How to Become a Teacher

Welcome to teaching. Here's your books. Go have fun.

That's about what it's been like so far. Yeah, but I like it. But to catch you up to now. The week after I got back from Bangkok. I spent the good majority of it laying around my room, occasionally venturing forth to pretend I knew how to prepare for a class at the office. It was a little annoying at the end, just not doing anything, but it helped me get my bearings back.

I got rested. I got into a bit of a routine. And actually got a little prepared for my first week of class. I went to Fantastic Friday that week as well. It was so nice. I played games and got to just be with people. Met Jeff, Rob's brother who is hanging out for a while.

Then spent the weekend preparing for the rest of the week. The first week went well. I got a crash course in the differences between an American university, and a private Thai one. Like that the entire student body starts registering for classes the Wednesday before classes start. So the first two weeks of class is spent shuffling around getting in the correct sections. Like the 70+ in my technical English class that has since dropped to about 15.

They also don't know what book or supplies they need for class until their teacher tells them the first day. Found that out after my first class, so had to wait till their second day to tell em. And my personal favorite. There isn't really a copy budget. So sometimes when I want to make copies for my students I have to collect money (very little mind you, but still) to pay for them. How would you like to pay for university, and then on top of that have to pay for the tests you take in each class? Think about that a bit.

Also, as a part time teacher, I don't get my check until the semester is over. Found that out at the end of next week. But I might have money to get me through figured out. So don't worry too much about. I've always been provided for.

Went to fantastic Friday and church this past weekend, and got to hang out with Nonf Dream, she just got back from the states. Went with Ken to watch UP, it's a great movie. I highly recomend. This week getting rent and pay details worked out, keeping just barely ahead of my classes, and starting to put together a tutoring schedule. Yeah, that's my grand plan, I'm teaching cheap english on the side.

So my life is still amazingly awesome. Love it. Except the waking up at 6 part. That I'm not so much a fan of, or the dress clothes at work. But still, it keeps me on my toes.

Please pray for me as I am giving my first tests and learning how to be an effective teacher. Also my renters have broken off contact with my parents. So pray that we have wisdom about how to proceed there. Also pray for me as I'm trying to seek what's next. I'm not too worries about it as of right now. But within the next two months I will decide on if what will happen after the semester is over in October.

Also, this is my biggest one here. Pray for my friends here, both farang and Thai, believer and non. A lot of them are dealing with some heavy shtuff that Im not going to post online, but pray for God's confort and will. Pray that our friends who are on the fence will decide what they are going to do with Christ. And pray that hearts we come into contact with are being softened.

Love y'alls. I'm out.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

new

Too much has happened these past two weeks to do too much detail, but it's still going to be long

After I wrote the last one, I went to mine and Bekas farewell party, picked up a couple of nice old ladies from the airport and wandered about the Chiang Mia province, the cities of Bangkok and Rayong, and the island of Koh Samed.

The farewell party was good. It was good to see so many of my friends from here gathered in one spot, and a get a chance to say hi and bye to them since I won't see them as much the next few months. I had a good conversation one night in Louisiana with a lady named Cindy about how people and relationships move in and out of our lives. How they impact us and the seasons of our lives. I've been thinking about that conversation a lot lately. About the time you start depending on people or they on you, life changes and neither are able to keep that former dependency.

I have yet to decide how much I like or dislike that part of life.

But after the party I went to the airport and picked up my mother and mimi, and headed back to my room to spend the night.

Over the next week and two days we traveled all over this area of Thailand. We saw an umbrella factory, giant jewellery store, carpet and silk factories, tons of teak furniture, elephants, movies, rafted a river, and moved me.

Then if that wasn't enough we flew down Bangkok for a couple of days to see the park, mall, palace and big temple and eat on the river, and caught a bus three hours away to go to a beautiful beach to watch it rain and then clear up breathtakingly. Then I left their tired rears in the Bangkok airport an came home.

Also during that time, I got my books and class schedules for this semester and found an apartment for me near the university.

On saturday, I woke up, and met some guys to look at a bike. Had breakfast with them. Went to my new home, and finally unpacked and set up my room a bit, bought some things I needed at the local department store and read and at different points during the day, read through my books I'll be teaching out of.

Today I laid in bed most of the day. It was nice. Then I went in for worship, picked up a bike, and went to buy a helmet, then came back home.

It still feels new, but it really does feel like home. And now I'm relaxing to Nickel Creek, and letting y'all know what's up. This week I'll make up some lesson plans and start getting to know some of the people I will be working with. Yay!

I'm excited.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]