madam jessica vs science

June 18, 2012

Whew.  Day one of practicum is done!  I taught 2 classes at Presby Junior High School in Kukurantumi.  Both classes were supposed to be 70 minutes long.  The first class was about simple machines and lasted about 50 minutes.  Oops.  I tried filling the time, and I ended up doing so, but not well.  I definitely made up for it in my second class which was about fish.  Yep.  Fish.  I definitely learned something new about that one.  Both classes got critiqued by Peace Corps staff members.  After my second one, the staff member said “You did exactly what an ideal teacher should do.”  For reals?!  Oh my gosh!!  I was definitely smiling ear to ear when I heard that.  It made me feel so good and confident.  I’m not going to get cocky about it or anything, but hearing those remarks definitely helps my morale and reminds me why I’m here.  It’s great. 

After we got done teaching, a bunch of us went to a bar back in our homestay town.  In fact, this bar is within eyesight of my house.  It’s amazing.  We all grabbed a beer and chatted about our first practicum day, tattoos, tv shows, San Francisco, and everything in between.  It was awesome.  Being able to spend time with our fellow trainees (and actually getting along) definitely helps boosts everybody’s moods.  It’s nice to have time to relax and reflect on our days and our lives.  I get the feeling we will be having beers after practicum every day for the next 2 weeks.  And I am 100% a-okay with that!

We had a small thunderstorm earlier tonight.  I love thunderstorms.  But supposedly storms get pretty bad here.  Luckily, this one was calm.  Once I was done with my bath, my “mother” told me “The rain is coming!”.  It was getting dark and cold really quickly and the wind was starting to blow.  As the rain began to fall, the girls (Ama and Aquia) and I began our homework.  Yay for lesson planning!  I teach 2 classes again tomorrow, but one is 35 minutes instead of 70.  I hope I have enough material for the 70 minutes class.  We shall see, I suppose!  Fingers crossed (I do that a lot, I’ve noticed)! 

It is only 8:47pm, but I am about to head to bed.  I am beyond pooped.  I have to be up at 5:45am to eat breakfast and get ready, so I can be at the taxi station by 6:30am.  Maybe I will take a nap tomorrow.  That would rock my socks off.  For reals.  Anywho, day-ee-ya  and sweet dreams.