Day 13: Monk See, Monk Do... Monk Learn English??

This morning was a glorious morning as we woke up and got gussied up to observe at a school for monks. Departure time was set for 9:00am, and at 9:00am we left. We bounced around in a Baht Bus ("somthrop"- pretty much a pickup truck with an awning tossed up in the bed, complete with a few padded benches) on the way to the school. Once we arrived we slipped off our shoes before proceeding up the stairs into the classroom. We were greeted by 9 children dressed in robes of a brown hue - that covered one shoulder and were floor length. We observed as one of the interns of TEFL taught 2 lessons in 2hrs. After we finished with our looong observation we loaded back up into the Baht Bus and headed back to the school. *LUNCH BREAK* After lunch came the hard stuff. Not necessarily difficult but more of the meticulous sort. Lesson plans. Ohhhhh lesson plans. 7+ pages of detailed descriptions of what you plan on teaching, and how you will go about teaching it. d.e.t.a.i.l.e.d like crazy. Taking a little over 3 hours to finish, not including another 3+ hours for the materials that need to be made up for the ie; recorded tape, pictures (9 double-sided), cheat sheet (helpful), worksheet of four 4-line dialogues to be written up and copied (20). I have a new respect for teachers, FOR SURE. But, hey, no complaints here. Truth be told, Im excited. A new journey has begun.

AaaH-Ra-Ra-Boom-Dee-AiY here I come.