Back to school

9:20. I was supposed to be down stairs in the conference room to begin my first class. Good thing I was up at 7:oo am. I just can't sleep when I'm in a new spot. It's like falling asleep on a friend's couch-- you're awake unusually early, even if you didn't get to sleep until the wee hours of the night.

From my balcony I could see a couple of farang (foreigners) sitting downstairs on the porch. Good as time as any to meet some people. After some chatting, we all went up to the conference room to get our schooling on. It was your usual introductions to the course and to your instructors and classmates: "Two interesting things about the person sitting next to me were that she has met most of the royal family, and that she is a certified scuba diver that hasn't dove in seven years." That kind of stuff.

The course is pretty jam packed with things to do. I actually just got out of my first observation class. We had five Thai students in a "starter" class, which is basically beginner speakers. I observed a teacher here at the a school. The lesson was on time: telling time, reading time, am vs. Pm, morning vs. Afternoon, afternoon vs. Evening, evening vs. Night. It was great to get a demonstration before jumping in. There were worksheets, games and question and answer segments. It was really interesting to watch. The Thai students (all teenagers), knew for the most part what to say, but needed coaching on pronunciation. They struggled to get the "ch" in "couch" and the "ish" is "finish". But after some impromptu sounding of words they felt more comfortable.

I start teaching on Weds. WEDNESDAY! I have to prepare my lesson tomorrow when I know what level I have. I'm a little nervous, but appreciative to be able to jump right in. What's that old motto? Practice makes perfect? Yeah, that's it. Well I'll sure be getting enough of that.