Now, I am sure you are all dying to know how I am getting on with my injuries. Well, luckily I am looking a lot less like an invalid and a lot more like a normal person... well, normal-ish. The foot is pretty much fine. Definitely a lot lumpier than it was before but whatevs. The elbow is swinging freely as I've given up with the sling. It doesn't hurt unless I try and do something crazy like touch my shoulder (I'm getting there). Only problem is that it does not straighten at all... bit of a weird 30 degree angle going on. Not ideal. The doctor keeps telling me, it'll come, it'll come... but as to how, I'm not really sure. I did some classic googling and found a couple of trusty NHS sheets about exercizes to do for this type of situation. Seems like more help than I am going to get here....
I am, weirdly, seeing the doctor practically everyday now though. Not for medical issues- that would be too simple. This week I have embarked on an exciting new world of private tutoring. Ok, this is not really very exciting, but hey with the extra 10 hours a week work, charging 15 euros an hour I have paid for my Brazil holiday nicely! I posted an announcement on the website for all things Guyane back in January, but, things being as they are here, there was little interest. A couple of people called asking for more info and never phoned back. So, I don't know what happened last week but all of a sudden my phone was ringing practically off the hook (well, you know, a couple of calls a day... which is more than in a normal month)! I'm happy for the interest but, the timing is not great. If I had started earlier I could have earnt loads! But as it stands, Polly A is arriving on Saturday for 3 weeks of absolute banter, and then I only have 2 and a half weeks left of this adventure before I head back Angleterra-side. In short, I was getting pretty used to finishing work at 11am and pretty much wasting the rest of the days napping and generally not being very productive.
Yesterday, I worked my normal school hours (8-11), had my weekly French lesson at 3, followed by three hours of private tutoring. I got home at 7 absolutely knackered. What is wrong with me? That is 7 hours work in total with a break (nap) of 4 hours in the middle. Pizza hut would be laughing at me- the thought of pulling one of my old 11 hour shifts with a 20 minute break is very scary.
I'm teaching a 6-year old (the doctor's daughter) who has a better level of English than most of my 11-year olds in the school. Now anyone who knows me, will know how completely anti-private school I am, but, maybe, here in St. Laurent the situation is a little different. She's very sweet, but I feel like 4-5 hours of English is quite a lot. Often, she'll ask me if she can go and play with her friends..... I want to say yes, but instead I have to be like, NO, we are learning about the family. Shes 6, and speaks fluent french and arabic, and basic english and spanish. Leave her alone!
I am also teaching 2 sisters aged 12/13 who find the work at school too easy and speak really good English. Teaching them is strange because we can do activities that just aren't possible with the school kids. But stressful as it means I actually have to plan for the sessions instead of just thinking, ermmmm, lets play bingo!
My third student is a 14 year old who is really struggling. She probably has the level expected of my 10-year olds. If you look through her english book you'd think she was super advanced though. I asked her about all the long paragraphs and she explains that she copies them all off the board and doesn't understand a thing. Great teaching going on there!
I never thought I would say this, but lately I have been wishing that we had learnt grammar at school. When I get asked WHY for the use of a tense/ irregular verbs/ or in fact anything. My ususal response is, don't worry about that we will do it next time meaning a) I hope they forget and we don't have to worry about it, or b) quick google so I actually have an answer to give them. When in doubt I go with the classic, well, sometimes you just have to learn the rules and there is no real way of explaining.....
In other news, I did a test this week with a couple of my classes. This did not go well, especially when I had tried to make it easy-ish. The highlight was: how are you ? answer: Je ne mange pas du pain (I do not eat bread). I also enjoyed: I hame na dege as an answer to the same question... I totes agree. Oh dear. I worry for them. They have a 3 hour test in English at the end of the year, wayyyy harder than this test. They will not do well. And its not their fault. They are supposed to have 2 english classes each week, but in fact, in most cases, their 45 minutes with me is it. The teachers don't have a clue what they have been doing as they treat it as a snack break, and then, they ask me for my curriculum I have followed for the year.
Ha! sorry.... curriculum? Someone was supposed to give me one? Because, er, that never happened. PollyJ has been living by the curriculum of what I feel like planning on a Sunday. They know I am not a teacher, nor am I supposed to be the principal teacher. Im doing my best, but I really feel like it's just not making any difference because the things I teach are not being reinforced/repeated at all.
Rant over... 3 weeks 2 days of teaching left, and for one of those weeks my lesson plan is: this is my friend Polly A, please ask her some questions in English....
Next blog should hopefully be much more exciting, if Polly A and the rental car make it in one piece to Cayenne on saturday :S One week and a half til Brazil, it's come sooo quickly!
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