My apologies for not posting for a while. I teach, I come home from school, I socialize with my roommates or other teachers, I stare at my computer, I go to bed. The end.
I'll fill in the holes. I am really enjoying teaching here. The kids are funny. They are VERY social beings and they like to test my limits. I have had to discipline more here than I did in New Mexico. I don't find this a bad thing, I am sure in a month the kids will have me figured out and realize what is excepted of them. Today I had my 8th graders do a group project. Each person in the group had a job and it was highly entertaining to watch them work. I am convinced that other teachers have not trusted them to work in groups. They were so excited to be able to work with other people it was awesome. They however did more socializing than working. I was not discouraged though. By the end of the year they will be able to positively work in a group, that is my goal! My 7th graders still worship me. I hope it stays that way! :)
Last Friday was open house, so I got to meet a lot of parents. It was fun. They all were very supportive and said they were at my service. It was very encouraging. The best was when they would come in introducing themselves in very broken English and I would tell them they could speak Spanish and this wave of relief would wash over their face. This will hopefully enable good relationship with parents so we can work together to help their kids understand math. Speaking of understanding math, my kids can't add 9 and 13. They have to use their fingers...I'll take any suggestions on what to do with these kiddos!
Today my roommate Stephanie and I rode a school bus down into the city. It was the most well behaved school bus I have ever been on. Each bus has a nanny. They are workers of the school that take care of the kids on the bus. They even carry backpacks off the bus for the kids. They make sure the kids get off on the right stop, make sure they are seat belted in, make sure they aren't being naughty. Every school should have nannies!
While downtown today Steph and I felt like we were in a parade. We have walked around el centro a few times but today especially EVERYONE was staring at us. The joys of being American. We just walked around, stopped at a few shops. For about $3 we got a chicken sandwich and a delicious coffee. Can't go wrong. It is nice to get off the mountain!
Next week the basketball season starts. I am coaching JV girls. Practice is only twice a week and supposedly they aren't very good at all! It will be an adventure.
In a week we have a long weekend for Independence Day. We're hoping to go a beach and relax. I'll let you all know how that works out.
We finally have a maid. She is amazing. Coming home to a clean apartment and supper on the stove is amazing. We truly appreciate her! She even lines up all of the shoes in the closet. :)
Things continue to go fantastic with my roommates! And I am truly enjoying being here!