teaching assignment

To all of my teacher/ school friends: 

I want to wish you a great start to the new school year! I really miss the excitement and high energy everyone has now, including the students. Go Frank Church HS! YEA!!

my apt front door

Right now, I'm sitting in the hallway of the International Studies Department offices to get internet because the internet cafe is too expensive.  A cup of coffee or tea costs the same as a week of lunches, and I'm on a tight PC budget.  Everyday I ask about getting internet for my apartment, and each person tells me to talk to someone else.  Sigh...

the abandoned apartment building next to mine
that I discovered has people living in it

view of abandoned apt from window
by my front door

My current situation will go down as one of the funniest teaching things to happen to me, ever!  I now promise the BSD, really and truly, to be totally grateful for BIM, AVID, WICR, Look-to-Learning, my blue objectives markers, all of the in-service trainings, and whatever else you ask from teachers.  Yes, you heard that right.  The BSD is organized, and that sounds really good to me right now.  

I was told on Friday that I'm teaching a class, starting Monday, that has never been taught here before, and there's no book or curriculum, and sorry you don't have internet, and you are collaborating with someone who has never taught, and you've never taught this class, but we know you'll do a great job.  It took an hour of walking last night to see that it's really funny.

Yes, I am supposed to collaborate with another new foreign "teacher" to teach basically what sounds like a speech and debate class for sophomores.  We were asked to develop the curriculum and teaching materials with the expectation that we both teach the same lessons each week, and eventually they would like to develop a textbook for the course. 

I'm happy to do this and help the school.  My concern is that the other "teacher" is 22, has just graduated from college, has no teaching experience or training, and was told by her college in the US, Drake U, that she could just "wing-it" with the lessons in China.

Working with someone with no teaching experience might be challenging.  But, we'll see. She is here with 3 others who just graduated from Drake U, and they are totally lost and confused.  I can imagine what they are dealing with because I'm using the language and culture training I got from PC with every interaction, and I still make slow progress. 

I also have another teaching assignment doing teacher training at a tourism school, but no word on where, what, or how that will happen.