a good start to 2011

ahoj!

i'm not sure how many of you are still reading this; nonetheless, i will faithfully march on and continuing writing for anyone who cares :)

unfortunately, not a lot is new with me. a few weekends ago i went to visit my good friend, stephanie, in her "willage," tisovec. though it was a small city, it was so nice and so peaceful. we went out to dinner, ate brownies, watched 'arrested development,' and caught up. it was wonderful.

the following monday i judged the "English Olympics" for students in kosice. whew! it was a lot of work. i had to read two pages out loud, correct 3 different tests for twenty students, and give 2 oral exams to the same twenty students. needless to say, i was WORKED. i came home exhausted. tuesday, unsurprisingly, i was really sick. although i went to school and taught, it was pathetic... i more or less simply sat in front of my students and told them to have a conversation with each other in english. i could barely walk home in the afternoon, but as soon as i was there i sat. and sat. and slept. and ate oranges. before i knew it it was wednesday morning and i pulled myself out of bed and came to school, where i suffered through another day. what was worse, it was the week that grades were due.

normally the week where students receive grades is stressful on both students and teachers. however, i've never experienced this week as a teacher... let me tell you: i prefer being a student. it was hell. what is worse, many of my students tried to negotiate with me for better grades. for my young, empathetic self, this was really difficult. i've been building relationships with these students for months, and suddenly when i give them a "B" i have become their worst enemy. they viscously wanted "As," which i couldn't rightly give some students. without getting into too much detail, it was simply DRAMA at the school. my takeaway impression is extremely negative. i felt like the students disrespected me and completely shamed themselves, and it all left a horrible taste in my mouth. i hope it is a situation that i can learn a few lessons from and try to avoid next semester.

besides that, not much else is new. i went to a concert with my friend valerie (which was certainly a highlight of my month), and i've been watching a lot of "House" to cope with my less-than-healthy laziness.

i hope you all are enjoying this cold, dark month.

xo
anna