Sunday, October 30, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
settlin' in
Teaching is a challenge. I have this massive learning curve to jump in order to deal with 6th & 7th graders. The main problem isn't culture shock. No, it's lesson planning in my own language. I often think of my roommate Rachel from my last semester at college, and just how long she spent preparing lessons for 90 kids. 90. Highschoolers. Public school. No, all I have is 18. And they're dropping like flies as their parents leave for furlough or other reasons. 18 kids in a private school, divided between two classes. Three forty-five minute blocks for each every week. Hours to prepare.
And now I understand why people go to school to teach for four years.
It really hasn't been too bad. Needless to say, I'm learning a lot.
Also, it's hard to understand what a 7th grader can and can't understand. I just graduated from college with a BA in Philosophy. I like to sit and listen. They don't. I like abstract concepts. They're still pretty concrete. They're all really fact-smart. They know their Bibles for the most part. They've corrected me. I didn't know nearly anything that they know about the Bible at their age.
So. This is part of God giving me a heart for all kids.
And now I understand why people go to school to teach for four years.
It really hasn't been too bad. Needless to say, I'm learning a lot.
Also, it's hard to understand what a 7th grader can and can't understand. I just graduated from college with a BA in Philosophy. I like to sit and listen. They don't. I like abstract concepts. They're still pretty concrete. They're all really fact-smart. They know their Bibles for the most part. They've corrected me. I didn't know nearly anything that they know about the Bible at their age.
So. This is part of God giving me a heart for all kids.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
I made it to Prague, despite the gov't ;))
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind! I received my visa on the 20th of September, exactly 3 months after the consulate received my information. Everything had gone through. I could hardly believe it. . . I really thought I would see more fall colors in VT.
But. That's life. So I bought a plan ticket for that next Saturday, packed one suitcase, one carry-on, and one backpack, got on a plane to JFK, and flew Swiss airlines to Prague via Geneva. My first overseas flight by myself. I bought one of those neck pillows in an attempt to get some sleep. It semi-worked. I recommend it.
And I made it to Prague. There was one familiar face there to greet me at the airport, my friend Jake who was a year ahead of me at Wheaton and who I did YHM with the second year around. It was nice to see a familiar face. And I met a few more faces, Melodee and Michelle, who both work at the school. They each took a piece of luggage, and bought me a bus ticket via a cellphone (that's something new). And we made our way to Chodska Street, which is about 2.5 tram stops from IP Pavlova metro. It was a beautiful day. We got to the top floor. We went into the apartment. They put me in a closet. They were grateful I didn't have a lot of luggage.
Ha, in all honestly, it really wasn't as bad as I just made it sound. I just like to put a sarcastic spin on things.
On a serious note, I am so very happy to be here. I couldn't stop smiling, I felt like an idiot walking through the familiar places as if in a dream, really out of it from hours of travel, but enchanted with the place. So much happened last week. I beat jetlag with benadryl the first two nights, and then crashed the next two. The girls I'm staying with for now are excellent cooks, and all work at the school. The weather has been unusually warm--it feels like summer, which is so welcome. I don't want the shock of Europe in the fall and winter; none of my memories are so.
I taught my first real class today. I made two very obvious mistakes. But the kids are so smart, they caught them. I'll spare myself the embarrassment of sharing. As I was teaching, I realized I loved it. It was exhilarating. I lost energy near the end. Seventh graders. 8 of them. All boys. I'll pick up the 6th graders next week. But tomorrow, they're doing a secondary school retreat, which the 7th graders are a part of, so I get to go. It should be good!
Also, I have a roommate with an apartment I am in the process of moving into. It's gorgeous. It's big; much bigger than I expected to get. It was unfurnished, and that was unexpected as well. So. We went to Ikea, which was also big. Much bigger than I expected, and extremely overwhelming. I did my best to buy the very cheapest things. Do not store for yourselves treasures on earth . . . but having a bed to sleep on is pretty standard for our culture.
So I am finally here, and I feel a bit overwhelmed, but God's peace has certainly made it go a lot easier. Peace definitely comes from knowing that you are where you're suppose to be, and trusting that ultimately God's say wins out over all of our second-guessing. Please pray for continued peace that comes from focusing on all that Christ is to us: purpose and meaning, the crafter of our destinies. Please pray that Czech would continue to go easy for me and that I would reach my language goals. Please pray that I would become a good teacher, and provide well what these Mk's and TCKs need. Please pray for the opportunity to meet Czechs and to learn about the culture and learn how to do ministry effectively in post-modern environments.
Please pray for my dad, because he tore his meniscus and has a very bad infection that he continues to go to the hospital for in order to fight it. I don't totally understand the situation, so I may have the details wrong medically, but it's going to be expensive and they don't have health insurance.
Love
Becca
But. That's life. So I bought a plan ticket for that next Saturday, packed one suitcase, one carry-on, and one backpack, got on a plane to JFK, and flew Swiss airlines to Prague via Geneva. My first overseas flight by myself. I bought one of those neck pillows in an attempt to get some sleep. It semi-worked. I recommend it.
And I made it to Prague. There was one familiar face there to greet me at the airport, my friend Jake who was a year ahead of me at Wheaton and who I did YHM with the second year around. It was nice to see a familiar face. And I met a few more faces, Melodee and Michelle, who both work at the school. They each took a piece of luggage, and bought me a bus ticket via a cellphone (that's something new). And we made our way to Chodska Street, which is about 2.5 tram stops from IP Pavlova metro. It was a beautiful day. We got to the top floor. We went into the apartment. They put me in a closet. They were grateful I didn't have a lot of luggage.
Ha, in all honestly, it really wasn't as bad as I just made it sound. I just like to put a sarcastic spin on things.
On a serious note, I am so very happy to be here. I couldn't stop smiling, I felt like an idiot walking through the familiar places as if in a dream, really out of it from hours of travel, but enchanted with the place. So much happened last week. I beat jetlag with benadryl the first two nights, and then crashed the next two. The girls I'm staying with for now are excellent cooks, and all work at the school. The weather has been unusually warm--it feels like summer, which is so welcome. I don't want the shock of Europe in the fall and winter; none of my memories are so.
I taught my first real class today. I made two very obvious mistakes. But the kids are so smart, they caught them. I'll spare myself the embarrassment of sharing. As I was teaching, I realized I loved it. It was exhilarating. I lost energy near the end. Seventh graders. 8 of them. All boys. I'll pick up the 6th graders next week. But tomorrow, they're doing a secondary school retreat, which the 7th graders are a part of, so I get to go. It should be good!
Also, I have a roommate with an apartment I am in the process of moving into. It's gorgeous. It's big; much bigger than I expected to get. It was unfurnished, and that was unexpected as well. So. We went to Ikea, which was also big. Much bigger than I expected, and extremely overwhelming. I did my best to buy the very cheapest things. Do not store for yourselves treasures on earth . . . but having a bed to sleep on is pretty standard for our culture.
So I am finally here, and I feel a bit overwhelmed, but God's peace has certainly made it go a lot easier. Peace definitely comes from knowing that you are where you're suppose to be, and trusting that ultimately God's say wins out over all of our second-guessing. Please pray for continued peace that comes from focusing on all that Christ is to us: purpose and meaning, the crafter of our destinies. Please pray that Czech would continue to go easy for me and that I would reach my language goals. Please pray that I would become a good teacher, and provide well what these Mk's and TCKs need. Please pray for the opportunity to meet Czechs and to learn about the culture and learn how to do ministry effectively in post-modern environments.
Please pray for my dad, because he tore his meniscus and has a very bad infection that he continues to go to the hospital for in order to fight it. I don't totally understand the situation, so I may have the details wrong medically, but it's going to be expensive and they don't have health insurance.
Love
Becca
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