Friday, September 24, 2010

You Know You Teach in Africa When...

Today we had our "orientation" at the school.  We found out that we would begin Monday morning, which is good for us.  But here are some of the things I learned about being a teacher in Africa.  Here's the scenario...I came here thinking that I was going to teach Bible and then ESL.  But...things are always open for change!

Yesterday was a sad day for the teachers and students at CAM in that one of the teachers lost her daughter.  She taught the high school literature and the 4-5th grade history.  So today, I (Amanda) went from a Bible teacher to a literature teacher and maybe a history teacher.  Right now Chris will take over the history classes, and I might end up taking one of the classes later in the semester.  Monday morning I have to be ready to administer the Silas Marner test for the 9-10th grade, and then Tuesday I begin Macbeth with the 11-12th graders.  You may ask, when was the last time I studied these? Well...I was 15 and 18...so that was 16 and 13 years ago.

This should be quite the interesting year as I adjust to the ever changing life of teaching overseas.  Needless to say...I DID have a moment where I became overwhelmed, but my precious husband calmed me and reminded me of the great theory: "You only have to stay one day ahead of them!" :) :)  I love that man and the encouragement he gives.  So...please be in prayer for us as we begin this new adventure of teaching.  You never know what will happen...

6 comments:

Sandy Taylor said...

This is so our God, never leaving us for very long in our little cocoon of comfort!!!

Jeffrey & Shannon said...

Well, flexibility is the name of the game, right? ;) What an amazing adventure!

Emily said...

Our children have been praying for you ... us too, of course!!

Emily said...

Our kids have been praying for you...us too, of course!

Kandy said...

At our appointment week, I remember a little elderly M telling us about a similar situation in which she was asked to teach piano. She had never studied piano, but would learn the piece the night before and then go teach it that morning. She said the same words that Chris encouraged you with...she taught both herself and her students piano - she just had about a 12 hour jump on them....I'll bet that you will remember more about these classics this time than you did the first time around...and hey, now you have the internet!

tiffany said...

oh how exciting!!! so glad you are both getting into a some what schedule!!! haha :) that does make things a little easier. love the pics!!! miss y'all and will be praying for you!!!