CELTA Week Three

Week three is over, Praise the Lord! Between changing levels of students, doing 4 written assignments, and teaching three lessons (including our first hour-long lesson), the week just about did me in. I even dreamed about lesson plans!

In spite of the rigor, this course has been SOOO worthwhile. I signed up for the course hoping to learn practical teaching strategies that have been so lacking from the classes I’ve taken so far. And I have! I also had this fear going into the course that being a good teacher is a skill you’re born with; and if you’re just not a natural teacher (and I would say I’m not)…then there’s not much you can do. But even in these last three weeks of CELTA, I can really see improvement in my teaching ability. We learn strategies, put them into practice, and voila! Successful lessons! Of course I have a long ways to go. And I know that most improvement will come through experience…but at least I feel like I’m not a total failure at teaching!

On Tuesday I had some additional “excitement”. I stopped at the pharmacy on my way to class, turned my backpack around to get out my wallet---and realized that it had been pickpocketed on the metrobus. It was partly my fault, because I had been careless about where I put it. The night before when I got home, after using my key (attached to my wallet) to unlock the gate, I slipped it into the outer pocket, since I was just going inside. The next morning I forgot to move it to the deep inside pocket where I usually keep it—and someone took advantage of my mistake. Of course I was pretty bummed—and dealing with it added to an already stressful week—but worse things could have happened. They got my wallet (cash, credit card, drivers license), but thankfully I didn’t have much cash, it was my credit and not debit card, and my license and not passport. The worst part was that they took my phone and key as well, both of which belonged to my host family. But that same afternoon we got a new key made and I replaced the phone, which was fortunately the cheapest one out there. And it was a good reminder to “store up treasure in heaven, where moth and rust cannot destroy, and thieves cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.” And also a challenge to “count it all joy when you experience trials of every kind, because the testing of your faith produces endurance.” I’m thankful that in spite of that unfortunate event, God is good and in control and used it to remind me of eternal truths.

This weekend has been nice and relaxing after a crazy week. On Saturday I went and played racquetball with a friend on the campus of UNAM. I was so surprised when we got to the courts! First of all, they were outside! Just three huge stone walls, no ceiling (so we got the extra exercise of chasing balls!). Also, not a single person there had a racquetball racquet—it was either a tennis racquet or bare hands (OUCH!). It was a lot of fun, but the sun beating down wore me out!

In the afternoon I left with my host parents and a family friend to spend the night and next day in Cuernavaca, a town about an hour and a half to the south. They call it the “city of eternal spring” because of the beautiful weather and lush greenery, and it really is beautiful! We stopped at a nursery to buy a few plants, then toured a little spa/resort, then arrived at their condo. Today we picked up a few things at the local market, ate breakfast, laid out by the pool, and headed home in the evening.

It’s hard to believe how quickly my time here is going by! I have one more week of classes, then I’m staying at the Sassers again for my last few nights before I head home on Tuesday.

Week Two

I´m just over the halfway point now in the course. This week, though, is notoriously the hardest: on top of teaching three lessons and turning in three written assignments, we have to get used to teaching a different level of students. My group has the easier switch; we´ve been teaching elementary students and now have intermediate. Their ability to understand instructions and to communicate will make planning easier and open up the possibilities of activities we can give them. It´s kind of sad knowing we won´t see our beginner students anymore, though. On Friday after class we went to Starbuck´s with a handful of them. I love having adult classes because you´re on the same level, and can do things like go to coffee after class.

I had a great weekend—it was a nice mix of time to relax and to prep for this week. On Saturday I did some sightseeing with Evelyn, a German girl who also lives with my host family. We went to a craft bazaar, met up with some of her friends downtown and ate at a famous restaurant (called Azulejo—converted from a fancy hotel to a restaurant). Then we went up in the Torre Latinoamericana where you can look out on the city from 42 stories high. It was incredible! This city is gigantic. Then on our way home Evelyn and I got caught in a downpour and were absolutely soaked. Saturday evening I went to see Harry Potter with a friend. Sunday I went to church (Tim, a guy in my class, came with me) then headed home and worked on projects.

Week two was really good overall. I had more time than usual to chat with my host family; Evelyn moved in and it´s nice to have someone my age there; and I had an awesome conversation about God with one of my classmates!

Now the most intense week of the course lies before me…prayers appreciated!

CELTA Week One

Here’s a little glimpse into my first week of Mexican immersion and the CELTA course:

Food: Lots of fresh tropical fruit and fruit juice; tacos, quesadillas, rice; fried plantains and beans for breakfast; cactus soup, to name a few!

Life: kiss on the cheek for hello and goodbye; shrines to Guadalupe on every corner; Friday night “fiesta” with my host sister (=lots of drunk high schoolers=not my cup of tea); late meals; warm and affectionate people; learning the way on metros, buses, taxis; TRAFFIC.

Language: picking up on some Mexican slang: qué padre=cool; chavo/chava=guy/girl; órale/ándale=I don’t know, but they work in about every situation; qué onda=what’s up?; qué bárbaro=that’s crazy!

Classes: long hours, lots of lesson plans and assignments; learning a TON; enjoying teaching my lessons; learning the personalities of our students; starting to think in a British accent!

Other highlights of the week include time with new and old friends: Friday night with a new friend Jaaziel, Sunday lunch with the Sassers, and this Wednesday I’m having lunch with the other Maki, who Christina and I met on our last trip here.
Also, I discovered that one of the guys in my class is a Christian—that’s been so encouraging because between class and my homestay I’m not really around believers. He’s planning on coming to church with me next week.

Well, that’s a little look at the last week. It was a bit tough at times, but I’m getting more and more settled here and making friends helps a lot. And God is so good—he knows that I need to be stretched in order to depend on him more!

Class begins!

The last week in Mexico has been full of adventures! It was so great to have time with Dad, exploring the city, spending time with Fabian (the new pastor our church is beginning to partner with), and visiting Karla.

On Sunday afternoon Dad and I took a taxi over to my host family’s house, where I’ll be living for the month I’m taking classes. The last couple days have been a little tough, beginning with Sunday afternoon—after having such a great last week where I felt so confident getting around the city, I’ve been overwhelmed, suddenly feeling like the young, helpless American that I am in a city of 20 million. After meeting my host family (the Olivo family) on Sunday, Dad and I decided it would be a good idea to go to the school, so that I would be able to find it easily on Monday morning. Mrs. Olivo gave us directions to get there by metrobus (all week long we’d taken the subway so this was different). When we got to the station, we didn’t realize you can only enter one end of the platform. So we climbed up the wrong end, where we were immediately met by a honking bus and an angry police officer. I apologized profusely, explaining that we didn’t understand how it worked (meanwhile the cop was threatening to deport us!). The problem was that you have to go through the other end to swipe your card and enter through the turnstyle, so he thought we were trying to get in for free. I think he understands now that we were just dumb Americans, but now I have to see this same cop at the station everyday! That event shook me up, then we couldn’t even find the school because we misunderstood the directions.

But even now, Day 2 of class, I am much more confident about my commute. It’s about a 40 minute trip each way by metrobus and walking, but I’m starting to enjoy the time to myself.

My host family is very nice. Señora Olivo is talkative and opinionated, so that provides plenty of conversation. Sr. Olivo is in New York right now but will be back on Thursday. They have two kids, a 20-year-old son named José and a 17-year-old daughter named Ana. I barely see José but have gotten to spend a little time with Ana. The two kids are leaving next week for a vacation in Canada, so I’ll be the “only child” for the rest of my time here. I don’t have much time to spend with my host family during week-days because of my class schedule and homework load, but I’ve enjoyed the time I do have.

I’m really glad I’m taking this TESOL course; I’m already learning a lot and it’s only the second day. They throw you right into teaching: this afternoon we will each teach a 20-minute lesson. Tomorrow and Friday I’m teaching 40-minute lessons! I expect a lot of pressure with all the work and planning we have, but I’m excited to be learning the practical side of teaching English that I haven’t really learned from previous classes.

I’d appreciate your prayers for my time here: the last couple days have been kind of overwhelming and lonely. This summer is different from anything I’ve done in the past in that it’s not a Lee trip or mission trip. I miss having other Christians around. But I’m also thankful for feelings of loneliness, because they’ve pushed me to rely on God as my Father and Friend in ways that I don’t on a normal basis. Psalm 73:25-26 resonates with me this week:

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My heart and my flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Also pray that I’ll have opportunities to be a light in the lives of my host family and classmates. I don’t know of any other believers in the class, and I hope God will use me to reveal some truth about himself. Miss you all!