A grammar nerd with a life
Trip Start
Feb 15, 2004
1
20
34
Trip End
Dec 18, 2004
UNSW,
Australia
Thursday, July 29, 2004
It's nice coming back to uni and seeing all my classmates from last semester. I remember how it was when I started uni in March, and I didn't know anyone. Now it all seems so familiar. What's really funny is that somehow it seems that everyone knows me, including people I don't know at all! When I've arrived at my classes, there have been people saying "Oh, Virginia! How are you? What courses are you taking?" I'm polite and friendly right back at them, but in my head I'm thinking, "Who are you??" I guess as the only American (and often one of the only white people) in my classes, I kinda stand out.
It's funny to me how different my experience in Australia has been this time around compared to four years ago when I was studing abroad. Exactly four years ago, I was starting my semester at Sydney Uni. I had never lived in a foreign country and I had never been this far away from home for this long before. Four years ago, I was an observer. I lived the backpacker life, travelling almost every weekend and break. I went to class, but I also went out and partied almost every night. I had so much fun! This time, I'm a participant. I have a job, I'm working towards a Master's degree, I'm not on a program with 100 other American college students. I even know Aussies! I actually have a life here. A stressful life, but a real life. It's exactly what I set out to do, and why I came back to this wonderful country.
Even teaching was pretty good today. Yesterday I had this revelation (or e-PIP-phany! as Ms. Burke would say) that I should enjoy teaching. I think I've been letting myself get caught up in the technicalities and the drudgery and the planning, instead of just enjoying my students during class. So today I had fun. Even though we spent an hour and a half reviewing homework on the past perfect, I had a great time doing it! I acted like a big goof and cheered my students on through a really rough subject. It also helps that this week's theme is relationships, so we had discussions about things like what you look for in a boyfriend/girlfriend and I got to teach them vocabulary like "hooking up" and "one night stand". Good times, though the down-side is that it reminds me that my own boyfriend is on the other side of the world. Yesterday I had a great time teaching "Get it? Got it. Good!" to my Elementary class. Akinori, my crazy Japanese buddy, loves reciting it back and forth. I say, "Get it?" He says, "Got it!" I say, "Good!" We must have done that about 20 times during class.
Aaaah, the joys of teaching English. But now it's back to the drudgery - I have to go home and plan for tomorrow's lesson. I'm going to have them roleplay different dating scenarios though, so it should be a blast!
