Karibu

Karibu means welcome in Swahili, and that is what I have felt since I got here. All of the staff is very welcoming, and the students are great too. I taught my first two lessons today, Tuesday, and they went all right to say the least. To jump in two days in when they have not quite warmed up to me and don’t know my teaching style apart from Mr. Fitzpatrick’s is a little gutsy. He asked me to though, so I needed to do it! I talked about agriculture with one class and Hitler with another. They can be interesting topics, but with older students, the content needs to be a little challenging as well. I’m finding that I need to work on combining the two. We finally figured out what classes most of my personal work will be in and all of that mumbo jumbo. The schedule is not the same everyday, which I like because it gives more variety. I also have some open times during the day when my teacher is doing his coordinator business, so I can work on all the wonderful work I have to do for UNI. I went to a staff meeting today as well. I was so lost because the lingo at the schools here is so different than back home. On top of discussing it with teachers from all over the world that have different English vocabulary makes it interesting. I feel my 8 weeks in the classroom here will fly by, especially if I am already busy planning.

On another note: The school takes a break at 10:15 everyday for 20 minutes to have a provided snack and refreshment. American schools should be more like that. It’s okay to mix things up and take a load off. I don’t know why I am the one saying this because I usually get flustered when that happens, but I’m okay with it here.

 

8 days down- just 54 more to go!

I learned another Swahili word-Rafiki. It means friend.