first day of school

so today was the first day of school. what an exhausting day. firstly i haven't worn heels for 9 hours straight for a LONG time haha... wasn't used to that. the weather wasn't bad because its been rainy so it was cooler today. i felt really prepared because i have been working so much to get my room in order.

i have to say though it was an experience. school starts at 7:50, but everyone arrived early so even though i got there at like 7:10 there were some parents and students waiting for me. all the parents were there for the first day of school to physically walk their kids to class and meet the teacher - i mean EVERY parent, first grade all the way to 9th grade. it was pretty impressive. a much different perspective of education here then in the States. and every parent introduced themself to me and gave me hugs and kisses. it was very nice.

as for the actual school day it was CRAZY chaotic. so i have 2 groups of 20 first graders, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. lunch is from 10:50-11:20 for everyone in the school. there is no cafeteria, the kids all bring lunch and eat on the grass or if it's raining they eat under the patio that has a roof. as for the students they are really little and some of them barely speak English at all, so it was very difficult today to train them about my routine and the classroom conduct and things. a simple task like getting out a notebook and pencil took 10 mins. first grade i know is hard in any language, but in a foreign language it's totally magnified.

the schedule is insane though because of course i have two groups to keep track of, BUT there are even and odd weeks, on the even weeks i have my B group 1st and A group 2nd - on the odd weeks i have group A first and B 2nd. this switch of schedules wouldn't be so bad if not for the added confusion of "Special classes" like music, computers, religion... each group has a different special everyday at a DIFFERENT time, so there is no consistency in the daily routine which is a big adjustment for me and i'm sure hard for the students. i feel like everyone benefits from a good routine and unfortunately this school is not set up for that.

an interesting known fact - all students refer to their teachers as "Miss" and thats it... i can't explain how irritating it is to have 20 7 year olds calling you nothing but "miss". haha and because they haven't been in school for a while i think they have lost some of their english skills, so they trully only say "Miss! Miss! I finished" and they poke you because clearly you can't hear them if they don't stand next to you and touch you.

another random thing is that they have all students using lockers, which ifind to be a tad much for elementary kids. ok, the lockers are right outside of the classrooms and both the English and Spanish rooms are next to one another, but they constantly forget things in the locker and if writing is a fine motor skill 1st graders haven't mastered imagine how hard it is for them to unlock a miniature lock. and then imagine how long that takes - sigh...

despite my diference of opinion on some issues, i have to say this is a much more supportive school than i am used to. my principal came by my room today and complimented me on my room so much i was really pleased. it is so nice when people recognize your hard work. and all the other teachers are so nice and understanding and always offer help. i like that.

so thats it for school. but here are another few differences between the States and Mexico that i noticed today.

• "checking on a table" in the States is "disturbing a table" in Mexico
• to get the check at a restaurant takes longer than getting the food
• normal notebooks are graph paper, you have to search for lined paper
• notebooks are literally the size of an RL Stine chapter book turned sideways
• kids get 2 pencils for the year and keep track of them
• most small restaurants are closed between 3-7pm... i found out the hard way
• education is valued and teachers are respected
• cars, bikes, and horses alike traverse the streets
• the beer is GOOD!!!
• personal kegs come to the table....

long day today, started at 6am when it was still dark outside :( and im sleepy. time for bed. hast pronto