I am becoming much more accustomed to my life over here. Sleep pattern is becoming some what normal, terminology is becoming much more understood, and a greater understanding of the geography.
A lot has happened in the past few days. This weekend I hung out with a friend I made back at working at Camp Danbee in 2009. Her boyfriend is my neighbour. We went to a small town called Hertford, wandered about and ate at a pub for lunch. The town was a nice, cute, old town with a "river." The river was our location point as we got lost many times in this curvy, circular designed place. The river was more like a creek. However, it was nice to get out of my house, and hang out with friends. It really gave me the feeling of being at home and officially settled in to my life here.
Monday and Tuesday were induction days at the school. Similarly to home, days full of professional development and goal setting for the upcoming year. This year is quite a big year for the school. A new headmaster and a new building to come (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marriotts-School-New-Build/339088726127556) they are really on the push for success. Although in the midst of a transition year and things are a little chaotic it really is a great time to be a part of the school.
Tuesday was my birthday. It was very different than any in the past, especially the past 5 years. I spent the night making seating plans and lesson plans. However, this was one of my favourites, all because of a small gesture. My roommates, 5 males, who are hermits and stick to their rooms, whom I've barely spoken too because of the hermit factor in the last week bought me a card and all signed it. The card is pink and sparkly with princesses on it too. I never mentioned it was my birthday, it was something they gathered from the mail I had been receiving. This meant so much to me and has completely changed the dynamic of our house. They now leave their bedroom doors open too!
Today was the first day of school for students and my first day of school as a teacher - in my own classroom. It felt amazing.
With the lack of common room in my house, you spend a lot of time in your room which means a lot of time thinking. Too much time thinking. The past couple days I've been going through a lot of self doubt, a lot of questioning and a lot of oh my lanta. I've been wondering if this really is for me. I've planned my life out for as long as I can remember. The plan has taken some off roading courses, for the good or bad, but ultimately end up heading in the same direction. I know that traditional teaching is not for me, it's not what I to do for the rest of my life. My passion lies out on a dusty field, kicking a ball around, using sport as a tool for learning (like Right to Play). The day my visa got denied, I also got a prospective job opportunity from Right to Play - I began to wonder if my visa was a sign. After today though, with only a couple of hours with the students I know I am in the right place. I may not be involved with sport (for the time being, rumour is they're desperate coaching staff!), but I am using math or maths as its called here and science to better these students lives. These students all have stories, much like those stories my students in Africa and El Salvador had, these students too, need a role model. No doubt this year is going to be challenging teaching subjects I haven't touched since high school, but sometimes, it's not all about the specific subject matter, it's about the learning that takes place and the process of that learning. To be told in my first lesson as an official teacher "Miss Steward, you're the cool teacher" took all of the doubts and threw them out the window. I am in for an adventure.
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