I'm a Real Teacher Now!

Sorry for my hiatus in posting, things have been so busy around here! I'm now teaching for real (not just training, not just observing, but teaching!). I teach 19 hours a week with 3 different teachers. My students are in 2nd, 5th, 6th, 9th, 10th, and 11th grades. And then after school I do conversation clubs for students in 6th through 11th grades and a separate one for English teachers. We pick a new topic to discuss every week, so if you have any ideas, send them my way! I try to write a text for the students to read before club to get them thinking (which is possible because I bought myself a wonderful printer to have at my house!), so this week I'm working on a text about American football/Superbowl and about Valentine's Day to follow. One of my co-teachers is out ill for the month of February with gallbladder problems, so for our English teacher conversation club, I have done research about gallbladders. Not what I expected to be doing in Azerbaijan, but I guess I'm learning too! If you have any good topic ideas that you think would be interesting for my Azeri youngsters, send them my way!

It's been getting pretty cold around here and I was realizing the other day that on a daily basis to go to school I'm putting on more layers of clothing than I used to when I would go watch Patriots games (which I shouldn't even be bringing up given the dismal end of the season that I have heard about). But luckily, just after New Years we did get gas at my house, so now I have a gas-fire stove heating my room! It can get nice and toasty! For most of December and some of January I was going out for some great walks out of town with a fantastic view of the mountains, but now I just can't will myself to get outside in the cold. But don't you worry that I'm being inactive because I have started doing my Biggest Loser Workout DVD in my bedroom. Haha, yes, you read that correctly. The best part is that my host sisters have started racing to see who can ask me first to join me in my workout every day (my room is really only big enough for one person exercising but we can make it work with two). And if I don't have time to work out for a few days, they'll even call me out on it and be all "um you haven't done your sports for a few days." Glad someone will keep me fit! My youngest sister is usually the one to join me and I was so proud of her the other day when she brought a thermos full of water into my room because I told her it was important to drink water after we exercise! My hope is that eventually I'll have her doing a proper jumping-jack. Right now it's a little interesting, but she'll get there!

Alright, sorry, this is a quick one! I need to try to track down a new print cartridge because I've already blown through the introductory one that came with my printer and still get out of the "big city" before dark! Miss you all!