune, due to an unfortunate incident involving prune yogurt. From far away prunes may look like yummy cookies, but don't let that fool you; they taste very very different.
From here on out my days will be filled with even more training and then non-stop lesson planning. I start at the end of August, so let's hope I'm ready by then! And let's hope the kids are ready for me!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
las communicaciones
i have finally figured out the deal with my phone and snail mail address. for fear of creepos i'm not going to post them, but feel free to get at me and i will gladly give them to you!
Friday, August 1, 2008
the eagle has landed
I'm here I'm here I'm here! And with all my luggage too-thank you American Airlines for coming through on at least one thing...
Things have not been as whirlwind-ish as I expected so far, just because the school is trying to get us and everything settled so that we have money and Internet and a working stove like they promised.
The apartment is cute and spacious, with easy access to the roof for drying clothes and watching sunsets. There is no AC but there's a constant hurricane-size gust of wind blowing through so it stays relatively cool. We're on the 3rd floor (no elevator) and they cut the water off completely at 10pm. We have ants, a gas stove, and a buzzer to let people into the apartment (my favorite thing). I have hot pink mosquito netting draped over my bed to keep away the little critters that (so far) have been pretty nice to me and not eaten me up.
Sunday morning we head via bus to the capital, Santo Domingo, for a week of training. We'll be staying in a hotel and meeting all the other new teachers. I'm especially interested in meeting the other American teachers who will be working in the capital.
What I've learned so far:
It is considered a sign of respect to applaud the pilot when the plane lands (contrary to the way I interpreted it-applauding meaning "we're glad this time we actually did land")
You can buy anything at a stoplight.
The police are the only ones without cars. Their orders are to be ignored
They have drive-thru fast food restaurants, but also drive-thru ABC stores. (Order up a beer to go!)
Dominican women go to the salon twice a week. Twice a week!
Time is all relative. Be prepared to wait.
People are loud. And they like to wake you up at 5:30 am yelling "AGUACATES!" ("AVACADOS!") outside your window.
The Coke tastes different (they use real cane sugar)
We're heading out soon with Elaine, the HR Rep at the school, for a tour of the city. Pictures of my beautiful new home will be posted later :)
Things have not been as whirlwind-ish as I expected so far, just because the school is trying to get us and everything settled so that we have money and Internet and a working stove like they promised.
The apartment is cute and spacious, with easy access to the roof for drying clothes and watching sunsets. There is no AC but there's a constant hurricane-size gust of wind blowing through so it stays relatively cool. We're on the 3rd floor (no elevator) and they cut the water off completely at 10pm. We have ants, a gas stove, and a buzzer to let people into the apartment (my favorite thing). I have hot pink mosquito netting draped over my bed to keep away the little critters that (so far) have been pretty nice to me and not eaten me up.
Sunday morning we head via bus to the capital, Santo Domingo, for a week of training. We'll be staying in a hotel and meeting all the other new teachers. I'm especially interested in meeting the other American teachers who will be working in the capital.
What I've learned so far:
It is considered a sign of respect to applaud the pilot when the plane lands (contrary to the way I interpreted it-applauding meaning "we're glad this time we actually did land")
You can buy anything at a stoplight.
The police are the only ones without cars. Their orders are to be ignored
They have drive-thru fast food restaurants, but also drive-thru ABC stores. (Order up a beer to go!)
Dominican women go to the salon twice a week. Twice a week!
Time is all relative. Be prepared to wait.
People are loud. And they like to wake you up at 5:30 am yelling "AGUACATES!" ("AVACADOS!") outside your window.
The Coke tastes different (they use real cane sugar)
We're heading out soon with Elaine, the HR Rep at the school, for a tour of the city. Pictures of my beautiful new home will be posted later :)
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