I have not disappeared

I realize I haven't posted in forever.  As my husband says sarcastically, "You're disappointing your readers."  To which I respond, "My grandmother and mother-in-law are waiting for this post (you punk)."  I don't really know who reads this blog aside from a couple girls who emailed me about teaching abroad.  (Congrats on the jobs ladies!)  But I figure it's time to get back to the blog.  Sorry for the furlough.  Here is what has been happening on the other side of the world...

The Danube River flooded.

It was quite a site.  The biggest tourist attraction in Budapest for a week.  I must say I was so impressed with the way Budapest has been built to accommodate the flooding river.  After 1000 years of floods, Budapestians have it figured out.  No real damage in B-town but a record flood that was actually fun to watch.

School ended and summer came!

We are enjoying every minute of it... Family, guests, my terrace garden, travel, new countries, revisiting countries, sleeping in, the pool, getting a sun tan, reading books for pleasure.  Ahhh... Some much deserved R&R.

Some of you roll your eyes and make snide remarks about the life of a teacher.  But let me tell you why I deserve two months of freedom...

So all you teachers out there... Enjoy it while it lasts!  More adventures to come, and I promise I won't be absent from the blogging world for the summer.  Bring on the travel season!

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An American in Budapest

The Future

Yesterday I went to an Apple conference for educators, focused on the applications of iPads in the classroom. I learned MANY cool things and can suggest some GREAT apps I was shown to enhance your curriculum. It's so freakin' awesome! As amazing as the iPad bits were, the thing that stuck out the most was the implications of "the future". Having come from the sticks of Kenya to the columns of Budapest, my eyes have been more opened to the future of learning. I've noticed more and more how different students learn now than they did when I started teaching 12 years ago. How quickly they can access information. And how this greatly influences how learning and teaching (should) take place. Mostly I'm realizing that when my teaching career finishes, the way I teach will be DRASTICALLY different than how I began. Books will all be digital. Every child will have a personal learning tool, such as the iPad. I won't need a class set of books or notebooks or pencils. I'll need a class set of iPads or the equivalent. The heavy backpacks will no longer be heavy. Everything will be digital.

Talking with a colleague after the conference, she was nostalgically saying how important it will always be for kids to curl up with a book in the corner of the room on a pillow, feeling the pages between their fingers. Why? The truth is, I already curl up with my Kindle. It's much more economical - saves paper, saves energy from transport, saves money. I will admit I love the feel of a book in my hands - I enjoy it much more than my Kindle, no matter how convenient it is. But will the kids of today have the same feeling about paper books in the future? Honestly, I don't think so.

My Daily Routine

A friend teaching in Singapore recently posted about her school week. It very closely resembles mine, so I'll quote her here:

Wake up.

Drink coffee (for me it's sit on the tram for 40 minutes).

Work.

Work.

Work.

Eat.

Sleep.

Wake up.

Sit on the tram for 40 minutes.

Work.

Work.

Work.

Eat.

Sleep.

Wake up...

You get the picture. I'm TIRED! I got my first cold of the school year. I go to bed at 9pm. I don't even have energy to read before falling asleep. Starting school is always a shocker to the system. (I honestly don't know how people do this job and have a family!) Despite all of that, I have a great little class. I love my school. I work with cool people. It's still sunny and warm here. My dear husband takes good care of me! I'm having fun exploring the city on the weekends. And I get to sleep in tomorrow.

Thank goodness it's FRIDAY!

Talk like an American

Being white American doesn't often mean I'm in the minority, but teaching at British school in Kenya definitely puts me in that category. I guess my students are starting to notice that I'm a bit different than the other white teachers because of some recent student experiences...

During practice for our Years 3 and 4 play production, one of my Indian girls is supposed to have a British cockney accent. As the child said her lines, my British co-worker exclaimed, "That sounds like a weird American cockney something. Mrs. Porter!"

On a writing assessment the children were required to write about this question: Why would you want to travel to Antarctica? One child's response, "So I can have an accent like Mrs. Porter."

I've definitely become aware of my American accent strewn with a few new British words and phrases. Add the Southern influence from my husband and in-laws, and I'm just a talking mess! But it sure does make for some laughs.