Teachnig in Austria...tales from week 2
hi friends...
2 blogs in a row...aren´t u lucky..
in yesterdays epistle...i mentioned that i had started teachign this week...
well i was assigned a group of 8-11 year olds in Dornbirn which is the city with the main train station nearest to me...we´re in this place called a Kolpinghaus...its kinda like a residence and restaurant and community centre i´m not really sure how to explina it..at any rate its very nice and the people that work there have been great with us and the kids...
Since the group below me (which was assinged to my friend Lorna) only had 3 kids...we blended them together and are doign a team teaching kinda deal...
it works well but we definitely have to repeat things a lot because the younger ones don´t pick it up as quickly...we even have one 5 year old who can´t write yet..Tabea...she is so cute i could eat her...she actually reminds me alot of Laurie when she was a kid...all small and mousy...ha!
there are 8 kids in our class in total and i set of twins...identical...sadly but luckily one of the twins...Chiarra...has a broken arm or else we couldn´t tell her apart from her sister Nina.
We do some structured lessons and a lot of games and activities in bewteen which makes the day fly by. The kids have a lot of fun and i´m exhausted by days end...
On the first day, one little boy kep having crying fits and telling us he wanted to go home cuy his grandpa brought him to cmap without asking him frist...
he is super cute and has long long eyelashes that touch his glasses so wehn he started crying they would fog up...it was so cute...he was fine after lunch and came back wtih a big smile on his face ever since...
LAst week at the camps the kids were playing stella ella olla in german andso we taught them the english one and now we do that whereever we go...these kids picked it up really quick and now i spend all break refereeing stella ella olla games..althought to my advantage i have also learned the german version quite well...
The kids here eat a lot and things that you would never imagine kids at home eating...
they get a snack at 10 30 whcih is usallly yogurt...which is so yumy here...and then eat lunch at 12 30...becasue there is a restaurant at this site its a full affair... we get soup, salad and a main dish froma choice of 3...it takes us like an hour to eat lunch...yesterday they served onion soup adn the kids ate it up...its really neat to see...today onthe menu there was something tha ti couldn´t decipher but all the kids were picking it and in my limited but functional german i asked..." was ist das"...they coulnd´t explain but siad it was good so i picked it...it tunred out to be this delicious thing that seemed more like desert than lunch...it was these little oven baked bread rolls with apircot preserve inside and sitting a bet of vanialla custard wtih furit salad...its a very typical dish called buchtnel...and i´m so glad i tried it...the kids were so excited and kept asking me if i ilked it and i thouroughly did so they were happy...
it is quite a challange to communicate with the children..thank goodness for lorna who speaks german and can translate thing sto them when they really don´t undersatnd the instructions. The kids are so funny too because they run up to me and start rambling in german and i don´t understand a thing...but they dno´t mind...sometimes i even make the sounds that the teacher in Peanuts used to make to Charlie Brown and they just laugh and keep spekaing German...
They say my name differently here too...its not like at home...its more like Daa-neee-ayyyy-la...its really fun..
u have to hear it i guess...
I do have one little terror who just has a bad attitude and gave a anoter kid a fat lip by pushing him the first day...but a couple of stern loks and he´s under control for a couple of hours before he needs another reminder...he is very brihgt however and has excellent enunciation...
Today we took the kids to the playground after lunch and as we were walking over the kids decided to teach me german so they would point to things they knew in english and then make me say them in german...looks like the tables have turned....hahaha..i was quite good i must say...
Tomorrow is water day so we are going to have lots of water games which should be fun...Friday is our children´s theatre...where our parents come and watch ...we are doing a skit and some songs and a weater report which is so cute...
I really wish you guys could see this all its super fun...and its just not the same written down...but i will definitely make up for it by talking ur ears off wheni get back...
Just another little story...on monday night after work the girls that are here this week and louis the one guy went up the cable car in lusteneau...when we got to the top i was intotal silence for like 15 minutes...whcih is a record for me...it was so stunning...i took a million pictures but no one will ever understand the beauty that i witnessed...we had dinner atop the mountain with a friendly waiter who spoke to us all in our correct languages...then we watched the sunset..the colours changed from moment to moment as the city below slowed down and settled in for the night mirroring the sun being tucked in behind the mountains...it was the picture of majesty and perfection that only a skilled Artist could have produced...the heavens declare His glory...we went down the cable car after the sun was gone and headed home...it was such a great experience i will relish it for a long time to come..
well time to go...i have to have energy to run away from all those water baloons tomorrow.
miss u and love u all...keep praying!
Daa-neee-ayyy-la
2 blogs in a row...aren´t u lucky..
in yesterdays epistle...i mentioned that i had started teachign this week...
well i was assigned a group of 8-11 year olds in Dornbirn which is the city with the main train station nearest to me...we´re in this place called a Kolpinghaus...its kinda like a residence and restaurant and community centre i´m not really sure how to explina it..at any rate its very nice and the people that work there have been great with us and the kids...
Since the group below me (which was assinged to my friend Lorna) only had 3 kids...we blended them together and are doign a team teaching kinda deal...
it works well but we definitely have to repeat things a lot because the younger ones don´t pick it up as quickly...we even have one 5 year old who can´t write yet..Tabea...she is so cute i could eat her...she actually reminds me alot of Laurie when she was a kid...all small and mousy...ha!
there are 8 kids in our class in total and i set of twins...identical...sadly but luckily one of the twins...Chiarra...has a broken arm or else we couldn´t tell her apart from her sister Nina.
We do some structured lessons and a lot of games and activities in bewteen which makes the day fly by. The kids have a lot of fun and i´m exhausted by days end...
On the first day, one little boy kep having crying fits and telling us he wanted to go home cuy his grandpa brought him to cmap without asking him frist...
he is super cute and has long long eyelashes that touch his glasses so wehn he started crying they would fog up...it was so cute...he was fine after lunch and came back wtih a big smile on his face ever since...
LAst week at the camps the kids were playing stella ella olla in german andso we taught them the english one and now we do that whereever we go...these kids picked it up really quick and now i spend all break refereeing stella ella olla games..althought to my advantage i have also learned the german version quite well...
The kids here eat a lot and things that you would never imagine kids at home eating...
they get a snack at 10 30 whcih is usallly yogurt...which is so yumy here...and then eat lunch at 12 30...becasue there is a restaurant at this site its a full affair... we get soup, salad and a main dish froma choice of 3...it takes us like an hour to eat lunch...yesterday they served onion soup adn the kids ate it up...its really neat to see...today onthe menu there was something tha ti couldn´t decipher but all the kids were picking it and in my limited but functional german i asked..." was ist das"...they coulnd´t explain but siad it was good so i picked it...it tunred out to be this delicious thing that seemed more like desert than lunch...it was these little oven baked bread rolls with apircot preserve inside and sitting a bet of vanialla custard wtih furit salad...its a very typical dish called buchtnel...and i´m so glad i tried it...the kids were so excited and kept asking me if i ilked it and i thouroughly did so they were happy...
it is quite a challange to communicate with the children..thank goodness for lorna who speaks german and can translate thing sto them when they really don´t undersatnd the instructions. The kids are so funny too because they run up to me and start rambling in german and i don´t understand a thing...but they dno´t mind...sometimes i even make the sounds that the teacher in Peanuts used to make to Charlie Brown and they just laugh and keep spekaing German...
They say my name differently here too...its not like at home...its more like Daa-neee-ayyyy-la...its really fun..
u have to hear it i guess...
I do have one little terror who just has a bad attitude and gave a anoter kid a fat lip by pushing him the first day...but a couple of stern loks and he´s under control for a couple of hours before he needs another reminder...he is very brihgt however and has excellent enunciation...
Today we took the kids to the playground after lunch and as we were walking over the kids decided to teach me german so they would point to things they knew in english and then make me say them in german...looks like the tables have turned....hahaha..i was quite good i must say...
Tomorrow is water day so we are going to have lots of water games which should be fun...Friday is our children´s theatre...where our parents come and watch ...we are doing a skit and some songs and a weater report which is so cute...
I really wish you guys could see this all its super fun...and its just not the same written down...but i will definitely make up for it by talking ur ears off wheni get back...
Just another little story...on monday night after work the girls that are here this week and louis the one guy went up the cable car in lusteneau...when we got to the top i was intotal silence for like 15 minutes...whcih is a record for me...it was so stunning...i took a million pictures but no one will ever understand the beauty that i witnessed...we had dinner atop the mountain with a friendly waiter who spoke to us all in our correct languages...then we watched the sunset..the colours changed from moment to moment as the city below slowed down and settled in for the night mirroring the sun being tucked in behind the mountains...it was the picture of majesty and perfection that only a skilled Artist could have produced...the heavens declare His glory...we went down the cable car after the sun was gone and headed home...it was such a great experience i will relish it for a long time to come..
well time to go...i have to have energy to run away from all those water baloons tomorrow.
miss u and love u all...keep praying!
Daa-neee-ayyy-la
posted by dAnIeLa at
1:08 PM
4 Comments:
Thanks for the shades, bro! Gives me some spunk... love it. Thanks! We visited your family tonight - and your mami was so cute - we brought these italian gelato balls with us, and she had these long rolled coffee snacks with chocolate cream in the middle - and she takes two of the sticks from the container and sticks them into the gelato ball and goes, "look it's a space ship", then she goes to laurie, "what do you want? a space ship too?" Lidia also made your mom read your Zurich postcard aloud in mexican and made laurie say it aloud in translated. that was fun. your dad says your selfish for not letting us see your pictures and your mom told us about how you absolutely prohibitted them for showing any of it.... so fine, be like that, we'll wait. And yes, the yogurt is good there and very fresh, and they love that stuff. and it does take hours to complete a meal in europe - they eat alot and slooooooooow.
By
jo'sheezee, yo..., at July 26, 2006 8:58 PM
DANIELAAAAAAAAA POUNANZERRRRRRR!!!!
Grazie mille per la borsa e la t-shirt!! I wore them both today :o) It was a mission to fit all my junk from my trunk into la borsa, but i did it!! :D:D
Let me tell you, I LOVE your family!!!
I don't think it's fair that we dont get to see the pictures from Laurie's perspective, she was there too! I want her to show them to us with her stories and then I want you to show them to us with your perspective. wait?. . . I dont wannnnaaaa!!!
K, im gonna read your blog now!
By
boogyman, at July 27, 2006 8:16 AM
hey friends...thanks so much for goign to visit my familia i hope u gave them individual telepathic hugs from me lidia...since ur my sorelle...and sam she read it in Spanish not mexican..at this rate u´ll never make it in barcelona..lidia ii´m glad u like the bag...its all over the place in italy and it says napoli...and its green...like me!...and if u saw my pictures i will stomp on ur toes...and mom u are so funy with ur antics...haha..i want a spaceship!!!
By
dAnIeLa, at July 27, 2006 1:13 PM
Daniela, I just read the blog, i know (took me a while to finally get to actually read if from beginning to end) and i must tell you that it brought a tear to my eyes. God is awesome!! and i am so glad that you are experiencing all of this! I did my best with the telepathy hugs to your parents. Your presence was there, even your mom said so when we were around the table. I love you sorella!
let me know what's happening with the camp situation for next week.
By
boogyman, at July 28, 2006 12:54 PM
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