Yay - I'm a teacher!!!

Sorry, I didn't take any photos today because all I did was work, but here's the new faculty and staff photo we took for the ELC. Most of these people are teachers, a handful are administrative staff, and another handful are graduate assistants.  They're the really young looking ones.

Everything went well today; my students seemed friendly and likeable, most things went as planned, and I feel like I'm adapting pretty quickly.  During our faculty meeting the Acting Director emphasized multiple times that it was going to be a challenging semester because a lot of changes have been implemented since last spring and that it would help if we could all be "patient and flexible."  So despite a bunch of last minute changes in the team teaching class I'm involved in, I tried to not be annoyed but to practice the art of swift improvisation, because improvising is half the fun.  :)

And it was so exciting and new to be in charge!  I've been a student and an admin for so long now that it's weird to be in a position of semi-authority all of a sudden.  There's (almost) no one telling me what to do and I can arrange my schedule the way I want and plan most of my own coursework - at least to some degree.  It's really kind of fun!  I guess it's not super surprising that I gravitated toward a career that rewards control freaks who like to plan a lot.

I guess the overarching feeling, though, was a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.  I came up with the idea to pursue a career in English teaching on my 29th birthday, sitting at my freshly acquired desk in the Meyer Lab with nothing to do, wondering how I would ever escape from admin servitude.  It was one of those realizations that, when it comes, you immediately know it's the right thing to do and wonder why it took so long to figure out.  So finally, almost six years later, I can look back on my journey with the confirmed reassurance that it was the right decision and that I will really love it; as well as the gratitude of knowing that everything worked out better than I could have planned. This opportunity is perfect for me in every way and I have a dream job to work toward back home.  :)

And did I mention how cute my students are?  Rudolph and Millicent and Givy?  (They get to pick their own English name, like we do in foreign language classes in the States.  God knows where they're getting these from.)  Especially the 10am class full of giggly freshman who didn't know the word "advertisement" but happily followed me halfway across campus so I could show them where the bookstore was.  One young man even offered to carry my basket of papers.  So sweet!  Yay, I love my job!!!