Things I like about my new job teaching English:
They are motivated and want to learn. Most (maybe all?) universities here require students to pass an English exam in order to get their degree. I have an early morning class with three girls who are working as attorneys but aren't technically certified yet because of this pesky English exam they still have to pass. They'll take their exam in another 3-4 weeks, and I'm not sure who's more nervous about it ... them or me!
2. The grammar.
Actually, I have a love-hate relationship with all this English grammar that I am teaching myself in order to teach my students. The hate part is how complex it is -- and how frustrating it is that I can speak a language my entire life and still not know so much about it. The love part is that thank-the-Lord-I-do-not-have-to-learn-English-as-a-second-language!
Things I don't like about my new job teaching English:
1. The disorganization.
It's getting easier for me to accept the disorganization of Peruvian-run businesses and institutions. But this school is owned and operated by Americans, and still it is utterly disorganized and full of mis-communication problems. The photo below was a sign I saw in a shop on the boardwalk when I was in Ocean City, NJ last month. They meant it as a joke, but it could honestly hang in just about any Peruvian business window -- including the school where I am working!
2. The cold!
When we first arrived here, freshly emerged from a long winter and cold & rainy spring back in the States, we were bewildered* by all the jackets and gloves we saw Peruvians wearing. Granted, it is wintertime here in the southern hemisphere, but gloves? Really?? Now I find myself joining them. Once the sun has been blazing for a few hours, Arequipa's winter days are pleasant and warm. But when I begin my class at 7:00 a.m. in an unheated, uninsulated, concrete building, it really is chilly!
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| My alpaca wool gloves I bought last weekend in Callalli. Bonus benefit: a layer of protection against the grimy handles I have to grip when I'm not lucky enough to score a seat in the combi I ride to work. |
Things I neither love nor hate, but merely find amusing about my new job teaching English:
1. The pay.
I suppose discussing money is generally considered taboo** in both American and Peruvian culture, but I don't care. I'm going to tell you exactly how much money I make. Are you ready for this...? I earn a whopping $4.00 per hour! Good thing David & I decided long ago we are doing this for the experience, not for the revenue***.
2. The commute.
6:30 a.m. is way too early for me to be walking a mile to my school. So in order to be able to leave my house at 6:45, I take a combi. Like a true American, I bring my coffee in a to-go mug and sip it while observing the comings and goings aboard a combi. (I have a feeling these observations will develop into a blog post of their own one of these days.) For example, the other day I watched a man smash himself into an open half-seat next to another man. His right leg was literally propped up on top of the other man's left thigh. Neither of them seemed the least bit perturbed by the situation.
*bewilder
**taboo
***revenue
These are a few of the vocab words I've taught my students recently. I figure if I make them create sentences with the words, I should give it a try as well. Next week's list includes words I'm pretty sure I don't even know! (i.e. despot, modicum, salient, erudite) Feel free to create your own sentences in the comments section...
3 comments:
Oh man. I am also so very glad I am not learning English as a second language!
The salient part of your blog was the $4.00 per hour teaching English! Do you get taxed on it? How much were the gloves?
hm. i think the gloves were around $4. i worked for a whole hour for those gloves! makes me appreciate them even more than i already did. (no, i don't get taxed on the $4.)
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