School on a Monday

31 de Marzo 2008

It was fantastic to connect today with my students back in New Zealand. I used skype to call them from Paraná at 5pm on Monday. It was 9.00am on Tuesday in NZ.
I think they were very excited to hear from me, and it took quite a long time for them to settle so that I could talk to them. After a few dropped calls and a reboot of skype we managed to get a very good connection.
Most of them wanted to know how I was doing, was I enjoying Argentina and what have I seen so far. I told them Paraná was very beautiful but it was very, very hot here and I was having trouble sleeping. I also explained about the differences with schools in Paraná compared to our school. They were fascinated by the school hours starting so early in the morning (7.00am) and finishing at lunchtime (12pm). The idea of going to school later at night was totally foreign to them. Ms H having a siesta after lunch was also a very funny concept for them. I was very pleased to hear that my students were enjoying learning with Mr E, and that they were being good. I am missing their bright smiley faces so it was really good to see everyone so clearly and to hear them talk.

The students here in Paraná also have bright smiley faces. Tonight I spent some time in two classes talking about New Zealand with students who attend the STEP English Language Centre. These are students and adults who want to learn to speak English on top of their everyday studies or work. To help them practise their English I only told them my name, so they had to ask me questions (in English) to find out more information. Half way through the time, I began to try to answer their questions using my knowledge of Spanish. It worked really well and I am so glad that I bought lots of postcards and calendars to hand around. I even managed to scrape together some New Zealand money which of course is very interesting to the students. There have been no computers or computer connections in any of the classes I have been in so far. I wish I had bought some photos of my house, school and of Napier.

The last class of the night was a class of adults. They have been learning English for two years. There were many questions about the government, the economy, the tourism and the education system and of course our indigenous people – the Maoris, plus a few questions about the All Blacks (who are very well known over here!!) and did I know how to do the haka?