....And Exhale...

This week went unbelievably fast. It blurred by in a flood of lesson plans, several pots of coffee, and a few hours of sleep.

Although this week definitely had its stressful moments, it was one of the greatest weeks of my life. I feel more confident than ever about teaching. At the same time, I saw how much I have to learn.

Sarah (the teacher from the school in Prague) observed me on Wednesday. It was so good to get her perspective. After my lessons, we talked for about an hour about what I did well, my concerns, and how I can improve. I was really grateful to get her input, and I've been trying to implement some of her ideas and strategies.

I'm really loving my students. I taught grades 4-8 this week, and I like something different about each class. Right now, my favorite class is grade 7. I love that I can joke around with them and take a more relaxed approach. The fourth graders are definitely interesting too. When I taught them on Wednesday, I apologized to one of the girls because I mispronounced her name. After class, she came up to me, grabbed my face in her hands and said, "Miss Melanie, you can call me anything you want. If you want to call me a different name that's fine." She then proceeded to list names I could call her as she stroked my hair. Haha...Shortly after that, a boy named Sebastian gave me some of his candy bar and started burrowing his head into my stomach. Kids are so strange.

I taught the adults and did the after-school basketball program this week too. The basketball "practice" is pretty hilarious. There is one boy who just cracks me up. He doesn't even know which way to run down the court. Throw in a few more kids that have never played basketball and speak limited English, and it makes for an interesting hour. One girl told me that it was the best sport ever, though, so they must be enjoying something!

Unfortunately I'm not traveling anywhere cool this weekend. I have to get ahead for next week, so I'll be holed up in my apartment for a lot of the next 48 hours. After this next week, though, I'm going back to observing part-time, so hopefully I can get away next weekend. I would love to make it to Budapest, but we'll just have to see.

On Tuesday, some of the adults that I teach are taking me to a basketball game in Prague. The US women are playing the Czech Republic. Really kind of them! More incentive to work hard this weekend, too.

I'm going to the market today with Linda after we get some planning done. If you have a request for an authentic Plzen present, let me know! :)

In case you've been feeling overwhelmed (like I was this week), here's some encouragement. Hope you all have a good weekend!