Teaching on Thursday!

That's right....I teach my first class on Thursday! Ohhhhhhhh man.

But let me start from the beginning. I set two alarms for 8:30 this morning. Good thinking, because my computer one didn't go off. So I got up, got dressed, and headed out (just a little later than my planned time). Even though we had walked the path yesterday, I was nervous. I stopped at a street corner, and for some idiotic reason, decided to cross even though the light was definitely NOT saying go. But I somehow convinced myself that I hadn't remembered correctly, and I was really nervous about standing there unnecessarily and looking like a foreigner.

Well.....when you step incorrectly into the street and a taxi honks at you as it almost hits you....EVERYONE stares. My face turned so red, but I just kept walking. At the next street, I waited for the correct signal.

Since today was a National Holiday (equivalent of the U.S. 4th of July), no one was working. Oh yea, except my class. Our teacher is from Ireland. He's really chill and will be fun to learn from. There are 7 of us in the class, and only one other is a U.S. college student (Pennsylvania). The rest are older (probably late 20's, early 30's) and range from bartenders from Ireland to elementary teachers from London, to serious world travelers. I felt really boring when I introduced myself as a student. These people really exemplify the idea of living a life on the move, or whatever you want to call it. I think I value structure too much to be able to live that haphazardly in terms of a job, but it is an interesting way of life.

Since we are in class all day, I'm glad that the group seems really nice. [Aside: We ate lunch at a nice deli, albeit with a security guard at the door. I had something like a panini, with salad, and an iced tea that was wonderfully sweetened]. Only two have previously taught, so most everyone freaked when he said we would have our first class on Thursday. ACK! Apparently they advertise around the area that a free class is being taught by native speakers, and they bring in about 6-10 (but sometimes just 1 or 2) people. Apparently native English speakers are in high demand (good for me!). So I'm teaching an hour Beginner class on Thursday, and an Intermediate on Friday. The only downer is that means no 3-day weekend trips. I'm currently brainstorming lesson plans, so if you have any great ideas, let me know! Although, we have to formulate them tomorrow, so you would need to respond quickly. I like how Sarah put it though. Instead of freaking out about my first class for 4 weeks, I get to get through it in 4 days. Less stress on my part.

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So after class I hung out with Rebe at her place, and met some other Roadies (what they call the people in their program]. Then I got a card for my phone, and Rebe, Stacy, and I got capuchinos at a cute cafe. We sat under a covered terraced, watched the people, and chatted as the rain poured down.

Since then, I haven't done much. I did borrow a Spanish book from Lulu (Los cuentos de Beedle el Bardo by JK Rowling). I will probably try to go to bed soon b/c I think we're finally going out tomorrow. Oh, and I need to start taking pictures. I'm going to hopefully begin manana. Chau!