Hard to believe

Hard to believe that school will officially be in session on Monday!

After what has felt like nearly a month long vacation here in Antigua, I must admit.. Settling into a more permanent schedule sounds kind of tempting. (I know, I know..  I'm going to completely regret saying that by the end of next week..!) This past week, Mona and I attended teacher work days at the Christian American School and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the other teachers, learning about the school climate and expectations, and just over all getting back into the swing of teaching. Before the work days started, I had a few definite moments where I thought to myself, "Wait, I have to teach? But I kind of like this life of leisure.. strolling through the city streets at 1 in the afternoon, making spontaneous coffee dates, sleeping in until 9:30.." However, the moment I stepped back into a school setting, any of those lingering feelings of reservation were immediately ameliorated. :-) I'm going to be teaching 14 first graders-- 11 boys and 3 girls! I've always joked that I would love to have more sons than daughters one day, but THIS ratio of boys to girls is a litttttle outrageous. I can't wait to see how the dynamic plays out.. Without a doubt, there will be many funny stories to come! In addition to my 14 first graders, I also will be teaching a section of 5th grade math (which, ironically, is the exact subject and grade that I taught during Summer School through CCPS! I love when things work out like that! :-), as well as a section of Beginner ESL (English as a Second Language) for students in grades 5-8. As completely and utterly ECSTATIC as I am about getting to know all of my 1st grade monkeys and the rest of my kiddos, there are a few things that I've been thrown off a little by.. Teaching at a Guatemalan school, although its curriculum is based off the Common Core standards and California state standards, is definitely not 100% what the Curry School (or really, any of my respective education) has prepared me for.

1. Language Arts is scheduled for about 45 minutes each day.  .......(cricket)....... Yep, you heard me. Considering I'm teaching first grade, and literacy and writing are about as important as subjects come in this grade, my mind is boggled as to how I'm going to set up such a short Language Arts period. Forget about Guided Reading as we would normally think of it-- the school doesn't provide us with (and I surely didn't bring) multiple copies of leveled readers. And Word Study? Unless I want to make up my own word lists, you can forget that, too. Even independent reading is difficult! There's no way I could pack a small library of sorts in my already overflowing suit cases (seriously... I meant it when I say "overflowing"), and while CAS has a wonderful supply of books to offer, it doesn't have quiiiite enough to truly equip each room with it's own "library." It's actually all kind of humorous to me. I went to a great school, got an amazing degree, and now am starting virtually at the ground up, incorporating only tidbits of what I learned into my Language Arts block.. (Sorry, Smolkin!)
2. Because we all live in Antigua and teach in ciudad San Cristobal, which are about 30 minutes apart, all of the teachers arrive at and depart from CAS together. Don't get me wrong- I really enjoy taking in the scenery during the car rides to and from (or at least those that I manage to stay awake during..) and everyone's wonderful company! My only reservation is simply that I know myself and my inclination to arrive to school early and stay late to do work isn't really conducive to arriving at 715 (when the kids come at 730) and leaving at 345 (when the kids leave at 320). Maybe, though, this is a blessing in disguise preventing me from otherwise camping out at the school day in and day out......... which I sadly could see myself doing.
3. In general, resources are scarce. Like I said, there was just no feasible way to bring down many resources. Similarly, I am refusing to let myself (though I do feel slightly tempted to..) buy a bunch of stuff down here, that I know I won't be able to reuse in the future. I literally made everything in my class by hand (the calendar? yes. the name tags? yes. the behavior management plan? yes. ev-er-y-thing.) I don't say this to complain, but only because I worry that with the limited time I have at school, I won't always be able to, on a whim, craft by hand these items that I otherwise, in America, could go out and quickly purchase. Makes me so appreciative of these conveniences in the States!

On a positive note, there are so many things about teaching at CAS (or perhaps just in a private school in general) that I am LOVING! (I figured I'd start with the "low" notes and end with the "highs." :-)

1. Seriously never realized what I was missing out on (as both a student and a teacher) when I attended/taught at public schools. Obviously I received an incredible education in public schools and am a HUGE advocate of them, but man oh man... it is just so great to be able to talk about faith so openly and not have to worry about putting such an important part of your life on a "shelf" when you step into the workplace. We started off every teacher work day with a prayer, followed by a staff devotion. Some days, our Director (who interestingly enough attended Liberty University!) lead the devotion and other days a staff member lead it. Mona and I had the opportunity to share on Friday and I think I speak for both of us when I say it was a really great experience. Even as I decorated my classroom today, I was keenly aware of the fact that I was hanging things on my walls that otherwise wouldn't be acceptable in public schools. (For example- the sunshine that I have hanging in the front center of my room that reads, "Smile - Jesus loves you!" ... Somehow, I don't think that would fly...) Suffice it to say, I love, love, love that my faith can coexist so naturally in my workplace and am not taking a single second of it for granted. :-)
2. The people. Every single person I've met so far has been such a bright light. We've all been out after school a few times together, and the group just meshes so well together. Here's a few of the teachers from when we went out Tuesday night together to Mono Loco

Urian, Moriah, and Lanae 
Taken at Mono Loco (which, by the way is owned by a UVA grad!)

 The magically disappearing nachos we indulged in. Now you see them..

Now you don't. ;-)

andddd... one final gem from the back of our tuk-tuk escapade.. 
Erin (sorry for only getting half of your face!), me, Mona, and Julie

 Ms. Walker with sweet Abby and Dulce
(Side note: Don't our classrooms look like something pulled straight out of Little House on the Prairie? They are so fun!)

Mr. Smith getting settled into his 4th grade classroom. :-)


3. The FREEDOM from STANDARDIZED TESTING! (I hate to rub it in.. but I know I'll be back to the US in a year and will be right along side y'all!) It's so nice to use the state standards as a guide for instruction but not be absolutely wedded to them. Also, what a relief it is to know that my worth as an instructor at the end of the year is not going to be measured by the statistics of a single assessment. Was this what teaching used to be like?? Hard to believe that teaching used to exist beyond the pressures of testing... I pray that one that day the US will see something similar to this, because it really is so liberating!

I think that's it for now. I'll update more after school is underway to let y'all know how much 11:3 boy to girl ratio is working out. ;-) Also, Mona and I are hoping to add on salsa lessons to our Guate cultural events in the near future, so that should be a ton of fun. We are definitely not feeling "bored" any more- between Spanish lessons three times a week, church events, teaching every day, making time to actually socialize with new friends, and (hopefully!) soon salsa lessons- we really are trying to take advantage of everything possible! As always, thank you for supporting and encouraging me throughout this adventure-- it sounds cheesy, but hearing from y'all really does make my day. As much as I'm loving every second of this phase, I love just as much- if not more- knowing that life outside of this adventure still has a place for me. :-) This week, would you mind praying for Mona and I in the following ways: continued trust in the Lord that He has a great plan for us (despite constant little bumps in the road that often make us lament about our conditions.. ha), patience (as there are still many kinks to work out with planning, scheduling, and executing this upcoming week), and finally, through it all, to share His love with those with whom we're interacting (students, fellow teachers, new friends, strangers.. the list goes on. :-).

All my love!