First Open House....check

I survived my first open house and it went soooo well. I was not nervous at all and was just thinking "well this is me, if they like me they like me, if not, im not going to change who I am to try and impress them". Pretty much my outlook on life :) We all started out in the cafeteria where the principal and director talked to everyone and introduced us to all of the parents. Then we went to our individual classrooms to set up any last minute things. The parents all came down 10 minutes later and came into our rooms. The spanish teacher came to my classroom first so he did his little 10 min speech and then I was on...We had to give the parents a bunch of information and the yearly curriculum plan but I figured the parents could read all of that on their own and didn't need me to read it to them so I just talked about myself and my philosophy on teaching and things specific to my classroom. The parents were all so nice and it was so funny to try and figure out which parents went with who before they introduced themselves because so many of them look just like their kids.

They all told me how excited they were that their children were in my class and many said that their children have told them how happy they are in my class. It made me feel really good. It was a long day but I really enjoyed it. This week is off to a good start. Today was fun and hopefully the rest of the week goes well. It's a nice breath of fresh air to have open house done.

This past weekend was nice too. I went over to Valeria's house for her birthday so was able to meet all of her friends and family. Everyone is super nice and it was fun to hang out with people my own age. Sunday night one of the other American teachers that lives outside the complejo invited me over for dinner so I went over to her house. She is so wonderful. She's probably in her late 20s but has been here for a few years and is married to a Salvadorian. She taught 5th grade last year but this year she is in charge of technology and reading. Anything I need she is always there for me and offering me support and advice. But overall, life is good!! I can't believe it's almost September already, crazy!

First pupusa experience

So another week is almost over and things are going great. We had our ups and downs this week at school and I felt some days went better than others but overall it was a wonderful week. I had my first pupusa experience this week which is basically a tortilla filled with beans, cheese, avocado and sometimes meat. I went out with Rachel, my roommate Holly and Holly's boyfriend on Sunday to try them out. They were actually really good. I avoided everything cheese related and stuck with the plain beans but still delicious. Pupusas are very popular here and a traditional Salvadorian food.



This week I also started working on Spanish with a friend of a friend that is Salvadorian. She wants to improve her English and I definitely need to improve my spanish so we are going to help each other. We are going to meet once a week, maybe twice if we can work out our schedules. I'm really excited. Spanish classes at the school are starting up soon too and almost all of the other American teachers take the classes. They have three different levels so that you are working with people around your level.

The students at school never cease to amaze me with their perfectionism and people pleasing behaviors. I was reading something from a book and all of the kids were sitting on the floor in front of me. Something blew off of a table and a boy got up, walked over and picked it up. Well the fans were blowing, so it fell down again. So he proceeded to walk over to my desk, get the tape and put the tape on top of the poster so it wouldn't fall down again. Anytime they come back from recess, specials, or lunch...there are a few students that always say "Good afternoon Miss Marissa" or in the mornings "Good morning, Miss Marissa"...never fails. They are really amazing kids though and I'm so excited to have them as my first class.


This is a view from part of the city Suchitoto. I took a day trip there in the week before school started. It was beautiful!!

This weekend is full again. Friday an American teacher that lives outside the Complejo is having everyone over for "Happy hour" and then Saturday is Valeria's (the other 23 year old 5th grade teacher) birthday so she invited me over to her house for her party. It should be fun. Well I'm definitely glad tomorrow is Friday and ready to enjoy the weekend. Miss you all!

First month in El Salvador

I can not believe that I have been here a month already!! Time has flown by but I am enjoying every second of it. After having a full week of school, I am getting into a routine which you all know is something that I definitely need in my life.


This is a picture of the track I get to run on in the mornings :)

At school, we have established lots of routines in the classroom too so the kids are starting to understand what they need to be doing at different points throughout the day. It helps things to run a lot smoother. This weekend I was able to relax some because I have most of next week planned already. Friday night, it was an American teacher's birthday party so we celebrated at the pool here where I live. Many of the other international teachers were there along with some of her Salvadorian friends because she has been here 3 years now. She is 24 so her friends were closer in age to me and it was nice to talk with them. I enjoy this lifestyle so much of sitting around, chatting, enjoying other people's company rather than the bar scene or going out all the time. It is very relaxing and a great way to wind down from the week.

Over this past week, I have also been thinking about this experience a lot and never really thought about how big it was until now. Many people have been telling me (both people I meet here and people from home) that I am so brave for doing this and they couldn't have done it. For me, it was just what I felt was right and what I wanted to do. It means so much to me to know that I have so much support at home. So thank you to each and every one of you for your emails and messages of encouragement.

Last night, I went out to dinner with another 5th grade teacher who is Salvadorian. She is also 23 and a great friend. It was Valeria, her bf, another one of their friends and me. It was wonderful to hang out with new people and get to know them and find out more about their lives. Talking with them definitely opened my eyes to how much people take for granted. They all grew up with maids and fancy cars and with everything they wanted, which is great but not for me. It made me appreciate and feel fortunate for the way that I was raised and the values that I have.


This is a picture of a painting on the side of building in Ataco, El Salvador.

Overall, I feel like I have grown so much in just the one month that I have been here and am a real teacher with my own class. I still can't believe that. Sometimes I have to remind myself that this is really happening. Miss you all!

First full week winding down

So I've been slacking on the posting but it's been a busy week. I've had a really great week so far. We are starting to get into routines at school so the students know what is expected of them and that makes things soo much easier. I have a nice schedule each day because the students come in the morning and I have them for 15 minutes before they go to spanish right away. After spanish, they have recess so I have a good while to do some planning or other last minute things that I need to do in the mornings. It makes for long afternoons with the kids, but I try to break things up and take little breaks here and there.

I definitely have days that I think go really well and days that I wish things had gone differently but I just take each day as it comes. All of these kids are little perfectionists and always check everything with me before they do it because they don't want to make mistakes. Everything is "miss, miss is this right?" "Miss, is this going to be graded?" It's a little ridiculous at times. Another thing, everything they write has to be in cursive (school policy), so when I write things on the board, I need to model cursive. That has been interesting haha.

Overall, things are going really well. I realized that I think Thursdays are going to be my favorite day of the week. Thursdays mean only one more day in the week and no morning meetings on Fridays so no rushing around. This weekend, I have a friends bday party at our apartment's pool on Friday and possibly going to the beach for the weekend (rough life, I know haha) Hope all is well at home. Miss and love you all!

First first day of school

What a GREAT day!! It was so much fun and I think it's going to be a great year. After the last minute schedule change, having that morning plan time when the students are at Spanish is going to be awesome. So the 22 students came in, we separated their supplies for English and Spanish and they took off to Spanish class. Then I had some time to relax.

The rest of the day was filled with getting to know them and talking about what they did this summer. Many of them had very eventful summers such as learning how to fly their dad's plane, going to Miami, going on cruises, scuba diving, GOING to South Africa to see the world cup games, no big deal. They are all so cute though.

I'm feeling so good about everything. Not nervous or freaking out at all. I was home at 4:30 today and feeling fully prepared for tomorrow. I just can't believe I have my own class. I let them sit where they wanted to today just so I could get a feel for who is friends with who and who should not sit next to who. It worked perfectly :)

It's very nice that tomorrow is Friday so that I will have the weekend to recap and get ready for the next week. Overall, a wonderful day and my first day ever under my belt. I think it's going to be a great year.

First night before the first day of school

So it's finally here. The first day of school is tomorrow and I can not wait!! I am not really nervous at all and I am just feeling very ready to go. We started on Monday with grade level meetings and prep time in our classrooms. The class lists came today and I have 22 students. 13 boys and 9 girls. 3 Diego's....that should be interesting. I met a few students today and I think it's going to be a great year. It's so funny the difference in culture. In the states, it is a no-no to hug students or anything like that for legality reasons but here all of the students, parents, and other family members come in and greet with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly. All of the parents that came in today offered their help with anything I needed both inside of school or outside of it.




The room is all ready to go and activities planned for the day. The students will have spanish right away in the morning so I will have some extra time right away which will be nice. My schedule was changed as of yesterday so I've already learned to be VERY flexible with things at this school. I'm just going with the flow and taking things as they come.




I can't believe this day is really here, after all of the classes in school, student teaching and preparation. It's time to go out on my own and have a class that is all my own. I will never have another night before my very first day but I am definitely ready to go. :)

First taste of salt water

So this week has been very relaxing and I've been trying to settle in and realize that this is life now and let the whole experience sink in. We were so go-go-go last week that I didn't have much time to myself to think things through. I've been trying to get my classroom ready while also not stressing out too much and still enjoying the vacation before craziness starts on Monday.

My roommate and her dog, a greyhound named Sarka, got in last week and we get along really well. She has been in El Salvador two years now so knows the area really well and lots of fun places and things to do. I've been hanging out with her and her boyfriend this week quite a bit. We went trail running in an eco park one day, went to the beach where I attempted surfing and climbed a volcano. Surfing was... well interesting...I attempted but it is definitely something that I will need to work on. The salt water is going to take some getting used to as well. Especially when you wipe out while surfing, getting a mouth/nose full of that is a little rough. The volcano trip was a great time. We hiked up Santa Ana and went almost to the top but you can't go quite all the way. It was a beautiful view. This is a picture in front of one of the other volcanoes in the area, it was gorgeous!!



I've been realizing this week too that this is the place for me right now. A lot of the other international teachers here are older than me but it is so nice to be around mature people who are interested in the same things that you are. We can talk about teaching, life, past experiences and just enjoy each other's company. I've been getting to know everyone and hanging out with so many different types of people.

Another realization that I had this week was how much of an impact I am going to have on these kids. I've talked to a few salvadorians and they have told me that teaching the students at this school is basically teaching the future leaders of this country. Teaching in general, you hope to make a lasting impact in the lives of your students but many of the business owners, politicians and future leaders of the country, come from this school. It's a lot to think about but something I feel very privileged to be a part of.

I have one more day of vacation and then staff meetings start Monday. I am definitely ready to get started and meet my students. I think it's going to be a great year :)

First week

Hello!
So it has already been a week and I can't believe it! After my delay of a day because of cancelled flights, I finally arrived Sunday evening. There were 2 past teachers waiting to greet me right outside the gate. Both of my suitcases made it as well and I had no trouble going through customs and immigration. The trip back to our apartments was about 30 minutes and I was greatly anticipating seeing my new home.

The week was filled with informational meetings at school, shopping trips to different stores for things that we would need and a few day trips to places in the area. We got to the beach on Thursday which was beautiful. The beach itself was a little rocky but we were at a private resort so we spent much of our time laying in hammocks and sitting by the pools.



We also took a day trip later in the week to a few towns nearby that had lots of cute shops, markets and great restaurants. This week we have off because of the August holidays. A week from today (the 9th) we will start full school orientation and have meetings Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then the students will come for the first time on Thursday. We won't get any class lists until that Monday but it looks like I am going to have 21 kids in my class. Everyone is so helpful both where I live and also at the school. The support here is great, this is definitely the place for me to be right now. The classroom is still a work in progress but here is a picture of it just to get an idea, it's really big!