Practicum!!

 7.14.2019

              This whole thing is like a roller coaster. Each minute my mood changes; one second, I am perfectly content spending the next two years in Ethiopia and the next I miss home like crazy. I think I am always in a state of missing home, but there are just small moments here that I begin to realize being apart of the Peace Corps is what I am supposed to be doing. Today, I was walking to my language class in the morning a group of kids in my neighborhood followed me to the end of the street saying “hi!” and “Bye”; one little boy even said “I love you!” probably not understanding the significance of that phrase, but I couldn’t help but smile. While not every Ethiopian is thrilled to have me in the country, it is these small moments that reinvigorate my motivation.

              Motivation is something that comes and goes like the rain. Ethiopia is currently in its rainy season which lasts through what is the summer in the States. Sometimes it rains in the morning and then holds out until the next, sometimes it changes with the hour, sometimes it rains through the night. Last night had to have been the most severe rain storm I have experienced to date. Perhaps it was exacerbated by the tin roof of my room, but in any case, sleep was at a minimum. However aside from last night, I have been sleeping pretty well here in Ethiopia. My PST schedule changes with the day, but usually incorporates language classes and technical teacher training. The teacher training is helpful in some respect, but often it feels monotonous; I think that is because the goal in mind, which is teaching English, seems so far away. In reality I will be beginning my practicum on the 15^th of July. Once I start that then I will be able to apply the heady and theoretical information I am being taught in a lot of the teaching sessions. A lot of it will have to be heavily adjusted given that I will be teaching classes of up to 90 students. Fun!

              I am starting to teach my family some phrases and words in English – my sister is a quick learner and is starting to greet me Amharic, Afaan Oromo, and English! It is striking how many languages everyone here speaks while most in America speak only English. There are so many cultures, so many different people and languages all in one country. I start my practicum teaching on Monday and I am interested to see how teaching a lesson completely in English will play out. It has been my understanding that my students are not at a grade 9 level of English speaking, and the textbook is honestly awful. It is so much more advanced that it should be for the students. For example, a quote from the first unit is “Not only is English a widely spoken language, it is also easy to learn.” False! My students have had English teachers that don’t even speak the language themselves. How can they possibly be at such an advanced level where they can read the advanced readings that are within the Ethiopian textbook. I was even helping my sister with her math homework, she’s in grade 4; however, her textbook is entirely in English – How does that make sense!!!

              All in all, I am super nervous to start teaching, but I am hoping that once I do, really start to settle in. Up to this point, the idea of being in Ethiopia for two years has been daunting. The other night, I woke up and I had to catch a rat that was loose in my room! How exactly it got into my room? I have no idea, but alas, that what I found myself doing at 3 in the morning on a Tuesday morning. I am nervous, and I face so many different challenges every day, but I am ready to actually start doing what it is I am suppose to be doing here: to teach English!

              Hopefully I will figure out how to post more often, but until then just bear with me! I will update as much as I can.