6th grade and lawn mowers

I have successfully finished my first week as a teacher! Yay! When I got off the plane in Coch last week, the school director was waiting for me with good and bad news. They weren't going to split the 3rd grade, so I'd be teaching a split 6th grade class. The good news is I'll be teaching English (grammar, spelling, reading and writing), which is my FAVORITE, and I'll have more prep periods than anyone in the school. The bad news was that the other 6th grade teacher (my housemate, Jenny), wasn't going to return until the following week, and I was going to be teaching the full class (28 students). I'm also on detention duty after school every day this semester. Giddyup.

my classroom this week (Jenny's room)

So, this week I taught 28 squirrely 6th graders, many of whom don't speak English well. The week was full of math outside, Colorado alpine flowers for science, and Chronicles of Narnia for a read aloud. We spent most of the week getting to know each other, and my heart breaks for so many of these kids. Even though they come from some of the richest families in Coch, so many of them have the same needs as the poorest children from the Center I worked at the last 6 months. Many of them crave attention and approval just like the kiddos in the orphanage. The main difference is that they have all the latest technology, games, and clothes. It's been humbling to see so many of my prejudices toward the rich come to light, and to be forced to look for beauty in these kids, too, as spoiled or sheltered as they may be.

my new house
¡mi cuarto!

On a lighter note, I'm beginning to settle into my room and to feel like this house is truly my home, not just a place to stay for the next year and a half. I walk to school every morning, about 6 blocks down the hill. My room has a balcony overlooking the entire city, and a view of the Andes from my quiet time spot. Life is good.

meet our lawnmowers!

Things are certainly done differently here, and each day I feel like I learn something new and exciting about alternative ways to live. This week's life lesson is: WHO NEEDS LAWNMOWERS WHEN YOU HAVE COWS? (and a sheep). A lady in the neighborhood was grazing her herd on the street outside our house, and we opened the gates so they could come in and feast on our yard, leaving behind freshly grazed grass and piles of fertilizer:)

me with our lawnmowers... or should I say
FERTILIZERS?!

Thanks for reading!
Katie

P.S. Psalm 16. Good stuff.