A Day in the Life

First of all, let's talk about this picture. Do not be fooled, this is par for the course here in Romania. The horse-drawn cart or "Caruţa" (ca-root-za) is frequently seen sharing the road with mechanized vehicles. Many even have license plates! This picture was taken on the road which lies on top of the giant Bicaz dam, part of Romania's hydroelectric power system.

Anyway, a friend of mine asked if I might be able to do a "day in the life" post, however mundane it might be. So, I'll indulge you all. However, remember that I still haven't established a firm routine yet, so this will change. Maybe I'll do another one next month or something. Anyway, here goes:

7:00am - Wake up to the sounds of chattering students and the dreaded school bell that sounds something like a high-pitched version of the typical European police car siren (think of any action movie set in Europe with a car chase). Ouch.

8:30am - Go into school and sign the "condica" in the teachers' room. The condica is this big book that lists every class for the day and who is teaching each class. For each of your classes, you must give a brief description of the day's lesson and sign your name. Also, please note that teachers here don't have their own rooms, so we have one big room with a big table for everybody. Very different.

9:00am - this is usually when I start classes. Let the fun begin!

1:00 or 2:00pm - this is usually when I finish classes. Let the nap begin!

After class, I try to recap what happened in each class and record information in each individual class folder. I also have to record absences, daily grades (participation for Eng. conversation), etc. I also run errands, get some lunch, blah, blah, blah.

In the evening I plan for the next day's classes. If I'm lucky, I'll get to watch a good soccer game before I go to bed. I'm digggin' the Spanish League. Barcelona is my team. Ronaldinho from Brazil is the man.

Oh yeah, another thing that I'm going to be doing on Tuesday and Thursday nights is teaching English at Gabby's organization. It'll be about 20 adults. I'm going to try to keep it loose and fun, as I don't see how I'll really have any time to devote to planning.

Many changes to come though.....I'll keep you all posted.