Teaching in Roman

Hi all I thought I would post this while I have a minute. I just finished my first day of teaching. I had two classes in the morning and one in the afternoon. The morning classes were at 9 and 10:45 and the afternoon class was at 5. The early class is made up of students who are 9 and 10 years old (just like you third graders who might be reading this) and are very nice students. They have a basic knowledge of English and are very polite. I think maybe they were a little afraid of this teacher from America. When they were gathering before class started they were very shy and sat very quietly. Kind of like the way I wish my class would sit some of the time. When they talked to each other it was in a whisper. I told them that since it was before class it was ok for them to talk to each other. The only time they would talk is when I left the room to see if any other students were coming. It was very cute to watch. We had a good time in class, introducing ourselves and singing a few songs. They also wanted to see pictures of Livermore so I showed them pictures (yes you guys some pictures had you in them). They were very interested in you as you are interested in what they are like Let me tell you, other than the language you all would fit in nicely with this group. Except maybe you would be a little louder. So I guess students around the world are amost the same. My second class was younger students. They were 7 and 8 years old and much more shy and quiet. They was not sure what I was saying some of the time, but there are two twin girls who were born in Ireland who have a pretty good command of English and helped the other students out when they were lost. We sang the alphabet song and a song abouth the days of the week. They liked that a lot and sang along very well. I only had to tell them once that if they did not sing with the group they had to come up and sing alone. You guys who have been in my class will remember that. So again not very different than 1st and 2nd graders at Portola. The last group was made up of adults. We talked and I also had them sing the days of the week song. The were more embarassed that the children but eventually they sang too. I am trying to get internet into my apartment and my hosts have been most accomodating with this effort. I talk with my family in my morning at 6am, which is 8pm in Livermore. It is not much fun getting up at that time and then to add having to get dressed and walk down the street to get to the office where I am typing this now is even more trouble. My apartment is very nice and I guess I will send a couple of pictures showing what it looks like inside so you can see that it is not very different from what we have. The first picture is of my sleeping area and the second is my kitchen. So you can see I am being well taken care of. I will sign off now and promise to send some pics of the students that I am working with. Talk with you soon.

Mark