Getting Started

Thursday and Friday marked the beginning of my student teaching. I made the hour and a half commute at the crack of dawn to the international school in Kiffisia. It was an easy trip and I am confident that I can maneuver my way thought the train changes walking up to the school is a bit tricky but not incredibly difficult either. Kiffisia is a beautiful neighborhood. It is one of the most expensive districts in the Athens area. The streets are lined with beautiful stores and fancy designers like D&G, Gucci, Prada and Coach. It is a really Americanized part of town as well, there is a Pizza Hut and TGI Fridays, along with a few other recognizable American eateries. The school is all English speaking and the curriculum is American based too. I am participating in a 6th grade classroom. At the international school it is considered to still be in the elementary so my it qualifies for my degree. The classroom was very different than I expected. There is not really any advanced computer technology and we have one computer in our room that runs Window 97. Not so Great. The staff and students make it worth the trip however. Everyone is incredibly friendly and the students are intelligent and well mannered. I am excited to get to know them a little better. It is a very diverse group and there is a lot of potential to work from.
Friday Gina my cooperating teacher and a few of the other girls from the school stopped for a coffee on our way home. It was great to get to know some of the other teachers on a more personal level. I think having these relationships will be a primary key to my success in the schools. They are very smart women and have a lot of teacher advise to give, they have also helped expand my Greek knowledge by letting me in on tips of where the cheapest cloths are and how much to tip your waiter. After a good few hours of American conversation we left for home and I headed back to my apartment. I went down stairs to visit George and Ana and she asked if we could call her son in Berlin with Skype. Of course we got it arranged and we spent 20 or 30 minutes talking. She was very excited to be able to use the computer to communicate with him. I think I will have to continue bringing my computer down with me every once in a while so she can have that satisfaction I know how dificult it can be and I am thankful for all the help she has given me.
Yesterday was Saturday and I met up with a friend of a friend from Luther college. He is here with a group of students on J term. It was great to interact with other college students. They are staying very near the Acropolis. Jason invited me to join him and his friends at their hotel. We sat on the roof of the hotel with the Acropolis in view for most of the night. Some of the students wanted to go dancing so we started walking but when they discovered how long it was going to be to walk to our location they decided to take a detour and spent the remainder of the evening on Areopagos Hill. The hill over looks the city and it was lit up and lovely. Areopagos Hill was used by the Persians and Turks during their attacks on the Acropolis. It also played an important role as the place of the supreme Judicial Court in the Classical period which is how it got its name. A mythological trial that took place when the god Ares was acquitted of murdering the son of Poseidon. Saint Paul also gave a sermon there in 51 A.D. It was a strange place to sit and observe all of the modern technology and culture where there is so much history.
Anyway I think the end of the week was mostly a success. I made some new friends and my jet lag seems to be wearing off. Wednesday night was probably the worst. I felt like I was trapped in an episode of It's Always Sunny. I was awakened by dozens of howling cats outside my window around 1:00 am and thanks to jet lag and the cats that seemed to be in severe agony did not get back to sleep until about 3:00. Thankfully I have caught up on my sleep over the weekend and do not foresee anymore major issues. Here are a few pictures from Saturday night. It is going to be more difficult to update this while classes are in session but I will do my best to remain devoted.
Miss you lots.