Nether-lackin

I'm sorry I've been failing at writing on my blog everyday - I honestly don't have much motivation to do much of anything right now. Oh, no, I'm fine...just being lazy. 

Thursday: I woke up late, been doing that a lot lately. I thought that I had to teach at 9:05 so I got dressed quickly and ran to the tram stop. As it turns out, I didn't have to teach until 12:20, and the 9:05 was cancelled due to French listening exam. I had a class at 9:55 and we just went over the answers for their literature test next Thursday. My lesson at 12:20 went well. We talked about argumentative essays, played four corners, discussed controversial topics, and started filling in the web I made for them. Some of the students did really well, while some I just don't know how to get them to care and participate. Ugh. I'll work on it. After that class, I went to an after school kind of thing - where students who are having problems with English came in for extra help. It was from 2-4 every Thursday. The only problem is only one student came, and that's how it's been. So I'm working with one of the teachers to make this class more productive and try to get more students to come. I have to come up with 5 lessons on pronunciation to teach on Tuesdays - same program, just different day. I also have to write a letter to the parents and students about the importance of English. Before I do all of this, I have to email my overseas coordinator to see if he approves. So I have my own project! The same teacher also wants me to help out with "Open School Day" and she wants me to make posters with English proverbs, riddles, etc. I'm psyched about it. 

After all that hassle with the class, I met up with my roommate and my overseas coordinator to take pictures for the school website. We also received our bikes later on in the afternoon! My O.C. wants to take pictures of us riding our bikes. Ha. We also met some of the primary school students who attend this after school program at our school. The students meet once a week for six weeks and take classes that our school offers - like Latin, Greek, French, etc. It's impressive how some of the students are just so motivated to attend and learn. They're mostly 12 year olds...my favorite. :)

Friday, I went to an American International School who has 258 students. It took me 50 min to get there through tram and walking - and it was raining. :(  I followed 7th graders around and there were only 9 of them in the grade. It's that tiny. On the other side of the school is the Japanese school where the Japanese students are taught in Japanese. All the books in the library are either in English or Japanese. So of course the setting was nice because it reminded me of home. But this school is more like a private school, and the tuition is a bit pricey. The English teacher that I met was very impressive, and I loved sitting in her class. She is certified to teach high school but for some reason she's  teaching 7th grade....so for her sake, she challenges this grade and introduced Shakespeare to them....and the kids loved it. We also watched Supersize Me in Health class which was very interesting and made me not want to eat fast food ever again. For real. When I told some of the teachers that I finally got a bike, one looked at me and said they didn't ride bikes. Ha. Another funny incident was that some of the teachers taught I was a student who repeated. Keep in mind, I'm 21 years old and I know I look young, but not as young as a 7th grader. Whoa. When I told one of the students that I had to catch the tram, she goes "Oh you ride the tram?" Well, I don't have a car. Don't we all love rich schools? 


Needless to say, the experience was an eye opening one. It made me realize just how lucky I am to be in the school that I'm at. Everyone is super nice and friendly, and I actually get to experience their culture, instead of being surrounded myself with all of the familiar things. 


Friday was another one of those days. I needed a picker upper - I found out that my dad and my ex-bf was in contact, and he told my dad that he has a chance of being sent to Iraq. I don't even know how to react to that. I told my parents and friends never to mention his name so that it doesn't upset me or bring me down. It's hard, not gonna lie. But thank God for a roommate who keeps my mind off of things. We went cycling into town, and it was a workout! We went grocery shopping and stopped by a coffee shop. 


When we got home, I felt better. I ended the night with an 8 min ab workout, and went to bed. 


Now, off to a new day! We have lots of plans for this Saturday so we'll see what happens. The International Film Festival is going on right now!