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...