January 16, 2014

Grace’s School

Wesley International School

Worldbrige Language Center

Today we went to Grace’s school to teach.  Kendall and I taught a lesson together about American music genres.  The students at this school had a hard time responding to the lesson because their level of English was very low compared to the students we had worked with before.  We ended up singing to some American popular songs, which the students enjoyed more than the scheduled lesson.  We also taught them “Lean on Me,” and they were able to learn some English language through that experience.  The people at this school were so friendly; they gave us many gifts to show their appreciation.  Each student shook our hand as we walked out of the classroom, and it was one of the sweetest things I’ve experienced this trip.  At the end, they gave us many presents, and I walked out of the school with a handkerchief, a scarf, a headband, lots of water bottles, and a donut-like pastry.  Their kindness was very much appreciated; they went above and beyond to make sure we felt welcomed.  After that, we went back to Wesley and I taught a lesson again today.  This time, I was given an assignment to prepare a day in advance, so I felt more prepared and confident in my lesson this time.  I set very strict classroom rules for the students: I didn’t talk if they were talking, and I made sure that I kept control of the class the whole time.  My classroom management helped this lesson to go much better, and I was extremely excited.  By the end, we got to learn a fun song from the new movie “Frozen.”  I could tell the students were really enjoying music class, which is a very rewarding experience as a teacher.  At Worldbridge, I helped Rachel lead her lesson about

clothing and colors.  We only had four of our seven students show up for the lesson today, so I was able to go see other groups and take pictures for them.  It was very cool to see how everyone was enjoying their lessons- it made me realize how special of a team we have here on this trip.  I was also able to help some of the Worldbridge workers by taking pictures for publicity.  After Worldbridge, we came back to the hotel and relaxed before dinner.  After dinner, I was able to go play with the worship team at Wesley again, and we figured out the songs we wanted to play at the service tomorrow night.  It has been such a joy to meet new friends and learn some new songs during this experience.  It has continued to amaze me that even though I am in a new country, across the world, we can still worship God together.