First Week at School

The week is almost done and I've had so much fun! My five groups of students are all very large, but the kids are very respectful and are accepting of the routines I have set for them to follow. I'm somewhat of a star at school! Everyone tries out their English on me and crowds around me when I'm out of the classroom. Now I know how it feels to have paparazzi following you! As you can see from the photos, the kids are beautiful!
The most challenging thing is keeping track of my schedule. I see each of the groups three times during the week and haven't gotten into the routine yet of knowing who's coming to class when. My students are like seventh graders, mostly 11 and 12 years old, and most of them don't know what class they have when either!! The group of 40 (+/-) travels together between 9 or 10 different subjects, so I can see how they get confused.
I'm really enjoying getting to know the staff. The teachers are really kind and patient with me and my questions. They are planning to take me out for pozole (a pork and hominy soup) on payday. Most of them haven't been paid in a while, since they were out for summer vacation.
Looking at the pictures that I have posted in the slideshow, one might think the neighborhood is kind of rough. However, it feels really safe - parents gather around the school entrance to drop off and pick up their kids, tiny shops are open, plenty of people are out walking, living their lives.
Since teachers may use several classrooms during the week and because the classrooms are used for the evening shift school, most rooms are not decorated. One exception in my school is the computer labs - they really are quite impressive! This school has two amazing computer labs with Smartboards. I am excited to get my students in there, communicating with students in Gilroy!