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Published: March 14th 2013
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I'm feeling very good this morning! I spent some time studying the bus map last night and found a great route to Jane's school thanks to the other map that Pavla gave me. The stop even has a short name (Lipky) so I can sort of daydream and listen for the stop to be announced. Most of the stops require me to follow along with the map or look out the window to see the bus stop written on the sign. But this stop is easy and close to the school. I also pass by quite a few cute grocery stores and decided to pick up a really yummy cherry and peach pastry on my way. Be jealous. Be very jealous. It was delicious.
I arrived early (not late like yesterday) and have graded the listening exercise I gave the students yesterday. I am really happy to report that most of them had perfect scores. Yay! They do understand me! The questions that were not answered correctly typically required an exact number and there seemed to be a common confusion between 50 and 15. I think this is a mistake that a native listener could make as well, so I
am really happy with the level of these freshmen students.
I am also happy because tomorrow is Friday and we are headed to Prague at the crack of dawn! I'm excited to get "home" and help pack for the weekend. Mom believes she has cracked the code for how to do laundry at the apartments. Apparently, you give the person at the desk 20 Kc ($1) and you have a few hours to finish your laundry without having to pay for each individual machine. Lovely! I don't know if she will have time to finish the laundry before I get home, but I'm sure it won't take long to finish everything. Ava wil be so happy to finally see some castles and weather.com says it is supposed to be sunny this weekend. Some sunshine would be great! I think it has been sunny for about 20 minutes since I have arrived 😞 but weather is weather and you just deal with it.
I observed Jane teaching today and was able to meet some 4th graders who spoke very well and were excited to meet their first native English speakers. I also observed Katka teaching two 8th grade lessons.
Her students did a great job as well and I am excited to work with them next week. I discussed next week's lesson plans with both teachers and am very excited about next week. Both teachers have allowed me to teach at least one independent lesson that I will create from scratch, one or more lessons that I will teach that follow a book as a guide, and lessons that include team teaching. I think it's gonna be a lot of fun and a great learning experience for my first week.
I recorded part of the short walk home and hope that you will enjoy it. I was trying to walk quickly and the air was cold, so I was a little out of breath. Now that I'm home, it's time to prepare for PRAGUE. Hold onto your hats people! There will be a lot of photos and videos coming your way. Hopefully, there will be a good internet connection at our hotel and I can post everything each evening. I also will try to write up at least half of the lesson plans for next week. It's going to be a busy and wonderful weekend. Have a great
day!