February: Getting started!

Where to start…?

Chillin' with my juice box girls

My Wonderful Mentor, Miss Prem

It’s been more than a month since my last blog post due to internet complications. We buy per GB for our internet and so things like Skype, my Magic Jack, or uploading pictures can use up all our GB in one shot. So my roommate and I have a rule where we don’t upload anything and just keep it simple. I still have yet to find an internet café with strong enough internet to support Skype. So sorry for the lack of contact! We are working on changing our internet to unlimited but it’s not that easy!

Anywho, in that past month, I have met my mentor, went through sate orientation, moved into my apartment and begun my job as a Fulbright ETA! Tons of life changes and everything has been going very well including getting a car!!! Whooo!

Our Car!!!

First off the most important thing, my job, I love my job. I teach secondary school which is 8^th through high school. My job is to primarily make learning English fun. All of my summer camp experience becomes pretty handy now. My day in class consists of a short lesson, then an activity for that lesson and then I try to end with an English game or song.

Where is Miss Lauren From?!

My first day of school was awkward when I stepped into the classroom and the students stood up promptly and say in unison monotone voices “Good Morning Miss Lauren”. I said “Hi, How is everyone?!” then the students just stood staring at me for a long moment until the other teacher in the room told the students to sit down. That entrance sounded to official and monotonous I took an idea from another ETA. Where for a lesson I have the students get in groups and “bust a beat” on their desks. Then they preformed their beat and I decided which group won.  The group that won had to explain the beat to the class in English so they could learn it. I now have 2 classes that will stand up when I come into the room and bust their beat before saying good morning/afternoon to me.

But I’ve also had a lot of comments and questions asked of me. Most of them revolve around my appearance such as, “Teacher why your eyes that color?”, “Teacher you so beautiful” “Teacher your nose so sharp.” and my favorite encounter below.

Student: “Teacher you fat today.”

Me: “I look fat today?”

Students: (noticing I was a little offended) “No, it’s a good thing! It means you’re enjoying Malay food.”

Me: “Thanks! You look fat today too”

Student: mutters something about how he’s skinny and looks confused

I have a deaf and disabled population at my school and I am more than excited about it. I have been learning sign language from them, I was learning sign language in the States when I taught children with disabilities how to swim. And I think it’s a sign (no pun intended) that I pursue learning sign language. I love it.

However the sign language here is a mix of American Sign Language and Malay sign language. I was surprised by how much I did know, but I got confused when I asked, “How are you?” in American Sign Language and the student just signed to me they were confused. When I asked a teacher they told me I have to sign, “Apa Khabar?” which is completely different.

Flashing some peace signs with my deaf and abled students

The children have a sign for my name as well. I found out each of them come up with a slang sign for themselves. Rather than spelling out each other’s names all the time. They’ll make signs for the teachers as well. That’s when a teacher told me you have to pay attention to them because sometimes the sign can mean something bad depending on their opinion of that teacher. My name is the sign for “western” (take your thumb and forefinger to your nose and outline it outwards) then the letter L.

The deaf and disabled population at my school is by no means “DIS-abled” they are all quite ABLED, very intelligent and more respectful, mature and responsible than most of the other students at my school. They help each other during activities, even the simplest thing as helping each other down the stairs. I saw a boy guiding another boy with a walking impairment down the stairs.

Not to mention their written English is quite impressive. After I spent sometime in the “disabled” classes the director of the program got phone calls from parents asking him if there really was an “western” English teacher at the school or if their child was just making up stories.

I hope to spend more time in those classes as I was not assigned to one but I try my best to pop in every now and then. I just need to find activities that will suit them.