Wow, this week has flown by! I can't believe my last blog was on Monday. It's been busy and fun, let's just see if I can remember it all. All of my days are kind of running together here, and I basically have to look at my Facebook timeline to remember exactly what I did.
On Tuesday after school, we didn't want to do any work so we tried to avoid that as much as possible. We went to Walgreens and the market to get bananas and also got some sort of sherbert or frozen yogurt which is made on site with the fruit. We got a tamarindo sherbert and a nutella milk shake to share. We also went running with the other girls from the states. If I'm not mistaken, we did get our lesson plan done that night.
On Wednesday, Jenn and I went to the pool after school to do some laps and get some sun. I remembered some of the strokes from my 6 years of swimming lessons, so we got to change up the laps we did and got a good work out. After, we laid on the bleachers which are made of cement to tan. The swim team started coming about to practice so we got to watch them and then moved to the other side of the bleachers because the sun was making shadows on us. We hung out and took pictures before going back to our apartment. For dinner, we decided it would be a good idea to try to cook. Each floor in the building has a communal kitchen, so we went in to fry some croquettas and make Spanish rice. Everything turned out good, except the croquettas were a little burnt, but we're not used to electric stoves. That night, we watched "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," because the next day we would teach our lesson.
Thursday was kind of nerve-wracking because we would be teaching the background information on the Holocaust and connecting it with the novel for some background information. When we asked what students knew about the Holocaust though, most of them had no idea what it was. They had never heard that word, but had an idea about concentration camps. Luckily, each class had 1 or 2 students who knew about it, and they were able to share their knowledge with the class. We showed a history channel video we found in Spanish, and there were a lot of gasps. The class was really interesting because in our discussion format, every student was able to share their reactions and perspectives, which was also interesting for us to hear. They also turned in a book of activities we gave them to do with the book so we had to get down to grading those. For lunch, a lady will provide a menu of things she will bring in that day so you can put an order in. For $6 it's a big meal and a drink, so Jenn and I split the barbeque chicken, rice, beans and salad. It was more than enough for both of us and really good. After school, it was time to Zumba! We were so excited to see what it was like here and learn new dances. It actually wasn't as intense as classes I've taken in the states, but I don't think we went for the full hour, because things usually start late here, and it did start like 10 minutes late. Afterwards, we ran a little bit and found some of our students on the track, so we got to talk to them. They were really cute and excited to see us. After showering, we caught the train the Old San Juan to go to dinner at a Spanish restaurant. When we got off the bus, we saw a Starbucks, and we pretty much ran to it so we could get cakepops! I had been dying to have one for forever! Then we went to dinner at the restaurant. We got Jamón Serrano (something pretty much only found in Spain), mofungo, chorizo, and papas bravas to share. Everything was really good and our waiter brought us a flan for free at the end! When we got home, we went right to bed to teach again in the morning.
So today, we continued our lesson by watching a little of the movie and comparing it to the book. The students were really excited and had so much to say. The only problem I'm having is managing them, because they all want to talk and I have to remind them to go one at a time and raise their hands. We also had a student teacher meeting of the school where we learned more about the type of school we're in. Since it's a lab school, the parents have to agree to let their children be part of research and they have to be open to changing teaching methods because this is where the University tests how methods work. It was really interesting and we got to talk to other student teachers, and there are around 20 of us there. We are all really lucky to be working in that school.
I probably forgot a million other things I did this week, but those were the highlights :)
Tonight, we are all going to the mall.
Tomorrow, our teacher is taking us to her mom's house in the country.
Should be fun!
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