first day of classes

The first day of classes went well. I only taught two hours, Senior 2 English but it was enough for one day. The students have better English than I anticipated, so that was a welcomed surprise. They are a lot quieter than I am used to 14 year old girls being. This is a good thing because classroom management is easier, but also a bad thing because it is hard for me to assess whether students understand because they would rather sit in silence than ask a question to clarify something they don't understand.

The students here learn mostly through memorization and direct instruction/presentation by the teacher and that is far from how I like to teach. It will be a challenge to get them to think more openly about what they are doing. Creativity is very minimal and they have a hard time with the concept of 'no one right answer'.

I'm honestly excited for the challenge.

Also, if you’re interested in sending me a small package here are a few things I’m dying for:

Oreos!
Pencils/black pens
Notebook paper
Peanut M&Ms
Granola bars/energy bars
Fruit snacks
Jellybelly jelly beans
Family photographs
English novels I could lend to my students (middle/high school age females)
Green tea (or tea of any sort)
Wash cloths
SPF 30 or greater sunscreen
Nutella
dehydrated pre-packaged pasta (like macaroni & cheese) that I would just have to add boiling water to to cook
anything else you can think of

Here is the address:

WorldTeach c/o Kelly Jo Fulkerson
P.O. Box 4875
Kigali, Rwanda

I'm not sure how much it costs, but I believe you can purchase a flat-rate international box that you don't have to weigh. I've been told that you don't need a country code/zip code. Rwanda doesn't use one.

Sitting in the hot sun, missing you all very much!