good afternoon, class

I did it! I survived my first week of classes. I was not eaten alive, I was not sent home crying at the end of the day and I even had some little successes in this first week!

So as you might already know I was roped in to being the "substitute" English teacher. The one they had last year found another job. Supposedly the school has another teacher lined up, and they just need me to fill in for a little bit. But that's why I put "substitute" in quotes. I have a feeling this could easily be a many month position. We'll see.

I'm the English teacher for the afternoon crowd. The morning English teacher is still at the school. He has been helping me get my materials together and otherwise get me "orientated" to the whole teaching thang. (They forget that I'm not a teaching professional. I'm a college grad with a degree in Political Economy. Which means I need help! Sure I know English, but anyone who has ever been in a classroom knows that's often not enough!)

So I get to work with the 6th - 9th graders. The 6th graders are young enough that they are pretty much willing to learn anything. The 7th graders have the biggest 'tudes of all the grades, but they are still a high energy group which is good. I want lots of participation and they love competition, so I'm going to use that to my advantage. The 8th graders are great. It's a huge group, 42 students I think, but they are all well behaved, which is amazing! They are also pretty listo (literally "ready" but in this sense also "intelligent", or "quick"). The 9th graders will be an interesting group to work with. School here ends at 9th grade, and you can continue on to Bachillerato if you want. (Bachillerato is either a 2 or 3 year education track, depending on what you choose to concentrate. It's kind of like a vo-tech high school. You can specialize in Auto Mechanics, Nursing, Tourism, Accounting, Business or Generalized studies. If your family has money, after Bachillerato you can go on to a University.) So some of the 9th graders are already in "senioritis" mode while others are ready to get down to business to prepare for Bachillerato. Some are serious about studying English and some just want to make googly eyes at their boyfriend. But what can ya do?

I began all the classes with review - numbers 1-100, days of the week, months of the year, classroom vocab etc. Most of them just began English studies last year, so they are more or less on the same page. At the end of the first class I asked all the students to write an anonymous comment, suggestion, question etc. on a piece of paper and turn it in. I remember in health class our teacher had us do this so we could ask the questions that we've always wanted to, without having to be embarrased about asking them. I figured that some students will probably never want to come talk to me face to face, or at least for a couple weeks, but I wanted to get their feedback sooner than later. And boy did I get some priceless responses.

Quiero saber como se dice - quiero salir al recreo I want to know how you say - I want to leave for recess.

Porque el ingles se escribe de una forma y se pronuncia de otra forma? Why is English written in one way but pronunced another? (That, my friend, is the million dollar question!)

No me qusta que me pregunte nada en Ingles, OK?! I don't like you to ask me anything in English, OK?! (Ouch! Well, sorry buddy but this is English class, so I will in fact be asking you questions in English, OK?!)

me caes muy bien, tienes hijos? I like you, do you have children? (When I shared this one with my host grandma, she thought I read it as quieres hijos? - do you WANT children? oh boy!)

Como se dice hamburgesas en Ingles? How do you say hamburgers in English? (I received a bunch of "how do you say" some of the other ones conejo - rabbit, pachanga - big party, tortuga - turtle, Pedro - Peter(?), Victor Fabian Rivera Perla - I have no idea!

Me gusta como usted ensena. I like the way you teach. (awww!)

Usted es una buena maestra. You are a good teacher. (Thanks guys and I haven't even given you homework yet!)

Porque es chelita? Why are you white? (I want to respond with, "ask your mother", but I don't think that really translates...)

Quiero saber porque los americanos hablan tambien el Ingles. I want to know why Americans also speak English. (Not entirely sure how to respond to that...I mean, some Americans only speak English, others speak what can only loosely be considered English, and some speak a downright encyclopedia of languages.)

So all in all I think classes are going well. It's definitely helping me get an "in" with the students which I hope will help me when I start doing my real job of Environmental Education and other projects.

As I leave the school at the end of the day, some of the students call to me, in English, "Goodbye teacher!" I really want to yell back, "goodbye, student!" But then that would suggest that if they were to start using my name, I would have to use theirs too, which is a hopeless task if I ever was given one! But at least they put a smile on my face as I walk home.