Jumping Right In
Hello lovely readers! I imagine you thought I was dead; a whole day without a post! Turns out that they weren't kidding when they said this course will be labour-intensive; I'll not have much free time.
First, the house. It is not so much a house as a flat... it's one floor of a house that we have to ourselves. It is very 1970's, all orange and brown. There are 4 bedrooms, one shared and 3 single. Then there are 4 bathrooms. One with a sink and shower (but no toilet), one with a sink, shower/bath and toilet, one with just a toilet (no sink... you think they'd have arranged this one and the first one a little better...), and another with toilet, sink and shower. Very odd, all those bathrooms. Our "kitchen" is two small fridges, a camping hot plate with two burners, and a table. No chairs, no stove, no SINK. We have to do our dishes and wash our produce in the bathroom. Very odd.
My room is quite large and sunny; I really like it. The bed is comfy, and I have a desk/table and a couch. It's orange and brown, but actually pretty nice. The door locks with an old-fashioned key, like all the bedrooms. I've also got a door onto the balcony, along with 2 of the other rooms. It's kind of neat.
The flatmates are a super group. Lucy is from the Isle of Wight (I'm not sure I spelled that right). She's very tall and slim, and knows how to surf. She's been travelling for quite a while, and is very friendly. We've already visited lots, and I think we'll really get to be friends. Fenalda is from Brazil, but has also travelled all over. She's a bit older, and is very cute and funny. She has so much energy! Alex is the only boy (I don't think that bothers him much...) and he's also from England, and has also been travelling round. He's half English, half Russian, and he's kind of quiet, but really nice. He's very knowledgeable about things, and can understand Czech, so he's definitely nice to have around. Megan is from Chicago (she teaches the equivalent of English 101 at a 2 year college), and this is her first big trip overseas, like me! She and I have lots in common, and I'm really enjoying getting to know her. All in all, it's a great group, and we're all getting along.
The first day of class was a bit overwhelming. You just jump right in! We talked about the course overview, and did a bit of observation, and then went to the pub. Ah, the pub. Life is very pub-focused here. It's nice though, because I got to sit and get know some of the other students (there are 12 of all together, 6 male, 6 female) that I don't live with. Today, I met the students that I'll teach tomorrow. Tomorrow! The third day of the course, and I have to teach a 25 minute lesson. My tutor made it very clear exactly what I had to teach, but I still have to get myself organized, and make sure I know what I'm doing. It's a bit overwhelming.
Later today I have to teach my classmates how to do something. The idea is that we spend 6 minutes (yes 6. Not 5. Not 7. 6.) teaching, just so that the tutors can observe us and our strength weaknesses before they unleash us on unsuspecting Czech students. I'm going to teach the rain game, you know, the one where a group snaps its fingers/stomps its feet/etc. to make it sounds like a rainstorm. I think it should go alright... I practiced a few times last night, and I think it should go smoothly.
This is already a very long post, so I'll end it here. If you're curious about anything in specific, email me, and I'll fill you in!! More tomorrow, or maybe later today if I can get the time.
I love you all. Keep writing to me!
Love,
Elizabeth
First, the house. It is not so much a house as a flat... it's one floor of a house that we have to ourselves. It is very 1970's, all orange and brown. There are 4 bedrooms, one shared and 3 single. Then there are 4 bathrooms. One with a sink and shower (but no toilet), one with a sink, shower/bath and toilet, one with just a toilet (no sink... you think they'd have arranged this one and the first one a little better...), and another with toilet, sink and shower. Very odd, all those bathrooms. Our "kitchen" is two small fridges, a camping hot plate with two burners, and a table. No chairs, no stove, no SINK. We have to do our dishes and wash our produce in the bathroom. Very odd.
My room is quite large and sunny; I really like it. The bed is comfy, and I have a desk/table and a couch. It's orange and brown, but actually pretty nice. The door locks with an old-fashioned key, like all the bedrooms. I've also got a door onto the balcony, along with 2 of the other rooms. It's kind of neat.
The flatmates are a super group. Lucy is from the Isle of Wight (I'm not sure I spelled that right). She's very tall and slim, and knows how to surf. She's been travelling for quite a while, and is very friendly. We've already visited lots, and I think we'll really get to be friends. Fenalda is from Brazil, but has also travelled all over. She's a bit older, and is very cute and funny. She has so much energy! Alex is the only boy (I don't think that bothers him much...) and he's also from England, and has also been travelling round. He's half English, half Russian, and he's kind of quiet, but really nice. He's very knowledgeable about things, and can understand Czech, so he's definitely nice to have around. Megan is from Chicago (she teaches the equivalent of English 101 at a 2 year college), and this is her first big trip overseas, like me! She and I have lots in common, and I'm really enjoying getting to know her. All in all, it's a great group, and we're all getting along.
The first day of class was a bit overwhelming. You just jump right in! We talked about the course overview, and did a bit of observation, and then went to the pub. Ah, the pub. Life is very pub-focused here. It's nice though, because I got to sit and get know some of the other students (there are 12 of all together, 6 male, 6 female) that I don't live with. Today, I met the students that I'll teach tomorrow. Tomorrow! The third day of the course, and I have to teach a 25 minute lesson. My tutor made it very clear exactly what I had to teach, but I still have to get myself organized, and make sure I know what I'm doing. It's a bit overwhelming.
Later today I have to teach my classmates how to do something. The idea is that we spend 6 minutes (yes 6. Not 5. Not 7. 6.) teaching, just so that the tutors can observe us and our strength weaknesses before they unleash us on unsuspecting Czech students. I'm going to teach the rain game, you know, the one where a group snaps its fingers/stomps its feet/etc. to make it sounds like a rainstorm. I think it should go alright... I practiced a few times last night, and I think it should go smoothly.
This is already a very long post, so I'll end it here. If you're curious about anything in specific, email me, and I'll fill you in!! More tomorrow, or maybe later today if I can get the time.
I love you all. Keep writing to me!
Love,
Elizabeth
posted by Elizabeth @ 03:09
1 Comments:
At 3:17 a.m.,
Elizabeth said…
Hey Michael... the whole 6 minute thing felt kind of like "and thou shalt count unto three, and the number of the counting shall be three. Thou shalt count not unto two unless thou proceedeth directly unto three. Thou shalt count not unto four, and five is completely out of it!"
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