School Year Under Way

So my School year is officially underway. I have had a few weeks of teaching and it has been interesting to say the least. Some classes are fantastic, the kids listent, they are extremely intelligent, just are the kids that every teacher wants to have....then there is the kids that let's just say aren't the greatest. I think that a lot of it is they are just trying to push me to see how far they can go before I break...but I may just try to write down a set of rules this weekend. I am learning as I go along...but I think in the long run it will be alright :)

So teaching is going along, I am learning what they know...what they don't know...what works and what doesn't work. Everything is coming in time, and my Romanian is slowly but surely coming along. I made a conscious effort to be in the teachers lounge this week, specifically to listen to Romanian...so I can increase my comprehension. Oddly enough, it is my comprehension that is week...my speaking is alright, but my comprehension stinks. My counterpart is baffled, she has never met anyone who learns a language quite like me, usually it is the exact opposite, that people understand, but they can't produce it...not quite sure why I am such an odd duckling :)

So this past weekend I had my first train trip alone. I went down to Bucharest for a meeting for the peer support group that I am in. The trip down there was interesting....I took the night train. I was riding in 2nd class, which was fine, and I was in a compartment, and until 5:30 in the morning I was alone, so it worked out really well and I was able to sleep in peace for about 5 hours...but I did get woken up a couple of times. There were several conductors who came in and most just came and left...but there was one who was kind of a bother. I had my backpack up above myself, since I was alone. My backpack is very heavy, and the door was closed, so if anyone came in and tried to steal my bag, first I would hear them and second they wouldn't get anything good from my backpack. The conductor however was very adament about me keeping my bag near me. So I am sure that he meant well...but he made me a tad uncomfortable, because when I said it was fine and I wanted to sleep and was going to leave it there, he quickly responded with fine then I will stay in here with you! Well needless to say, I was not alright with that option, especially since the lights were off and the door was closed and it was 3 o'clock in the morning. So he proceeded to talk to me for a while, and I attempted to talk back, but finally he asked the clencher, that always makes me shoo the Romanian men away who are a little to friendly, and that is are you married. So I promptly took my back pack down, promised I would use it as a pillow and went to sleep until around 5:30 or 6 when I recieved some cabin mates. I am pretty sure that the conductor meant no harm and was just looking out for me, but I was so tired and just wanted to be left alone...especially when it was so late.

Other than that the trip in Bucharest was pretty low key. It was super good to see some of my collegues again, and just to have a chill weekend. Other than the travel :) It was 8 hours to Buc and 8 hours back, so in 3 days I traveled for 16 hours, but while I wasn't traveling it was great to be with my friends.

While we were in Buc, we had a meeting with Richard Pyle. He was a super interesting man, and he talked to us about Peer Support in other countries, what has worked, what has not worked, provided us with ideas about how to continue to improve our Peer Support network, and just talked about how we can help others who are having some issues arise at site. It was very informative, I think we all learned a lot about Peer Support, and even about what the Peace Corps training used to be like. Let me tell you, we thought that our training was long and grueling, it was a bed of roses compared to what this man went through. To give you a taste, his training involved a marathon, a drowning test, and a navigation test from the middle of nowhere. I will take language and cultural lessons anyday over that, I can't even imagine what that must have been like! He made it through however, and had nothing but positive things to say about his Peace Corps experience in Jamaica.

Other than that the week has been pretty quiet, just teaching and next week we are going to talk about a Halloween party. The kids around here absolutely love Halloween, and they have had a party for the past two years with the prior volunteer, so they are looking forward to it again. The nice thing is that I won't have to do to much...they know a lot of what to do already, and I am just going to be there thinking of extra ideas and pushing them along a bit. I am working with another teacher, so hopefully after I leave the tradition of a Halloween party can continue :) We shall see :) So we will have a student council meeting next week, and from there we shall plan the party! It sounds like it was a big ta-da last year, and I don't think that I can come anywhere close to replicating it...but hopefully I can bring a bit of myself to it this year and we shall see what happens. If you can think of any fun ideas for decorations or activities, let me know and I will pass them around to the kids for ideas for the party :) I am hopeful that it will be fun and a success.

So that is all for now...I am working on a wish list and will try to make it my next post, I know many of you have been asking and it is late now, and I am sleepy and we all know how well I think when I am sleepy...let's just say interesting things are usually said. So tomorrow I will think about what I would like and then post something, and maybe I will send out an e-mail as well. If you need my address let me know and I will send that along to you as well. I hope everyone is doing well. I miss and love you all. Things are well here and I am slowly but surely getting the hang of stuff.

I also would like to extend my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Tanya Haese, she was a great person and she will be sorely missed.

You are all continuously in my thoughts and prayers, I think of you everyday and love you all so much!!

~Until later
Sarah B.