My school in Tanzania offers a very generous shipping allowance, yet as far as I can tell shipping to Tanzania is not quite as simple as sending a parcel to Japan or any other place I have been. The biggest hassle seems to be that I would not be able to collect any shipments until I have a tax ID number- which could be October. I can't seem to get the full story on whether this means I will have to personally collect any future parcels from the port of Dar es Salaam as though it were a shipping crate or not. But all of that sounds like more trouble than it's worth for me, particularly since I'm not planning to bring any furniture or large art that would necessitate an actual crate being shipped. My needs are much smaller.
So the last few months I have been acquiring the things I think I'll need for my new life in Tanzania. Mostly they are miscellaneous personal effects - like climate appropriate clothes, an aromatherapy diffuser, and supplements - or things that are difficult or expensive to get in Dar - like sharp knives and bed sheets - or things that are somewhat unique to my future life in Tanzania - binoculars, a snorkel and mask, a solar powered lantern, and an SPF infused swim shirt.
Today I received my last Amazon package of supplies and as I look at the small mountain of items I've collected over the past few months I find myself wondering if I'll actually be able to fit it all in the suitcases I plan to bring... I try to assure myself that since it will be so warm, I won't have the kinds of heavy clothes and shoes that I packed for Japan. But I don't think I'm convinced just yet.
Perhaps you're thinking, why not try it out, do a test pack to see if it all fits while still remaining under the weight limit? An excellent idea. And yet... so not my style. Instead I'll continue to stare at my pile of things and visualize the additional items that I'll pack into my two large and two small suitcases. And then when less than 24 hours remain before my departure I'll begin hopefully shoving it all in the cases and see what happens.
Only 12 more days...
Saturday, July 08, 2017
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Everything changes and nothing stands still
So much has changed since my last post here, and yet so much is exactly the same.
I'm preparing to move to a new place to continue my journey as a teacher - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
If you had asked me a few months ago where I wanted to live, I would not have said Tanzania. Honestly, I probably would not have mentioned Africa at all. But life, circumstance, and a great school presented me with an intriguing opportunity that ultimately I could not say "no" to.
And so for the next few months I am preparing for this new chapter: moving to Africa.
So far my focus has been on deciding which parts of my past I want to take with me to my new home via photo enlargements and travel wall art. I printed and framed some of my best photos from the last ten years. I'm considering easy to pack posters that represent places I've been and the journey I've been on. Strangely, this is the first time I have really thought about creating a sense of "home" in a new place. I just have a good feeling about this next adventure.
I'm not convinced Tanzania will be where I ultimately "settle down", if a vagabond such as myself can do such a thing. But I do feel ready to create a life and be present in this new experience. My goal is to document some of that here, on this blog.
Join me this July as the journey begins.
I'm preparing to move to a new place to continue my journey as a teacher - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
If you had asked me a few months ago where I wanted to live, I would not have said Tanzania. Honestly, I probably would not have mentioned Africa at all. But life, circumstance, and a great school presented me with an intriguing opportunity that ultimately I could not say "no" to.
And so for the next few months I am preparing for this new chapter: moving to Africa.
So far my focus has been on deciding which parts of my past I want to take with me to my new home via photo enlargements and travel wall art. I printed and framed some of my best photos from the last ten years. I'm considering easy to pack posters that represent places I've been and the journey I've been on. Strangely, this is the first time I have really thought about creating a sense of "home" in a new place. I just have a good feeling about this next adventure.
I'm not convinced Tanzania will be where I ultimately "settle down", if a vagabond such as myself can do such a thing. But I do feel ready to create a life and be present in this new experience. My goal is to document some of that here, on this blog.
Join me this July as the journey begins.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Moving Forward by Going Back
In about two weeks I'll be returning to the very first place I was ever a teacher - Japan.
I've come a long way since then. My first ever teaching gig came with about 3 days of training and very little self-confidence. These days I've got grad school and a few years of teaching experience under my belt. My hope is that I find the country, culture, and people that I liked so much the first time around still present, but this time have more fun teaching.
It is also my intention to blog more this year than I did last year. I learned a lot last year, but I'm ready to move forward by going back to where it all began.
I've come a long way since then. My first ever teaching gig came with about 3 days of training and very little self-confidence. These days I've got grad school and a few years of teaching experience under my belt. My hope is that I find the country, culture, and people that I liked so much the first time around still present, but this time have more fun teaching.
It is also my intention to blog more this year than I did last year. I learned a lot last year, but I'm ready to move forward by going back to where it all began.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Don't tell me what to do!
So I spent 7th period relaxing at my desk, getting a little work done, with my space heater pointed right at me. All three of these things are abnormal for my normal school day. Let me explain.
So for most of the school year so far, the Seniors have been complaining that they should be allowed to leave the building for lunch on a certain day each week. Past Senior classes have done this, and now it's their turn. But for reasons I don't exactly understand, they have been denied this privilege. I think it's something about students misbehaving out in the world, making the school look bad (because they are in uniform). Needless to say, the current Seniors are mad. It's not fair.
What do angry, entitled children do when they don't get their way? First they pout. Then they argue. Then they put signs up around school, because if the rules haven't changed by now it's because no one is listening to them. And when all that doesn't accomplish their goals, they plan to form a small mob in the hallway, barge past the security guards, and go out for lunch anyways. And should any Senior decide that they don't want to be involved in all this and just go to the cafeteria, they are bullied into abandoning their lunches and leaving with everyone else.
Well, when they returned from their lunch out in Pristina they found that they were locked out of the school. I am not sure exactly what consequences await them (if any), but I do hope that something happens.
These students (and particularly the Seniors) believe that if they demand something all together then they must be granted it. On Monday they all came to government class and instead of reviewing for their test on Tuesday they opted to spend nearly the whole period trying to argue with me about pushing the test back. They felt sure if they all asked/begged/harassed me enough that I would change the date. They were wrong, I am more stubborn than they think. Many also threatened to just skip school (the student handbook says if they have an unexcused absence on the day of an assessment that they will just get a zero). But they all showed up. And just when I was hoping that maybe they were figuring some stuff out about how school works, they pull a stunt like this.
7th period is normally my most difficult class of the day. I have a volatile group of kids and lots of attitude and behavior problems. Most 7th periods it is a fight to accomplish anything, and when we do accomplish something - only a fraction of the students are part of that "we". And because there were no students during 7th period today -
I got the heater all to myself.
So for most of the school year so far, the Seniors have been complaining that they should be allowed to leave the building for lunch on a certain day each week. Past Senior classes have done this, and now it's their turn. But for reasons I don't exactly understand, they have been denied this privilege. I think it's something about students misbehaving out in the world, making the school look bad (because they are in uniform). Needless to say, the current Seniors are mad. It's not fair.
What do angry, entitled children do when they don't get their way? First they pout. Then they argue. Then they put signs up around school, because if the rules haven't changed by now it's because no one is listening to them. And when all that doesn't accomplish their goals, they plan to form a small mob in the hallway, barge past the security guards, and go out for lunch anyways. And should any Senior decide that they don't want to be involved in all this and just go to the cafeteria, they are bullied into abandoning their lunches and leaving with everyone else.
Well, when they returned from their lunch out in Pristina they found that they were locked out of the school. I am not sure exactly what consequences await them (if any), but I do hope that something happens.
These students (and particularly the Seniors) believe that if they demand something all together then they must be granted it. On Monday they all came to government class and instead of reviewing for their test on Tuesday they opted to spend nearly the whole period trying to argue with me about pushing the test back. They felt sure if they all asked/begged/harassed me enough that I would change the date. They were wrong, I am more stubborn than they think. Many also threatened to just skip school (the student handbook says if they have an unexcused absence on the day of an assessment that they will just get a zero). But they all showed up. And just when I was hoping that maybe they were figuring some stuff out about how school works, they pull a stunt like this.
7th period is normally my most difficult class of the day. I have a volatile group of kids and lots of attitude and behavior problems. Most 7th periods it is a fight to accomplish anything, and when we do accomplish something - only a fraction of the students are part of that "we". And because there were no students during 7th period today -
I got the heater all to myself.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Weekend in Greece, as you do
So the UN here is Kosova occasionally (or maybe frequently, I don't know, I'm still kind of new here) organizes bus trips to places. And this month they had two weekend trips to Paralia, Greece. Having been in school for a lengthy two weeks (and not even full weeks), I clearly needed a break. So last Friday after school we boarded a bus filled with various international types and were on our way.
You may or may not have heard in the news, there have been some issues between Kosova and Macedonia about border crossing. So our journey to Greece involved first driving into Serbia, then into Montenegro, and finally into Greece, with all sorts of border stops. (Usually I love getting stamps in my passport, but sadly these stamps were all so faint that the only part you can actually read is the date) So we didn't roll into Paralia until about midnight. Basically we checked in and passed out, all pretty happy to be horizontal instead of wedged uncomfortably in a bus seat.
When the sun came up we suited up and headed down to breakfast. First of all, our hotel and its restaurant were right on the beach, and on top of that the breakfast was a huge smorgasbord of eggs, cereals, baked things, beans, feta, tomatoes and cukes, fruit, and of course fabulous Greek yogurt and honey.
We spent all day at the beach. Both days were actually beautiful - not a cloud in the sky, in the 80s - it was heaven. The water was a little bit cool, but not bad once you got in and the beach was walled off from the open sea, so it was pretty calm. The hotel had lounge chairs, little tables, and umbrellas all set up. The only catch was that you had to order stuff from the hotel bar/restaurant. So we had drinks served to us all day and also occasionally they would bring us little bowls of potato chips or nuts.
We didn't really realize that this snack service was kind of a thing until after dinner.
There were about 10 of us on the trip who knew each other, so we all went out looking for somewhere nice to eat and to try a little local food. I ordered some sort of spicy meatball thing which was delicious. We had some amazing little salads beforehand - beet salad, carrot salad, coleslaw - and some tzatziki with bread. The owner (?) of the restaurant had sort of lured us in with the promise of a free glass of wine. There was also a free shot of ouzo.
After dinner, some of us went to get another drink or two and we found this cute little bar with comfortable outdoor seating and twinkle lights. When our drinks came, so did a little tray of cucumber and tomato slices. Then there were some chips. And some little ham and cheese toasty sandwiches. and a small pizza. and a little shot of liqueur in an edible chocolate glass. We probably could have done without dinner, that's how much food they were bringing us at this bar.
Like I said, day two was just as beautiful and it started out exactly the same way. We spent the morning on the beach, then wandered around the shops a little bit. I bought lentils from the grocery store and some kalamata olives (you know, as a souvenir). On the way to get our bus back to Kosova we stopped to pick up a little chicken gyro which was delicious.
Luckily, border issues were solved over the weekend (?? Seems impossible, work getting done on the weekend) and we had a much shorter trip back to Pristina. Though I knew going into the trip that we might get back late on Sunday night and that I would have to be up early for school the next morning, I decided it would be worth it. And it was. AND we got back into Pristina by 8pm, so I even had time to pull myself together and have a relaxing evening before jumping back into school.
I can't wait to see what other weekend trips are being planned. This weekend home and doing nothing has been great so far, it's really giving me a chance to feel like I'm catching up on some grading and even planning ahead for my classes.
You may or may not have heard in the news, there have been some issues between Kosova and Macedonia about border crossing. So our journey to Greece involved first driving into Serbia, then into Montenegro, and finally into Greece, with all sorts of border stops. (Usually I love getting stamps in my passport, but sadly these stamps were all so faint that the only part you can actually read is the date) So we didn't roll into Paralia until about midnight. Basically we checked in and passed out, all pretty happy to be horizontal instead of wedged uncomfortably in a bus seat.
When the sun came up we suited up and headed down to breakfast. First of all, our hotel and its restaurant were right on the beach, and on top of that the breakfast was a huge smorgasbord of eggs, cereals, baked things, beans, feta, tomatoes and cukes, fruit, and of course fabulous Greek yogurt and honey.
We spent all day at the beach. Both days were actually beautiful - not a cloud in the sky, in the 80s - it was heaven. The water was a little bit cool, but not bad once you got in and the beach was walled off from the open sea, so it was pretty calm. The hotel had lounge chairs, little tables, and umbrellas all set up. The only catch was that you had to order stuff from the hotel bar/restaurant. So we had drinks served to us all day and also occasionally they would bring us little bowls of potato chips or nuts.
We didn't really realize that this snack service was kind of a thing until after dinner.
There were about 10 of us on the trip who knew each other, so we all went out looking for somewhere nice to eat and to try a little local food. I ordered some sort of spicy meatball thing which was delicious. We had some amazing little salads beforehand - beet salad, carrot salad, coleslaw - and some tzatziki with bread. The owner (?) of the restaurant had sort of lured us in with the promise of a free glass of wine. There was also a free shot of ouzo.
After dinner, some of us went to get another drink or two and we found this cute little bar with comfortable outdoor seating and twinkle lights. When our drinks came, so did a little tray of cucumber and tomato slices. Then there were some chips. And some little ham and cheese toasty sandwiches. and a small pizza. and a little shot of liqueur in an edible chocolate glass. We probably could have done without dinner, that's how much food they were bringing us at this bar.
Like I said, day two was just as beautiful and it started out exactly the same way. We spent the morning on the beach, then wandered around the shops a little bit. I bought lentils from the grocery store and some kalamata olives (you know, as a souvenir). On the way to get our bus back to Kosova we stopped to pick up a little chicken gyro which was delicious.
Luckily, border issues were solved over the weekend (?? Seems impossible, work getting done on the weekend) and we had a much shorter trip back to Pristina. Though I knew going into the trip that we might get back late on Sunday night and that I would have to be up early for school the next morning, I decided it would be worth it. And it was. AND we got back into Pristina by 8pm, so I even had time to pull myself together and have a relaxing evening before jumping back into school.
I can't wait to see what other weekend trips are being planned. This weekend home and doing nothing has been great so far, it's really giving me a chance to feel like I'm catching up on some grading and even planning ahead for my classes.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
lightbulbs. again.
I feel like a lot of my life here is consumed by thinking about lightbulbs. I know I wrote about my bathroom light saga already, but in the past week I lost one of two lightbulbs in the living room (on a three bulb fixture- one of them was already out) and then the single bulb in my kitchen started flickering....
I was a away for the weekend, so I sort of forgot. And then last night I cooked dinner while wearing my headlamp. So on the way home from school today I stopped to buy some lightbulbs. I bought four, feeling fairly confident that I had the correct size (a mistake I had made last time).
Well, I was right on the size. But. One of the fixtures doesn't appear to work at all in the living room. The other one blew the bulb when I turned the light switch on. Eventually I got another of the bulbs to work. Then the kitchen. First a bulb that didn't seem to work (and I was starting to fear that I would have to call the landlady again because the fixtures don't work) and then finally one that did.
I can't explain. And my suspicion is that the bulbs may have been faulty to begin with, in addition to my apartment possibly having been wired by a teenage amateur electrician. But I have lights in all my rooms. For now.
The other exciting thing is that last weekend in Greece (and I will do a post about Greece, probably tomorrow) I found lentils. Lentils!!! I'm pretty excited about them. People keep telling me that they do exist here in Pristina, but I have yet to find them. Apparently that's how it goes; sometimes you can find stuff and sometimes you can't. So this afternoon, beneath the glow of a new lightbulb, I made an amazing lentil salad with tomatoes, peppers, olives, and feta in a delicious mustard-balsamic vinaigrette. So. Amazing.
I still feel like, foodwise, I'm struggling to figure out what I can and want to cook. The ingredients are not so unfamiliar, it's just that there's not the same variety of options. So I find myself making a lot of spinach mac and cheese, pasta with olive-tomato-feta sauce, grilled cheese and ajvar (it's kind of a roasted pepper spread), I made a frozen pizza once, some frozen chicken cutlet things (in fact, I think the fact that nearly all of the chicken is frozen and my freezer is TINY is the reason I haven't bought more meat), eggs over fried potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and now this lentil salad. I haven't been able to get myself back into green salads like I'd been eating at home and I only made some smoothies the first week I had my blender. Also I've been super obsessed with chips, particularly ketchup flavored Ruffles. I'd like to get back to a little more healthy diet, when I get time to figure out what that might look like here. Though I don't think I'll have that much time any time soon.
And I promise to write about school sometime. It's just right now, I kind of hate all my kids and I'm feeling frustrated about stuff. But soon.
I was a away for the weekend, so I sort of forgot. And then last night I cooked dinner while wearing my headlamp. So on the way home from school today I stopped to buy some lightbulbs. I bought four, feeling fairly confident that I had the correct size (a mistake I had made last time).
Well, I was right on the size. But. One of the fixtures doesn't appear to work at all in the living room. The other one blew the bulb when I turned the light switch on. Eventually I got another of the bulbs to work. Then the kitchen. First a bulb that didn't seem to work (and I was starting to fear that I would have to call the landlady again because the fixtures don't work) and then finally one that did.
I can't explain. And my suspicion is that the bulbs may have been faulty to begin with, in addition to my apartment possibly having been wired by a teenage amateur electrician. But I have lights in all my rooms. For now.
The other exciting thing is that last weekend in Greece (and I will do a post about Greece, probably tomorrow) I found lentils. Lentils!!! I'm pretty excited about them. People keep telling me that they do exist here in Pristina, but I have yet to find them. Apparently that's how it goes; sometimes you can find stuff and sometimes you can't. So this afternoon, beneath the glow of a new lightbulb, I made an amazing lentil salad with tomatoes, peppers, olives, and feta in a delicious mustard-balsamic vinaigrette. So. Amazing.
I still feel like, foodwise, I'm struggling to figure out what I can and want to cook. The ingredients are not so unfamiliar, it's just that there's not the same variety of options. So I find myself making a lot of spinach mac and cheese, pasta with olive-tomato-feta sauce, grilled cheese and ajvar (it's kind of a roasted pepper spread), I made a frozen pizza once, some frozen chicken cutlet things (in fact, I think the fact that nearly all of the chicken is frozen and my freezer is TINY is the reason I haven't bought more meat), eggs over fried potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and now this lentil salad. I haven't been able to get myself back into green salads like I'd been eating at home and I only made some smoothies the first week I had my blender. Also I've been super obsessed with chips, particularly ketchup flavored Ruffles. I'd like to get back to a little more healthy diet, when I get time to figure out what that might look like here. Though I don't think I'll have that much time any time soon.
And I promise to write about school sometime. It's just right now, I kind of hate all my kids and I'm feeling frustrated about stuff. But soon.
Tuesday, September 03, 2013
Blinded by the light
So for about a week now I have been without a light in my bathroom. The bulb went out and I bought two light bulbs that did not fit in the socket. (don't laugh, it's more complicated than you think!) So finally I called the landlady and she sent her son up to fix it. Well, he came up with another light bulb. Which also did not fit (see - it wasn't just me!). So he thought it was a problem with the fixture itself, but the guy who does that wouldn't be around until Monday.
Well, Monday came and went; I was busy and wearing my headlight in the bathroom at night was starting to seem like the usual. But this morning was the first time I had to get up early - my normal school wake-up time - and it was a little bleak in there. I actually set my headlight on the window sill so that it would shine into my shower. And I planned to call the Landlady again when I got home from school.
But when I got home I found - a rug in my kitchen. Sort of exciting, it does tie the room together, if you know what I mean. However, the bathroom light was still out. So I called the landlady again and she promised to send her son up, he forgot to come the yesterday. As I waited I put away some dishes and found that in my silverware drawer there was a silverware holder - also pretty exciting.
FINALLY the son showed up and managed to fix the light. Well, more or less. It works. But he's going to have the normal electrician guy come check sometime.
So yeah. LIGHT in my bathroom. This place is great. :)
Well, Monday came and went; I was busy and wearing my headlight in the bathroom at night was starting to seem like the usual. But this morning was the first time I had to get up early - my normal school wake-up time - and it was a little bleak in there. I actually set my headlight on the window sill so that it would shine into my shower. And I planned to call the Landlady again when I got home from school.
But when I got home I found - a rug in my kitchen. Sort of exciting, it does tie the room together, if you know what I mean. However, the bathroom light was still out. So I called the landlady again and she promised to send her son up, he forgot to come the yesterday. As I waited I put away some dishes and found that in my silverware drawer there was a silverware holder - also pretty exciting.
FINALLY the son showed up and managed to fix the light. Well, more or less. It works. But he's going to have the normal electrician guy come check sometime.
So yeah. LIGHT in my bathroom. This place is great. :)
First Day of School, except not really
So today was billed as the "first day of school" but it's hard for me to feel like that is the correct way to describe what happened today...
Last Friday when we got our schedules (yes, that is when I actually found out what I'm supposed to teach) someone asked, casually, if Tuesday would be a half day like it had been in the past. The response was something along the lines of "hmm, I guess so. We have done that before" (as if this hadn't crossed anyone's mind yet this year). So apparently that was the plan. The students would come in, go in to the auditorium (actually, it's the "amphitheater" - that just seems like a grand description for what this place is) and listen to a little talk by our Superintendent (our new principal is en route from Egypt at the moment). After that the homeroom teachers (not me) would read off their list of students and take them to homeroom where they would get their schedules. The last part of the half day was supposed to be the kids coming around to each of their classes for about 10-15 minutes.
Except, and I guess I should have expected this at this point, that's not what happened.
Last night we got an email with the actual schedule for the day - Welcome presentation in the amphitheater, homeroom teachers - except no student schedules handed out and no shortened classes. No actual teaching required.
So that was day one. *sigh* oh well. I got a lot of organization taken care of in my classroom - which was great since most of yesterday I couldn't even get in there because they were putting in a new carpet. I got my syllabus copies. The carpet glue smell had another day to air out.
This afternoon we got our class lists and I suspect that a large part of my classes will involve me trying to pronounce the students' names and them laughing. Should be great.
Last Friday when we got our schedules (yes, that is when I actually found out what I'm supposed to teach) someone asked, casually, if Tuesday would be a half day like it had been in the past. The response was something along the lines of "hmm, I guess so. We have done that before" (as if this hadn't crossed anyone's mind yet this year). So apparently that was the plan. The students would come in, go in to the auditorium (actually, it's the "amphitheater" - that just seems like a grand description for what this place is) and listen to a little talk by our Superintendent (our new principal is en route from Egypt at the moment). After that the homeroom teachers (not me) would read off their list of students and take them to homeroom where they would get their schedules. The last part of the half day was supposed to be the kids coming around to each of their classes for about 10-15 minutes.
Except, and I guess I should have expected this at this point, that's not what happened.
Last night we got an email with the actual schedule for the day - Welcome presentation in the amphitheater, homeroom teachers - except no student schedules handed out and no shortened classes. No actual teaching required.
So that was day one. *sigh* oh well. I got a lot of organization taken care of in my classroom - which was great since most of yesterday I couldn't even get in there because they were putting in a new carpet. I got my syllabus copies. The carpet glue smell had another day to air out.
This afternoon we got our class lists and I suspect that a large part of my classes will involve me trying to pronounce the students' names and them laughing. Should be great.
Sunday, September 01, 2013
The Highlight of my Week
So it's been a long week of, well, not actually accomplishing very much, but doing a lot of things.
At this point I have a pretty good idea of where I live and I can find the stuff that really matters: the grocery store (in fact, two grocery stores), school, the euro store, and ATMs. I'm also able to find places where other teachers live and wander around a smallish area without getting irrevocably lost. I feel like these are all pretty good things, but to call them "accomplishments" seems a bit... of an exaggeration.
I've also met lots of people, about half of whom I have forgotten their names almost immediately. I have a classroom and IDs to log on to the school computers, and I have some supplies to start the year and as of Friday I actually have a schedule of the classes I'll be teaching. Well, probably.
Something that I've been desperate to discover ever since I was hired way back in February is what classes I am teaching. So on Friday we were actually given our schedules. Except that apparently it's not uncommon for people to not even register for school until the first week is already underway. So the schedule I have now could potentially change, but hopefully not too much.
As of right now I am teaching 2 sections of World History (though because "high school" really starts in 10th grade here - and World History is a 10th grade class - it is possible and even likely that they will add another class of World History), 3 sections of US Government (which is actually not even going to be that anymore, at least not exactly, my wonderful department head and I looked at the syllabus from last year and thought that it resembled the US History class far too closely - so we proposed a new curriculum which we are calling "Comparative Government" that will look at different types of government, do some case studies of different countries, talk about civics and citizenship, and changing government through civil and violent means), and 1 section of Geography (which would be fun and a very small class, but if they do have to add another World History this little group will likely be absorbed into another section).
(boy, that was a lot of parenthetical commentary)
BUT - that's not even the highlight of my week. The highlight of my week was that today we went to the mall - which is really like a mall - and I bought a blender. I'm so excited to make myself a smoothie in the morning. :)
At this point I have a pretty good idea of where I live and I can find the stuff that really matters: the grocery store (in fact, two grocery stores), school, the euro store, and ATMs. I'm also able to find places where other teachers live and wander around a smallish area without getting irrevocably lost. I feel like these are all pretty good things, but to call them "accomplishments" seems a bit... of an exaggeration.
I've also met lots of people, about half of whom I have forgotten their names almost immediately. I have a classroom and IDs to log on to the school computers, and I have some supplies to start the year and as of Friday I actually have a schedule of the classes I'll be teaching. Well, probably.
Something that I've been desperate to discover ever since I was hired way back in February is what classes I am teaching. So on Friday we were actually given our schedules. Except that apparently it's not uncommon for people to not even register for school until the first week is already underway. So the schedule I have now could potentially change, but hopefully not too much.
As of right now I am teaching 2 sections of World History (though because "high school" really starts in 10th grade here - and World History is a 10th grade class - it is possible and even likely that they will add another class of World History), 3 sections of US Government (which is actually not even going to be that anymore, at least not exactly, my wonderful department head and I looked at the syllabus from last year and thought that it resembled the US History class far too closely - so we proposed a new curriculum which we are calling "Comparative Government" that will look at different types of government, do some case studies of different countries, talk about civics and citizenship, and changing government through civil and violent means), and 1 section of Geography (which would be fun and a very small class, but if they do have to add another World History this little group will likely be absorbed into another section).
(boy, that was a lot of parenthetical commentary)
BUT - that's not even the highlight of my week. The highlight of my week was that today we went to the mall - which is really like a mall - and I bought a blender. I'm so excited to make myself a smoothie in the morning. :)
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Kosova Lesson #1
After packing way more luggage than I have ever packed in my life (while still feeling like I might like to take more with me) and a long day of traveling on full flights, I finally arrived in Kosova last Sunday.
During my three hour layover in Frankfurt I happened to meet three other ASK teachers, another newbie like me and two returning teachers. We also met another American who was returning to Kosova to continue his craft beer brewing business (which involves brewing IPAs and ambers, which apparently are not readily available here). After what seemed like a crazy-long layover and a crazy-long shuttle ride from the gate to the actual plane we began our short trip to Pristina.
Once we arrived, going through passport control was no trouble and though our brewer friend had some trouble at customs, the whole thing was relatively hassle-free. All except securing hand carts for the luggage. It was the third batch of carts that the guy brought out before I was able to get one for all my bags... every time he showed up a mob surrounded him and took the carts before he could even get to the distribution point.
Outside the very small airport we were met by people with signs and somehow managed to fit all our luggage into the mini-van. The airport is about 20 minutes outside of the city and Kristin, an ASK teacher, gave us the rundown on somethings and tried to help us get our bearings (unsuccessfully, I would say; I still feel a little lost if I'm not on the 4 streets that I know... I need some more time!). I was the first to be dropped off, and we lugged all my bags up 5 flights of stairs to my new apartment.
It's small, but enough. It has an open kitchen-living room area with a small bathroom and bedroom off the main room. I also have an adorable balcony, which I can access from my bedroom or living room. There was lots of light streaming in my windows, I decided to lay down on my couch and stretch out a bit. Kristin and Emily were going to come back in an hour and we'd go get some a little something to eat and some supplies.
After my little nap, I went in my bathroom to wash my face and put in my contacts. I smeared face wash on my hand and flipped open the faucet. sputtering. sputtering. nothing. I tried the kitchen. the same. I sat and fumed a little. and tried again. and again. and again. When Kristin and Emily showed up again, I learned
Kosova Lesson #1: The water gets turned off midday in residential buildings.
So we went to a restaurant where I was able to wash the soap off my hand. We got some food - a delicious yogurty-bread thing with some spreads (amazing), some beers, and a little salad (you know, to be healthy).
When I got back to my place with some basics from the grocery store I tried to unpack. Really, I did. It didn't really work out so well... I slept some more.
During my three hour layover in Frankfurt I happened to meet three other ASK teachers, another newbie like me and two returning teachers. We also met another American who was returning to Kosova to continue his craft beer brewing business (which involves brewing IPAs and ambers, which apparently are not readily available here). After what seemed like a crazy-long layover and a crazy-long shuttle ride from the gate to the actual plane we began our short trip to Pristina.
Once we arrived, going through passport control was no trouble and though our brewer friend had some trouble at customs, the whole thing was relatively hassle-free. All except securing hand carts for the luggage. It was the third batch of carts that the guy brought out before I was able to get one for all my bags... every time he showed up a mob surrounded him and took the carts before he could even get to the distribution point.
Outside the very small airport we were met by people with signs and somehow managed to fit all our luggage into the mini-van. The airport is about 20 minutes outside of the city and Kristin, an ASK teacher, gave us the rundown on somethings and tried to help us get our bearings (unsuccessfully, I would say; I still feel a little lost if I'm not on the 4 streets that I know... I need some more time!). I was the first to be dropped off, and we lugged all my bags up 5 flights of stairs to my new apartment.
It's small, but enough. It has an open kitchen-living room area with a small bathroom and bedroom off the main room. I also have an adorable balcony, which I can access from my bedroom or living room. There was lots of light streaming in my windows, I decided to lay down on my couch and stretch out a bit. Kristin and Emily were going to come back in an hour and we'd go get some a little something to eat and some supplies.
After my little nap, I went in my bathroom to wash my face and put in my contacts. I smeared face wash on my hand and flipped open the faucet. sputtering. sputtering. nothing. I tried the kitchen. the same. I sat and fumed a little. and tried again. and again. and again. When Kristin and Emily showed up again, I learned
So we went to a restaurant where I was able to wash the soap off my hand. We got some food - a delicious yogurty-bread thing with some spreads (amazing), some beers, and a little salad (you know, to be healthy).
When I got back to my place with some basics from the grocery store I tried to unpack. Really, I did. It didn't really work out so well... I slept some more.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Tung Kosova!
I'm so excited that I've been hired to teach High School Social Studies... at the American School of Kosova in Prishtina, Kosova!
I suppose a little background is called for... as some of you know, I finished my MAT at Simmons College last year and became certified to teach History to grades 5-12. I spent the summer looking for a teaching job in New England. But it was not to be, so I started working on my thesis to finish up my Liberal Arts Masters in History. However, the thought of another stressful summer of job searching got me thinking about looking at schools abroad instead.
A few weeks ago I went to an Overseas Teaching Recruitment Fair in Iowa (not the greatest place to visit in the middle of winter, if you were wondering). Schools from all over the world attend looking for teachers to fill hundreds of vacancies in all subject areas and grade levels. After the round robin session on Friday morning I had interviews set up with 5 different schools and had left my resume with some other schools I was interested in. By Saturday evening I was signing a contract and having a drink with the other new American School of Kosova teachers!
Kosovo? Kosova? I learned at the information session for my new school that "Kosovo" is the Serbian way of referring to what Albanians call "Kosova". Five years ago, in 2008, the Republic of Kosova declared itself an independent state, though not all countries recognize it as such, including Serbia. 92% of Kosovars are ethnically Albanians and the official languages are Albanian and Serbian. The capital and the place I will be living for the next two years (at least...) is Pristina (also Prishtina), a city of about 198,000 people. Though they are not part of the European Union, Kosova uses the € Euro.
I'm really excited about this new adventure. I'm looking forward to living a little closer to some friends in Europe. I'm also looking forward to my American friends and family visiting me in Kosova or meeting me anywhere in Europe.
So start planning your European adventures now!
I suppose a little background is called for... as some of you know, I finished my MAT at Simmons College last year and became certified to teach History to grades 5-12. I spent the summer looking for a teaching job in New England. But it was not to be, so I started working on my thesis to finish up my Liberal Arts Masters in History. However, the thought of another stressful summer of job searching got me thinking about looking at schools abroad instead.
A few weeks ago I went to an Overseas Teaching Recruitment Fair in Iowa (not the greatest place to visit in the middle of winter, if you were wondering). Schools from all over the world attend looking for teachers to fill hundreds of vacancies in all subject areas and grade levels. After the round robin session on Friday morning I had interviews set up with 5 different schools and had left my resume with some other schools I was interested in. By Saturday evening I was signing a contract and having a drink with the other new American School of Kosova teachers!
Kosovo? Kosova? I learned at the information session for my new school that "Kosovo" is the Serbian way of referring to what Albanians call "Kosova". Five years ago, in 2008, the Republic of Kosova declared itself an independent state, though not all countries recognize it as such, including Serbia. 92% of Kosovars are ethnically Albanians and the official languages are Albanian and Serbian. The capital and the place I will be living for the next two years (at least...) is Pristina (also Prishtina), a city of about 198,000 people. Though they are not part of the European Union, Kosova uses the € Euro.
I'm really excited about this new adventure. I'm looking forward to living a little closer to some friends in Europe. I'm also looking forward to my American friends and family visiting me in Kosova or meeting me anywhere in Europe.
So start planning your European adventures now!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
sismo de esta madrugada
apparently there was an earthquake just after midnight last night. everyone was talking about it this morning, all the kids were asking if i felt it.
nope.
i have felt some little earthquakes here and i did wake up for no particular reason at some point last night, though it happens a lot and i don't remember the room shaking or anything when i did. so yeah. apparently the center was somewhere in panama. i can remember once when there was a little earthquake in the northeast - i was living in cambridge and i woke up around 6am or something and i remember thinking that i must have been having a scary dream or something, because my heart was pounding in my chest. but then i sort of realized that my heart *wasn't* pounding, that my whole bed was shaking.
7 more days! the end is in sight, and i'm exhausted and still trying to figure out how much actual class time i have next week during which i'll need to have things to entertain the kids with. i'm already thinking of doing a big crossword puzzle (they love them) with spelling words from the whole year, and then a spelling bee with prizes. thursday i'll probably do my awesome christmas card craft that i did last year with my other kids. we're supposed to have something to do on "accomplishments day" - monday, most teachers are doing some sort of little memory book. i'm worried that i won't be able to sell it and my kids will think it's lame. we'll see.
even though school will be done next week, i still have to go in the first week of december to do all my year-end administrative hooha and clean up my classroom. it's kind of a comforting thought that the next time i have a classroom of my own i'll have a little better idea of what i'm supposed to be doing!
nope.
i have felt some little earthquakes here and i did wake up for no particular reason at some point last night, though it happens a lot and i don't remember the room shaking or anything when i did. so yeah. apparently the center was somewhere in panama. i can remember once when there was a little earthquake in the northeast - i was living in cambridge and i woke up around 6am or something and i remember thinking that i must have been having a scary dream or something, because my heart was pounding in my chest. but then i sort of realized that my heart *wasn't* pounding, that my whole bed was shaking.
7 more days! the end is in sight, and i'm exhausted and still trying to figure out how much actual class time i have next week during which i'll need to have things to entertain the kids with. i'm already thinking of doing a big crossword puzzle (they love them) with spelling words from the whole year, and then a spelling bee with prizes. thursday i'll probably do my awesome christmas card craft that i did last year with my other kids. we're supposed to have something to do on "accomplishments day" - monday, most teachers are doing some sort of little memory book. i'm worried that i won't be able to sell it and my kids will think it's lame. we'll see.
even though school will be done next week, i still have to go in the first week of december to do all my year-end administrative hooha and clean up my classroom. it's kind of a comforting thought that the next time i have a classroom of my own i'll have a little better idea of what i'm supposed to be doing!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
life is too short to eat fake cheese
so recently i made the decision that life is too short to eat fake cheese. cheese is not something most costa ricans are really into (along with blueberries). but real cheese is expensive. now, i'm a person who is willing to pay $8-$9 for a delicious hunk of gruyere. but what i consider to be "regular" cheeses - cheddar, mozzarella - should not cost the same. but no more will i buy queso tipo de cheddar or queso tipo de mozzarella - i'm buying the real thing, no matter what it costs.
in other news, i read a little article from la nacion about this year's rainy season - el 2008 es el más lluvioso de los últimos 64 años, según el IMN. basically the national weather service has said that this year has been the rainiest for 64 years. so far we have had 2100 milliliters of rain per square meter (or something, the math is confusing) and the normal annual average is 1860mm. good times.
so i'll actually be heading back to new england a just a few days (!) where i was hoping to escape the rain, but i've heard rumors it's raining there too. c'est la vie.
in other news, i read a little article from la nacion about this year's rainy season - el 2008 es el más lluvioso de los últimos 64 años, según el IMN. basically the national weather service has said that this year has been the rainiest for 64 years. so far we have had 2100 milliliters of rain per square meter (or something, the math is confusing) and the normal annual average is 1860mm. good times.
so i'll actually be heading back to new england a just a few days (!) where i was hoping to escape the rain, but i've heard rumors it's raining there too. c'est la vie.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
first of the lasts
so last week i had my first "last"... it was our last parent conferences of the year! and i couldn't be happier. i mean, it's not that i mind talking with people... but i don't know. part of it is the language thing - most of my parents speak english, but either way we struggle. i've also been given the impression that it is required that i defend my grades to parents. there is sort of a culture of just getting A's without having to work too hard - so the fact that not all my kids get A's (not even most of them) is kind of a shock to some of the parents. so parent meetings kind of suck. in theory, next time i have to do parent meetings there shouldn't be a language barrier and they're kids might not have been getting straight A's since kindergarten.
so i went to the beach last weekend to "freshen up" my tan for danielle's wedding. i'm a little pink. but it should be fine by the wedding. it'll be a whirlwind trip home, so i make no promises about seeing people who are not living with my parents or attending the wedding. but those are the places i'll be...
well, i'm about to settle in with a bag of popcorn to watch dancing with the stars... :)
so i went to the beach last weekend to "freshen up" my tan for danielle's wedding. i'm a little pink. but it should be fine by the wedding. it'll be a whirlwind trip home, so i make no promises about seeing people who are not living with my parents or attending the wedding. but those are the places i'll be...
well, i'm about to settle in with a bag of popcorn to watch dancing with the stars... :)
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
everybody fits in here!
so i think i mentioned before that my principal wanted me to take down my awesome shoot for the moon bulletin board. which i was a little sad about. but i did a little nosing around the internet for generic bulletin board ideas and found this one i thought was cute. especially given some of the meanness we've had in 4th grade this year (isn't it a little early for cattiness? i think so...)
now that i think about it... it probably would have been easier to do a poster and draw on the puzzle pieces with marker... unfortunately that is not what i did - i cut out all those pieces from construction paper. next time.
also, by the way, today was the first day back after vaca... i was kind of dreading it but in honesty, once i was there it was just like it always is. i kind of love it and the kids kind of drive me crazy. we're sort of working on this idea of a "english club" only it's a club they don't want to be in because it meets during recess every thursday... and they have to sit in class with me and speak english. it's a ploy to get them to stop speaking spanish in class. i'll let you know how it works out.
now that i think about it... it probably would have been easier to do a poster and draw on the puzzle pieces with marker... unfortunately that is not what i did - i cut out all those pieces from construction paper. next time.
also, by the way, today was the first day back after vaca... i was kind of dreading it but in honesty, once i was there it was just like it always is. i kind of love it and the kids kind of drive me crazy. we're sort of working on this idea of a "english club" only it's a club they don't want to be in because it meets during recess every thursday... and they have to sit in class with me and speak english. it's a ploy to get them to stop speaking spanish in class. i'll let you know how it works out.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
why it's so hard (an illustration)
i know i have told some of you that life is just harder here, which is at times pretty frustrating. i have a little illustration for you:
my watch had been slowing down... sometimes in the mornings i had to adjust the time a little. and then last week it finally stopped working. this is slightly traumatic for me - admittedly i have an obsession with my watch, and i use it in class all the time, it keeps me on schedule (yes, there is a clock on the wall, but it's not always subtle for me to check it) and it tells me the date. so two tough days of school. and it's not that i wasn't trying to solve this problem before this - i had been looking around everywhere i could think of for a while to find a battery for it. but no luck.
so i had mentioned my problem to my friend hannia, who gives me a ride to school most days, and she mentioned a place near the supermarket. i had seen this place before, but never been in or really even looked inside. she tells me she took her watch there once to be fixed. they sent it to the main store in san jose or something and it was back in 3 days. so i'm thinking, right, i just need someone to put a battery in, it couldn't possibly need to be sent out.
well, it's wednesday, i've been on vacation for a while now. and today i brought it to the store. i tell the girl what i need. she says i'll need to leave it. sure, sure, i say. for a few days. even though i only need a battery? yes. and do you know how much this will cost? about 1 mil = $2. now to me, that doesn't seem very economical, sending out a watch to have a battery put in that will earn about $2. but that's what i'm talking about. why does it have to be so hard?
my watch had been slowing down... sometimes in the mornings i had to adjust the time a little. and then last week it finally stopped working. this is slightly traumatic for me - admittedly i have an obsession with my watch, and i use it in class all the time, it keeps me on schedule (yes, there is a clock on the wall, but it's not always subtle for me to check it) and it tells me the date. so two tough days of school. and it's not that i wasn't trying to solve this problem before this - i had been looking around everywhere i could think of for a while to find a battery for it. but no luck.
so i had mentioned my problem to my friend hannia, who gives me a ride to school most days, and she mentioned a place near the supermarket. i had seen this place before, but never been in or really even looked inside. she tells me she took her watch there once to be fixed. they sent it to the main store in san jose or something and it was back in 3 days. so i'm thinking, right, i just need someone to put a battery in, it couldn't possibly need to be sent out.
well, it's wednesday, i've been on vacation for a while now. and today i brought it to the store. i tell the girl what i need. she says i'll need to leave it. sure, sure, i say. for a few days. even though i only need a battery? yes. and do you know how much this will cost? about 1 mil = $2. now to me, that doesn't seem very economical, sending out a watch to have a battery put in that will earn about $2. but that's what i'm talking about. why does it have to be so hard?
for you, but not for me
so i woke up this morning (at 10 o'clock!) and i smelled burning. and after i checked that it was not our house that was burning it reminded me.... of fall. of that first cool day where you have to make a little fire and the burning smells different. it smells like fall. well, not for me. i took my breakfast outside and sat in the sun in my shorts and t-shirt. and even feel a little bit sweaty after. the rainy season is doing it's thing - it's hot in the morning, rainy in the afternoon and evenings. but i do miss fall.... not that fact that it leads up to winter (which i don't like) but the kind of crispness of the air. and that smell.
i am sort of starting to worry that it's wednesday and i haven't done any preparations for school yet. i really want to get myself as organized as possible for this last quarter so i can just do it. i had visions of doing a little something for school every day during vacation. oops. in fact i still have last quarter's compositions to grade and comments to write for the report cards. plus i have to do a new bulletin board. i blame my dancing with the stars obsession.
i am sort of starting to worry that it's wednesday and i haven't done any preparations for school yet. i really want to get myself as organized as possible for this last quarter so i can just do it. i had visions of doing a little something for school every day during vacation. oops. in fact i still have last quarter's compositions to grade and comments to write for the report cards. plus i have to do a new bulletin board. i blame my dancing with the stars obsession.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
yes i'm doing my grades, isn't it obvious?
yeah.... grades.... i know i should be doing them, but it's so boring. i don't care what happened in chapters 5 and 6 of bridge to terabithia, i'm not interested in the similarities and differences between the simpsons and futurama....
by the way- does anyone remember what books they read in 3rd or 4th grade? apparently the cricket in times square is going out of print and my principal wants recommendations for another book for next year... and i have no idea. all year i've been trying to remember what it was like to be in 4th grade. in all honesty, i don't remember a thing. well, that's not entirely true - i remember doing this project on "gradnickflop" and mr. englund winging pieces of chalk at people in math class. and i was in love with larry kinch. but i can't recall doing any reading in 4th grade.
by the way- does anyone remember what books they read in 3rd or 4th grade? apparently the cricket in times square is going out of print and my principal wants recommendations for another book for next year... and i have no idea. all year i've been trying to remember what it was like to be in 4th grade. in all honesty, i don't remember a thing. well, that's not entirely true - i remember doing this project on "gradnickflop" and mr. englund winging pieces of chalk at people in math class. and i was in love with larry kinch. but i can't recall doing any reading in 4th grade.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
hi! remember me?
so yeah.... i guess you could say i've been on a bit of a hiatus. i just really haven't felt like writing (for a variety of reasons). but i'm back. i'm feeling like sharing. not that anything particularly exciting is happening...
so i was watching the food network the other day and alton brown was talking about how blueberries are so good for you, anti-aging, and blah blah blah. so i started thinking about blueberries (yes i am the highly suggestible type) and looking for recipes i could use them in (beyond just mixing them into yogurt, which is the only thing i could really think of). i found some blueberry-cornbread recipes and this one salad.
needless to say i was fully committed to the idea of eating blueberries at this point. i mean, let's face it, i don't really eat a lot of fruit even though i know i should. i eat green apples. i drink juice. sometimes i'll eat grapes or cantaloupe. so i was kind of psyched about this salad. went to the supermarket today to pick up the wherewithal needed. salad greens, check. feta cheese, check. almonds, check. blueberries, $7.
WHAT????!!!!!?!
well, i bought them anyway. i wanted them. at this point i'm almost used to paying $5 for one of those little 8oz. sacks of shredded cheese. but most fruit is pretty reasonable. guess they're not really into blueberries here in costa rica. maybe if they ate more of this salad they would change their minds. it was fab. anyway.
in just three short weeks we end up at the end of the 3rd quarter. i almost can't believe it. almost except that i feel exhausted. i had a sort of preliminary review with my principal this week, which was pretty good. but she asked me to change my awesome shoot for the moon bulletin board! which makes me sad. we have a week off between the 3rd and 4th quarters, which is pretty awesome. since no one decided to suck it up and come to horribly tranquilo, beautiful costa rica to visit looks like i'll just be hanging out and probably getting myself all planned for the 4th quarter.
so i was watching the food network the other day and alton brown was talking about how blueberries are so good for you, anti-aging, and blah blah blah. so i started thinking about blueberries (yes i am the highly suggestible type) and looking for recipes i could use them in (beyond just mixing them into yogurt, which is the only thing i could really think of). i found some blueberry-cornbread recipes and this one salad.
needless to say i was fully committed to the idea of eating blueberries at this point. i mean, let's face it, i don't really eat a lot of fruit even though i know i should. i eat green apples. i drink juice. sometimes i'll eat grapes or cantaloupe. so i was kind of psyched about this salad. went to the supermarket today to pick up the wherewithal needed. salad greens, check. feta cheese, check. almonds, check. blueberries, $7.
WHAT????!!!!!?!
well, i bought them anyway. i wanted them. at this point i'm almost used to paying $5 for one of those little 8oz. sacks of shredded cheese. but most fruit is pretty reasonable. guess they're not really into blueberries here in costa rica. maybe if they ate more of this salad they would change their minds. it was fab. anyway.
in just three short weeks we end up at the end of the 3rd quarter. i almost can't believe it. almost except that i feel exhausted. i had a sort of preliminary review with my principal this week, which was pretty good. but she asked me to change my awesome shoot for the moon bulletin board! which makes me sad. we have a week off between the 3rd and 4th quarters, which is pretty awesome. since no one decided to suck it up and come to horribly tranquilo, beautiful costa rica to visit looks like i'll just be hanging out and probably getting myself all planned for the 4th quarter.
Friday, May 30, 2008
no school, no rain
so it according to la nacion the first tropical storm of the season, "alma", has formed off the pacific coast of costa rica. not only the first tropical storm of the season, but the first tropical storm ever to have been "born" on the costa rican pacific coast.
which is all very momentous and exciting (i guess). but the most amusing thing is - i have no school today, and it stopped raining last night before i went to sleep and hasn't started again. there are sunny skies outside my window.
i keep waiting for the school to call me and say "where are you??!!! get over here now!" but so far that hasn't happened. :)
which is all very momentous and exciting (i guess). but the most amusing thing is - i have no school today, and it stopped raining last night before i went to sleep and hasn't started again. there are sunny skies outside my window.
i keep waiting for the school to call me and say "where are you??!!! get over here now!" but so far that hasn't happened. :)
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