this week has been crazy. after arriving late on tuesday night to kosice, i started teaching first thing on wednesday. i have no idea how to describe the lessons that i'm teaching or the school that i am teaching at because the slovakian schooling system is so different than the american one, and it is entirely confusing to me. i CAN say that i am teaching a total of 16 lessons each week, and my lessons are mainly focused on twenty five different conversation topics. the students will be tested on these twenty five topics in june with their final examination called "Maturita." this exam is administered by the state, and is really important for their completion of school as well as their entrance into university. the students are, generally, very nice and well-behaved. i'm nervous that some of them will not/do not take me very seriously because i am so young... plus, i don't speak slovak and i don't know anything about their school or about how their lessons normally work. some of the other english teachers who i share an office with told me that i must be very strict with the students so that they respect me, but i'm not sure how to be strict! generally i feel frustrated because i want to do a good job and i want the students to learn a lot, but i feel lost. i don't understand how anything works, i don't understand what anyone is saying, and i feel like i'm trying to put together a puzzle while i'm missing half of the pieces. but i know that this is normal... and i hope that in a week or two everything will begin to come together.
on thursday night i went out to the city center with nellie and her friend, vera. there was a concert there and the headlining band was "No Name." the lead singer of "No Name" is my landlord, and it was so strange because i didn't realize how famous this band was. when i moved into my apartment nellie told me that i can't tell anyone who my landlord is or where i am living because he is really famous, but i didn't realize how serious she was. before the concert, nellie, vera and i went to a jazz club for tea and wine. then we went to the concert, and then we went out again for more wine. it really was a fun night... and we made plans again to go to a ballet on sunday evening. i think its funny that my best two friends in slovakia are over 50... but i like them a lot. i hope to become better friends with my landlord and his wife because they are so nice and a lot of fun... his wife is so beautiful and so kind, and their kids are entirely adorable.
today has been a really lazy day for me. i woke up late and then i met nellie to go shopping for some things for my apartment. then i came home, took a nap and now i'm watching "Singin' In The Rain." i think i'm getting sick... and it'd be no surprise because my apartment doesn't have any heat yet. i am always freezing. plus, i haven't been able to eat very well... partly because i have lost my appetite, partly because i am still really unfamiliar with food here.
in general, everything is going well. i have a beautiful apartment in a fantastic location. i've already met two slovakian celebrities. nellie has been so kind and helpful. my students are all well-behaved and i am getting settled into school. but it's hard to not focus on all of the uncertainty, confusion and loneliness that comes with being in a foreign place. i hope that soon i will begin learning more slovak, making friends, and understanding how everything works.
i hope all is well in minnesota.
anna
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