Some old guy somewhere said that but it is the truth. I've had the last week of September off because it is the Fall holiday in Phnom Penh. It was perfect timing because I needed to leave the country to renew my visa. I decided that I would go to Saigon. This whole first step was a learning experience for me, all I knew was I wanted to go to Saigon. I would stay in a guesthouse for a couple of days and come back. Aside from that, I had no itinerary outside of "explore the city". The next time I go (there will be a next time because it was cool), I will make an itinerary and I won't leave on such short notice. I got my visa for Vietnam, everything was fine (for the most part) an I left on Saturday.
I woke up and grabbed my bag and my driver took me to the bus station near my school. The school took us to the central bus station (conveniently located near central market 6 blocks from my apartment *facepalm*). Meaning that the whole first leg of the journey was utterly pointless *sigh*. I was told it would take about 5 hours to get to Saigon, I was on board with that. Coincidence struck and I happened to be on the same bus as one of my grade one students! This helped my traveling anxiety a great deal because I was with someone who could give me a little help. But it was that awkward moment when you are on a bus to Saigon and you see one of your students and you have no idea what her name is. I have 100+ students, I haven't memorized all their names or what class their in, give me a break. I talked with her mother and she was very nice.
We travelled for a few hours until we reached car/moto/touk touk/truck armageddon. This was the beginning of an 8 hour traffic jam, I'm not joking about that. We were held up at the ferry, there is a tiny ferry that goes across the river to the next province near the boarder. I should also mention that I happened to leave on the day of the week that everyone leaves, it's like an airport on Christmas Eve, only it's hot, really hot. My student's family bought me lunch and frankly my student was a godsend in this situation. I learned something about myself in this journey, no matter how tired I am, no matter what mood I'm in, no matter how anxious I am, kids cheer me up, plain and simple. I hung out in a coffee shop for a little while then got back on the bus.
We reached the boarder at 10:00, where a little drama ensued for me. My only minor issue is that I did not have a departure card. A departure card is something that you fill out when you leave the country so the boarder can keep track of who comes in and out. I got one when I first came to Cambodia but I filled it out with my return flight information (silly boy). The folks at the boarder were a tad puzzled with me not having one but I got a new one, filled it out and all was well and good.
We got back on the bus and travelled for a couple more hours, we finally pulled into Saigon at 12:30. This was when the most amazing thing happened (I was still with my student's family). They gave me their room! That's right, the hotel they were going to stay at, they gave me their room. They switched at the last minute. In my barely conscious state I was absolutely stunned. I wanted to thank her but due to some stupidity involving my phone and a Vietnamese sim card, her number was deleted so I couldn't see her again. I was shocked and grateful at their kindness.
My actual stay in Saigon was truthfully uneventful. I checked out a mall where I ate several times, and bought a couple of things. Pokemon exists there so I got some pretty cool Pokemon related trinkets (three figurines and three pins, these were written in Vietnamese). I also checked out the big central market called Ben Than (this was definitely the highlight of my trip), there I bought some green tea, and a really nice fan.
Sadly this wasn't exactly a pleasure cruise for me as I was terribly anxious the whole time. Why? I was in another country where almost no one spoke English, and I didn't have any plan of what I wanted to do. Other things that contributed to my anxiety, the hotel had my passport. I just get nervous if anyone has my passport and it didn't occur to me to bring a copy. The visa situation, I was 99.99999999% sure that I would have no problem getting a visa but what made me nervous was simply what if something went wrong? I was very tense the whole time but despite that I had a good time. The trip back to Phnom Penh was uneventful, it took 7 hours instead of 17. Now I'm back home and I'm more calm now.
Till next time.
Friday, September 30, 2011
My top three funny moments in teaching (so far)
I really like to put my personality into my classes. My certain degree of quirk but not too much, I'm still firm with them, I've found a good balance between kind and firm. I like to make my students laugh, so these are some moments that were pretty hilarious from my standpoint.
Number 3
Scenario: Doing a review activity with one of my grade 1 classes. The goal is for everyone to participate and see who can raise their hands the fastest (that is ultimately a gimmick because I sometimes call on people who don't raise their hands). We were reviewing plurals and I would say a word that they would know and have them tell me the plural.
Me: Who can tell me the plural of the word tooth?
(Students raise hands)
(Calls on a student)
Student: Teeth!
Me: Who can tell me the plural of the word (I realize that we've gone over all the words that they know and the activity needs to cease) [shouts random gibberish]?
They're reaction was the funniest part because everybody raised their hands.
Number Two
Scenario: Wrapping up my grade one class with a game called "touch". I say everybody touch [insert object here], and they all do it. My afternoon grade one class loves it.
Me: Everybody touch the whiteboard!
(Students do it)
Student: Everybody touch Teacher Jordan!
Me: No, no, no...
(Students all pile onto my chair we fall over they're unharmed and I bruised my back)
We won't be doing that game again.
Number One
Scenario: Before my time off there was a sort of a lul on Thursday and Friday because Monday thru Wednesday was devoted to tests and movies. I didn't want to start anything new because I would have to review it after the break. For my C/L (Conversation and Listening) class I had the idea of telling stories to improve their listening skills. They wanted scary stories, I told them the story of the mysterious thumping noise (Dad if you remember it was Jupiter trapped in the computer room) and stuff like that. They wanted more, more! I was out of scary stories but I had the most hilarious, brilliant, possibly stupid idea ever...
Me: Let me tell you the story of Simon Belmont...
This is hilarious to me because I summarized an old video game that was based off old horror movies! Since that game is so old they had no idea that I was talking about a game. The funny part was that they were into it. I told it well and the fact that I improved the whole thing made me laugh harder (in my head). I learned in those couple of days that I can tell stories. From now on I give my students the option (if they earn it) to end class with a story or a game. My classroom management system is based off of incentives. If the class is acting up they get one strike on the board, this applies to the whole class. Meaning that if one student acts up, all I have to do is look at them, uncap my marker, and the problem resolves itself. I'm certain more funny moments in teaching will come up.
Till next time
Number 3
Scenario: Doing a review activity with one of my grade 1 classes. The goal is for everyone to participate and see who can raise their hands the fastest (that is ultimately a gimmick because I sometimes call on people who don't raise their hands). We were reviewing plurals and I would say a word that they would know and have them tell me the plural.
Me: Who can tell me the plural of the word tooth?
(Students raise hands)
(Calls on a student)
Student: Teeth!
Me: Who can tell me the plural of the word (I realize that we've gone over all the words that they know and the activity needs to cease) [shouts random gibberish]?
They're reaction was the funniest part because everybody raised their hands.
Number Two
Scenario: Wrapping up my grade one class with a game called "touch". I say everybody touch [insert object here], and they all do it. My afternoon grade one class loves it.
Me: Everybody touch the whiteboard!
(Students do it)
Student: Everybody touch Teacher Jordan!
Me: No, no, no...
(Students all pile onto my chair we fall over they're unharmed and I bruised my back)
We won't be doing that game again.
Number One
Scenario: Before my time off there was a sort of a lul on Thursday and Friday because Monday thru Wednesday was devoted to tests and movies. I didn't want to start anything new because I would have to review it after the break. For my C/L (Conversation and Listening) class I had the idea of telling stories to improve their listening skills. They wanted scary stories, I told them the story of the mysterious thumping noise (Dad if you remember it was Jupiter trapped in the computer room) and stuff like that. They wanted more, more! I was out of scary stories but I had the most hilarious, brilliant, possibly stupid idea ever...
Me: Let me tell you the story of Simon Belmont...
This is hilarious to me because I summarized an old video game that was based off old horror movies! Since that game is so old they had no idea that I was talking about a game. The funny part was that they were into it. I told it well and the fact that I improved the whole thing made me laugh harder (in my head). I learned in those couple of days that I can tell stories. From now on I give my students the option (if they earn it) to end class with a story or a game. My classroom management system is based off of incentives. If the class is acting up they get one strike on the board, this applies to the whole class. Meaning that if one student acts up, all I have to do is look at them, uncap my marker, and the problem resolves itself. I'm certain more funny moments in teaching will come up.
Till next time
Mini Update: It Happens to Everyone in Southeast Asia (but it hurts!)
When I was still in the Language Corps program, one of our teachers, Billy, told us about something that happens to everyone in Southeast Asia. He said that you will get your leg burned by the tailpipe of a moto (motor scooter/motorcycle). Me, being foolhardy, thought that wouldn't happen to me, I'll just watch where I'm going! Well, it happened, and you know what? It hurt, a lot, I have a scar! I was walking to the bus station in Saigon to buy my ticket to Phnom Penh, there were a bunch of parked motos in front of it. I had to weave my way through them and one of them was still cooling down. My leg brushed up against it and burned the back of my right leg kind of badly. I shook it off, bought my ticket and went on my way. Like burns do, the pain came back in waves, and it was intense! I found a pharmacy and managed to convey what was wrong and I got some ointment. Luckily it's all better now but I do have a wicked little scar. That is all.
Mini Update: Ketchup
Ketchup? It's about ketchup? Yes, as an American I a very sensitive about my ketchup intake. I'm half joking and half serious. When I was in Saigon I sampled the local fast food, which was delicious. However, what struck me as odd was the ketchup. The ketchup tasted very odd. Everywhere I went the ketchup tasted like soy sauce. This means it must have had too much vinegar in it. I find this strange because the ketchup tastes perfectly normal in Phnom Penh. It's a good thing they had chili sauce, that's my new favorite condiment. That is all.
The first of a few mini updates, MEGA GRAPEFRUIT!
That's not actually what they're called, I have no idea what they're called. In southeast Asia something you can often buy off of street vendors are these large fruits. I always thought they were a type of coconut because they're huge and hard as a rock. On my way to Saigon in the epic traffic jam (more on that in my update about Saigon) I tried one. It cost 3000 riel (75 cents) and it has to be peeled with a machete (yes, it's that big, and that hard). Once peeled you're left with the membrane which you can pull apart and eat the pieces. The individual segments are about 1.5 times bigger than the largest grapefruit, they're dry to the touch but taste like grapefruit (only a little sweeter), and are juicy and delicious! That is all.
Monday, September 5, 2011
On the job & into the rabbit hole
You may be wondering "what's with the Alice in Wonderland Reference?" Quite frankly Cambodia is Wonderland. Everything is so chaotic yet orderly at the same time. It's really sinking in at this point. I saw a shocking video on Youtube (link to maybe come) where a cop shot a woman (I think it's because he thought she was shoplifting) and killed her. People that were at the scene just walked away or walked around the woman's corpse. This is like Wonderland because it seems so backwards, in the States, if a cop shot someone it would be all over the news and the cop would be slandered. Here, it's just commonplace and it only got a Youtube video and a spot on a Khmer forum. I'm plummeting into the rabbit hole, I don't know how deep it goes but I hope I don't meet the Red Queen.
Enough literary references, this post is primarily about my job! Today marks my 4th day of teaching and at this point I'm really getting it. What I like is that we have our lessons spelled out for us (there are textbooks) and that it's very strict for the students but relatively laidback for the teachers. About my classes, I have a grand total of 6 classes (goodness) but I have a 3 hour break. There is a morning session and an afternoon session, each session is 3 hours long. I teach 1st and 2nd grade, 4 1st grade classes and 2 2nd grade classes. I'm teaching basic grammar to the 1st graders and conversational English to the 2nd graders.
I'm loving this! In general, my 1st graders are a delight but they eat up most of my energy. My 2nd graders are a bit of a handful but they are focused when on task. They all listen to me and I've definitely got a commanding presence in the classroom. I've come up with a very good disciplinary strategy. Each day all of my classes start with a happy face on the board. If they misbehave or don't listen to my directions, then it turns into a sadface. If it's a sadface by the end of class, the last ten minutes (which is usually devoted to a game) will be spent sitting quietly and studying. It's working phenominally for all of my classes and I'm proud of myself for it. I will share more opinions on teaching as well as anecdotes as they come up.
Til next time..
Enough literary references, this post is primarily about my job! Today marks my 4th day of teaching and at this point I'm really getting it. What I like is that we have our lessons spelled out for us (there are textbooks) and that it's very strict for the students but relatively laidback for the teachers. About my classes, I have a grand total of 6 classes (goodness) but I have a 3 hour break. There is a morning session and an afternoon session, each session is 3 hours long. I teach 1st and 2nd grade, 4 1st grade classes and 2 2nd grade classes. I'm teaching basic grammar to the 1st graders and conversational English to the 2nd graders.
I'm loving this! In general, my 1st graders are a delight but they eat up most of my energy. My 2nd graders are a bit of a handful but they are focused when on task. They all listen to me and I've definitely got a commanding presence in the classroom. I've come up with a very good disciplinary strategy. Each day all of my classes start with a happy face on the board. If they misbehave or don't listen to my directions, then it turns into a sadface. If it's a sadface by the end of class, the last ten minutes (which is usually devoted to a game) will be spent sitting quietly and studying. It's working phenominally for all of my classes and I'm proud of myself for it. I will share more opinions on teaching as well as anecdotes as they come up.
Til next time..
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Drama and anxiety of a new apartment
Sunday was the day that I was going to leave the hotel. Trea was going to take me to the apartment at 9 to sign the lease agreement. One slight problem, BANKS. I didn't remember until it actually happened that I only have a 200 dollar withdrawl limit overseas, this wasn't a problem until now. I needed 600, I withdrew 200 the day before and 200 on the day I was going to the apartment. Clearly 400 isn't 600. Luckily my landlord is the coolest person I've ever met. He was very relaxed about it and the lease agreement stated that I would pay 400 on 8/28 (which I did) and the remaining 200 the next day. This was a massive sigh of relief on my part.
On to the aparment itself, it's big. I have to climb like 4 flights of super steep stairs (I think I'm losing weight from that). When I go into it, there's a place to take off your shoes (because that's how Asia is) and when you go forward you hit the kitchen and the bathroom is next to that. I don't have hot water but cold showers are nice in their own regard. My kitchen has a sink and a propane stove. The stove is so sketchy because it is so hot! When I heat up a can of soup, it's ready in like 8 seconds! Then there is a hall with a door on the left which leads to my bedroom. I have a big queen sized bed, the room has air conditioning but I only turn it on about an hour before bed to cool the room off. Then there is the living room, there is a large cot (this is where I drag my bedding and watch tv or play games or take a nap), my landlord asked if I wanted it out but no, it's my hangout spot. I've got a wooden chair and a wooden couch and two large wooden tables. One is a coffee table and the other is for I don't know what, my luggage is currently on it. I also have a small tv tray where my alarm clock resides and I've got a small deck which is perfect for reading in the evening.
Sadly this house is not a home yet because I haven't me'd it up yet. It doesn't smell like me yet (if that makes any sense whatsoever). As a result the first couple of nights I had bizzare and unaccountable nightmares that caused me to sleep poorly. Lately I'm sleeping better, and I'm enjoying my new apartment. I'm going to try to get internet (I'm writing this on my break at work) at my apartment as there are a lot of benefits to having my own internet. Now I need to move on to the post about how I wanted to go to the riverside but went fishing instead. I'll put up pictures of my apartment soon.
Till next time...
On to the aparment itself, it's big. I have to climb like 4 flights of super steep stairs (I think I'm losing weight from that). When I go into it, there's a place to take off your shoes (because that's how Asia is) and when you go forward you hit the kitchen and the bathroom is next to that. I don't have hot water but cold showers are nice in their own regard. My kitchen has a sink and a propane stove. The stove is so sketchy because it is so hot! When I heat up a can of soup, it's ready in like 8 seconds! Then there is a hall with a door on the left which leads to my bedroom. I have a big queen sized bed, the room has air conditioning but I only turn it on about an hour before bed to cool the room off. Then there is the living room, there is a large cot (this is where I drag my bedding and watch tv or play games or take a nap), my landlord asked if I wanted it out but no, it's my hangout spot. I've got a wooden chair and a wooden couch and two large wooden tables. One is a coffee table and the other is for I don't know what, my luggage is currently on it. I also have a small tv tray where my alarm clock resides and I've got a small deck which is perfect for reading in the evening.
Sadly this house is not a home yet because I haven't me'd it up yet. It doesn't smell like me yet (if that makes any sense whatsoever). As a result the first couple of nights I had bizzare and unaccountable nightmares that caused me to sleep poorly. Lately I'm sleeping better, and I'm enjoying my new apartment. I'm going to try to get internet (I'm writing this on my break at work) at my apartment as there are a lot of benefits to having my own internet. Now I need to move on to the post about how I wanted to go to the riverside but went fishing instead. I'll put up pictures of my apartment soon.
Till next time...
Stressful week 4 was stressful
Oh the drama of finishing the TESOL program. The way the program worked was during the first two weeks we were in the classroom learning how to teach English. We took notes and other things like that. During the last two weeks, the structure was thrown out the window and during each day we would be doing three things: foreign language class, lesson planning, and teaching practice. For those who have been reading, I was at SFODA, the orphanage doing my practice. What was difficult about the 4th week was the fact that I had to work on finishing EVERYTHING. Everything includes: 3 observations, daily lesson plans, one on one lesson, self evaluations, and foreign language journal. Keep in mind I wasn't actually behind on hardly any of this it's just there was a lot of drama behind the one on one lesson. I'll explain, one assignment was to find a Khmer person and offer him or her a free one hour English lesson to teach what they want to learn.
The person I did my lesson with was the morning waiter whom I'd befriended while staying at the hotel. Our original plan was to do it Tuesday at 5:00. Well I had an interview at that exact time which was a tad bit more important. I had to reschedule...
FOR 6 AM THE NEXT MORNING!
6 am the next morning comes around and suprise suprise he isn't there (RAGE!!!).
He arrives around 7 and explains that he was feeling a little sick but we would do it the next day (Thursday). Thursday morning comes around and again he doesn't arrive until 7. But he did something that suprised me. He apologized profusely and insisted that we do the lesson right then and there. I had to throw my lesson plan out the window because it was originally planned to do in the 2nd floor classroom. Since he was on the clock, we couldn't go up there. I get through my lesson relatively well and teach him some restaurant vocabulary.
The other bit of annoyance was the foreign language journal. Normally it would be something I would like because I enjoy learning languages. The 4th week was so stressful I ultimately didn't care. I was stressed because of my interview and getting set up in an apartment (but that is another story for another time). The journal required that we write a page for each prompt. When it came to the foreign language autobiography I found myself editing my 15 page English 102 paper into a mere 1 page single spaced blurb. Compared to the rest of the course I didn't enjoy it so much because of the stress I was under. I wasn't motivated to practice the language.
Anyway, I finished everything and I had my natural anxiety before getting everything checked out by my instructor. Of course I passed with flying colors, it's because I had a really diehard attitude. I knew coming in that everyone (peers, instructors, etc.) would look down on me because I was the youngest. I proved them wrong, I got my certificate and I'm teaching first and second grade at a private school (story to come).
Till next time...
The person I did my lesson with was the morning waiter whom I'd befriended while staying at the hotel. Our original plan was to do it Tuesday at 5:00. Well I had an interview at that exact time which was a tad bit more important. I had to reschedule...
FOR 6 AM THE NEXT MORNING!
6 am the next morning comes around and suprise suprise he isn't there (RAGE!!!).
He arrives around 7 and explains that he was feeling a little sick but we would do it the next day (Thursday). Thursday morning comes around and again he doesn't arrive until 7. But he did something that suprised me. He apologized profusely and insisted that we do the lesson right then and there. I had to throw my lesson plan out the window because it was originally planned to do in the 2nd floor classroom. Since he was on the clock, we couldn't go up there. I get through my lesson relatively well and teach him some restaurant vocabulary.
The other bit of annoyance was the foreign language journal. Normally it would be something I would like because I enjoy learning languages. The 4th week was so stressful I ultimately didn't care. I was stressed because of my interview and getting set up in an apartment (but that is another story for another time). The journal required that we write a page for each prompt. When it came to the foreign language autobiography I found myself editing my 15 page English 102 paper into a mere 1 page single spaced blurb. Compared to the rest of the course I didn't enjoy it so much because of the stress I was under. I wasn't motivated to practice the language.
Anyway, I finished everything and I had my natural anxiety before getting everything checked out by my instructor. Of course I passed with flying colors, it's because I had a really diehard attitude. I knew coming in that everyone (peers, instructors, etc.) would look down on me because I was the youngest. I proved them wrong, I got my certificate and I'm teaching first and second grade at a private school (story to come).
Till next time...
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