First week of school :)

I survived! My first week of school was crazy, but I still want to teach next week, so that's saying something.  All of the teachers were totally surprised by the behavior of the students the first day of school. By lunch time, I was thinking to myself "I am the worst teacher ever.  Why can't I get these kids to listen to me?".  Thankfully, after talking with the other teachers, it seemed as if everyone was feeling that frustration.  These kids have been out of school for about 4 months and many are up late every night, so it was understandable that they would be a little tired, rambunctious, and/or not used to school procedures.  However, we were all shocked by their inexperience with standing in lines, raising their hands to speak, and other typical expected school behaviors.  By the end of the first day, I was seriously considering going back to the States.  I got punched twice in the face by one of my students, had to chase after multiple students throughout the day who ran off down the hall, attempted to teach over four or five crying students, and re-injured my knee while dragging a student to the principal the first day (we both somehow tripped and ended up on the floor).

I am happy to say that after that nightmarish day, it has only improved :) I am falling in love with my boys. They are adorable, and most are not defiant, they're just not used to walking in lines and raising their hands and sitting at desks.  After all, the culture as a whole doesn't really do lines; they just push ahead of each other.  I have spent the last five days practicing standing in line, walking in line, sitting quietly at desks for an extended period of time, drilling rules, etc.  The only academics I've done is review some phonics sounds, create patterns, and read some stories.  I accomplished maybe a fourth of what I had planned for this past week.
We ended this hectic week with an open house for parents.  We were all exhausted and annoyed that we had to spend our "Friday" night at school, but I must say it went better than I expected.  It was a great ending to a stressful week.  The parents came to see the classroom, officially meet the teacher, and sign up for a time for conferences.  I didn't feel nervous at all, and even received some really nice compliments from parents saying their child was very happy in the class.  One parent said he measured the success of a teacher with how much his son enjoyed school.  The first day his son was crying.  When he picked him up after school, the boy asked his dad when he could go back.  The dad felt that I was a successful teacher because his son couldn't wait to come back to school after the first day.  I think that was the nicest compliment I've ever received from a parent :)
I still can't imagine getting to the point of doing centers in my classroom, but my students are much better at walking in line.  They can even stay quiet for 10 minutes at a time (most of them anyway)!  The most difficult thing now is going to be differentiating instruction.  I have some non-English speakers and some fluent English speakers.  I have students who don't know their alphabet, and students who can read and write. I've got my work cut out for me.
Last night, after the open house, some of us teachers went over to our friends' apartment (they're teachers from the American school) to sing karaoke.  We had a blast and were so into it that we stayed until 2am! What a great way to de-stress.
As I'm typing this, I'm waiting for maintenance to come fix my fridge.  I woke up yesterday morning to puddles in my kitchen and spoiled food in my fridge.  For some reason, it's not cooling even though it's plugged in and the light inside the fridge is on.  After it gets fixed, I desperately need to go to the supermarket to get food - I was too exhausted to go during the week.

Please ask our Father for:
*Continued wisdom and patience while teaching rambunctious 1st grade boys
*Rest and rejuvenation before I start my 2nd week of school
*Praise him for great friendships that I've developed with the other teachers
*Daily surrender to His will and that I would turn to His Word for encouragement and guidance in all things