It's Monday night and I've finished my work for the day and I am just relaxing listening to the most outrageous rain storm ever! The rain is pouring down so incredibly hard and the thunder and lightning come at just the right moment to make it sound like a soundtrack. The rain is so soothing here and I am beginning to enjoy the nightly rainfalls more and more. I'm sure that when the rainy season starts at the end of September and its beginning to rain all day my feelings might change a bit, especially when I'm riding my bike to and from work, but for now its a great way to end the day.
Ken is feeling a bit under the weather tonight so it is me all alone enjoying the quietness of the house. He started coming down with something at lunch and now has a pretty high fever so he's been asleep most of the night. Hopefully he'll wake up feeling better and will not have to miss school however he was responsible and already called his principal to give him the heads up.
My second week of school was not as smooth as the first but ended on a good note. My students are still testing the waters to see what is and is not appropriate in the classroom. I do have quite a chatty bunch but if thats my only problem, then its not really a problem at all. The most frustrating part was not being able to teach everything that I had planned. Monday and Tuesday I felt like I hardly got to teach at all because I was continuously having to stop and wait for my students to be quiet again. Its so hard sometimes and I wish I could just shout over them but I know that this won't help matters. Towards the end of the week things began going more smoothly and we were able to find the right time to have conversations with friends and when it was time to be quiet and pay attention. I am continuing to give myself "pep talks" about being consistent with my behavior plan, especially with the consequences, and praising the students when they are doing the right thing. I am finding however that this can be very challenging throughout the day when you have so many other things on your mind.
Today went so much better than last Monday. Although there are a few specific students in my class who continue to "clown around" and not do the right thing, I really believe that I have a great group of kids! All 30 of them compliment each other well and I have seen some great thinking and some great team work. Tomorrow is Open House when I will get to meet the majority of the parents who I haven't met yet so that will be interesting/fun I hope. I am still getting used to having to have a translator for when I speak and for every note I write home. This just motivates me even more to learn Spanish...and fast! The students are teaching me words here and there which is fun and I know that its fun for them too. Luckily one of the other teachers had level 1 of Rosetta Stone which I will be cracking into soon.
Well there's nothing that would make this night more perfect than watching a few episodes of Friends before bedtime. Hope everyone is doing well back home! Miss you all tons.
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