First classes

Today I taught my first classes at the junior high school. It went pretty well, I suppose. None of the English teachers were at school, so I taught it with a teacher who didn't really speak English, and she was mainly just there to help the students feel better. The first class, with the students with learning difficulties, had only one student. She was shy and not confident in her English, but she managed to say a few words and I think that she had fun. The second class was with students who were socially challenged (maybe?) and there were two of them. That class was much more fun, even though one of the students was a bit of a pain. He would take a long time while we waited for him and only come up with obscure and contrary answers. I can't really fault him--I know that I've acted the same way.

For both classes I did my self-introduction, the students did theirs, and then we played a vocabulary listing game with a sticky ball. It wasn't too exciting, but the students were definitely engaged. I also had a battleship game planned, but in both cases I judged that there wasn't quite enough time left. Also, I think it might be a bit too difficult for the first class.

Yesterday was my first day to come to school by bicycle, and it was great. It takes almost the same amount of time as biking to work, picking up the car, and driving the rest of the way. Today I did it again, but the temperature was close to freezing so my fingers and toes were hurting the whole way.

My right middle finger has hurt for at least a week now. If I make a fist, it really hurts. Surprisingly it doesn't bother me when I'm climbing. I'm also still struggling with allergies and a cough. Today my voice has been strange and weak, which is frustrating when I'm trying to teach a class. I really hope everything will be better by Monday.