It´s all about ENTHUSIASM!

Hola Todos,

Well, thankfully I have a break right now! You know those mornings where you sleep past the alarm, have hardly any time to get ready, and the rest of the morning feels chaotic? Well, that was how I started this lovely Monday morning. I always set two alarms here (I know I am a bit OCD) so that Anna and I wake up with enough time to get ready at a reasonable pace and get to school on time. Well, last night Anna and I went over to Lorena and David´s house after church to have "Tecito" (a "light" dinner) and when we got home it was midnight. So, I set my alarm on my cell phone, 6 am for the 20th, which I thought would wake me up this morning. Well, I didn´t even realize that when I set the alarm it was already Monday technically so the date I should have set the alarm for was the 19th! Does that make sense? I am a bit tired so I am by no means eloquent right now...:). So, yeah I woke up and raced around the house to get ready, rode my bike quickly to school, and barely had enough time to put away my lunch and bike before the bell rang.

So, there I was at 8am with my 8A class (8th grade) with my mind in a whirl trying to psych myself up for teaching. Well amazingly I was able to pull myself together and feel enthusiastic about the lesson (which wasn´t all that interesting). The class was a little chaotic because we did a reading and then I asked them questions, but all in all it went well. After the class I was thinkng how funny it is that sometimes I feel super prepared and have a great lesson to teach, but the lesson comes out lame because I didn´t get into it and feel excited about it. I remember that some of my best teachers-professors in High School and College were passionate about what they were teaching and about connecting with the students. I guess what I am saying is that one of the many things I have learned from the crazy experience is that when you teach you have to teach with passion and express enthusiasm for the lesson of the day even if you really don´t feel it. The students play a HUGE role in how the class turns out and one of the best ways to motivate them to make the class fun and exciting is to be fun and exciting yourself. Does that make sense?

So, yeah that was my lesson for the day...or at least for the morning since it is only 10 am! Thankfully my second class for the day has a Test so I get a break to drink some nasty Néscafe, prep. for the next class, and write you you all. Ok, well that pathetic excuse for a cup of coffee is calling my name so I will talk to you all later!