The Teaching Celebrity

Miss Missy, Miss Missy, hi Miss Missy!!  This is what I hear wandering the halls of my school.  I am a local celebrity, the American teacher.  Even if I don’t have them in one of my classes they know who I am.  It is surreal.  Classes are going well so far.  I am not teaching per say, I am more of an observer to help answer questions when the teacher doesn’t know.  I am also working on a syllabus for the classes and fun assignments and teaching tools for the teachers.  We are just starting and it seems like the students are eager to learn.  Starting a new school is always a hard but add starting a new school in a new country at it was overwhelming.  I am in week three and I still can’t find my classes.  I rely on the students to tell me that I am teaching them today!  They are normally pretty good about it, although I’m sure I taught a random class the other day.  Oh well they had fun and that counts right? The school I am teaching at just celebrated their 40^th anniversary!  The students and teachers put on a talent show of sorts and best of all we got cake!  I hear that in the coming month we are doing sports day, think field day, for teachers.  I am hoping they don’t ask me to participate in sports! 

I am also making friends with my fellow teachers.  They all are pretty concerned with my eating habits, having a sandwich and chips is not a proper lunch here. Hehe.  Miss Bibi took me to a Hindu wedding last weekend, and lent me a Sari to wear.  It was awesome!  I loved seeing all the outfits on both the men and women!  We also had 7 curry, a traditional dish served at Hindu functions.  It’s fun to eat because you do not use any utensils or plates.  You get a giant leaf and then they put rice and 7 different types of curry on top, and you mush it all around and eat with your fingers! 

I am also hanging out with the other volunteers in the area!  It’s nice to be near some other Americans to have a taste of home.  Sign Language classes are going well.  I hope to be able to carry a conversation at some point!  I am hoping to go on more adventures soon.  The Peace Corps doesn’t like us traveling out of site much in the first 3 months, to help us integrate in to our communities.  Once that time period is up I hope to go see some other Volunteers in other regions!