First Day Teaching!

I had my first lessons this morning. It was way fun to finally get in there and teach. I asked Father that I might not rely on myself but only that he work through me. I think if I become arrogant I will fail. But if I can say so without boasting in nothing but him, I think things went very well, very successful. It was only introductions, but it was a lot of fun. I think I might have trouble keeping them quiet though, they are very talkative. I wish I knew what they were saying. The first lesson I thought I would have enough material to take up the time, but I ended up having to do some quick thinking so I wouldn't look stupid cuz I didn't know what to do next. So I just made them ask me a bunch of questions, I wrote them on the board, and instead of answering the questions I went around and asked them the same questions. Then after some time killed I answered them. It was a good time. But it is weird to think I will have to do this same routine 16 times. It might get a little old. But each class is unique, so I want to show them each the same enthusiasm.

 

This weekend was nice. Two other foreign teachers, Brenda and Arthur, and I went to a large state park that is famous for its lake which is a filled inactive volcano. Only one of two in the world. we walked around the entire lake, road on go carts for a bit, and got to see some of the country side. Very interesting.

 

Last night I had first tastes of cultural and langauge frustrations. Brenda and I were trying to buy a watermellon from a street vendor. It proved to not be as simple as we hoped. It was so difficultr trying to communicate, we didn't end up getting the watermellon because we coudln't figure out how much this guy wanted for it, and just too much effort... I was tired and just wished I could understand. Motivated me more to learn the language. I wish I had some formal or more consistent way to be taught.

 

Anything interesting going on in your lives? I am finding I have a lot of time on my hands, so I would love to keep in touch with you all.

 

If you are interested in knowing more about the school, here is an address you can check out:

http://www.anesl.com/schools/zj2ms.htm

 

I am teaching at the old campus. The new campus is not finished yet, but some students have already moved there, and two of the foreign English teachers are commuting there to teach everyday.