I sat out on the porch with my host parents while we ate our dinner. Moments like this with my host family are what I missed most during my holiday travels. We talked about the neighbors, differences and similarities between Indonesia and the United States (a frequent topic), and the new school semester, until a loud plop out in front of the house interrupted our discussion. The sound came from along the street that goes past our house, right near the tree that shades the front yard. That tree isn’t just any tree; it’s a mango tree. Bu Hertati smiled at Pak Djito and I upon hearing the sudden noise. I returned the smile, too, because we both knew that we had just heard the sound of a mango hitting the ground. Bu Hertati set her plate of food down on the porch, got up, and put on her sandals to walk out into the yard to find the freshly fallen fruit. “Selamat jalan! Hati Hati! (Safe travels! Careful!),” I yelled jokingly as she went down the stairs. Pak Djito and I continued eating our food while we watched Ibu make her way out to the tree. She looked around, but didn’t see anything near the tree’s base. Bu Hertati walked around the tree in gradually enlarging circles in order to cover more ground. She walked carefully in the dark, kicking at anything that resembled a mango. Pak Djito and I looked on with amusement, providing laughter and encouragement. Ibu turned around and started circling the tree counterclockwise. Maybe the new direction would help her find the mysterious fruit? It did not. After several minutes, Bu Hertati still could not find the source of the plop and decided to give up. She joined us on the porch, and all of us quickly forgot about the mysterious noised that disturbed our supper. These moments with host family are what I cherish most about my service. I have several new classes this semester. This provides opportunities for me to meet more students, and for them to grow more comfortable with the American teacher roaming around the school. The first week of classes consisted of activities revolving around introductions. This allowed me to learn the students’ names, and for the kids to become more comfortable with their classmates. The introduction lessons are my favorite, because I get to project a silly and boisterous attitude, which is vastly different from any teacher that the students have ever had. My behavior often catches kids off guard. A student in one of my new classes impressed me right off the bat. During class, she approached me and asked, “Can I go to bathroom now?” Impressed with her English skills, all the students in the classroom applauded her. Thoroughly impressed with her bravery, I joined in on the clapping. She was the first student to ever ask me that question, let alone in English. After she left the classroom, I told the other students that that was a first for me. That news generated an additional applause when she returned from the bathroom. She sat down in her seat with a very confused look on her face. Everyone else in the classroom laughed. When I started teaching classes at the beginning of last semester, just about all of my students responded to my question, “How are you today?” with, “I’m fine, thanks.” When I entered the room and asked the question, a chorus of students responded in unison. I didn’t like that everyone responded the same, because it meant that the students didn’t mean what they were saying (There is no way that everyone feels “fine” every single day), and the robotic answer requires zero imagination. I made a concerted effort throughout first semester to teach students how to respond differently to my question. They learned adjectives (tired, hungry, sleepy, sad, happy, etc.) and ways to explain why they felt a certain way. This provides more profound answers when I ask them how they are doing. I went around to all of the classes at my school during the first week of second semester to promote English Club, which began at the end of January. The teacher who went with me could tell which classes I taught during the previous semester, because the students provided impressive answers when he asked everyone how they were doing. This made me happy because those students showed that they retained some information from my first semester classes, and it motivated me to continue working hard to improve their English this semester. During my first weeks of second semester, I have noticed more students saying “hello,” or “how are you,” or giving me a nice wave and nod of the head. This is all very different from any point of my first semester. It seems like they are growing more comfortable with me the longer I am at school. I appreciate the change, and I hope that my relationships with the students continue to evolve over the course of the following school year. There are many students at my school who are very eager to learn English. They are attentive in class, ask questions for clarification, and are brave enough to talk to me outside of the classroom. Unfortunately, there aren’t opportunities for these students to practice their English beyond the allotted three hours of class every week. Even though students may be interested in learning English, the weekly class time certainly is not adequate enough to truly inspire them. I need to tailor my lesson plans to all students, the motivated students and those who aren’t interested, which tends to produce slower, less inspiring classes. To put it simply, I am not effective enough of a teacher to motivate students within the three-hour allotments. In order to address those concerns, and provide students with additional opportunities to learn English, I am working with several English teachers to create an English Club. As an extra-curricular student organization, the Club will help spark students’ interests in learning English, and help improve their knowledge of the language—and cultures that use English as a first language—in general. I hope that English Club can help form debate teams, enroll students to compete in speech competitions, and host camps for kids. My school does not currently participate in any of those kinds of events, which is why I plan to make English Club the vessel for which students can find these new opportunities. Since there has never been an English Club at my school before, it was difficult for my Counterparts and I to gage how many students would be interested in the Club. We held an informational meeting in January—explaining the Club’s purpose, laying out a semester schedule, taking attendance—so that we could find some idea of how many students are interested. Once we have an attendance standard, then we can proceed to structure a Club that will fit accordingly. This will be a big project that will consume a large amount of my time. I hope to get the teachers involved, and help the English Club grow roots so that it becomes a sustainable, student-run organization after I depart in 2019. Over 150 students showed up for the informational session, which exceeded my expectations and those of my fellow English teachers. Although I find it slightly overwhelming to structure a club that will provide fun learning opportunities for so many students, the group of kids provides me with a strong sense of optimism. These are the students who want to improve their English and learn about foreign cultures. These are the students who will inspire me to continue on with my service, encourage me to continue working with diligence and purpose, and—equally important—to keep smiling. Together we will make our school more inclusive and aware of the world we live in. Shout-Outs:
HSO to my high school friend and her husband for giving birth to a healthy baby girl! I can’t wait to meet her when I return to the States next year. SO to my sister for sending me fun gifts for my students. The kids will love them! SO to my friends and family members who send me postcards and letters. You make my week! HMFSO to UW-Madison, which produced the most Volunteers of any university in the United States for the second year in a row! I’m proud of the University, and especially the fact that Wisconsinites constitute a supermajority of the student body. (Article here: https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-announces-2018-top-volunteer-producing-schools/)
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AddisonHometown: La Crosse, WI Archives
May 2019
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