a day in the life

5:45 - Wake up, go through morning routine.

6:55 - Head downstairs to the van.

7:30/7:45 - Arrive at school (time depends on traffic).

7:30 - Breakfast, consisting of various pastries from the bakery on the school campus. Today's pastry of choice was a very purple bread with taro in it. I have no idea what taro is, but I like its taste.

8:00 - 8:30 - Reading Rainbow, or my second least-favorite part of the day. It's kind of like the idea of the Accelerated Reader program back in the U.S., but the kids usually don't read the books on their own time, and they don't take computerized tests. For first through third graders, we have them read easy books aloud. Each book is worth one stamp on a paper card. They can redeem their cards for prizes on Fridays. Older kids can read the books at home and answer simple questions. The thing is, there are about 720 kids in first through sixth grade, and seven American teachers. It gets a little hectic at times.

8:30 - 9:15 - Get ready for classes.

9:20 - 12:00 - Teach! My kids call me Teacher Lalen. They aren't so great at pronouncing the 'r' sound. Then again, a lot of the Thai teachers aren't, either. I like it. On Mondays I teach speaking, which means the class gets divided up and I have 20 students at varying levels of skill. Mondays are wild. Tuesdays and Wednesdays my Thai counterpart, Nummon, and I teach grammar, Thursdays we teach spelling and phonics, and Fridays a girl named Kristy and I teach a first grade speaking class. Going from fourth grade all week (where they at least understand basic English commands) to first grade on Fridays (where they understand almost nothing we say) is like being showed unexpectedly into a cold swimming pool with your clothes on. And not in a refreshing way.

12:00 - Speed walk to the lunch room to snatch some fruit before it's gone. Stuff myself with rice, kale, and a main entree in which fish balls are uninvolved.

12:30 - Check e-mail in the computer lab. You have to take your shoes off before entering various offices on campus, and the computer lab is one of them. Others include the craft supply room, the dancing room, and the nurse's office. I haven't yet figured out why shoes are a no-no in these particular places.

1:00 - 3:15 - Grading. Definitely my least favorite part of the day. The tedium makes me desperately want a nap. And I start getting irritated when I read the same simple mistake over and over again. Now I know how Spanish teachers feel when students always forget the personal 'a'. As in: A mi me gusta el chocolate, pero a ella no.

4:00 - Walk home.

5:00 - Yoga in my room.

6:15 - Dinner: Either in the apartment cafe, or from the street vendor lady that sells steamed corn and bags of tiny sweet potatoes (pictured).