Matching Tracksuits

I begin tomorrow with back-to-back periods with II. Since the class is not yet split up I will have to do two lessons. After today’s apathetic reception I am a little nervous about this. I have two lessons prepared, but they both rely entirely on active class participation. We shall see . . . All the same, I refuse to be defeated by these students. Frustrated, yes; beaten, no.

So, now I’ve met all my students. I have two first-year classes, a second-year class, and four hours a week in the primary school. In general, they’re all (mostly) beginners. This is good because it makes it easier to determine where to start. It’s bad because nie mowi du o po polsku. Musz mowi troche po polsku bo moja clasa nie rozumie duzo angelskiego. Mysle, ze jest najlepsz ze ja mowi tylko po angelsku, albo bede mowic po polsku czasami. It could be good for me because I will have to learn a bit of new Polish vocabulary to cover the time until I can speak tylko English. Tam bedzie dobry dzien!

The first day of school is now behind me. Nothing much happened: introductions, a brief speech from the headmaster, then the mayor–nothing to speak of.

A minor tragedy happened while someone was speaking: a girl fainted. She was standing behind a crowd of people. She slipped forward through everyone, falling limp in the floor. Her head hit the hardwood floor with a thump that had a sickening echo. Several male teachers rushed to her. She came to and was taken from the room. I don’t know what else happened to her–I didn’t see whether she returned.

I finally received some kind of schedule, but it is still not finalized, for against my better judgment, I picked up four more hours (at the primary school). So I have twenty-two hours in four days, for I did manage to get Friday off.

I’ve mixed feelings about this: On one hand, eighteen hours is the minimum a teacher can have and I felt a little guilty having so few in comparison to Danuta. Yet my inexperience makes me understandably anxious about it. I want to do a good job, and if I am spread too thin . . .

Of course that is not the only thing: I will be teaching first year students. This will have its advantages and its problems. For one thing, my work is cut out for me. I know exactly what I must teach them. Yet communication will be tough at first owing to my virtually non-existent Polish. I remember my frustration in Polish class when the teachers would not speak any English (some, anyway). Now it will not be a question of willingness, but ability.