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Sep. 4th, 2013 04:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mari4212How are things going now that I've been in the Philippines for a little over a week?
I've had a bit more time spent in in the school, which is where I will be from between 7:30 to about 4:30 every day. The teachers are welcoming and I've had good conversations with all of the ones I've talked to so far. There still is a large language gap, as they mostly speak Ilocano between themselves when they're talking. As my Ilocano hovers around nil currently, it means there are large chunks of time where I simply drop out of the conversation and listen to words I cannot understand.
I'm currently crossing fingers for when I end up in front of class. Knowing intellectually that they're going to be testing limits with me and seeing where my boundaries are isn't quite the same as being able to set the limits without getting frustrated or angry. But having observed one class with my primary co-teacher, I know I'm going to have to set limits. She's a first year teacher and I'm seeing ways that they're pushing her so they end up doing less work and not having to obey the classroom discipline of the other teachers. That being said, it's one thing to recognize the behavior for another teacher, it's another to curb it myself.
I'm still terrified of crossing the roads, and of traffic in general. There's almost no traffic lights, and few crosswalks. Jaywalking into oncoming traffic isn't the oddball thing you can only do around college campuses, it's a way of life. Between that and the way that periodically the sidewalks will disappear, and you have to walk in the street, it's more than a bit intimidating to walk through Baguio, or at least the small bit that I've seen.
For all that there are differences, there's also a bit that is still very similar. I went to services at the church on Easter College campus and was struck by how much was the same. Not just the services, but people in the service and afterward. Toddlers didn't want to sit still for long, tweens and teens were somewhat bored, families sat together and periodically distracted one another. The choir is just as eager to snap up someone new here as it was back home, I think I was asked to join by at least six different people. After church, little boys still grab at anything vaguely the right shape and pretend they're weapons. They're also thrilled to have someone play with them, although getting called “White Lady!” was a bit new.
I've had a bit more time spent in in the school, which is where I will be from between 7:30 to about 4:30 every day. The teachers are welcoming and I've had good conversations with all of the ones I've talked to so far. There still is a large language gap, as they mostly speak Ilocano between themselves when they're talking. As my Ilocano hovers around nil currently, it means there are large chunks of time where I simply drop out of the conversation and listen to words I cannot understand.
I'm currently crossing fingers for when I end up in front of class. Knowing intellectually that they're going to be testing limits with me and seeing where my boundaries are isn't quite the same as being able to set the limits without getting frustrated or angry. But having observed one class with my primary co-teacher, I know I'm going to have to set limits. She's a first year teacher and I'm seeing ways that they're pushing her so they end up doing less work and not having to obey the classroom discipline of the other teachers. That being said, it's one thing to recognize the behavior for another teacher, it's another to curb it myself.
I'm still terrified of crossing the roads, and of traffic in general. There's almost no traffic lights, and few crosswalks. Jaywalking into oncoming traffic isn't the oddball thing you can only do around college campuses, it's a way of life. Between that and the way that periodically the sidewalks will disappear, and you have to walk in the street, it's more than a bit intimidating to walk through Baguio, or at least the small bit that I've seen.
For all that there are differences, there's also a bit that is still very similar. I went to services at the church on Easter College campus and was struck by how much was the same. Not just the services, but people in the service and afterward. Toddlers didn't want to sit still for long, tweens and teens were somewhat bored, families sat together and periodically distracted one another. The choir is just as eager to snap up someone new here as it was back home, I think I was asked to join by at least six different people. After church, little boys still grab at anything vaguely the right shape and pretend they're weapons. They're also thrilled to have someone play with them, although getting called “White Lady!” was a bit new.