It's April 11th already and I realized that I hadn't yet posted anything this month. Forgive my lack of inspiration lately, but for now I'm back to working, and to be honest, things are still pretty slow so I'm not doing a whole lot of that either. Of 4 possible private students, only one of them materialized so maybe that means that going to a lot of yoga classes and looking for jobs in the USA is what I'm supposed to be doing right now, or sleeping!?! I'm making the most of it since my karmic payback will surely be a stressful job and I'll be able to look back and remember all of the relaxing and yoga I did while I was in Chile.
I'm fortunate that I work mostly at night and the only morning that I have to get up really early is Saturday, (weird, huh?) but it actually coincides really well with our lack of time change. The government pushed it back again another month to save energy so it's really dark in the morning. When I leave at 7:45 on Saturday morning for class it's barely light enough for me to ride my bike. The trade off is that it still feels kind of like summer since it's still pretty light at night. It's so refreshing to open weather.com and still see sun and 75 degree predictions in the 10-day forecast. I'll take it!
Showing posts with label schedule. Show all posts
Showing posts with label schedule. Show all posts
Monday, April 11, 2011
Friday, December 3, 2010
Winding Down
On Monday I finished my early morning class and by the end of next week my schedule will essentially have been trimmed from 6 classes down to 3, which includes saying adios for awhile to a Saturday class. It's amazing how much of a difference waking up early on that sixth morning makes. I used to do extra things at school on Saturdays a lot but it was always by choice or for "extra money" which made it feel a lot different. However, I'll miss those Saturday morning bike rides in to the institute which always provided some early morning entertainment since I seemed to always catch a glimpse of a few people stumbling home from the previous night's adventures.
The schedule changes bring obvious positives and negatives, the positive being that I will have more time for weekend trips again and can return to exploring the city and traveling around on weekends a little more. The last time that I had the opportunity to do this was back in early September, and I obviously know my way around a little better now so that's a huge plus. Another positive is sleep...I was definitely struggling with the late nights and early mornings, so now I will continue to work M-F until 9pm but the earliest that I'll have to be at class will be T/R at 9:30.
The negative is now that I work an hourly job, less hours obviously means less money. It has definitely been a big transition for me and I miss earning a salary as well as the paid breaks and vacations. Now if I don't work I end up owing the institute more time since they usually end up paying us in advance for things and then we owe them back. It's definitely different than what I was used to, but I've learned a lot and it's been great to work with both teens and adults.
It's also been fulfilling to teach two business related English courses and I like discussing the "corporate" side of things. I've always worked in a school and have never had experience in any sort of company. I was reading a little the other day about how so many former teachers go on to become corporate trainers, and former corporate trainers go back to school to earn teaching degrees. Could it lead to a career change for me? We'll see what happens...
The schedule changes bring obvious positives and negatives, the positive being that I will have more time for weekend trips again and can return to exploring the city and traveling around on weekends a little more. The last time that I had the opportunity to do this was back in early September, and I obviously know my way around a little better now so that's a huge plus. Another positive is sleep...I was definitely struggling with the late nights and early mornings, so now I will continue to work M-F until 9pm but the earliest that I'll have to be at class will be T/R at 9:30.
The negative is now that I work an hourly job, less hours obviously means less money. It has definitely been a big transition for me and I miss earning a salary as well as the paid breaks and vacations. Now if I don't work I end up owing the institute more time since they usually end up paying us in advance for things and then we owe them back. It's definitely different than what I was used to, but I've learned a lot and it's been great to work with both teens and adults.
It's also been fulfilling to teach two business related English courses and I like discussing the "corporate" side of things. I've always worked in a school and have never had experience in any sort of company. I was reading a little the other day about how so many former teachers go on to become corporate trainers, and former corporate trainers go back to school to earn teaching degrees. Could it lead to a career change for me? We'll see what happens...
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Teaching Here 'n There, Part II
Today I'm fortunate enough to begin two new classes with students that I had already taught during the last session. I feel very lucky, first because I didn't wake-up with those first day jitters from having to walk into a classroom of people that you don't know, and second because these students requested to have me continue as their teacher into the next course. I think that the level of comfort that students feel in a classroom is really relevant in their learning process, and what I enjoy most about these two classes is how much the students like and respect one another. The group dynamic is positive and fun, and I am just lucky enough to have been assigned to them in the first place.
Teaching adults is something that I'd never done before, so it's been nice not only to have adult classes, but to also to have the experience of teaching classes away from a school or from the institute. For example, I just started teaching a new class of 3 students that meets in the corporate office of a business here in Santiago. One of the negatives that I had sometimes felt about teaching in a high school was the monotony. I envied my friends who had different schedules everyday or meetings that would take them out of the office. Although commuting at the height of the day isn't my favorite thing to do, the positive side is that it gets me out and about in my new city and puts me in contact with new adults in different occupations and job settings.
Another big difference to note is the amount of class time that I spend here with my teen students. At home I was teaching them for 50 minutes a day for 180 days. Here my teen classes only meet once a week for 3 hours for about 4 months. Although I started with them in mid-August, it seems like we really only got to know one another within the last several weeks. It's a lot more difficult to establish that rapport with kids that you only see one day a week instead of 5. It's also very challenging to plan a lesson for that long of a time period. I was accustomed to doing at least 3 activities with my teenagers at home during a 50 minute time period, so having a successful 3 hour class here requires a really tight lesson plan with an even greater variety of activities. I've already become so used to teaching classes of 80-240 minutes that I think going back to the 50 minute schedule will seem way too short!
Teaching adults is something that I'd never done before, so it's been nice not only to have adult classes, but to also to have the experience of teaching classes away from a school or from the institute. For example, I just started teaching a new class of 3 students that meets in the corporate office of a business here in Santiago. One of the negatives that I had sometimes felt about teaching in a high school was the monotony. I envied my friends who had different schedules everyday or meetings that would take them out of the office. Although commuting at the height of the day isn't my favorite thing to do, the positive side is that it gets me out and about in my new city and puts me in contact with new adults in different occupations and job settings.
Another big difference to note is the amount of class time that I spend here with my teen students. At home I was teaching them for 50 minutes a day for 180 days. Here my teen classes only meet once a week for 3 hours for about 4 months. Although I started with them in mid-August, it seems like we really only got to know one another within the last several weeks. It's a lot more difficult to establish that rapport with kids that you only see one day a week instead of 5. It's also very challenging to plan a lesson for that long of a time period. I was accustomed to doing at least 3 activities with my teenagers at home during a 50 minute time period, so having a successful 3 hour class here requires a really tight lesson plan with an even greater variety of activities. I've already become so used to teaching classes of 80-240 minutes that I think going back to the 50 minute schedule will seem way too short!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Taking time to smell the roses
I've been so busy and a little stressed with my teaching schedule lately that I feel like I haven't had a whole lot of time to do anything else. It's not so much the teaching part as it is the random hours, and just when I thought I might have 2 days to breathe in between terms, I got a new class that starts on Monday on one side of the city that will give me just enough time to get back to teach my night class on the other side. That also means having to take the metro at the busiest time of day in the hot months...yuck.
Luckily, I'm always able to ride my bike to my Saturday morning class, and this Saturday I noticed so many of the beautiful flowers that have popped up around the city. Because of my winter arrival in August, I have really appreciated the winter/spring transition, and this Midwestern girl doesn't take these kinds of things for granted. I enjoy the little container gardening that I can do at home and it never involves any of the tropical plants that I've seen here. Geraniums come and go during our 3 hot summer months, and the roses never look anything like this. Other than those two, I'm not even sure what all of these flowers are, so jump in if you are good at that sort of thing!
Luckily, I'm always able to ride my bike to my Saturday morning class, and this Saturday I noticed so many of the beautiful flowers that have popped up around the city. Because of my winter arrival in August, I have really appreciated the winter/spring transition, and this Midwestern girl doesn't take these kinds of things for granted. I enjoy the little container gardening that I can do at home and it never involves any of the tropical plants that I've seen here. Geraniums come and go during our 3 hot summer months, and the roses never look anything like this. Other than those two, I'm not even sure what all of these flowers are, so jump in if you are good at that sort of thing!
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Sunday, July 11, 2010
Precious Pets
A perk of owning only one cat? By definition it makes one a cat OWNER, not a crazy cat lady. (or so I maintain...) I know I made the right decision many years ago when I opted for a cat rather than a dog. My family had dogs growing up, so I never considered that I would ever choose a cat. My main rationale at the time: my selfish lifestyle and me wanting to come and go as I pleased. In my opinion, a dog is a two-person job at the very least. I didn't want to have to plan my social life around my dog's schedule or feel guilty when I had to run home and let him out and then watch his sad eyes as I slowly tried to sneak out the door again. I soon learned that I would feel just as guilty about leaving my cat at home alone and that he would look at me with those same "What? You're leaving again?" eyes. I have to say that I sufficiently projected many dog-like qualities onto Cameron. He greets me at the door when I come in, he goes outside on a harness/leash thingy, he licks my face when I wake up in the morning, and he begs for anything fish or poultry related. He hasn't quite graduated to eating salad like Abby's cat, but he sure does sit and beg for treats out of the cabinet well.
Not to mention his human-like qualities...he texts?!?
Not to mention his human-like qualities...he texts?!?
Lately I'm just feeling really guilty about leaving my little guy behind. Well, he's not so little anymore, that's part of the problem since he is now 11! I know cats live a long time but I worry about him adjusting to life at my parent's house so much that he won't re-adjust well to living with me again, (I'm pretty sure he loves their place more than mine anyway) or that I won't come back to the US in a year and I'll have to ask them to keep him, or put him in a crate and ship him to Chile...
I think I'm getting a little ahead of myself, but I can't help but worry about the changes to his lifestyle. I'm not sure, how many people bring their pets with them to other countries when they permanently move? For those of you that have acquired pets in Chile and may return to the US at some point, do you just pack up the crate and say "Hold on to your fur, we're taking a little trip!?!"
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