Happy Thankgiving! K-- style!
So it was Thanksgiving, and of course, I didn't have the day off. I taught two sections at the Pedagogical College about New Zealand of all things. These are the third year students who really are not all the great at speaking English. One of these sections is all boys and they are evil. Imagine a bunch of uninterested 17-18 year olds who don't understand a damn thing you are saying and just think that they are too cool for school. Well, not all, just most. And yes, I hate them.
But the show must go on, right? Isn't that simply what teaching is anyway? Just one performance after another?
So, in order to talk some about my holiday, not the historic significance (because it would take too long and they wouldn't understand it anyway), I just tell them that Thanksgiving is a day off in the United States where schools are closed, banks are closed, post offices, and most businesses. That the day is to spend it relaxing with family and loved ones thinking about what you are thankful for.
I then asked the little punks to write 3 sentences beginning with the phrase: I am thankful for...
They had a very difficult time doing this, and I gave them some examples and had a few of the smarter ones share theirs with class. I got tons of the same ones as they had obviously circulated around the room, but my second class has one shining star that came up with some nice ones:
One was that he was thankful that Ms. Molly came to teach them English. Sweet, huh?
A second was that he was thankful for his mother that he was born. Aww.
The third: "I am thankful for the God that gave me the life." Now that is a keeper.
At least his were original. And I'm not saying that I could do any better in Russian, but after three years, I would hope that I could put together three sentences that I was thankful for.
Anyway, after that catastrophe was done I headed over to a clustermates house where Thanksgiving was being held. It turns out that she searched all over this town to find some cranberries, but was unsuccessful. Not to be outdone though she had bought cherries instead and cooked them in the same fashion. The couple purchased a big chicken to cook (they do have turkey but it's not as common and I hear terribly expensive). The fruit salad was mostly made, so I started in on the dressing. Slowly, more people arrived as the private lessons with the LCF ended.
Finally, after all the cooking, everything was ready and laid out on the table: two types of stuffing, mashed potatoes, fruit salad, chicken, and finally squash. It was very tasty and even more than that, it was simply relaxing. Our LCF and TCF attended, in addition to my clustermates host sister and brother. We ended up just sitting around, talking, sharing, laughing and again, had a great time. Probably one of the nicest times we've had together as a group. It reaffirmed my belief that our cluster (and link) is somewhat unique to the PC, where drama and strife seem to be the norm. I was very thankful to be a part of a group that so obviously cared about each other and felt comfortable to share such a meaningful day with each other.
But the show must go on, right? Isn't that simply what teaching is anyway? Just one performance after another?
So, in order to talk some about my holiday, not the historic significance (because it would take too long and they wouldn't understand it anyway), I just tell them that Thanksgiving is a day off in the United States where schools are closed, banks are closed, post offices, and most businesses. That the day is to spend it relaxing with family and loved ones thinking about what you are thankful for.
I then asked the little punks to write 3 sentences beginning with the phrase: I am thankful for...
They had a very difficult time doing this, and I gave them some examples and had a few of the smarter ones share theirs with class. I got tons of the same ones as they had obviously circulated around the room, but my second class has one shining star that came up with some nice ones:
One was that he was thankful that Ms. Molly came to teach them English. Sweet, huh?
A second was that he was thankful for his mother that he was born. Aww.
The third: "I am thankful for the God that gave me the life." Now that is a keeper.
At least his were original. And I'm not saying that I could do any better in Russian, but after three years, I would hope that I could put together three sentences that I was thankful for.
Anyway, after that catastrophe was done I headed over to a clustermates house where Thanksgiving was being held. It turns out that she searched all over this town to find some cranberries, but was unsuccessful. Not to be outdone though she had bought cherries instead and cooked them in the same fashion. The couple purchased a big chicken to cook (they do have turkey but it's not as common and I hear terribly expensive). The fruit salad was mostly made, so I started in on the dressing. Slowly, more people arrived as the private lessons with the LCF ended.
Finally, after all the cooking, everything was ready and laid out on the table: two types of stuffing, mashed potatoes, fruit salad, chicken, and finally squash. It was very tasty and even more than that, it was simply relaxing. Our LCF and TCF attended, in addition to my clustermates host sister and brother. We ended up just sitting around, talking, sharing, laughing and again, had a great time. Probably one of the nicest times we've had together as a group. It reaffirmed my belief that our cluster (and link) is somewhat unique to the PC, where drama and strife seem to be the norm. I was very thankful to be a part of a group that so obviously cared about each other and felt comfortable to share such a meaningful day with each other.
posted by Molly | 7:55 AM
2 Comments:
Chin up - at least the brats don't play football! Just keep laughing.
Mom
"I am thankful I was born in the first world, not some freezing post soviet hellhole."
That kid sounds like he is ogling for a better mark- he put you before the god that made him? Now that is sucking up!
-e
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