November 20, 2006
Everyday life
I have been settling into life more and more here. I am pretty much in a routine, and sometimes I even forget that I am in another country! But as crazy as that is, it is only 3 more weeks and my life will change again. Just when you think you are getting use to things, life has to go and throw you a curve ball again. Oh well, at least the good part of this curve ball is that I will again get to be close to the family and friends I love.
So really, I have not told you all very much about my what I call "normal" day to day life (as normal as it can be in another country). That would be teaching! Every week I only teach Monday through Thursday, but the times I teach change every week. Some days I start at 7:55 and get done at 12:30 or 1:30, and some days I don't start until 9 and get done at 2:15. I teach 19 lessons a week and my official title is "English Teacher". So basically, if you think back to your own High School days, i am like the foreign language teacher. I usually teach about 5, 45 minute periods a day, and about 19 lessons total a week. Even though I teach English, which you may think is a pretty easy job, I have to teach and accommodate for many different levels of students. Each lesson is a different age level and English level, and sometimes it can be hard to remember where one group left off and just how much a group knows, even in my 5th week of teaching. None the less, the teachers are still very excited to simply have a native speaker here at their school, and are always very eager to have me come and teach lessons in their classes. The kids love it too, but mostly because I am a real live person from the United States. I guess they don't get many of those around here. Gee, if I knew I was going to be such a rock star I would have come here sooner... ha ha, no just kidding.
Let me tell you, I have learned more about the English language in the last 5 weeks trying to teach it to non-native speakers then I ever have in my life. I was never an English nerd or anything, but I have always been at least somewhat good at the subject. Well, when my teachers are like, ok, can you teach the present perfect tense and the present continuous tense I was like, what?? I have no idea what that is myself, how am I suppose to teach it to other people! I managed to teach myself (although I swear I must have learned about this somewhere along the way in my English classes) just what thes things were, but I must say, that I think English language learners know much more about grammar then native English speakers. Also, everyday I wonder a little more, why is English such a ridiculous language?? I was trying to teach my kids about the verbs make and take, easy right? No, way confusing... see because you can like make some tea, but then you also have to make up your mind, or make sure... these kinds of phrases for my kids, way confusing! And take, you can take medicine, or you can take care. Crazy language.
Some other culture things that you may be interested in-
1) The students switch classes like in many of our High Schools, but for each new class they are in, when the teacher comes in the room they must stand up. The students must stand until the teacher says good morning or good afternoon and tells them they may sit down. In the younger grades, when you say good morning to the students they must say 'good morning teacher' back to you before they can sit down. It is also very similar when the class is over. Students may not leave the room until the teacher says the lesson is finished and the teacher opens the door.
2) Students never wear their outside shoes once they have gone to their lockers. All students have a pair of inside shoes or slippers that they wear while they are in school. This is also the tradition in many homes here in Europe and in the Czech Republic. When you visit someone else's house it is very rude not to take your shoes off at the door and either bring your own slippers or inside shoes or ask the family to use a pair of theirs.
3) I am trying so hard, but it is so funny when I try to pronounce the students' Czech names and they have no idea that I am calling on them. I think they understand, and I am trying to be sensitive, but I must say it's pretty funny when I call on one of them and they have no idea that it is actually them I want to answer!
4) Lunch is the biggest meal of the day here, students go to the cafeteria (or Canteen as they call it), for big meals. Most people then have a light dinner later in the evening.
Although it has been hard teaching High Schoolers, and I would not prefer to do it the rest of my life, it has been a good experience here as my students can take me out to experience the culture and things like that. I have now been to many of their floor ball games (a game similar to gym hockey that is popular here), concerts, and out for pizza (and beer with the older ones) numerous times. One of my very favorite things about getting to be in another country is just getting to know the people. If i didn't have to teach, I would probably just do that all day long!
Posted by Amber Ruppert at November 20, 2006 10:16 AM
Comments
Are you sure they're not just standing up and sitting down for you cuz you are such a rockstar?
Posted by: Sarah D. at November 23, 2006 11:07 AM