The First Week of School

As the first week of school draws to a close, I'm finally beginning to feel more settled and less overwhelmed. The first day, Monday, started off with a faculty meeting which was conducted half in Afrikaans. Before arriving I didn't realize how widely spoken Afrikaans is here; it feels like virtually everyone is bilingual. I've heard Afrikaans just as much as English! After the meeting the principal showed me around the campus. Pearson's campus is very pretty; there's a giant pool for water polo to practice and a cute little cottage in the back for the groundskeeper. The workout room in the upstairs of the gym has a beautiful view of the ocean (hopefully it'll motivate me to workout!). But it took the better part of the week to find my way around.

I think my biggest adjustment at the school so far has been getting used to the school's schedule. Pearson operates on a ten day/ two week cycle. Every other week you start back over at week one, meaning that certain classes are meeting only every other week. To add to my confusion, I work a little with each teacher in the English department, rather than just one because the teachers teach some of their classes in Afrikaans, which I obviously don't speak. But fortunately the teachers have all been very nice and helpful, recognizing how overwhelming it can be for a new intern (especially one from another country). Next week I'll get to teach a few lessons: creative writing, poetry,and "The Diary of Anne Frank."

I recognize that this post, in addition to my last, are little lengthy due to my tendency toward long-windedness, but before I close I just have to comment the students' (or "learners" as they call them) manners: They're so polite! Whenever they pass you in the hall it's always, "Good morning, mam!" After everything they say is "mam" or "sir." When they enter the classroom they stand behind their desks and wait until the teacher tells them they may sit! And when walking through the hall, they always let the teacher enter through the doorway first. You'd be hard-pressed to find those kinds of manners in an American school, trust me!