I had my first Serbian kiss the other day. Don't get too excited. This is G rated. I was walking to school the other day when I heard someone call out my name. I turned and saw a professor that I conducted interviews with when I first arrived. I was so excited to see her, that I ran over to her intending to give her a hug. We ended up doing the three cheek Serbian kiss, which was totally fun! I think Americans need to do more cheek kissing, at the very least. I was so focused on the cheek kiss that I missed the first couple of sentences that she said. Ending result: she is going to come and sit-in on some of my classes this week.
On a different note, Serbian class is still dragging along. Some of the students have started to discuss the lack of value in some of the teachers' methods. I find it tasteless for a teacher to skip over students just because they are at a lower skill level. This is very common here and people are trying to change it. In a way, it is great that I am taking this course. I know what my students are going/went through, I know what needs to change and I am inspired to write an article about it. I thought I had nothing to offer, but now I see there is so much that I can do. An announcement for a large Language Teacher's Conference just went out, so I am looking at what idea to submit and present on at the end of May. Got any ideas?
If anybody over there is paying attention, I would like the dollar to get a little stronger please. It is killing me over here. My rent has gone up $100 without ever increasing in price. I know it will get stronger the day before I officially pack my bags and leave this country. So is my life and how it is influenced by the economy. And I thought I wouldn't ever use those ECON classes that I took at UWEC.
The weather has been nice lately, I guess. I don't know what the norm is here. One student told me that this year they only had two seasons, winter and summer. We kind of skipped over the fall and went right to winter for a while. We are in the high 50's and sometimes get in the low 60's. The wind and rain combo don't help anything. Today I woke up with sun coming in my window and I felt like I was in a parallel universe.
I have decided to host Thanksgiving dinner at my place this year. All are welcome! I am expecting around 20 people from my Serbian class as well as from the American Corner. Of all 20 people, only 2 will be Americans, so I am looking forward to teaching them about the holiday as well as just siting around eating good food and having a good time. I can get most of the ingredients at the Embassy, praise be. We will have all the traditional Weiler fixings, minus the homemade stuffing and gravy. If you saw the size of my kitchen and all 2 pots that I have to cook with, you would understand why. And since they don't know what it should taste like, Stove Top will be good enough...for now. Maybe next year I will venture into that dangerous area. One of my friends, Ana, asked what time they should come over to hang the turkey. Bless her heart! I think I will tell her to come over the day before to help me string it up and then give her the honors of plucking and de-beaking it. I'll take pictures. (For all you who are wondering, I am cooking a frozen bird.)
Lastly, I thought you should all know that the Packers have twice made international news, thanks to the fantastic workings of one Brett Favre. Way to go Pack!
Happy Halloween tomorrow! I hope you all get some healthy candy, brush your teeth and be responsible. Talk to you soon. Slang class on Thursday. Should be interesting.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Idioms and Slang
Well my Idioms and Slang class at the American Corner was a hit. 30 people showed up. I was shocked. The class wasn't even advertised. It was a lively group of adults who worked off of my list of terms and asked a lot of questions about other terms that related to that list or just terms that they heard somewhere. There were too many people to have them use the slang in their own way, but they didn't seem to care. It bothered me as an English teacher, but they seemed to enjoy it. I hope the class doesn't get any bigger. They will have to sit on the floor or in the rafters.
My last two days of classes went exceptionally well. I always feel bad for my Wednesday classes. They are like my run-through. By Friday, everything runs like clockwork. It's unfair, but there is nothing to do about it. And my class size is growing. There were about 6 extra people signed in for each class. How the heck am I suppose to teach all of them? And in a room that stifles any sort of creative thinking/movement. A definite godsend is the class website I made. They use it, they have too. And everything is on it. It's the fastest way to communicate with 180 people.
This weekend is suppose to be rainy and cold, so it is cleaning and lesson planning for me. Haven't done much site seeing yet, but hopefully soon. I went to the movies with two of my students. That was a nice break from my normal routine. I also went to the Embassy to check out their "store" of American food. I almost died because I was in heaven. They didn't have anything extraordinary, but they had a lot of things that I can't get here. Cereal, cookie dough, Tombstone pizza, Ben & Jerry's, spices, maple syrup (but not like dad's) and much much more. I can make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Could make a turkey, but who else would eat it? Then there is always the fear that I would give someone food poisoning from under cooking it. Maybe I'll wait and see if anyone will invite me to their party. Either way, I'll have to work that day.
Must send off some emails. Catch ya later.
My last two days of classes went exceptionally well. I always feel bad for my Wednesday classes. They are like my run-through. By Friday, everything runs like clockwork. It's unfair, but there is nothing to do about it. And my class size is growing. There were about 6 extra people signed in for each class. How the heck am I suppose to teach all of them? And in a room that stifles any sort of creative thinking/movement. A definite godsend is the class website I made. They use it, they have too. And everything is on it. It's the fastest way to communicate with 180 people.
This weekend is suppose to be rainy and cold, so it is cleaning and lesson planning for me. Haven't done much site seeing yet, but hopefully soon. I went to the movies with two of my students. That was a nice break from my normal routine. I also went to the Embassy to check out their "store" of American food. I almost died because I was in heaven. They didn't have anything extraordinary, but they had a lot of things that I can't get here. Cereal, cookie dough, Tombstone pizza, Ben & Jerry's, spices, maple syrup (but not like dad's) and much much more. I can make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Could make a turkey, but who else would eat it? Then there is always the fear that I would give someone food poisoning from under cooking it. Maybe I'll wait and see if anyone will invite me to their party. Either way, I'll have to work that day.
Must send off some emails. Catch ya later.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Second Week of Classes
It is the second week of classes, third of Serbian, and things are progressing well. As of any course one teaches, things have to be adjusted. And in the case of teaching in Serbia, things have to be adjusted, shifted, re-aligned, moved, shoved and deleted when needed. The education structure at the university level is so different from what I am used to, that it leaves my head spinning, or pounding, when I think about it. The schedule, the requirements, the TESTING, the retesting, the resources (or lack there of), the room set up are all different. I don't know if I can go into detail about it now. Let's just say that this position will keep me on my toes for quite a while.
I also started my classes at the American corner. I have a middle school and high school conversation class. At first, a little 7 year old girl showed up. We looked at some books and worked on her colors and numbers. Then two middle school girls showed up, so I had a two second panic attack, and then figured out a way to involve them into a lesson with the very young, beginning student. They all worked very well together, which was a huge relief for me.
The high school class had three students and the two middle school girls in it. They were very eager to talk about anything and everything. It is always in these situations too, where I feel I am not the best person to talk about America. For while I have seen a lot of the world, I have seen little of my own country. When I explain this, it usually gets me a lot of disappointed looks. I promise them all (and myself) that someday I will see America. All of them said they would come to my Slang & Idiom class tomorrow night. I can't wait. That should be a fun class.
I am immensely proud of myself for starting a class website where i post everything that we talk about in class as well some extra links for English help or information on upcoming events. Most of the students have never had this type of resource before, so I hope they will tell other students/professors so it will be used more in the future. I already have 400 hits on my site and that was in one week. It takes a lot of the responsibility away from me and is put more on the student. They can't say they never got the information or didn't know what was due. As of now, this is the only kind of technology I can use in my class. Other than that, I am super busy studying Serbian (the grammar is the worst), planning lessons, grading papers, updating my class website and trying to put it all here for you.
I enjoy hearing from you. Please write comments on anything you would like to hear more about. I would love to educate you on that subject...well, as best as I can. Peace out!
I also started my classes at the American corner. I have a middle school and high school conversation class. At first, a little 7 year old girl showed up. We looked at some books and worked on her colors and numbers. Then two middle school girls showed up, so I had a two second panic attack, and then figured out a way to involve them into a lesson with the very young, beginning student. They all worked very well together, which was a huge relief for me.
The high school class had three students and the two middle school girls in it. They were very eager to talk about anything and everything. It is always in these situations too, where I feel I am not the best person to talk about America. For while I have seen a lot of the world, I have seen little of my own country. When I explain this, it usually gets me a lot of disappointed looks. I promise them all (and myself) that someday I will see America. All of them said they would come to my Slang & Idiom class tomorrow night. I can't wait. That should be a fun class.
I am immensely proud of myself for starting a class website where i post everything that we talk about in class as well some extra links for English help or information on upcoming events. Most of the students have never had this type of resource before, so I hope they will tell other students/professors so it will be used more in the future. I already have 400 hits on my site and that was in one week. It takes a lot of the responsibility away from me and is put more on the student. They can't say they never got the information or didn't know what was due. As of now, this is the only kind of technology I can use in my class. Other than that, I am super busy studying Serbian (the grammar is the worst), planning lessons, grading papers, updating my class website and trying to put it all here for you.
I enjoy hearing from you. Please write comments on anything you would like to hear more about. I would love to educate you on that subject...well, as best as I can. Peace out!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
First Day of School
Much has happened since I last submitted. I started Serbian classes at the university. Talk about a lot of lecture hours, the class is Monday to Thursday from 9.30am until 12pm. I thought it was a great idea. The first day, I pepped myself up the entire walk to school. I was going to try hard and not get discouraged. Then in walks the teacher. Long story short, after 2.5 hours of a lady speaking 99.9% of the time in Serbian, and not letting us have any chance to talk at all, I was on the verge of tears. Is this how my students grew up learning language? Is this how they grew up learning anything?! I was so upset, I went home and couldn't do anything. I lounged on the couch in a mental shock. I think there is a lot of room for improvement in the US educational system, but let me tell you, we have some pretty darn good teachers out there.
I'm not saying that Serbia has the worst educational system that I've ever seen. Heck no. They all could use a ton of work. I think since I am now in charge of teaching English to people who want to be English teachers or translators, I need to give them an example of what good teaching/active learning/room for creativity and personal growth can be. They are all good kids. I have high expectations for them, even if they don't for themselves.
The classes are going well, even though it is only week one. They were pretty quiet and I was told they are this way for several reasons: 1. They need time to trust me. They are used to being yelled at and belittled, not trusted. 2. Their peers will make fun of their language if they have poor speaking skills. 3. My teaching style (full of energy and fun) seems to shock and confuse them. I will give it some time. I hope they will come around. They are so focused on the grades that they don't see the learning process or the purpose for learning whatever it is they are working on.
Really, if you do anything today, when you see a teacher, tell them 'thank you' and 'keep up the good work'. We really are lucky. One of my friends who is a librarian at the American Corner, just came back from a 10 day tour of some of America's libraries. She said, "Oh my god, Jaime. Your libraries are unbelievable! You have so many books!" She went to several different states, but it was at a library in Illinois were she said that their children's section alone had more books than our entire library. She was also floored that the budget that library has every month for books in the children's section alone, is the same as the budget that the American Corner has for the whole year to spend on everything, even equipment like computers, copiers and projection screens. She was floored. I'm very proud of our libraries. Taxes can have their up side. Keep up the great work Aunt Debbie and Aunt Kitty!
So thank your teachers for their hard work and go to your local library and check out a book! I have to get up early for the 8am class, so take care and I'll write again soon.
Pictures: (a cute and lovely port-A-potty, Serbian Class, a lecture at the American corner)
I'm not saying that Serbia has the worst educational system that I've ever seen. Heck no. They all could use a ton of work. I think since I am now in charge of teaching English to people who want to be English teachers or translators, I need to give them an example of what good teaching/active learning/room for creativity and personal growth can be. They are all good kids. I have high expectations for them, even if they don't for themselves.
The classes are going well, even though it is only week one. They were pretty quiet and I was told they are this way for several reasons: 1. They need time to trust me. They are used to being yelled at and belittled, not trusted. 2. Their peers will make fun of their language if they have poor speaking skills. 3. My teaching style (full of energy and fun) seems to shock and confuse them. I will give it some time. I hope they will come around. They are so focused on the grades that they don't see the learning process or the purpose for learning whatever it is they are working on.
Really, if you do anything today, when you see a teacher, tell them 'thank you' and 'keep up the good work'. We really are lucky. One of my friends who is a librarian at the American Corner, just came back from a 10 day tour of some of America's libraries. She said, "Oh my god, Jaime. Your libraries are unbelievable! You have so many books!" She went to several different states, but it was at a library in Illinois were she said that their children's section alone had more books than our entire library. She was also floored that the budget that library has every month for books in the children's section alone, is the same as the budget that the American Corner has for the whole year to spend on everything, even equipment like computers, copiers and projection screens. She was floored. I'm very proud of our libraries. Taxes can have their up side. Keep up the great work Aunt Debbie and Aunt Kitty!
So thank your teachers for their hard work and go to your local library and check out a book! I have to get up early for the 8am class, so take care and I'll write again soon.
Pictures: (a cute and lovely port-A-potty, Serbian Class, a lecture at the American corner)
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