So...I taught my first class today! Not one of my classes, but a class at a state school. Yup, the one with the 15-year old boys. And it went well, I think! It started off a little rocky, as no one wanted to be the first to speak, but once we got going I think they liked it! The Polish teacher for the class as well as my peers sat in, so that was good support (we all sat in each other's classes). The Polish teacher said I was her hero for surviving with the rowdy, misbehaved boys. So that made me feel good!
My lesson focussed on the themes of "being new in town/getting around" and "keeping in touch". I had created a map for them to give me directions to key landmarks (bank, market, hotel, restaurant, post office, etc); they played charades acting out different ways of keeping in touch, they wrote stories incorporating three pictures...it flowed well I will say! Us teachers went for lunch to our usual spot and gave each other feedback on all our lessons, so that was super helpful. They were very encouraging, telling me how calm and cool and patient (yet disciplinary when needed) I was. Yey! Just some revisions here and there to tighten things up, and I should be set for tomorrow! Tomorrow I have two classes, a mixed group and another all-boys group (around the same age). All the other teachers had really great lessons, and overall it went pretty smoothly for all of us! (Jocylene's students asked her if she used to be a model!!)
Oh man, so on the topic of boys/men...all the ones here seem to be either 18 years old, or married. We've concluded there must be nothing else to do here, because people are married so young! Everyone is walking around pushing a pram!! So our quest for single men is a daunting one. We're trying to be optimistic, but we're already planning our weekend trips to Warsaw and Krakow. Hahaha At lunch today, apparently I had an admirer. Heather used the term "enamored" to describe his supposed infatuation with me. He was pretty cute and I'll admit we were making eyes...but that's about the extent of my Polish flirting. Oh, and I said "thank you" to him in Polish. The best pick-up line we have here is, "Do you speak English?" After that, we're lost! So after our first teaching day, we sat at a patio, had beer, and checked out our (limited) prospects. 5ish really is a good time of day though to be out and about, people leaving work, catching up with friends....I think the best looking guy we saw today was a priest.
Oh! At lunch we met another English teacher from another school! He's been here for a year, so we got his number and email and we expect him to show us all around! There is more than we realized, like a gym, and a bowling alley! That should suit us for the time being.
Some observations so far:
-beer is sometimes served with a straw - Jocylene and I think it's for females, so they don't smudge their lipstick
-on the bus when people pass a church they make the sign of the cross
-we are still the town spectacle
-all the women here wear the HIGHEST of high heels, all day, every day
-all the women are pregnant or are pushing a stroller
I swear I had more but they are escaping me at the moment.
Walking home after the patio, Heather and I had a few VERY close calls with pidgeons swooping at us. We had a good laugh about that. A very giggly, happy, successful day!
And now back to my lesson!
My lesson focussed on the themes of "being new in town/getting around" and "keeping in touch". I had created a map for them to give me directions to key landmarks (bank, market, hotel, restaurant, post office, etc); they played charades acting out different ways of keeping in touch, they wrote stories incorporating three pictures...it flowed well I will say! Us teachers went for lunch to our usual spot and gave each other feedback on all our lessons, so that was super helpful. They were very encouraging, telling me how calm and cool and patient (yet disciplinary when needed) I was. Yey! Just some revisions here and there to tighten things up, and I should be set for tomorrow! Tomorrow I have two classes, a mixed group and another all-boys group (around the same age). All the other teachers had really great lessons, and overall it went pretty smoothly for all of us! (Jocylene's students asked her if she used to be a model!!)
Oh man, so on the topic of boys/men...all the ones here seem to be either 18 years old, or married. We've concluded there must be nothing else to do here, because people are married so young! Everyone is walking around pushing a pram!! So our quest for single men is a daunting one. We're trying to be optimistic, but we're already planning our weekend trips to Warsaw and Krakow. Hahaha At lunch today, apparently I had an admirer. Heather used the term "enamored" to describe his supposed infatuation with me. He was pretty cute and I'll admit we were making eyes...but that's about the extent of my Polish flirting. Oh, and I said "thank you" to him in Polish. The best pick-up line we have here is, "Do you speak English?" After that, we're lost! So after our first teaching day, we sat at a patio, had beer, and checked out our (limited) prospects. 5ish really is a good time of day though to be out and about, people leaving work, catching up with friends....I think the best looking guy we saw today was a priest.
Oh! At lunch we met another English teacher from another school! He's been here for a year, so we got his number and email and we expect him to show us all around! There is more than we realized, like a gym, and a bowling alley! That should suit us for the time being.
Some observations so far:
-beer is sometimes served with a straw - Jocylene and I think it's for females, so they don't smudge their lipstick
-on the bus when people pass a church they make the sign of the cross
-we are still the town spectacle
-all the women here wear the HIGHEST of high heels, all day, every day
-all the women are pregnant or are pushing a stroller
I swear I had more but they are escaping me at the moment.
Walking home after the patio, Heather and I had a few VERY close calls with pidgeons swooping at us. We had a good laugh about that. A very giggly, happy, successful day!
And now back to my lesson!
(Picture - a drink after day 1 of teaching!)
haha yeah, the straws are for the ladies and they do that eeeeverywhere! they also like to stick in a shot of raspberry juice, so watch out!
ReplyDeletesounds like you're having a great time! it's awesome to read about all the stuff i know from an outsiders point of view!
Good luck with your classes and zee boyz!! keep making them eyes!!
haha, i love the observations, keep those up!
ReplyDeletedo even the pregnant women wear the highest of high heels?