POG

Do you remember POG?? That sweet game of milkcaps that was a fad in the 90s? It's cool here! I love it, it reminds me of the younger years :) Fun fact for the day: I read about its background just now.. it originated in Hawaii, caps were used from the juice bottles made of Passionfruit Orange and Guava, hence...

Too bad I didn't bring my collection (that I am sure is still somewhere in the closet of the spare bedroom at home) maybe I could have used them as extrinsic motivation! man, after all that studying of educational philosopher, Alfie Kohn, last year, I can't believe I want to use them!? where has my teaching philosophy gone?!? and why do stickers work so well for my kids?! along with the punishment of 5 minutes of recess.... Its an interesting topic, his book is called, Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes. Think about it, though apparently ideals and reality don't always fit ;) I keep telling myself that it would be soo different if I were in the states because adding the language barrier issue makes things 10x harder than it already is for kindergarteners. is it true?

The Goings-On

I will give you details on a few of the happenings over the past week or so...

The Green Paint Incident
On this particular day I decided to have the kids make an animal family out of their fingerprints. Our theme right now is family and I figured we could work on the immediate family words- mother father brother sister... as well as some animals, a two.for.one. I have an assistant in my class that I share with one other teacher so I asked her to man the paint table while I did a puppet/book activity with the other half of the class. So all goes well... UNTIL... in the middle of me reading to the second group, a girl comes up to me from the other group to tell me some kid is hitting... "where is Michelle" I ask. I look over (I was sitting on the carpet reading with my group) and she is no where to be found. So I ask this girl to find her for me. She comes back with the response from Michelle "I'll come when I am done" ...OK.. So in the mean time I am telling my reading group something else to do so I can bring some semblence of order back to the class and suddenly: CRASH. An entire jar of green paint spills everywhere. Half of the jar is now pooled on the floor, a little yellow chair, the table, Fernando's leg, and somehow Emilio's behind ( I think he sat in it on purpose). Thank you, Michelle. Now I start walking the boys toward the bathroom and I stop by the room she is in on the way to ask her ever so politely if she could come help me in my now dire circumstances. She managed to take some time away to help me clean up the paint, thankfully it is very washable especially now that it was on my pants as well. I dont mean to sound as angry as it probably does, but this is unfortunately not the first time she has done something like this. How can you think it is ok to leave 9 kindergarteners at a table with 4 open paint containers and think nothing will happen? if she had to leave to go to the other teacher and she knew this why couldn't she tell me? many questions that I feel are logical, cannot be answered...

Monsters in the Closet
My class goes out for 4 regular specials a week: PE, Religion, Music, and Computer. One day, we were coming back from somewhere else and I asked the class to walk directly to Religion which is just across the courtyard/playground area from my room. During specials, I have my free time, preps if you will, though they are only 25 mins long and I usually have a ton of things on my list to do. So this particular day I went into my room to write a note to the parents. 2-3 minutes later I hear my storage closet door creak open. "Andres! how long have you been in there?! You are supposed to be in religion!" He is always the one who thinks 'if I cant see you, you cant see me' which we all know is definitely not true. He will hide under the table, though his face is hidden, the rest of his body sure isn't; he will hide behind the shelves of toys, once again, your body is still visible; one time, he even tried to hide behind the tether ball poles by my room... ok, you may be little but you ain't that little! So though this is a recurring event, I have to laugh because he was playing hide and seek but no one was playing with him! It had to have been almost 5 minutes in there, and the light wasn't on! It does however, become un-funny the second time when light is provided and mischeif is had. This time was very similar, we arrive back in class from a special and a few of the boys had run ahead breaking the rule of course, so when I get in the room I scold them a little, warn that next time recess time will be taken and move on. I ask one table where Andres is, one girl tells me he was talking to Ms Charo. Ok, this is a normal occurance, if you are too excessive in your trouble-making, you go talk to Miss Charo, and unfortunately he has talked to her many times. so I think nothing more about. We are all working on our Alphabet Journals when I hear a thud on the closet door - immediately I know Andres is at it again, another good 5 minutes have passed with him hidden in the closet. I open the door and all I see are wrappers everywhere and toys strewn about. Andres is hiding behind the door, for fear of punishment I'm sure, but it is a small closet and he had no where to go. The wrappers were from the clay/playdoh they use here, it comes in bars and the school has cut them in half to make enough for each student (it never dries out which is cool). The 6-7 chunks he has opened now form one large ball, a few colors salvageable but the middle is quite well mixed. The toys that I put into the closet are the ones they cannot handle at toy time, either too much fighting over or too messy etc. So he had his heyday in there and then I made him clean it all up. I think he learned his lesson because that was over a week ago now and hasn't happened again...

Office Party
For some reason, most videos from network tv websites cannot work in Mexico. This means we cannot benefit from the day after postings of last nights episodes of whatever tv show we may want to watch. Sad news for lovers of The Office! Especially since when we first arrived, NBC was not available on iTunes, so we couldn't even buy it. Thankfully this changed and we were able to buy the last few episodes of last season to catch up before the premeire. When premeire night came along, iTunes didn't look hopeful for providing us with the new episode, so ironically NBC pushed us to find less legit means to watch. Some people put them online for free, so we did get to see it! We should have gotten a picture because Emily, Malita, and I were all huddled around my computer watching intently, laughing hysterically, and loving every minute of it.

Nerd Alert
One day, a fellow teacher came by to visit and upon discovering that she had access to a grading program that we could all download to our computers as well, we hustled right over to her house and fixed ourselves up! Now, being in kindergarten, I don't have to worry about grades quite the same as the elementary and middle school teachers - I give out Es Ss Is and Ns (excellent, satisfactory, improving, and needs improvement). But I put it on my computer all the same, never know when that might come in handy. The other teachers can actually make use of the program right now. Their grades are due and this way they save much time on figuring out averages and totaling up numbers etc. Jenna had made herself a neat little excel gradebook, but even that comes in second to this. So we had a nerd party that actually alleviated many peoples minds and helped bring in some relaxation to the weekend. A break was taked to go to a local seafood restaurant Costeñitos, at which I actually didn't eat any seafood:) but the empanadas and cranberry-lemonade are good! Then it was back to work..while watching a movie! I helped both Jenna and Charlie correct some of their things too, it just doesn't feel right to watch them suffer while I have little to do!

Charreada
This is a type of rodeo we attended on Sunday with Malita and her grandma and aunt in the neighboring town, Gomez. The arena was smaller than I expected, but I guess it is considered an amateur thing, but it was fun that there was a large mariachi band accompanying the events! First the horses show off their skills, they 'brake' if you will really fast (skid to a stop, it looks like it could be painful), walk to the side, back, spin in a circle, etc. Another event was a little like cow tipping - the charro rides next to a bull and grabs his tail, wrapping it around his leg in hopes to make the bull fall over. They also tried to rope the back feet of a passing bull. There were women riders as well who seem to be mostly show but they had one event which I just looked up and it is actually called a Skirmish. There are something like 8-10 women riding sidesaddle in elaborate dresses and they do a synchronized 'dance' almost where they look like they will collide with eachother but end up weaving between the others. There was more to come but after these events we were getting ready to go back, hungry and still had school work to do, so we skipped out early. Unfortunately, I think there was still bullriding to come which would have been interesting to watch, along with the jumping from one horse to another wild horse which also sounds deadly. In the beginning there was a 'gasp' moment from the crowd when a bull tried to jump the fence and get out of the arena. he landed with one hoof and his neck draped on the second wall and two legs between the wall and the first fence with the last leg still in the arena - uncomfortable to say the least. He eventually fell between the two walls and was lead to the door that brought him back to his undesired fate. I have put up a few pics of this event, and even a movie or two so if you want to check that out here is the link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/millerbreanna/Charreada

The New Arrival
Thanks for sending the package, Mom! A wonderful treat. I had forgotten all my dvds at home (if you know me, that is a critical mistake), so I received a large number of my collection in a cd case, along with a few surprise purchases! Our movie collection is now doubled, need a movie, come rent from us! ;) Other fun things thrown in too, thanks again mom, I appreciate it! Anyone else who wants to send a little hello is more than welcome ;)

Beach Bliss

Our long weekend at the beaches in Mazatlan was so very wonderful! It was just Jenna, Erin, Emily, and I and we were all very chill, go with the flow kind of girls with this vacation, it was very relaxing, and of course fun!
It started out with the 12 hr bus ride there. This was not so pleasant as the air seemed to be set to a very mild 15° C, and at my second complaint to the driver he told me the air was off. Blanketless and clearly catching a breeze, Jenna and I tried to forget about the cold through short, fitfull naps; Erin and Emily broke out the towels they brought along as their warmth.
Directly out of the bus station we were met with the mazatlan-unique open air taxis called Pulmonias. Thankfully our hotel let us check in at 9ish when we arrived so we could get cleaned up and refreshed ready to head out to find some breakfast. Our hotel was in old town and we found a cute little plaza nearby filled with restaurants; this would come to be a favorite destination. After a tasty breakfast and a little unpacking, we took a little snooze. I was wiped, I think Jenna and I were the only ones really excited about napping, but it was much needed.
We took a bus to the more touristy area and hit the beach and shops for a bit. Erin Emily and I worked a lady down from $38 for our dresses to $20. For lunch we decided to eat in the square near our hotel again, and supper brought us to the hotels restaurant, El Shrimp Bucket! The shrimp was just ok unfortunately, but the pina colada was good :) We all sat dazzled by the gorgeous sunset appearing right off our balcony over the water! It was great, an amazing first day of our vacation.
Sunday
No alarms were set for today! We woke up to the ocean music and the little bit of sun peaking through the curtains. Right next to our hotel is a little restaurant that boasts the 'top chef of last year' so we thought we would try that for breakfast. It was quite spectacular! best meal yet I'd say. I had huevos rancheros: fried egg on top of a hard shell covered in homemade salsa with a side of beans. oh man was that tasty! The homemade bread to start was good too. After I finished my meal, Emily unfortunately couldn't finish hers, so I offered to help her out ;) She had pancakes with fresh fruit topping! Also homemade batter I presume, they were delectable! Oh, and to top it off we got fresh squeezed OJ! as if I have to state it, we all left quite satisfied.
Our afternoon entertainment was walking along the beachfront sidewalk taking pics with the statues. I love to imitate things that way, its always good for a laugh. So we walked almost half I'd guess of the 10km stretch between our neighborhood and the touristy area. Then, the statues were no more and the sun was too hot so we hailed a taxi! After all that walking in the sun, we wanted to chill on the beach and relax. We rented an umbrella for a few pesos each and between dips in the ocean, we chilled in the shade. This part of the beach is expecially fun because closer to the shore it is deeper than further away! it was really fun because the drop off was almost immediately and then it got much more shallow so you could walk out really far into the bigger waves but only be up to your knee, or you could swim/wade around closer in the more calm area. perfection :) The only slightly annoying part of this beach was the horde of vendors asking for hideous prices. But you get over it, they don't budge much for bargaining because, I suppose, it's a tourist trap.. though they try to suck you in with their winsome "casi gratis, almost free, for you today"
Supper was once again in our beloved square at a place called Pedro and Lola's, named for the famous singers of course (I dont know them either). We sat at an outdoor table in the very pleasant air (Torreon is not so ..fresh) I ordered skirt steak and sangria to remind me of spain. It was better than the previous night and we got mime entertainment! It was so funny. He had a singer/guitarist accompany him and he did silent card tricks, he pulled out all the classic mime moves, showing his love/distaste with winks and tongue-sticking out and other body language. He made me laugh more than once :) After a few tricks I figured out one of his cheats -he bent the card into a c shape to 'show us' but really that allowed him to see the fold from his side of the card... if that makes sense. So i pointed this out, like the kind soul that i am?! Emily told me that wasn't nice so I said I didn't mean to be mean, because 'I like him!' At that he gave his best bashful pose and blew me an italian 'perfecto' type kiss :) Thankfully that wasn't his only trick though because immediately after I blew that part, he blew me out of the water. Another beautiful day, and I was once again ready for bed.
Monday - last day
We woke up to a cloudy morning, it was more humid than before and in another situation may have been dreary but not on my vacation! :) We hit our new favorite breakfast spot which again produced happy stomachs. I went all out today, I got the big meal: Eggs, hasbrowns, pancakes, and fresh fruit. Our waiter friend got us some DELICIOUS fresh-homemade biscuits and fresh squeezed mimosas to start off with too! I wouldn't be able to resist that place everyday if I lived there. The weather was only bad during our meal, thankfully there is an overhang over the tables so we were protected when it started to rain a bit, well mostly, the wind also picked up, but I think the food was too good to mind much.
As it is our last day, we had to check out of the hotel. they were willing to hold our bags though because our bus didn't leave until 1030pm. We wandered around a bit more in our neighborhood, hit up a couple book stores, one even in English that the girls bought a few $10peso books at, then we found a cute little cafe to get some refreshment from the humidity. My pear smoothie was delicious, I watched him cut the pear in front of me and throw it in a blender with some honey! The lounge area was dim lighting and complete with magazines and a tv so we chilled there for quite some time. All we had was time today, no hotel and bus leaving in the night, we decided to check if we could get on the earlier bus so our maitre d' called to check for us which wasn't really all that helpful, so we figured out the bus to get there which took some time in itself and got to the actual bus station only to find out there was no room at the earlier time. So we found a taxi and told him we would give him $50 pesos (cheap for a taxi, because once again they gouge tourists) if he would take us to his favorite restaurant. Without really waiting for an OK on the price we hopped in as our agreement and he took us to a place called Panama, good mexican food he said. He was right! I got three huge tasty tostadas and we killed a lot more time! We hung out there for honestly about 2 hrs I bet. We played a game or two on paper and had a bunch of laughs. Then we figured it was finally time to get our stuff together and get to the bus station. We throught it left at 10, though the tickets clearly stated it was 1035, so we were extra early.... THEN, on top of that we go outside to the bus and I step on as the driver shoos me away and says he will be back shortly. ok. we wait 10 mins or so and go in search of it. It is in the washing station, because we all know you can't drive a dirty bus. now, the windsheild I can understand but the bottom and the back.... unnecessary. AN HOUR later, the bus finally pulls back into the loading zone. to top this amazing bus station experience, our driver put his family into our chosen seats that we paid for and told Jenna and I to go to another pair of seats. annoying, but ok. not 5 mins later some guy comes up to me and says he has those tickets. So I go out to the driver and tell him the situation and his only remark is a rather rude "vete" which is a command that basically means 'go away' I could not believe it! "How Rude!" in the words of Stephanie Tanner. This bus trip wasn't as cold though Jenna did buy a mexican blanket there that we put to use. I slept much more this time so the 12 hrs flew by.
It was a great trip, I am sad it is over only because that means back to school. At least it is only a three day week! Friday is already almost here ;)
If you want to look at my pictures I put them in an online album instead of loading them here because A)it takes forever and B) i would have to chose a small selection which i cannot do. so here is the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/millerbreanna/Mazatlan enjoy :)

Thanks to God

This blog title comes from a commonly repeated phrase by the lovely, Miss Erendira. She is the one at school who takes care of our house problems (aka when we had cockroaches-talk to Miss Eren, when our door wouldn't lock-talk to Miss Eren, when we didn't have butterknives-talk to Miss Eren) and also our health problems: if you get sick and need to take advantage of that free health care we are paying taxes into-talk to Miss Eren. Like most everyone at Colegio Ingles, she is a very kind, loving lady. Her office is in the Jardin de Ninos section of the school so I get to see her a lot. Anyway, the reason this comes up is because, unfortunately, one of my housemates had to experience the undertaking that is Social Security in Mexico. Tuesday beings the story of Jenna and the sickness. :) She got sick during school that day and then slept most of the pm, waking with bad stomach aches and the shivers, and some unprofessional (yet helpful!) medical support supplied by the roomies. So Wednesday, Emily and I woke up at 5am because we figured we should get things taken care of. I called Eren, and we went to the school in search of the SS card that we were warned never to lose, Jenna thought she had left it by her desk. As it turns out, none of our efforts were actually needed. Miss Eren didn't arrive at school any sooner than normal, and the card was only found later; after jennas sad attempt to get to the school in her condition to look for herself which ended when we had crossed the street and Jenna realized that it was probably back at home in her purse, which it was. By 730am, when I arrived at school for the day, I had already had a nap!

Thanks to God #1, Jenna's SS card is afternoon. I guess to 'ease' the process they make some people only able to come in the am and some in the pm. I dont really know that this makes much sense but, thats how they do. So Jenna's name was put on a list in the morning to secure a place for the afternoon. she got there around 1...and left around 5:30! Thanks to God was declared for both the second and fourth time when the all elusive parking spot was found. Eren had left Jenna there alone for quite sometime, which caused some distress on Jenna's part with the things they were telling her to do and her spanish abilities in the almost incoherent state she was in. [related aside: tuesday night Emily and I were asking her things to tell the sub to do and in her confusion she asked if this was for 8th grade.. she teaches 3 and 4] Thanks to God number 3 came when by mistake she was listed as the 4th on the list of people without an appointment but they only allow 3 each day... thanks to god person number three never showed! And again, coming in as #5, Miss Eren rejoined Jenna with perfect timing as her name was called. The final was uttered twofold when both Jenna and Erendira's names were called sooner than planned (meaning Eren had wanted to use the free services that day as well).

So all in all it was a crazy experience and ended with a plethora of pills; so many in fact, Malita had to make Jenna a schedule to remember them by. The only really positive thing, besides of course the fact that she is now being treated and will be well in no time, is that it was all free! (when you forget the fact they take SS out of our paycheck) The doctor also gave Jenna 'incapacidad' for the rest the week, which means she doesn't have to work but will be excused therefore still getting paid.

Now that it is Friday (whoooohoooo!!!), Jenna hasn't worked these last few days in order to properly recover for our trip this evening! She says she feels better, and I hope it is true. Rumor has it the bus to Mazatlan is very ... vomit-inducing?!?! Dramamine necessary. Twelve hours through the mountains, on curvy roads. We leave tonight at 830, so I suppose I should get some stuff together. We paid the extra $3USD/night for an oceanview room, at a little hotel satisfactorily called, La Siesta. :) Hopefully the tropical storm weather doesn't effect our vaca too much. Torreon is crazy right now, the returning teachers said that last year it rained approximately 2 times, this year it has rained SOOO much already. and when it rains, it pours! and they dont have sewers/drainage because, hello, we're in the desert! So the streets are flooded until they have time to dry out. It is very unusual. But maybe the rain will hold off for a few days of beach fun for us....

A little R&R... A little HinH

thursday all of my roomies had a meeting, all being in primaria (elementary). So I joined Erin, Aaron, and Tye to go to Aerobics at our free gym. That is some workout. Honestly, when it was over it was raining out but we walked home just the same, why not, our shirts were wet already! We decided its one of those workouts that you dread going to and while you are there you couldn't say you are really enjoying yourself, but when you leave you feel good about it! When I arrived at my empty house I decided to have a good, loud, music/shower party with myself :) It was fun to belt it out and get even more energy and stress out!
Friday the roomies and I (Emily, Jenna, Malita, and Charlie), decided to go out for supper. Others had gone to the mall nearby so we headed that direction. This mall is not really a 'mall' by my standards... I mean, it has shops and food, but its more about the food and the shops are very small and don't sell many clothes. Stores can be so random here, their shelves filled with an eclectic collection of things. So anyway, this mall has an Applebees (yes, thats right), Opa's Restaurant (a sister of the former I believe as their mints share both names. Friday makes the 2nd time we patronized the joint), a Starbucks, another big coffee shop, an Irish Pub, an ice rink (uh huh!), a Peter Pipers Pizza (not good, dont recommend it. its like a mini version of ChuckECheeses), a big movie theater (IMAX along with regular), and a few other minor stores. I guess that it is a mall by the definition "place to hang out" as in preteen-teen hang out. Opa's was the nights destination though. We had the same waiter as last time, Victor, I think we will get to know him if this keeps up! The food is very tasty, fantastic burgers and pretty good margaritas too. by the time we were ready to leave our party of four american teachers had multiplied into a party of nine. The atmosphere there is fun too because they have music videos playing which provides a lot of conversation starters, and Malita and Charlie were psyched to find out they play sports games of choice, so they will become regulars I'm sure. :)
Saturday was a very chill day. The biggest thing we did was hang at the pool for a couple of hours, just Jenna Emily and I. We hit up a new food joint on the way too. We were seated at the only table, thankfully accomodating the three of us. the food was good though and it was cheap. we made them into the plates that we wish we got everywhere, complete with sides (plural!). I started reading The Shack... I am only a very short way into it now but I already think I will be recommending it! One part was fun to read in particular because it was set at Multnomah Falls which I may or may not have been to a couple dozen times in my life :) Oh trips to Oregon, how I miss you...
Sunday was another lax day... we have almost watched all movies in the house! I forgot my dvds so our selection is much more slim than originally planned. But it is still a sad fact, though if you know me, you know that I love me some movies! :) So it is fine with me. I feel like we are still in the transitional period of getting used to our work loads and adjusting to differences. We haven't reached the 'carpe diem' attitude quite yet, though emily is anxiously awaiting it! We need to though, that is the only way to improve my spanish here, make an intercambio buddy! (a spanish speaking friend with whom you can exchange knowledge of respective language)
This week has been decent thus far. I can't complain too much... but I can a little ;) I can definitely see a difference in the willingness to cooperate with some kids, though some have gone the opposite direction. Behavior management is still a big struggle but again, I shall wait and see. Stick to my guns now and later I can relax a little??!! Today I felt like my assistant was gone far too much, I need her help! It is good to have her there to explain some directions at times too since I can't use spanish, their native tongue keeps them in line easier as well!
Good news! Emily and I just got back from the bus station, tickets to Mazatlan this weekend!!!!! I'm stoked! Its a four day weekend due to independence day on mon, and an extra day off tues. here I come beaches! :)

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day

I guess 'dull' isn't exactly a good adjective to use for my days this past week, but they're lyrics and I do feel like time is going by very slowly but at the same time, quickly?! In the moment, at school, I often feel like there is forever of the day left, but at the same time I cannot believe it is already school day #8 today.

So first week - check. It was an alright week, it definitely went uphill at least a bit, or even if it plateaued at some point, it didn't go down! By Wednesday it felt better. The first two days I thought I could just die. It is SOO SOO difficult to get 5/6 yr olds to listen all day long in a language they dont know! Evidence of growth in their language skills is already there though and that seems to be helping things along. There are of course still times, and still children, who refuse to listen, but we are getting better at getting silent, getting in from recess when the bell rings, and walking in lines. All hope is not lost!

This weekend was a good, relaxing break after the stress of the first days in our careers! We actually started a bit on Thursday with $8 pedicures!
Friday night we went to a Spanish tapas place down the street. It was fun to eat food from Spain :) I got the tortilla de patatas for old times sake and we all got margaritas. It was even more fun that we were the only ones there so the owner and the waiter talked to us quite a bit. They asked what we wanted to listen to and even brought out their cd selection for us to choose from. Of course we ended the affair with with a group photo!

EmilyJenna Me Malita Charlie and our new friends waiter Charlie in front and owner Manuel

Saturday brought us a family outing! The Chulas family, as we lovingly call our clan - Malita, Charlie, Emily, Jenna, and I, all made our way over to Malitas grandmothers house. She lives here in Torreon, just a short taxi ride away with her sisters. They made us an authentic meal which was very fun to have again. They are all so sweet, not only did they drive us to the market downtown so we could get Santos (the local futbol team) apparel, but they kissed us all goodbye saying we were welcome anytime at 'our house' as it now is.
We changed into our newfavoriteteam jerseys and made the trek to get some necessities from both Waldos Mart and Soriana. With 5 people eating in the house it was easy to load up the food cart! It is fun though that we cook for eachother (well most daily verbs together, work together, plan together, eat together, walk together, I mean really..) thus a family name is justified.
Saturday night was a celebration for a fellow teachers birthday. Reservations at the Cantanita, a sweet lucha libre themed bar/restaurant. The wrestling paraphenalia wasn't over powering though, it was a cute place and had live music. We were seated directly in front of the speakers though and while sitting on my chair I could feel the hair on my arms vibrating with the music! I believe fun was had by all.

...

Yesterday was a very busy, long day for me. I had school like normal from 7:30-3:00ish, tutoring from 4:30-630, and a parent open house at 7:45. Then I had to finish up my plan book for next week to turn in tomorrow. Whew. Glad that is behind me now. Another week almost gone... thank goodness :) We are all looking forward to a little four day weekend we have coming up after next week! A beach may be in the future! Hopefully something fun anyway. Tonight I am going to hit up the aerobics class again... get ready to sweat!

First Day!?

wow. teaching english to 5 yr old spanish speakers is TOUGH work. It helps that they are so darn adorable, and that I can understand spanish, but it is SO hard to get anything across first day wise to people who don't speak that language! I am not allowed to speak spanish to them as that would defeat the whole idea of immersion, and I am not technically supposed to answer questions asked in spanish either. Im going with 'if I repeat the question in english before answering then its ok to do it sometimes.' honestly, sometimes I just forget. Its hard to hear spanish and understand it and then change back to english only, sometimes I think of what I am going to say in Spanish too but then I realize...

Anyway, details on the day. The beginning of the morning went pretty well. We made nametags, they had a special (religion), and then we had flag salute, no biggie. The hour after that was not so great at all. I got them playing a game that practices "I am ___. Good Morning, (another student)" and they pass a ball while doing this. My coordinator comes in and sits in the circle so all the kids immediately start speaking to her in spanish (remember this is supposed to be an english only classroom?!). they ask her to play hot potato so when she got the ball thats what she did! I couldn't believe it, so for about 10 mins my classroom was taken over by my superior in a language she forbade me to speak. I lost them after that, all they wanted to do was play with the toys, the listening skills were turned off.

One boy in particular seems to be the trouble maker, he said one of my activities with the alphabet was for babies, so everyone else began to dislike it as well. He never follows directions and when I call his name or ask him to do something he doesn't want, he plays dead on the floor. Great. And through my discouragement, I cut a few of my activities short and therefore felt like I was grasping at the air for things to do a lost of the afternoon. By noon-ish they are done listening to a foreign language. Its frustrating, I understand, I was there, there were times in Spain where we just wanted to speak english so I get it. But as the teacher its very frustrating to have them all talking amongst themselves in spanish because they no longer want to try to understand or follow english. Their ears get turned off for much of the afternoon. I ended the day then doing toy centers, and it felt like a cop out. At lunch though, I honestly thought to myself if only for a split second if I could quit. of course I cant and I wont but it was a frustrating day and I can't wait until it gets better. Thankfully my roomies all had similar feelings after the day so I know it is not just me, first years are bound to be difficult...

at least we looked good :)