First Week on the Job

The First week has honestly been so exhausting that I’ve found it hard to write even a few sentences. I wake up at 7am and begin singing/dancing promptly at 8:30am, followed by long and tedious hours of doing what I can only imagine the children picture me as being a teacher in a Charlie Brown sketch. Let me put it this way…even whistles can’t get these kids to make a proper line and we sing and we prance around like fools trying to get these kids to have fun and learn something. I love the kids though. Some of them are true gems, they want to learn and they try and lord knows it isn’t easy for them…but I’m not sure the lord knows how difficult it is as the teacher. I began this adventure thinking how great an experience is would be and I was right. I’ve learnt a lot! And for that I am thankful and I feel like I have another family that will always take me in (or so they’ve told me). But I struggle to find the energy and creativity to communicate with these kids. I think that as someone who is a complete foreigner has no right to come into a country and try to make rules such as “no Italian” when you’re the only one who doesn’t speak it. How can the teacher effectively teach without understanding what the kids are asking you. You cannot get feedback from them and feedback, I’ve come to learn, is a key element in the learning curve. These kids are intelligent. There is this one kid who knows more english than any other in the class and when I ask questions or give instructions the kids look at me until I’ve finished and then as if he blew a silent whistle that only they can hear their heads turn to look at him for some reprieve. I love to see their faces, especially Octavio. He is hard to miss as he has a full head of bright red hair and freckles. One afternoon at lunch he came to me with a bottle of water with this look of defeat on his face. I took the bottle in hand and with one quick twist the cap came off with little effort on my part. He was astonished. He looked at me like I was a superwoman in hiding. It was adorable and every lunch hour since he’s come to me to open the bottle.