A fairly uneventful day back to school, except that the kids were a little late due to ice on the roads. 6B was pretty talkative and I ended up giving them a pop quiz. During the quiz, I was able to spend some one-on-one time with three of the students reviewing material from last semester and they were really appreciative for the help. The rest of the class was surprised, but settled down and promised they would listen better tomorrow.
During the break, I was able to talk to one of the new local teachers about his philosophy of teaching. We teach 5B back-to-back and he heard me telling one of the students that he needs to come to school ready to learn. The teacher told me he has problems with the same student and that moved into a conversation about our teaching strategies. It was good to hear a local teacher say that we can not expect the students to be like "we" were in school - they are inundated with many "priorities" (facebook, iPhones, Playstation, etc.) that are oftentimes endorsed by their families, which means getting good marks in school is no longer a motivator. He agreed that we need to begin where the students are at, helping them improve one step at a time. It was funny to hear him explain the students' thought processes. (Paraphrased) "When we walk into the room it is like they are saying, 'Target in sight.' Then when we give up teaching, it is 'Mission Accomplished.'" I tried to encourage him to build relationships with the students, remembering what it was like to be that first year teacher. Now that I have a relationship with each student, it is much easier to have them on "my team" and as of late, we've been scoring more often than the other side.
I stayed until the end of school and got to meet N's fiance. He is visiting from America (where he is working under a green card). They gave me a ride to the market where I met up with Lisa in the bala. While Mom was here, we stumbled across the shoe bala! There is an amazing assortment of shoes. Lisa spent a long time there, then went to the clothing bala and got coats for the kids (and for me!)
When I got home, we didn't have any city power. :( I Skyped with my family huddled in a warm blanket, then finished my schoolwork. City finally came on just as I was going to bed.
Monday, January 14th:
Woke up to no city power, which made it really difficult to get out from under the covers. When I did get up, cold and tired, I discovered that I'd forgotten to leave water running and the pipes were frozen again. :(
More snow pictures
The mountains are really beautiful.
I had an unexpectedly good day in all of my classes. After a bad dream in the middle of the night, I was a little off, but I was able to pray silently just before 5B started. They were great! It is nice to discipline less and less in that class. Pedro was wrestling with another student when I walked in, but as everyone lined up at the door to shake my hand, I told him he couldn't enter the room until he got the fighting out of his system. He looked me in the eye and calmed down and I didn't have any problems the rest of class. A couple talkers, but I hope that new seat assignments tomorrow will help.
I stayed after school and graded papers, then walked home in the beautiful sunshine. It is still very cold and there is still some ice, but at least the weather has been clear. No city power when I got home (but the water was running), so I bundled up in a sweater. John said the landlord might come by to look at the leak in my wall, so I hurried around the house, picking things up and trying to make it a little more "Kurdish" (what we would call Western homeyness or decor is viewed as clutter). In the end, the landlord talked to John outside and didn't even come into the apartment ... oh well!
Around 5, we all taxied to Vin House. We enjoyed a good meal together (but missed Andy, who arrives home later tonight). Despite the cold and snow, there were a ton of mosquitoes in the restaurant?! They must breed a hybrid rhino-mosquito over here...
Sarah and I watched part of a movie when the city power finally came on at 7pm. It went off for fifteen minutes in the middle, but came right back on. I enjoyed some of my new tea from home (which I drank from my new Athens mug).
On a side note, I've definitely eaten more sugar in the past two weeks than I have in a long time - savoring my mint Oreo cookies, orange slices, and M&Ms. So thankful for all the love that was sent from home - from contact solution to pens to prizes for my students to yummy treats to birthday money ($10 of which I spent on two new winter coats), I have felt exceptionally loved!
Enjoying all my goodies (and packaging up gifts for the kids):
