Changes, Changes (also titled “English, Please!”)
Warning: This post is really long. Sorry.
It’s approaching September. That means it’s almost Autumn. In fact, before midday, the crispness in the air is decidedly autumnal. For years, this time of year has marked one of the biggest (yearly) changes of my life: going back to school. When I was young it was defined by a new teacher, backpack, lunchbox, folder, erasers, markers, pencil holders, and so on. When I was older, it was defined by what career path I was choosing, how many credits I could jam into one semester, and whether or not I would actually be able to sleep at night.
This is the first autumn that I am not going back to school. However, certain things have happened that I never thought would happen. Sure, I was expecting to find a job {although it was much harder than I thought it would be}. Sure, I was prepared to take a job not necessarily related to my field. But I was NOT expecting this. Ready?
I. Am. A. Teacher.
I definitely did not go to school for that. But yes, it’s true. I now work for a small non-profit that provides English classes, interpretation and translation services, and other things. I teach two ESL classes, one in the morning, and one in the evening.
This whole experience was a bit nerve-wracking because I started on Monday, but I was only hired the previous Thursday. Apparently their previous ESL teacher had a family emergency and need to move out of state indefinitely. So, in the space of a weekend, I was suddenly plunged into a world that I essentially new nothing about. Yes, I had had experience teaching English in China, but I still didn’t feel qualified to actually teach as my job.
Fortunately, I really like my job so far. My students are great, and they’re really making an effort to learn English, despite how hard it is. {We conjugated the “to be” verb today. What an adventure.}
Here’s another change: I have two jobs. The teaching job alone is not enough, so I also have a babysitting job four days a week. Yesterday was my first day babysitting, and I was exhausted by the end of the day. Hopefully I will get used to this schedule and won’t be so tired all the time. Here’s what my schedule generally will look like on most days.
Note: By the time I wake up, Judah has already left for work.
8:20am: Leave for work. {It doesn’t take 40 minutes to get there, but there’s a lot of traffic.}
9:00am: Start my morning class.
10:30am: Class ends, and I go home.
10:50am: Arrive home and immediately change into sweatpants.
11am-2pm: Eat lunch, do the dishes, do any other cleaning that needs to be done, lesson plan for the following day, perhaps make a journal if anyone orders one {shameless plug}, pack dinner, and do whatever else I have time for.
2:10pm: Leave for my babysitting job.
2:45pm: Pick up the girl I babysit from school, which fortunately is only a 3 minute walk from the house.
2:45pm-6pm: Eat a snack, do homework, go outside, play a game, drive to whatever after-school activity she has.
6pm: Go somewhere to eat the dinner that I packed for myself, since I don’t have time to go home. Yesterday, I went to the library parking lot, which was lovely and tree-ish. Next time, I’ll try to find a park.
6:35pm: Drive to class.
7:00pm: Class begins.
8:30pm: Class ends, and I go home.
8:45pm: Arrive home and flop on the bed. This is the first time that I get to see Judah all day.
9:30ishpm: Go to bed. {Judah goes to bed early because he has to wake up super early. I usually ead, relax, check my email, etc.}
So there you have it. What you have just read is the biggest change for me this season. Since moving here, I have basically spent all day, every day, in the apartment, by myself. I kept myself busy. But now, I’m really busy. This schedule is going to require some adjustment, both for me and for Judah. Since we’ll see so little of each other during the week, we have to be very intentional about the time we spend together. Fortunately, we still have weekends!
Anyway, this is getting way too long, but I wanted to give you an update as to what’s going on in my life. Before I end, let me leave you with two questions:
1. Teaching veterans, do you have any suggestions for teaching difficult concepts such as verb conjugations, possessive adjectives and pronouns, etc?
2. Marriage veterans, do you have any advice to share about not being able to see your spouse very often {especially so early in marriage}?
Thanks for reading!
P.S. Have I mentioned that I miss Judah?
It’s approaching September. That means it’s almost Autumn. In fact, before midday, the crispness in the air is decidedly autumnal. For years, this time of year has marked one of the biggest (yearly) changes of my life: going back to school. When I was young it was defined by a new teacher, backpack, lunchbox, folder, erasers, markers, pencil holders, and so on. When I was older, it was defined by what career path I was choosing, how many credits I could jam into one semester, and whether or not I would actually be able to sleep at night.
This is the first autumn that I am not going back to school. However, certain things have happened that I never thought would happen. Sure, I was expecting to find a job {although it was much harder than I thought it would be}. Sure, I was prepared to take a job not necessarily related to my field. But I was NOT expecting this. Ready?
I. Am. A. Teacher.
I definitely did not go to school for that. But yes, it’s true. I now work for a small non-profit that provides English classes, interpretation and translation services, and other things. I teach two ESL classes, one in the morning, and one in the evening.
This whole experience was a bit nerve-wracking because I started on Monday, but I was only hired the previous Thursday. Apparently their previous ESL teacher had a family emergency and need to move out of state indefinitely. So, in the space of a weekend, I was suddenly plunged into a world that I essentially new nothing about. Yes, I had had experience teaching English in China, but I still didn’t feel qualified to actually teach as my job.
Fortunately, I really like my job so far. My students are great, and they’re really making an effort to learn English, despite how hard it is. {We conjugated the “to be” verb today. What an adventure.}
Here’s another change: I have two jobs. The teaching job alone is not enough, so I also have a babysitting job four days a week. Yesterday was my first day babysitting, and I was exhausted by the end of the day. Hopefully I will get used to this schedule and won’t be so tired all the time. Here’s what my schedule generally will look like on most days.
Note: By the time I wake up, Judah has already left for work.
8:20am: Leave for work. {It doesn’t take 40 minutes to get there, but there’s a lot of traffic.}
9:00am: Start my morning class.
10:30am: Class ends, and I go home.
10:50am: Arrive home and immediately change into sweatpants.
11am-2pm: Eat lunch, do the dishes, do any other cleaning that needs to be done, lesson plan for the following day, perhaps make a journal if anyone orders one {shameless plug}, pack dinner, and do whatever else I have time for.
2:10pm: Leave for my babysitting job.
2:45pm: Pick up the girl I babysit from school, which fortunately is only a 3 minute walk from the house.
2:45pm-6pm: Eat a snack, do homework, go outside, play a game, drive to whatever after-school activity she has.
6pm: Go somewhere to eat the dinner that I packed for myself, since I don’t have time to go home. Yesterday, I went to the library parking lot, which was lovely and tree-ish. Next time, I’ll try to find a park.
6:35pm: Drive to class.
7:00pm: Class begins.
8:30pm: Class ends, and I go home.
8:45pm: Arrive home and flop on the bed. This is the first time that I get to see Judah all day.
9:30ishpm: Go to bed. {Judah goes to bed early because he has to wake up super early. I usually ead, relax, check my email, etc.}
So there you have it. What you have just read is the biggest change for me this season. Since moving here, I have basically spent all day, every day, in the apartment, by myself. I kept myself busy. But now, I’m really busy. This schedule is going to require some adjustment, both for me and for Judah. Since we’ll see so little of each other during the week, we have to be very intentional about the time we spend together. Fortunately, we still have weekends!
Anyway, this is getting way too long, but I wanted to give you an update as to what’s going on in my life. Before I end, let me leave you with two questions:
1. Teaching veterans, do you have any suggestions for teaching difficult concepts such as verb conjugations, possessive adjectives and pronouns, etc?
2. Marriage veterans, do you have any advice to share about not being able to see your spouse very often {especially so early in marriage}?
Thanks for reading!
P.S. Have I mentioned that I miss Judah?
OH wow what a busy schedule..Thats good. You will enjoy will enjoy the down time together all the more, when you finally get to spend some quality time together! Hugs!
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