I got lots of class

The semester began on Monday, and I'm going to be a busy girl. Which in some ways feels good, after so many months of killing time in front of a computer. Although at least my blog was up-to-date, right?? :)

Because we are still understaffed (and in all likelihood will continue to be understaffed until the end of the semester in February), we're all teaching more than we should be. I'm teaching 5 classes, which meet Monday to Thursday for just under an hour each day. I specifically chose a class schedule that would leave me Fridays free to plan, and also I only have 2 different levels, which is a lot less work to prepare. Out of 7 possible levels of English, I'm teaching four level 1 classes and one level 3 class. This is a big change for me, since for the past few years I've been mostly teaching upper-level conversational classes. It's also a lot different because the students are so much younger. My students range in age from 17 to 22 (there are a couple that are older, but very few).

In addition to the classes I'm teaching, I got special permission to take one of the classes being offered to first-year students (along with one of my fellow English teachers). Society and State in Mexico I (Sociedad y Estado en México I), so far it's interesting and definitely a GREAT way for me to improve my Spanish, which is one of the reasons I'm here...

So I've got a full schedule! 6 out of 8 work hours Mon-Thurs are filled with teaching or learning, and the 2 free hours go by like *snap* that.

The first day was rough, after months of laziness I actually had to work all day! Plus it quickly became clear that I had to spice up my normal teaching style. These kids have extremely heavy course loads, usually with back-to-back classes/activities from 7 or 8am until 7pm (the system here is much different than my university experience!). So games are necessary to keep them awake and interested, they have to think it's fun or I'm going to lose their interest.

Each day has gotten easier, I'm starting to figure out how to make it all work. And of course, I'm falling in love with my classes, I already have my favorites in each class. I also see who the challenges are going to be, but I feel optimistic about making it happen. My co-workers have been invaluable in maintaining my sanity, it's nice to have good people to bounce ideas off of, get advice from, and just share the ups and downs with.

I can also see that weekends are going to be key for recharging and relaxing, so that I can be ready for the crazy week ahead... Last weekend I was in Mazunte, on the Pacific coast, which was a great way to prepare for the first week of class. And this weekend I'm off to Oaxaca city...