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.
