Netherthoughts

I went on an adventure today! I woke up at 10 (and I was planning on waking up at 8 and I don't have to be at the school until 12) and went to other parts of Rotterdam by myself! I went to the main office of the apartment I stayed at by tram and got lost. :)

Then I finally decided to call the number that was on this piece of paper, got directions, picked up my cards (so that I will not get locked out again), and decided that I have plenty of time to get to school on time.

When I reached the other tram stop, had to switch trams, completely confused myself as to which direction to take....so i decided to look at the maps and instructions (in Dutch) telling myself that I understood it when really I didn't. So after 20 minutes of trying to figure it out, I finally went to a bank to ask for money exchange and they politely declined since I didn't have a bank account. Then I asked for directions.

Finally got the directions, then the tram has problems and had to wait for a while. I was smarter (or so I thought) today and wore flat shoes, but didn't wear thick socks so my feet were freezing. Ugh. And when I finally got on the tram, I completely missed my stop and had to walk to school. Haha.

Walking through Rotterdam is not as gorgeous. There's poop every three steps I take. And fireworks stuff everywhere because of the New Year. Cute dogs here though. Huge and hairy! Oh, and I watched this little kid drop his fruit on the nasty ground, look at his mom to see if she saw and put it in his mouth. I mean, I do the same thing sometimes but the ground was totally gross. Ick!

Finally got some classroom experience but it was with high school students and they're a bit more rowdy, I suppose. Some students thought it would be funny to curse in English, and I find it to be a bit disappointing since I had high hopes of students being well behaved because of the school being Protestant and all.

Um, I met a Filipino student. Her family still cooks Filipino food, and I was invited. Of course, I said yes! I miss my Mama's cooking.

I discussed lesson planning with my mentor teacher, and I have a couple of things in mind but need more direction. I don't really know where to start because I don't know how much students already know.

Tomorrow is my work day where I'm just on the computer finding out more information about what I could teach the students. I'm a bit confused and frustrated, and I need a professor to tell me exactly what to do. I just need help figuring things out.

One day, I will write a blog where there isn't so much negative feelings. I'm still getting used to the system and everything around me. I am going grocery shopping after I get offline, so I'm looking forward to the food! I already learned some Dutch recipe and I'm excited!

I don't have a bike yet, so I'm having to pay for transportation and it's a bit expensive but I think I'm ok for right now. I'm really looking forward to my roommate getting here already so that I have someone to talk to about my experiences here.