christmas already!?

Hellllooooo……

All is well

My schedule is pretty set now. We finished our observations and we are staring co teaching this week.

I have language in the morning from 8:00 – 10:30 and then MWF I’m at the high school at 12:00 – 3:00 and T TH I’m at the school from 2:00-4:30. It takes about 15 mins on a jeepney to get to the highschool. I have 2 sections of classes and each class has 60 students (yikes!). The school doesn’t have a lot of resources in the classrooms, chalk, and chalkboard. Some classrooms don’t have electricity so it’s hard to even see. My cooperating teaching is a lady about 45 years old.

Its going well so far. Today was my second day co teaching with her. The students are eager to see all the Americans at their school and they are all pretty responsive to us. This country is really openly catholic so everything is talked about in school (no separation of church and state) and there is prayer in the classroom school. It’s a new dynamic. Oh and school uniforms… you can tell someone’s school, age, and major by what kind of uniform they have on. And they are always so crisp and clean…. great presentation.

This past Monday was my host mom and sisters birthday and there was soooo much food and of course karaoke. My sister turned 7 and 7 is a big deal because you get your first communion at 7. Also coming of age 18 for girls and 21 for boys is huge here too! I got to roll up lumpia and go shopping at the market for all of the party festivities… definitely good times.

Oh and this Sunday I got to go to a wedding too. My aunt’s godson was getting married so that was really cool to see how they do weddings here. The ceremony was a catholic one but very traditional and the reception was pretty short, the family procession and buffet lunch. And on a note of cultural exchange… I made my family happy face chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and they liked it… IHOP would do well here… pancakes were a hit!

So Christmas is a highly anticipated time….. so highly anticipated in fact that the Christmas music officially starts September 1^st!!!! yes… tis the season jolly and cheer has arrived. It’s a little strange listening to Christmas music in 95+ weather but hey… I’m open and willing to embrace anything