Random Thoughts

...not by Jack Handy...and surely not so clever.  Instead of doing a blog post on a specific trip or event, I just want a place to write random observations and thoughts.  I don't know if I'll have multiple random thoughts posts or just keep updating this one.  That's tbd :)

Teaching Makes Me High
When I decided to come to CR to teach English, I was pretty sure I was going to like teaching English, but I don't think I realized how much I was going to like it.  Now that I have a few weeks under my belt, I'm definitely getting a lot better at lesson planning and at teaching.  I'm no longer nervous, I know my students way better, and feel a lot more confident in the classroom.  I definitely feel like I'm actually teaching my students stuff, and I just generally like it a lot.  I for sure rate teaching with high scores in job satisfaction :)



All that is just to say that I get excited to go in to the classroom, and when I leave, I'm full of energy and am just giddy with excitement.  That's very cool for me, and a little unexpected I suppose.  I also adore my students.  On my second day of class with one of the groups, a student brought me in a bag of mamonies rojas, which was amazing - my first gift from a student!!!  How freaking cool is that!?!  Last week, one of my students, apparently concerned by the quantity of copies I was handing out asked how much I spent each week on the copies.  I gave him an approximate amount, and after class, he tried to give me money to help pay for them.  I obviously did not take his money and assured him the copies were taken care of, but really, how sweet is that?!?!  I mean, how often do you hear about a student being concerned about the expenses a teacher may or may not be paying for out of pocket?!?!  And it's not just that.  It's the day to day fun we have in the classroom.  There is always some laughter and joking and bonding in general.  I heart it all.  Just needed to vent my excitement about my experiences as a teacher, and what better way to do that than on my blog?!?!

Last note about teaching - a shout out to my mom.  We've had lots of great "teacher conversations" where we've been sharing ideas and bouncing concepts off of each other, and that's been a lot of fun.  As I discussed with her, I now understand why it's so important for teachers to have time to talk among themselves.  It's really a profession that feeds off the experiences and wisdom of others and the new ideas that different people can contribute.  :)

My Swiss Army Knife
I also want to give a shout out to Praggya and Jann to say a big thanks for my Swiss Army Knife.  I know the 'ol knife already made its way in to my blog when it got me in trouble at the US Embassy, but I want you to also know that it has come in super handy on multiple occasions already.  Who would have thought?  I mean, obviously you guys thought that, but since I've never had a SAK, I didn't realize quite how handy it could be.  I've used the screwdriver the most - to set up my whiteboard and fix my bike a few times, etc., but the knife has also come in handy when I haven't had any scissors around :)  So, just wanted to say - thanks guys!!

I Want the Video, but I don't have Internet Access....
If you are a volunteer English teacher abroad, and you find a super awesome video (song - in this case, to teach pronouns and 'to be') but you don't have internet access in your classroom and you can't save the video on your computer, you should do this: use your camera, which has video capabilities, to record the video and then save the recorded video on your laptop.  Then you can play the video for your students from your desktop in class.  One of my more brilliant moments if I do say so myself...