Cherries!

Something I've been itching to be able to announce for months now: I've survived my first day of teaching.

The place: homey and sweet

The people: friendly and practically falling over each other to make sure I'm ok

The job: draining and detailed but not difficult

The kids: so freaking adorable I want to eat them all up with a spoon.

Today was mostly observation. The real work starts tomorrow. Lesson plans and simple games, repetition and endless patience. All with a little help from my friends.

It's a very small, brand new private school, so a lot of surface things are very important to my boss. One thing I kept hearing over and over again was "Miss Adriana is so pretty!" It's something that would never, ever be openly mentioned at an American workplace, but everyone here is very openly delighted that I'm so "pretty" because it means the parents will be more forgiving. Twisted, I know, but I've been enjoying it so far. I met one mother today and she, using some quite universal sign language, approved of my figure. In front of my boss. It was amazing.

When the day was done I felt so full and empty at the same time all I wanted to do was find a corner to cry in. Empty of the anxieties of not knowing, full of fresh anxieties and budding excitement.

There are several different classes I teach. The main class - Cherry class - is made up of 11 5 year olds and runs from 9am until 2. Then I teach 3 different 40 minute afternoon classes that are much more straightforward and textbook based. That morning class, though - it's completely mine. Mine to mold and create for. That's the best part.