First day of Classes

Ahhhhh, just when I thought I would never see another ¨first day of classes¨, that I had safely graduated and left school in the ancient past...I decide to become a teacher. And have first day of class moments for the rest of my life.

So today was officially my first day of classes as a paid, professional english teacher, complete with a full time job, a fancy time card, my own itty bitty classrooms and chalkboard and spiffy yellow teachers folder. Not to mention kilos of text books, teachers guides to those same text books, cassette tapes, and notebooks, pens, and post-its (I am becoming obsessed with post-its, the neon type) I´ll be lugging around from now on. I even bought a six dollar watch to keep track of time in my classes. Its is beautiful, might I add. So, in summary, this is the real deal. So THIS is what it feels like to have a career and let it be something you love doing.

As much as I DO like teaching, I still had some severe nervousness this morning before my first 9 o clock class. So much so that I could not sleep and when I woke up my neck and back were completely tense- I could actually not touch my chin to my chest or turn in a way that was not saddeningly robotic. I stretched, I mediated, I took a hot shower, I put peppermint oil on my neck...nothing worked. Edwin, his mother, his father, and his grandmother all gave me the ´go get em´speech (wait, I´m quite sure they didn´t say ´go get em´in english...)and then his mom drove me to work. I got there and within 4 minutes I not only had an energy rush (adrenaline?), but I forgot about the pain immediately. Yay! My class was wonderful and so were my students, of course. They were all intermediate level university students, coming to the language school on their own time because they wanted to be there.

Today I will teach two more classes, one intermediate class of about 20 people and one advanced class of about 6. I´m only a little nervous this time.

More good news is that I think I am adjusting to the feeling of being hot again, and even starting to like it. Today instead of squinting my eyes in the noonday sun I tried to just close them for a minute and enjoy living in a tropical place, instead of thinking PU I am sweaty and uncomfortable.

Right now both of Edwin´s parrots are communicating back and forth in the garden with shrill whistles, like the kind a man might do when a good lookin´ lady walks by. Or a good lookin´lass, as our irish friends would say. right, carrie?

I have met several nice people. Several Mexican teachers have been very nice to me, and I have also met two foreign teachers. One is named Ann and she is from England, about my age, with a boyfriend here who is a nurse. I hope we´ll be friends because she seems very adventurous and nice. The other is named Daiva, she is in her forties and is from Lithuania but studied in England. We will be neighbors in a few days, and she is nice too.

Oh right, we´ll be neighbors because I got an apartment. I paid a deposit on my first apartment that is MINE, all mine, and I don´t care if its shabby, as Daiva says. Its itty bitty, with just a bedroom, a kitchen-dining room, and a bathroom whose ceiling looks like it was made for midgits. It is full of windows and light and is on the 3rd floor of a small building. Its clean enough, but I will probably try to clean it today or tomorrow before moving in. The thing I like about it is that its on the third floor so it has an excellent view and a little front porch type of area. But the best part is that the floor is not shared with another apartment, but just an area to wash and hang clothes. In other words, the apartment was build on the roof as an add on. You can climb a ladder to get on the roof of the roof-apartment too, and sit up there and see a view of the entire city. I am right in the middle of a huge valley surrounded by incredible mountains. Only 3 blocks away is the city center, with live marimba music and dancing every night, cafes, stores and such. The school is only a 10 minute walk away. I will move there within the next few days, and soon after have edwins brother/cousins and their girlfriends over for a party. :)

well, thats all for now. bye!