Today was very relaxing! I didn't have to come in to teach, but I did have to tutor the two girls. :) The two girls loved the activity I did with them! They had problems with past/present simple, continuous, and perfect. I printed out their favorite songs' lyrics and got them to rewrite the lyrics. :) It was awesome. They also showed me their letters, and they're having problems with prepositions - isn't everyone? So next time we meet, we're working on prepositions. They also invited me to go watch a movie next Sunday. I'm excited about going.
So I planned my lesson plans, created the worksheets and everything else necessary for the classes, and just sat and waited until it was time to meet with the girls. I rode my bike this morning to school with a flat tire. However, the amazing caretaker/mechanic fixed my bike for me! No more flat tire, and my light is working again!
Hm. Tomorrow is my busy day. I teach nonstop from 9 - 4. AH! I wanted to get my hair cut today, but it was way too expensive. I might wait until after all of my trips. If not, I'll just get it cut in the US. I did go work out today! Finally! However, I just did weights, but better than nothing. I consider cycling to and from school today my cardio. :)
I went to church at 7 for Ash Wednesday. I really wish I could understand Dutch. I'm sure my life here will be more enjoyable.
Anyways, I did talk to some people today on the phone, and it made me happy. I talked to one of my fav professors, and she made me happy like always. I can't believe I'm leaving tomorrow for Paris. I haven't packed. I don't want to pack right now.
I have to have lots of energy for tomorrow. I have to focus on my lessons before Paris. I have to keep my priorities straight. Ha.
Oh yea, I did get my two laundry tokens that I lost the first time I tried to do laundry. Yay for complaining. :)
And I watched Will and Grace today for the first time in a while, and I remembered just how much I missed watching that show and how happy my gay friends make me.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Netherpop
Tuesday: 2nd day of teaching
1st years: It was my last session with this group of kids so I wanted to go out in a bang - we had a pop quiz! I bought balloons and treats for all of them since there were only 12 students. We went over everything that I've taught them - short/long vowels, voiced/voiceless /th/, the sounds of /ch/ /sh/ and /wh/, silent letters and /c/ /k/. I glued more handouts in their foldables so that they have something to look at after. The students also did an evaluation and all of them gave me a 5 - which is really good! I was super excited!
5h3: I played a game with them concerning common mistakes in English. I divided the class up in 5 groups and got the groups to tell me what they thought the answers were. They participated for a while, but the last ten minutes, they got off task. The statements seemed too easy - they did have problems with spelling though.
5h4: I played a game with them also, but changed how we played it. Instead of dividing the class into five groups, I divided them into two groups. Instead of me writing the answers on the board, I got the students to do it for me. It was a race - the first person to write the correct answer on the board got a point. It was great although I had one student who said why the fastest one got the point and not the person who got it correct - and I told him, it was just a fun way to learn quickly.
With both classes, I also gave them a handout with all of the common mistakes and wrote an explanation on the back. Hopefully, they look into it and do well on their writing exam coming up in March.
My mentor teacher really liked the fact that I changed the game because I had problems with the first one. Since both 5th years are learning the same thing, I could teach the same way, but I never do. I have to give myself extra work, you know. Ha.
I rode Ashton's bike today since my bike is dead right now. I have to get it fixed. I also had to hurry and go to the store to buy balloons and candies.
I'm super tired. I didn't get to work out. I passed out at 7. I've been so lazy with working out. Not good.
1st years: It was my last session with this group of kids so I wanted to go out in a bang - we had a pop quiz! I bought balloons and treats for all of them since there were only 12 students. We went over everything that I've taught them - short/long vowels, voiced/voiceless /th/, the sounds of /ch/ /sh/ and /wh/, silent letters and /c/ /k/. I glued more handouts in their foldables so that they have something to look at after. The students also did an evaluation and all of them gave me a 5 - which is really good! I was super excited!
5h3: I played a game with them concerning common mistakes in English. I divided the class up in 5 groups and got the groups to tell me what they thought the answers were. They participated for a while, but the last ten minutes, they got off task. The statements seemed too easy - they did have problems with spelling though.
5h4: I played a game with them also, but changed how we played it. Instead of dividing the class into five groups, I divided them into two groups. Instead of me writing the answers on the board, I got the students to do it for me. It was a race - the first person to write the correct answer on the board got a point. It was great although I had one student who said why the fastest one got the point and not the person who got it correct - and I told him, it was just a fun way to learn quickly.
With both classes, I also gave them a handout with all of the common mistakes and wrote an explanation on the back. Hopefully, they look into it and do well on their writing exam coming up in March.
My mentor teacher really liked the fact that I changed the game because I had problems with the first one. Since both 5th years are learning the same thing, I could teach the same way, but I never do. I have to give myself extra work, you know. Ha.
I rode Ashton's bike today since my bike is dead right now. I have to get it fixed. I also had to hurry and go to the store to buy balloons and candies.
I'm super tired. I didn't get to work out. I passed out at 7. I've been so lazy with working out. Not good.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Netherhurry!
Monday: the beginning of my 2 week unit teaching = exhausted already
So here's my schedule this week in the classroom:
Monday - WASP Report
Tuesday - Grammar
Thursday - Literature
I've realized a long time ago that my 5th years love discussions and engaging activities so I sat on the computer planning a lesson plan for 2 hours straight. I wanted to make sure that the students will be engaged the whole entire time.
5h4: We read Mix-n-Match. I did a chalk talk with them, agreement circles, hot seat, pairing, and dividing up the questions. They loved it! They had the same reaction as my 10 year olds when I did hot seat with them. They were so excited! The students got my sense of humor, and we had a great time discussing things.
5h3: We read The Numerati. I did number tricks with them, group work, presentations, adverbs, give me an answer (don't know what else to call it - I gave answers to five students so that they will participate when I call their name). The Numerati wasn't as exciting, and the students didn't really like the article much. I don't blame them, I didn't like it either - BUT they didn't know that.
I gave both classes an option of either taking a test and going over it or playing a game, participating, and leaving class early. :) Of course, they chose the second option. So game playing on Tuesday for grammar - here we come!
4h4: Verbal Practice: Moving Questions where I provided controversial topics for students to ask each other. It actually got a lot of them talking and participating. +++ For the other class, we read How About Hugs? and had a discussion. This class is a little rough on the edges, and there are four students that ruin it for everyone. I got a little bit upset with the class, and I told them that if they wanted to act like children, I will treat them like children - meaning the next person to say something inappropriate will stand in the corner with their nose in the corner. I normally hate doing this but it got them to be quiet. I've literally tried everything I can to deal with classroom management, but nothing seems to work. :( I've tried at least 7 different things with them already.
I also worked on my other lesson plans for the remedial English teacher because I'm also teaching her 1st year students. I enjoy these classes because the students are still super excited about everything. I did get away from teaching the 4h4 class to teach my adorable 1st years.
Hm. Enough about classwork. Apparently, I'm giving off the vibe that I'm the party girl because I talk a lot and am very friendly. Ashton is the mommy figure - the responsible one. Ugh. Maybe I should just stop talking to everyone.
My bike apparently sucks at life. My lights won't work because the battery is already dead, and my tire is flat. (That's why it hurt so bad to cycle today. Ugh.)
The weather was pretty today, and it's supposed to get warmer towards the end of the week.
Lazy moment of the day: I planned on taking a 30 min nap (because I'm just so tired for some reason) and ended up sleeping through my ZUMBA class. I also just stayed in bed for a while and waited until later to do my ab workout and pushups.
I'm off to read before I go to sleep...
So here's my schedule this week in the classroom:
Monday - WASP Report
Tuesday - Grammar
Thursday - Literature
I've realized a long time ago that my 5th years love discussions and engaging activities so I sat on the computer planning a lesson plan for 2 hours straight. I wanted to make sure that the students will be engaged the whole entire time.
5h4: We read Mix-n-Match. I did a chalk talk with them, agreement circles, hot seat, pairing, and dividing up the questions. They loved it! They had the same reaction as my 10 year olds when I did hot seat with them. They were so excited! The students got my sense of humor, and we had a great time discussing things.
5h3: We read The Numerati. I did number tricks with them, group work, presentations, adverbs, give me an answer (don't know what else to call it - I gave answers to five students so that they will participate when I call their name). The Numerati wasn't as exciting, and the students didn't really like the article much. I don't blame them, I didn't like it either - BUT they didn't know that.
I gave both classes an option of either taking a test and going over it or playing a game, participating, and leaving class early. :) Of course, they chose the second option. So game playing on Tuesday for grammar - here we come!
4h4: Verbal Practice: Moving Questions where I provided controversial topics for students to ask each other. It actually got a lot of them talking and participating. +++ For the other class, we read How About Hugs? and had a discussion. This class is a little rough on the edges, and there are four students that ruin it for everyone. I got a little bit upset with the class, and I told them that if they wanted to act like children, I will treat them like children - meaning the next person to say something inappropriate will stand in the corner with their nose in the corner. I normally hate doing this but it got them to be quiet. I've literally tried everything I can to deal with classroom management, but nothing seems to work. :( I've tried at least 7 different things with them already.
I also worked on my other lesson plans for the remedial English teacher because I'm also teaching her 1st year students. I enjoy these classes because the students are still super excited about everything. I did get away from teaching the 4h4 class to teach my adorable 1st years.
Hm. Enough about classwork. Apparently, I'm giving off the vibe that I'm the party girl because I talk a lot and am very friendly. Ashton is the mommy figure - the responsible one. Ugh. Maybe I should just stop talking to everyone.
My bike apparently sucks at life. My lights won't work because the battery is already dead, and my tire is flat. (That's why it hurt so bad to cycle today. Ugh.)
The weather was pretty today, and it's supposed to get warmer towards the end of the week.
Lazy moment of the day: I planned on taking a 30 min nap (because I'm just so tired for some reason) and ended up sleeping through my ZUMBA class. I also just stayed in bed for a while and waited until later to do my ab workout and pushups.
I'm off to read before I go to sleep...
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Netherbusybusybusy!
Saturday:
1. Open School Day - 9:30-12:30
*Open School Day is when the school tries to persuade perspective students to choose our school for their secondary education* Every subject had a room, and teachers decorated it to make it more appealing. I was with the English teachers, and the parents loved the idea of having an American student teacher in the classroom. :) I even spoke to some parents and students in English - one talked to me in Dutch, and I got to practice what I knew. It was awesome. After 12:30, there were food, wine, and drinks for the teacher. Calvijn definitely takes good care of their teachers. (Also, I've been telling everyone I talked to and meet that I'm looking for a teaching position.)
2. Oud-Beijerland - the whole day and night
*Oud-Beijerland is called a village and one of the teachers I worked with invited me over to meet her family and have dinner with them. Amazing family + amazing food + religious = awesome time. We went to the center to go food shopping and show me around. Then, my teacher cooked Romanian food (she's Romanian married to a Dutch man, and they have precious kids!) She got me to try out a lot of new things like old cheese, French cheese, and healthy Dutch snacks. (I'm definitely bringing some back home to the US.) We talked a lot about education issues, God, and life in general. I stayed until 11:30pm just talking with them. It was such a great time.
*NOTE* For Lent this year, I want to have a better relationship with God and to try and live the life that he wants me to live. I finally found the support system that I've been needing. I'm scared and excited at the same time. :)
Sunday: Whoa!
1. Original plan: work out, church, grocery shopping, carnival
2. What actually happened: work out, church, hung out with new people, grocery shopping, carnival
3. New people - Filipinos - I don't want to jump into conclusions or make any assumptions, but I seriously think that I just hung out with two former prostitutes and their pimp. He was called Big Daddy. Whoa. The lady I met at church answered my question of "why the Netherlands?" by saying "well, you know how the stories go." The only story I've heard about Filipinos here are that a lot moved here because of prostitution. *holds breath*
4. The food they gave me was good, though. Hahahahah. I miss Filipino food.
5. Ashton and I went to Breda for the Carnival for the experience, and it was crazy!!!! Lots of costumes, floats, people, beer, and confetti everywhere on the streets! I would hate to be the one to clean up...I did partake in the parade which was awesome!!
This was my weekend in a nut shell. Good stuff, and definitely the most interesting Valentine's Day ever...and I got a cute email from the one I love most. :)
By the way, I think I'm adding Romania in my list of countries to visit. :)
1. Open School Day - 9:30-12:30
*Open School Day is when the school tries to persuade perspective students to choose our school for their secondary education* Every subject had a room, and teachers decorated it to make it more appealing. I was with the English teachers, and the parents loved the idea of having an American student teacher in the classroom. :) I even spoke to some parents and students in English - one talked to me in Dutch, and I got to practice what I knew. It was awesome. After 12:30, there were food, wine, and drinks for the teacher. Calvijn definitely takes good care of their teachers. (Also, I've been telling everyone I talked to and meet that I'm looking for a teaching position.)
2. Oud-Beijerland - the whole day and night
*Oud-Beijerland is called a village and one of the teachers I worked with invited me over to meet her family and have dinner with them. Amazing family + amazing food + religious = awesome time. We went to the center to go food shopping and show me around. Then, my teacher cooked Romanian food (she's Romanian married to a Dutch man, and they have precious kids!) She got me to try out a lot of new things like old cheese, French cheese, and healthy Dutch snacks. (I'm definitely bringing some back home to the US.) We talked a lot about education issues, God, and life in general. I stayed until 11:30pm just talking with them. It was such a great time.
*NOTE* For Lent this year, I want to have a better relationship with God and to try and live the life that he wants me to live. I finally found the support system that I've been needing. I'm scared and excited at the same time. :)
Sunday: Whoa!
1. Original plan: work out, church, grocery shopping, carnival
2. What actually happened: work out, church, hung out with new people, grocery shopping, carnival
3. New people - Filipinos - I don't want to jump into conclusions or make any assumptions, but I seriously think that I just hung out with two former prostitutes and their pimp. He was called Big Daddy. Whoa. The lady I met at church answered my question of "why the Netherlands?" by saying "well, you know how the stories go." The only story I've heard about Filipinos here are that a lot moved here because of prostitution. *holds breath*
4. The food they gave me was good, though. Hahahahah. I miss Filipino food.
5. Ashton and I went to Breda for the Carnival for the experience, and it was crazy!!!! Lots of costumes, floats, people, beer, and confetti everywhere on the streets! I would hate to be the one to clean up...I did partake in the parade which was awesome!!
This was my weekend in a nut shell. Good stuff, and definitely the most interesting Valentine's Day ever...and I got a cute email from the one I love most. :)
By the way, I think I'm adding Romania in my list of countries to visit. :)
Friday, February 12, 2010
Netherraw
****NOTICE****
I ate raw herring today rolled in onions.
The weather today was absolutely beautiful! The sun was out, the skies were clear, and the snow was starting to melt. I cycled to school - and it was really nice.
I was at school for a while working on my lesson plans for next week because I'm taking over all of the classes for both my mentor teacher and the other teacher I'm working with. It's going to be a really busy week but I'm coming up with lesson plans that hopefully will motivate the students to work.
I had individual meetings with different students, and I was a little worried that they might not show up, BUT they did! The two Turkish girls that I'm working with showed up at 11 and we worked for an hour. They took this pretest for me so that I could see what needed work. I also set up a penpal for them with my brothers. My two little brothers are 18 and 16 - same age as the girls. They were really excited to be contacting someone in America.
Also, the guy from my 5th year also showed up! He's having problems with subject-verb agreement, so I've been giving him exercises to work on. I thought that he would want to work on it together so that he didn't have anything to do during the weekend, but he wanted to work on it over the weekend! I was impressed. I did tell him that I wanted to sit down with him and go over some things with him. :)
Anyways, about the raw herring - one of the caretakers of the school thought it would be nice to buy me raw herring since I told him I wanted to try it. I wanted to take my time with trying the raw herring - meaning I was not ready for it, but since he brought it to school, I couldn't say no! I was so scared and nervous...but I actually liked it! The teachers were impressed. :) However, I did smell like fish and onions the rest of the day.
I also helped out with setting up for Open School Day on Saturday - it's a way to persuade new students to choose our school for their secondary school. I put up posters with English words that the 1st years did, and put proverbs around the school that had Dutch translation as well. I talked to one of the English teachers and he said that if I was serious about working in Holland, I need to meet with the Ministry of Education in De Haage while I'm here to see what all I can and should do to be able to teach here. I will definitely be doing that while I'm here.
***Exercise***
I realized that I cycle two miles back and forth to school so 4 miles everyday. :) I also lift weights everyday for 30 min, do cardio (hour of ZUMBA, 2.81 miles on treadmill), and been doing ab workout twice a day. I really want a toned body, if you couldn't tell. My diet is a lot healthier as well, which excites me. (Don't worry, I do take at least a day off from working out for rest.)
Oh yeah, I had a bad dream about Ant again. :( It makes me really sad that all of my dreams about him are bad, never good. Then again, they are just dreams right?
I have a busy weekend ahead of me - lots of hard work and of course, lots of play as well.
I ate raw herring today rolled in onions.
The weather today was absolutely beautiful! The sun was out, the skies were clear, and the snow was starting to melt. I cycled to school - and it was really nice.
I was at school for a while working on my lesson plans for next week because I'm taking over all of the classes for both my mentor teacher and the other teacher I'm working with. It's going to be a really busy week but I'm coming up with lesson plans that hopefully will motivate the students to work.
I had individual meetings with different students, and I was a little worried that they might not show up, BUT they did! The two Turkish girls that I'm working with showed up at 11 and we worked for an hour. They took this pretest for me so that I could see what needed work. I also set up a penpal for them with my brothers. My two little brothers are 18 and 16 - same age as the girls. They were really excited to be contacting someone in America.
Also, the guy from my 5th year also showed up! He's having problems with subject-verb agreement, so I've been giving him exercises to work on. I thought that he would want to work on it together so that he didn't have anything to do during the weekend, but he wanted to work on it over the weekend! I was impressed. I did tell him that I wanted to sit down with him and go over some things with him. :)
Anyways, about the raw herring - one of the caretakers of the school thought it would be nice to buy me raw herring since I told him I wanted to try it. I wanted to take my time with trying the raw herring - meaning I was not ready for it, but since he brought it to school, I couldn't say no! I was so scared and nervous...but I actually liked it! The teachers were impressed. :) However, I did smell like fish and onions the rest of the day.
I also helped out with setting up for Open School Day on Saturday - it's a way to persuade new students to choose our school for their secondary school. I put up posters with English words that the 1st years did, and put proverbs around the school that had Dutch translation as well. I talked to one of the English teachers and he said that if I was serious about working in Holland, I need to meet with the Ministry of Education in De Haage while I'm here to see what all I can and should do to be able to teach here. I will definitely be doing that while I'm here.
***Exercise***
I realized that I cycle two miles back and forth to school so 4 miles everyday. :) I also lift weights everyday for 30 min, do cardio (hour of ZUMBA, 2.81 miles on treadmill), and been doing ab workout twice a day. I really want a toned body, if you couldn't tell. My diet is a lot healthier as well, which excites me. (Don't worry, I do take at least a day off from working out for rest.)
Oh yeah, I had a bad dream about Ant again. :( It makes me really sad that all of my dreams about him are bad, never good. Then again, they are just dreams right?
I have a busy weekend ahead of me - lots of hard work and of course, lots of play as well.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
NetherAmerican
Quotes of the day:
"That's the American way..."
"Well, Americans..."
"Here are the hungry Americans..."
Btw, Ashton and I are on the school's website, and it says in the end of the paragraph that our English isn't the preferred British English but the American English. Whoa.
What's up with that?!
i had a really long day today. 7:35 - 5:00. My 4th years received their new literature book today, and started on a poem. One of my 4th years gave me his dialogue journal - that makes 7! I'm so excited about it! I taught my 5h3 class over Mix -n- Match article. We had a chalk talk and an awesome discussion about mixed races and interracial dating. It was awesome. However, the students weren't motivated to answer the questions, sadly enough.
Funny story: One of my students is Filipino and she knows Tagalog. Well, there's this other student who is outspoken in the class, and he said "Maganda ka" which means "you're pretty" in Tagalog. I blushed like a teenager because the last person who said that to me was my ex-bf, and it completely caught me off guard.
I also taught the 1st years today who needed help. We did Find Someone Who and Charades. It was fun. I also picked up another project: teaching two 4th year Turkish girls English grammar. They will meet with me at least three times a week, and both are very excited about learning English, which makes me really happy.
Today, my mentor teacher and I talked for a long time. It seemed as if we hadn't had a chance to really sit down and talk. She gave me Dutch/Indonesian recipes that I have to try - so excited about cooking!
My mentor teacher wants me to work with a group of students with their English from the 4th year class - which is completely fine by me. :)
I'm also working with this 5th year student with his grammar, and I think he finally knows that I do care and want to help him. He's paying more attention in class and participating. I love it! I wish I could have taken a picture of the chalk talk today. It was great.
Problem of the day:
Most students have lost motivation to do their school work - or at least in my English classes. There is no reward system here like in the US, and so students just don't want to do anything. My mentor teacher and I talked about possibly incorporating some kind of small rewards for the students to get them motivated - and I was talking to the other teacher I work with about this. Another teacher butted in and started saying "Well in America, that's how you do it. This is Netherlands. Competition will make mean people." Of course, I said nothing. I told her I understood where she was coming from but she kept saying how the reward system is the "American" way - but other countries do it too...
There was also a parent information meeting today for students who are interested in attending our school. Ashton and I arrived at 7:30pm for dinner when dinner was at 5pm. Whoops. We got left over though! Chinese/Indonesian food. :)
Instead of seeing the presentation, the janitors kept us occupied in their office by talking to us and entertaining us. Anto, who is an amazing man, cycled from Rotterdam to Paris! AH! He doesn't have a license and he's been cycling since forever.
When we finally caught up with my overseas coordinator, the presentation is over and the individual meetings started - all in Dutch. We talked to one of the English teachers, and asked him about applying for a job. He also told us that teachers get 14 paychecks a year - a bonus during Christmas and one in May (for vacation money). Whoa right?! He told me that I would have to learn Dutch to be able to teach and get my teaching certificate approved by the Ministry of Education here in Rotterdam. I swear, if they offer me a job, i will learn Dutch as quick as possible.
...I have hope. We'll see. I also contacted Macon County for a job. Ugh. I'm missing out on teacher fairs and such!
V-Day is coming up....I'm dragging Ashton with me to Maastricht to attend the carnival during V-Day - kind of like Mardi Gras in the US.
I'm ready to start traveling. One more week until Paris and Barcelona with the roomie! YAY!
"That's the American way..."
"Well, Americans..."
"Here are the hungry Americans..."
Btw, Ashton and I are on the school's website, and it says in the end of the paragraph that our English isn't the preferred British English but the American English. Whoa.
What's up with that?!
i had a really long day today. 7:35 - 5:00. My 4th years received their new literature book today, and started on a poem. One of my 4th years gave me his dialogue journal - that makes 7! I'm so excited about it! I taught my 5h3 class over Mix -n- Match article. We had a chalk talk and an awesome discussion about mixed races and interracial dating. It was awesome. However, the students weren't motivated to answer the questions, sadly enough.
Funny story: One of my students is Filipino and she knows Tagalog. Well, there's this other student who is outspoken in the class, and he said "Maganda ka" which means "you're pretty" in Tagalog. I blushed like a teenager because the last person who said that to me was my ex-bf, and it completely caught me off guard.
I also taught the 1st years today who needed help. We did Find Someone Who and Charades. It was fun. I also picked up another project: teaching two 4th year Turkish girls English grammar. They will meet with me at least three times a week, and both are very excited about learning English, which makes me really happy.
Today, my mentor teacher and I talked for a long time. It seemed as if we hadn't had a chance to really sit down and talk. She gave me Dutch/Indonesian recipes that I have to try - so excited about cooking!
My mentor teacher wants me to work with a group of students with their English from the 4th year class - which is completely fine by me. :)
I'm also working with this 5th year student with his grammar, and I think he finally knows that I do care and want to help him. He's paying more attention in class and participating. I love it! I wish I could have taken a picture of the chalk talk today. It was great.
Problem of the day:
Most students have lost motivation to do their school work - or at least in my English classes. There is no reward system here like in the US, and so students just don't want to do anything. My mentor teacher and I talked about possibly incorporating some kind of small rewards for the students to get them motivated - and I was talking to the other teacher I work with about this. Another teacher butted in and started saying "Well in America, that's how you do it. This is Netherlands. Competition will make mean people." Of course, I said nothing. I told her I understood where she was coming from but she kept saying how the reward system is the "American" way - but other countries do it too...
There was also a parent information meeting today for students who are interested in attending our school. Ashton and I arrived at 7:30pm for dinner when dinner was at 5pm. Whoops. We got left over though! Chinese/Indonesian food. :)
Instead of seeing the presentation, the janitors kept us occupied in their office by talking to us and entertaining us. Anto, who is an amazing man, cycled from Rotterdam to Paris! AH! He doesn't have a license and he's been cycling since forever.
When we finally caught up with my overseas coordinator, the presentation is over and the individual meetings started - all in Dutch. We talked to one of the English teachers, and asked him about applying for a job. He also told us that teachers get 14 paychecks a year - a bonus during Christmas and one in May (for vacation money). Whoa right?! He told me that I would have to learn Dutch to be able to teach and get my teaching certificate approved by the Ministry of Education here in Rotterdam. I swear, if they offer me a job, i will learn Dutch as quick as possible.
...I have hope. We'll see. I also contacted Macon County for a job. Ugh. I'm missing out on teacher fairs and such!
V-Day is coming up....I'm dragging Ashton with me to Maastricht to attend the carnival during V-Day - kind of like Mardi Gras in the US.
I'm ready to start traveling. One more week until Paris and Barcelona with the roomie! YAY!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Nethernothing
Funny moment of the day: I was riding the tram and this lady walked up to me and started talking to me in Dutch. I'm so tired of telling people that I don't speak Dutch so I just went along with it. She laughed and I laughed and nodded my head. It was quite amusing. Ashton was laughing her butt off.
So today was uneventful.
1. There's snow outside!
2. Took the tram to school because Ashton talked me into it.
3. Made a checklist - everything is checked off except portfolio
4. Looked up awesome posters that could be printed out.
5. Got home and took a nap.
6. Woke up and started working on my portfolio! Yay.
7. Talked to Danielle.
8. ZUMBA! And weights! Btw, zumba is amazing - it amazes me how older women are willing to shake their hips and do the whole popping dance moves. I love it!
9. Been eating good dinner the last couple of days.
10. Finally booked my trip to Athens, Greece! How exciting!
11. Organized my life.
European countries that I'm planning on visiting:
1. France
2. Spain
3. Italy
4. Greece
5. Ireland
6. Germany
7. Poland
European countries that I've already visited:
1. United Kingdom
2. The Netherlands
3. Belgium
.....I think I might want to go to one more country.
Austria or Czech? I love having options!
Summer 2010 plans:
1. Vegas
2. International Student Volunteer - I want to volunteer in Ecuador for a month! (also to learn Spanish)
3. Take online courses so I can travel! - Start on Spanish classes!
4. Try and get a minor in something.
5. Possibly work at McDonalds again? Eh, probably not, but we'll see.
So today was uneventful.
1. There's snow outside!
2. Took the tram to school because Ashton talked me into it.
3. Made a checklist - everything is checked off except portfolio
4. Looked up awesome posters that could be printed out.
5. Got home and took a nap.
6. Woke up and started working on my portfolio! Yay.
7. Talked to Danielle.
8. ZUMBA! And weights! Btw, zumba is amazing - it amazes me how older women are willing to shake their hips and do the whole popping dance moves. I love it!
9. Been eating good dinner the last couple of days.
10. Finally booked my trip to Athens, Greece! How exciting!
11. Organized my life.
European countries that I'm planning on visiting:
1. France
2. Spain
3. Italy
4. Greece
5. Ireland
6. Germany
7. Poland
European countries that I've already visited:
1. United Kingdom
2. The Netherlands
3. Belgium
.....I think I might want to go to one more country.
Austria or Czech? I love having options!
Summer 2010 plans:
1. Vegas
2. International Student Volunteer - I want to volunteer in Ecuador for a month! (also to learn Spanish)
3. Take online courses so I can travel! - Start on Spanish classes!
4. Try and get a minor in something.
5. Possibly work at McDonalds again? Eh, probably not, but we'll see.
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