Engine’s a-roaring
My youngest class, currently ages 6-13, paying attention to my lesson (hopefully)
Whew, it’s been a busy month. My sincerest apologies that I haven’t been posting more, but I haven’t had a cup of coffee in nearly forty days and I’m only now realizing I taught 150 students that forty is spelt with a “u”. Let’s back up a bit shall we?
My last post was made a few days after moving into my final site. It’s an hour west of Marrakesh and it sounds like a small dog that is common in Mexico. I don’t think it’s a great idea to mention it by name (Sorry Sam!) but it wouldn’t take more than 30 seconds to find it on a map with that info. Site has been “busy”. By busy, I mean that I spend 4 hours a day on work, and then another 10 on getting my bearings, learning the language, living alongside my host family, eating meals with bread as the only utensil, and decompressing after everything. On top of that, I’ve been traveling to keep in touch with other nearby Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV’s), purchasing kitchenware for my apartment, going to do aerobics with my Moroccan boss three times a week, and teaching my five classes Tuesday through Saturday (with an extra class on Tuesday and Thursday to be announced soon).
At the same time, I’m definitely not “American Busy”. I don’t wake up, make myself breakfast, work eight hours at a desk, make myself dinner, fix whatever broke in my life the day before, try and plan something to keep my social life alive, and then pray as I fall asleep that one day I’ll make enough money to move out of my family’s attic or basement (much love for Mom, Dad, Sarah, and Slater eternally). I would rather have the flexibility afforded by the schedule here, even if it comes at the cost of being constantly on my back foot, not seeing the people I love the most, and eating food that I still can’t seem to digest properly…
Actually, maybe it’s a tie.
Regardless of the challenges, man has this been amazing. I’ve been teaching English for about a month now, and my classes have been the highlights of my weeks. Across my five classes I have about 150 students, and we’re moving fast! In the child, teenage, and adult classes we’ve already learned the alphabet, numbers, subject pronouns, and are beginning to learn verbs. This week I plan on doing a review lesson to cover the content so far, but I digress. Seeing students faces light up when they understand a new concept, the pride the more advanced students have in beginning to comprehend the intricacies of spoken English, and the respect that the students gain for both me and one another after a well learned lesson are all immensely gratifying experiences.
Of course it’s not all fun and learning and blah blah blah no one wants to hear about that (I think). There is no way this is a sustainable career, but I have a strong gut feeling that I am on the fast track to growth, personal and professional. Some of my peers feel the same, I can tell others do not, but I am not stopping. The engine is a-roaring, and I like the current track.
