Wow so I didn't do so well on my challenge. I guess I have a bit of an excuse in the fact that I got sick that week, and never picked it back up again.
So now since it has been over a month later, I will pick up with my Wednesdays.
Wednesdays are my lighter days, which is kind of nice considering Tuesdays are so crazy. On Wednesdays I have homeroom at 7:30 with the 6th graders as we do every morning. The class is growing on me. It is taking me a little bit to get use to teaching middle schoolers, but I think God is helping me in that department. After homeroom I have some time to do some planning for the next week and enter grades into my computer for classes. I then have 9th grade from 9:15 to 10:40. Today I was teaching them different types of frisbee throws. I then taught them how to play ultimate frisbee. It took a little bit for them to completely understand it, but after they got it most of them seemed to enjoy it.
I then have another break, which I now have decided to use as time to work on curriculum. I have been tasked to start coming up with curriculum maps so I am planning on trying to do that as much as possible in my free time on Wednesdays. At 12:50 till 2:15 I teach an 11th and 12th grade elective class. Today we were doing some more things with speedball. We played outside for half of the class, but the sun was too instense to stay out for the entire class period. The rest of the class we played indoor speedball.
On Wednesdays after school we have a staff meeting. Each week a different teacher is in charge of leading a devotional time and prayer. We then split into meetings for the elementary and the secondary to cover the business end of things. Last week it was my turn to do the devotional. I decided to talk about trust, since that is something that has been on my mind alot lately. I had one of the staff members do the trust fall and then talked a little about how God calls us to not only trust him in the big things, but also the smaller things of life. He may also call us to trust him in ways that we don't expect.
My day is then officially over. I usually try to go for a run on Wednesday afternoons, since my evenings tend to be fairly open. I plan on leaving school shortly and going for a nice run this evening.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
TUESDAYS
Well it is now Wednesday, but my Tuesdays are so busy that I didn't have time to post yesterday. My typical Tuesday is wake up at 5:00am and leave my house by 6:30 or so.to walk to work. On most mornings I get to see an amazing sunrise, but yesterdays was just amazing. I then one again have prayer at 7:00am and then 6th grade homeroom. After that I have about 45 min to plan and set up for the day, I then start out by teaching 5th grade. I then have another small break, before I go for the rest of the day. I have 6th grade, and then a lunch break, but yesterday we had a meeting to discuss things that we can do to manage one of the classes better. I then have an 1hr and 30 min class with a few 10th graders and finish the day with 7th and 8th grade.
Normally I then have soccer practice after school with my U11 boys team, but last night I had a prayer meeting with SIL. Once a month they change the prayer time at the office so the SIL HOPAC teachers can go and have a time of prayer with them. It is good to catch up on what is happening around Tanzania in terms of Bible translation.
We have also just recently started Tuesday night T-Square night. T-Square is a little outdoor resturant that sells meat for cheap. It is also just good to get out for a meal and be able to sit down and chat about how are week is going. It is also very cheap so that is nice, although last night we found out they just raised their prices so that was a little disappointing.
On the way back from T-Square we decided to walk to buy luku (electricity). Now this is a very interesting process, which is always amuses me when we have to do it. So each house has a power box in it that you can plug number into, and on the power box it tells you how much electricity that you have. As it starts to get low you have a number that you have to take, along with some money to the luku place. In the past we have done this no problem. We just walk up to the little window and hand them the money and the number. Well last night I think everyone needed luku. We stood in line for about 45min and experienced some very interesting things as we stood there. We were going to walk home, but decided that we no longer had the energy so we got a bajaj. Our bajaj that we got was great, because as we started off he began to blare music. It was one of those moments of yeah I actually live here :)
So yeah that is my Tuesday pretty much a nonstop day but good things along the way. Hopefully in the next few days I will have some good stories to tell about things in the classroom. Today is not as busy of a day, which I am thankful for because I started not feeling so well last night.
Normally I then have soccer practice after school with my U11 boys team, but last night I had a prayer meeting with SIL. Once a month they change the prayer time at the office so the SIL HOPAC teachers can go and have a time of prayer with them. It is good to catch up on what is happening around Tanzania in terms of Bible translation.
We have also just recently started Tuesday night T-Square night. T-Square is a little outdoor resturant that sells meat for cheap. It is also just good to get out for a meal and be able to sit down and chat about how are week is going. It is also very cheap so that is nice, although last night we found out they just raised their prices so that was a little disappointing.
On the way back from T-Square we decided to walk to buy luku (electricity). Now this is a very interesting process, which is always amuses me when we have to do it. So each house has a power box in it that you can plug number into, and on the power box it tells you how much electricity that you have. As it starts to get low you have a number that you have to take, along with some money to the luku place. In the past we have done this no problem. We just walk up to the little window and hand them the money and the number. Well last night I think everyone needed luku. We stood in line for about 45min and experienced some very interesting things as we stood there. We were going to walk home, but decided that we no longer had the energy so we got a bajaj. Our bajaj that we got was great, because as we started off he began to blare music. It was one of those moments of yeah I actually live here :)
So yeah that is my Tuesday pretty much a nonstop day but good things along the way. Hopefully in the next few days I will have some good stories to tell about things in the classroom. Today is not as busy of a day, which I am thankful for because I started not feeling so well last night.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Sunday and Monday
Alright so I failed on my first day, but I will catch up. Last week was a tough week for me and by the weekend I just felt like I needed some time away. I decided to go and hang out at the beach all day on Sunday. I went with Stacy Cawley, while her husband went to church with the kids. It was so nice just to relax and share about our weeks. I also spent some time just resting and reading. After church Dan brought the kids over and we had lunch together. Then we all went swimming together. It was great to play with the kids in the water. We also had the chance to watch some fishermen pull in a huge net. It was quite the process. I wish I would have had my camera, but it was back on the beach. This beach is amazing because during low tide the water is probably out about a half mile, so you get to walk out into the ocean. It almost looks like you could cross to an island that isn't far away, but think it is farther than I thought. After I arrived home I decided to continue my day of rest and hang out in my room watching a movie, and skyping some people. My Sundays are not all like that, but it was a much needed complete day of rest.
MONDAY
My mondays are not my busiest day so it is nice to have time to prepare for the week. I get up around 5:00 am on Mondays and try to be at school by 6:15. There are two boys that I open up a tiny little room for that has like 3 sets of weights that they can use to lift on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I usually spend some time catching up on emails or reading the newspaper online. At 7:00am a few of the secondary teachers meet together for five minutes or so to pray for the school day and any pressing things. I love starting my day out on the right foot and getting into the mindset of how can I serve the kids today. I then have a few minutes before homeroom. I am one of the homeroom teachers for the 6th grade class. On Mondays we have a secondary school assembly. We do worship together and have a speaker. Our theme for the year is Plugged In. We are challenging the students to think about what they are plugged into and how that influences the choices they make. We are then taking that and trying to give them ways to be plugged into God.
After assembly I have about 1hr and 30min of planning time, which I try to organize at least my Mondays and Tuesdays. I teach 6th - 8th grade for 40 min each on Mondays. They are a fun group, but it has been a challenge for me to teach middle schoolers. They are growing on me though and God is teaching me how to just love them right where they are at. Today I also spent alot of time inputting grades into our new online grading system.
On Mondays after school I go right to Swahili lessons from 2:30 till 3:15. I need alot of help in the Swahili department. I am not finding enough to practice so that doesn't help anything. After Swahili I go right into helping to set up for Sala Sala kids club. I will put more about this in my newsletter next month. It is such a privelage to work with these kids though and just be able to love on them for an hour and 30 min.
So that is my typical Monday. Every other monday night I meet with my housemates for a Bible study. Tonight happens to be the night for that, so I should start heading home.
MONDAY
My mondays are not my busiest day so it is nice to have time to prepare for the week. I get up around 5:00 am on Mondays and try to be at school by 6:15. There are two boys that I open up a tiny little room for that has like 3 sets of weights that they can use to lift on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I usually spend some time catching up on emails or reading the newspaper online. At 7:00am a few of the secondary teachers meet together for five minutes or so to pray for the school day and any pressing things. I love starting my day out on the right foot and getting into the mindset of how can I serve the kids today. I then have a few minutes before homeroom. I am one of the homeroom teachers for the 6th grade class. On Mondays we have a secondary school assembly. We do worship together and have a speaker. Our theme for the year is Plugged In. We are challenging the students to think about what they are plugged into and how that influences the choices they make. We are then taking that and trying to give them ways to be plugged into God.
After assembly I have about 1hr and 30min of planning time, which I try to organize at least my Mondays and Tuesdays. I teach 6th - 8th grade for 40 min each on Mondays. They are a fun group, but it has been a challenge for me to teach middle schoolers. They are growing on me though and God is teaching me how to just love them right where they are at. Today I also spent alot of time inputting grades into our new online grading system.
On Mondays after school I go right to Swahili lessons from 2:30 till 3:15. I need alot of help in the Swahili department. I am not finding enough to practice so that doesn't help anything. After Swahili I go right into helping to set up for Sala Sala kids club. I will put more about this in my newsletter next month. It is such a privelage to work with these kids though and just be able to love on them for an hour and 30 min.
So that is my typical Monday. Every other monday night I meet with my housemates for a Bible study. Tonight happens to be the night for that, so I should start heading home.
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