First week of teaching...

Well I have officially finished my first week of teaching English and I must say it was a very enjoyable experience. I teach 3 different classes, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. My Mon/Tue. classes are level 2 and my Wed. class is a level 4 (I have figured out that the levels are not their “English” skill level, rather there years in spent in the university). I wasn’t sure what to expect on my first day of class as far as the students level of English understanding and conversation and I found because they have not had a lot of practice speaking with English foreigners their spoken English is pretty poor, but that’s okay, that’s why I’m teaching (that and other reasons as we know *wink*).

The students were all very welcoming and sweet. They asked fun questions such as, “Do you have a husband?” “Do you have children?” “Would you marry a Kyrgyz man?” etc. It’s always fun to answer questions like those. My first topic of class was just a “get-to-know” time. I asked them a lot of questions and played some games. All and all we had a great time. Next week I will be teaching about travel (level 2) and different jobs (level 4). Should be interesting….





This is a picture of one my 4th level class. There are more pictures on the picasaweb site (click on the link to the right).

Language class this week has been more challenging but also more enjoyable because we have been speaking the language a lot more (well at least trying to). I’m sure I’ll be fluent in no time! Haha.

We had another earthquake this past Monday so that was another fun experience. The weather has been a lot warmer, mocking us all because I’m sure by the end of the weekend it will be cold again. It’s warm outside yet in the apartment we have the heater going…isn’t that funny.

I was able to meet with my friend “C” again this week for language help. We had some great conversations and she explained to me a lot about the Muslim holiday that is going on right now. Last night was the end of Ramadan, and today is the holiday~ so most of the shops are closed and the streets are pretty empty. Last night to celebrate all the families cook Osh (the national dish) and take it to their neighbors. Julie and I did not receive any (not sure if any of our neighbors participated) but Forest and Emily, who live in a neighborhood, received buckets of Osh! I know what they’ll be eating for the next week….yummy!

It’s hard to believe I have been here for almost a month. Some days it feels like I have only been here a few days and other times it feels like years. Either way the transition has been a great one and I’m really enjoying getting to know my team and the students here in the city. I feel like Kstan is becoming more and more like home.