​Greetings from Mexico,

I am in La Ciudad de Mexico right now as it is winter break. This is my FAVORITE time of the year!!! I buy into the commercialized happy-fest that is the holiday season just as much as every other Midwestern teenage girl. I bake cookies, do the tree, hang the wreath, and buy everyone presents. (This all happened before I came here :P)
To be honest American holidays are something I have come to appreciate a lot. I love that there is a time dedicated to the happiness and baked goods. Apparently, Sri Lanka also partakes in this. Colombo is supposed to look amazing when it is lit up. 
Still, I feel like the America is the place to be if you want to go nuts with this holiday. I began to celebrate Christmas more when we came here. 
I remember trying to explain the holidays to the kids last summer. I described it as Vesak and New Year’s combined. In Sri Lanka, Vesak entails these beautiful paper lanterns while one associates the New Year with special food and presents. So I am grateful I experience the holiday season because I really regret having to miss both Vesak and the Sri Lankan New Year. 

Now to what I really wanted to write about…

English Aid to Rural Sri Lanka is on break right now so I will have more updates on the lessons next month! Just wanted to wish everyone a very happy holiday season!

Until next time!

Wow, I am cutting it close here by posting today (the 31st). I almost thought I wouldn’t be able to because of those trick-or-treaters that take over my neighborhood. This year I put in a lot of effort into my costume (hehe I loooooove Halloween). It’s one of the several good things I love about moving to the U.S. So this year I am Persephone. I don’t know why I like her so much – I feel like it’s a classy way of embodying Halloween. So I have a black dress and a totally sick headdress – I cut skulls in half, glues flowers, and even added fairy lights – I like to do art projects and be creative.
 
On a side note I finished up the PSAT – thank goodness because I was drowning in worry for that test and boy am I glad it is over.
 
So EARSL progress? I finished up the translation in the Scholarship Material. Ignore the link the previous post because I have chosen a new way to fix up my posts. I am just taking the whole 2016 Report and making a copy so I can transform it (cut, paste, edit, and etc...) into a ‘Revised Lesson Book’. So here is the link to that – reminder it is not done yet (in case you are seeing this in November) but it should be (hehe “should”) by June.

Click right........................... here :)

It feels like centuries ago that I taught back in Sri Lanka but I need to keep reminding myself it hasn't even been a month yet. Sri Lanka is a complete (half a) world away and I miss the community I entangled myself into so much! I of coarse especially miss the students. Their smiling faces reminded me how fun being a kid was. (I know I'm no grown up - but I feel like I am not even half as fun as they are...)
SO. Here's what's up: time is tight. School is offering up more work than ever so my 24 hour day goes by quick and I always end up very tired at the end. 
I'm balancing EARSL, school, and of coarse studying for upcoming exams it is no easy job. However I know it'll all end up fine. I think. 

I am working on rewriting -- i.e. remaking -- each week I taught. I was in such a time-crunch that the posts were more like regurgitations than reflections. I am hoping to give a clearer perspective about what I did -- I want to share the thoughts and the emotions as well as everything I saw and heard and everything else in between. I am so excited for this project -- I will most likely be posting each week or so and making with a journal-esque style. This will take priority just because I need to write before I forget everything :). 

So after my writing adventure I will be doing the following things:

• Reflecting on what I did well as a teacher. 
• Listing out what I need to improve on and future goals (ex. a posttest for the 3rd graders).
• Starting the Lesson Library!!!

So that's all for now I am hoping the next post will be up by the end of this week but I might need an extension until the next week!

As I predicted - I got through all the material!! I am so happy - now that they have the phrases + their translations they can study as much as they want on their own. In the middle of the lesson on Friday I gave the kids a quick break and asked the teacher when I should drop off the flashcards I made. She said she didn't want them! She has so many other subjects to teach that the week leading up to the exam (the exam is on the 21st) will not include any English. I was so heartbroken. We had made SO MUCH progress... if they don't even look at English for a whole week then all that progress goes out the window! I didn't say anything because I knew it wouldn't be fruitful. I went and talked to the Principal - more on that in a bit. So after hearing that this would be all the English they learn I went on and started speeding through the questions of past exams. They have a book that provides the English questions of the Scholarship Exam all the way from 2004. I started at the bottom and worked my way to the top. Then I stopped at 2010. I did that because (I ran out of time) and I had made a practice test for students that included questions from 2015 to 2010. When I went to meet the principal I told him to give the flashcards to the students - even if the teacher won't teach it it doesn't mean the students can't quiz each other and practice on their own. Then I also gave the practice test and told the principal to give it to the teacher. I'm sure she will do it if he tells her to. It's the last week before the exam the students just really really need this one last push. 
It was the last day so I gave them mechanical pencils

These two classes went well. This week was the 'Names of Cities, Provinces and Countries' lesson. For some reason the provinces were the HARDEST. It's just Northern Province, Southern Province, Eastern Province, and Western Province but they had a really tough time with it.
The cities part was okay - but they didn't even know where/what some of the cities were! Next time I need to pick cities that are more relevant or closer in vicinity.  The countries were fine and easy but the students refused to write down the pronunciation. Next year I am going to make them write the pronunciation for everything form the beginning so they can get into the habit of it and not be lazy by the end :). Other than that the lesson went fairly well!
I had grown most close to students in this class so it was hardest to leave them. I gave them chocolate (because the begged for it in the previous weeks). They loved it - I had given it on one other occasion and then every week after that was begging for chocolate. Well they got it now and they are veeeeery happy. I gave them my address and they promised they would write to me. I told them I would write right back. They asked if they had to write in English...I said they didn't HAVE to but add English where they could!

I think they tried harder knowing it was the last day of class. This week's dialog was 'Talking to a Waiter' and included three speaking parts. I like that - more than two speaking parts means that I can get extra people to participate. This lesson wasn't different from all the other lessons...it got a bit boring now. I think I need to figure out how to make dialogs more fun...
Here's a lit of ideas so far:

1. Make it a part of a play (like a skit!)
2. Props...maybe edible props for the restaurant??? ;)
3. Write lines on strips of paper and make them put it together. 

I need to keep brainstorming but if I do I think I can come up with something good.
My goodness... the students and I have come SUCH a long way since we first met. I remember them being suspicious of me and both parties had a hard time  balancing being the same age but in a teacher-student dynamic. But somehow we just ended up being friends! I like them so much - they are down to earth and very nice. They seem so close together and I am touched they let me be a part of that too. I will miss my new friends. 

So the 8 weeks of teaching are done.  Also marking the end of Phase 3! (Yeah the phases thing is cheesy). So when I go back I will be working on a 'Lesson Library'. One of my friends in Sri Lanka just shared that she might want to join the project. So then I can just have a lesson library with lessons that she can pick and choose from. I'm trying to make this project more of a system or a place where people can gather materials for teaching or get ideas or be inspired or anything like that. I would love for this to be replicated just because I feel like it's really working at this school - so I know it can work elsewhere.
This is only my second summer doing this so there is still a long way to go. I have a list of goals for next year that I will post sometime next week! There is a lot more work to be done and I am excited for all of it. 

Before leaving I met the principal (not that the title gave it away or anything...)
I firstly presented him my book. A whole whopping 130 pages of sweat and tears. Ew no it's actually 130 pages of paper. But point taken, right? It includes some great stuff: introduction, lesson plans, reflections, pictures, and scores.
(The online report will NOT include the scores in it's original form but instead in links that lead to a spreadsheet with the names taken out - for the safety of the students.)
It took hours to print in a tiny copy shop in the town outside the village. This report is much larger than the one last year so it took a lot more time -- I even left in the middle of the printing to grab lunch hoping they would be done by the time I got back. No such luck. In the hours I spent there I got to see the comings and goings of the copy shop and all kinds of drama between the workers. I'm going on a tangent...
After that whole nightmare I was left with two lovely books with pages crisp enough for paper cuts.
It was worth it because the principal loved it. He said it was a great book and that the pictures were lovely. 
After he signed both book I made sure to tell him about the quiz included in the book and also handed over the flashcards. I requested that he encourage the students to use and practice with the flashcards among themselves. I know he will take great measures to make sure the students use this remaining week well and study on their own. 
Then at the end I was given a lovely present!! The principal is always so stoic and serious that I never expected such and kind and thoughtful gesture. He and the teachers and gotten together and made a remembrance piece for me. It's made of glass and sits on a lovely little pedestal. It's covered in pictures of the students and has the logo of the school. It has the sweetest message written in it - it's almost a poem. 
As he handed it to me I will never forget what he said: "When you do good things, people notice. Even the gods notice."
It was the loveliest thing I had ever heard. 
I promised to keep it somewhere I will see it everyday. I will keep the piece safe and sound. This is a very underprivileged school and the teachers don't get paid very much at all. So I know how much it means to go out of their way to make something so beautiful. It just makes it all the more special. It's something I'd want to have even when I am a 79 years old. 
I've had the most magical 8 weeks and if I could do it over I would do it just the same way. The mistakes I have made, the electricity cuts I went through, and especially the people I have met have made this truly the best summer ever. I can't wait to get working on the 'Lesson Library'!!!

Grade 5
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T5Lso1TutBZmHvLxen2qv9onPD2Y4xbCIdvtPZ7FGqk/edit?usp=sharing

and

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sfApqg6lUPcalePPKZSY6wfCYL7h-OIaA1qPZUAc71Q

Grades 6-9
https://drive.google.com/open?id=19h1hojgv_bk0sEGuvZ7du0lf-CQoKl9ilWRQHNdD34Y

Grades 10-11
https://drive.google.com/open?id=19sVqQmzz5YsgYC5WJ7d_WSiknClkntBY2QEYH_5ubVw

Every June when I get on a plane to come to Sri Lanka I am the happiest girl in the world. It's the most exciting part of my whole entire year - just knowing in a short 20 hours I'll be home again.
I get here (Sri Lanka) and it's always as amazing as I remember. I see my family, hug my cats, and eat actual coconut (that's not from a can).
In addition, since last year, I have started teaching in a little school. It's given coming to Sri Lanka a whole new meaning for me. It's my chance to give back and be with the most adorable and lovely kids. 
My time here goes something like this:
June is great - I know I have over a month left to be in Sri Lanka.
July is a little less great - I still have time but not as much.
August is straight up terrible - I know I'm leaving soon. 
There is only one time I have regretted doing my project. It's in August which is just when I am about to leave. I wish I had never done it because it's become the biggest thing I will miss about Sri Lanka. Since EARSL I had never felt so sad to leave. Now I'm about to leave and not come back for 10 months. And I can barely stand the heartbreak of leaving my kids and my home. 
So here it is again... the end to a very vicious cycle. 
~o~
That's kind of a funny thing. I just realized I keep calling Sri Lanka my home. I used to always feel so conflicted about that - I didn't know if Iowa or Sri Lanka was home but now I guess I figured it out for myself without even realizing it...

So right now I am putting in the finishing touches on "the book". And by that I mean the report I make for the principal about this summer's project. I am so excited for it. It's way more thorough than last year's and the color scheme is really fun (I stole the color scheme from a google doc. template -- but hey when life hands you lemons make a project report).

I come home saying things like "uf, my back hurts today." or "geez those kids are crazy." I sound like the stereotypical grandpa. Like the ones in movies that calls kids "whipper-snappers" . That aside, in all seriousness, I'm getting a bit worn these days. In the beginning I could knock out 4 hours of non-stop teaching without a sweat. Now, I am tired before and after every lesson. That's the funning thing, when I get into the class - I am perfectly fine. I think that's my love of teaching these hooligans overpowering my tiredness. I'm not completely worn out, it's not that extreme, but I will admit my usual bounce is now a enthusiastic hop. I keep lessons upbeat and fun, and I make sure the kids are enthusiastic and paying attention...it's just that that task becomes a tad harder by the 7th week. 

I almost squealed in class today. A few students were telling their teacher (the fifth grade one - she likes to sit and chill with us when I teach) that ENGLISH WAS GETTING EASIER. Muwahahahaha. My evil pans are working. I am confident I can leave next week with all the Scholarship Exam material covered.
It's just so great to actually see progress. I have an easier time knowing there is progress in other classes because of the pretests and posttests. But for fifth graders I have to go off of what they tell me. They usually don't tell me all that much so these comments were so encouraging. 
We did the usual: I write and translate a sentence/question/phrase and they write it down. 
As for behavior, they are fine at first then they get a bit rowdier. But kids shall be kids. They are very well behaved when the teacher is around but when she leaves it goes crazy. Today there were about ~5 minutes left of class and they were just nuts. I decided to stop the class a bit early. They yelled "noooo" and made me stay and said they would behave. It was so cute.

Fewer and fewer students come... although that's not exactly a shock. It's vacation! It's time to chill out and run to the beach. Who wants to got to a class when one can run to the beach that's literally just a few meters (hey look at me - adopting the metric system) away. 
That's not to say no one showed up. I am actually impressed at the students that do come. It takes a lot of will-power to commit to something like this. Especially when they're not forced to come. On top of that, most students come ready to learn and put in their all. 
So this week we learned vocabulary/phrases,/questions around the theme of "Going to a Restaurant." I'm not going to lie... this has not been my favorite lesson. It just didn't feel as immediately useful as some of the other lessons. I guess a phrase like "I have a headache" has greater usefulness compared to "I want pasta". I have nothing against pasta it's just that when it comes to ordering you could just point at pictures on the menu. I'm not going to bash it completely though -- it's the best lesson I could come up with considering I've spent most of my material over the last six weeks. 
The most useful part of the lesson was definitely the meats section. The thing is here in rural areas of the Southern Province people usually eat chicken but frown on most other meats. So beef, pork, and mutton are usually are considered reeeeaallly gross. Like green-eggs-and-ham-level gross. They wouldn't have beef even if it involved a fox in a box. I figured if they knew what these meats were called in English they could easily avoid them if the need arose. They could opt for chicken pasta rather than pork and etc... 
I taught them the phrase "Does this dish have ______" for cases of allergies and etc... First defense before an Epipen has to come into the picture. 
They naturally asked me if I eat any of those 'no-no' meats. I was all like, "Me? Whaaaaat please. No way" ...while conveniently forgetting about my favorite Mushroom and Swiss Hamburger from Hardee's. In my defense I figured a little white lie wouldn't hurt anyone - especially when it kept from being labeled a gross person by my own students. #Priorities. 
So overall the class went great but the lesson could use some work (as could my integrity :P). I am so proud of the students that came - I hope they find themselves glad in the future for  sacrificing some of their vacation time to come to class. 

I am down to four students - it's better than zero! I'm actually fine even if only one student comes - I could never turn away anyone who is willing to learn. 
I'm always relieved a bit by this class. They are my age so their maturity is refreshing. But they are well into their teens which means they also have some of that trademark laziness. I can't boss them around as easily so they get out of doing a lot of the work I ask them to. If I tell them to read the sentence and translate it -- it's "too much" for them i.e. they are willing to do one or the other. They have also picked up a bad habit of asking to be let out of class early - it throws a bit a of wrench in my plans. 
Still, I'm just glad they show up. (I'm starting to hear how low my standards have become these days :P). 
Their a fun class though. We chat about normal girl-stuff in the middle of class and it's a bit more relaxed with just the four of them. Probably my favorite class of all of them - or maybe a close second to the fourth graders.