Project Teaching

The first two weeks of Teaching are almost over. So far, I am both excited and shocked by many things.

The children are usually an absolute dream. Many are incredibly cute, they're all sweet, and they love you right from the start. Of course, the little ones in kindergarten quickly lose their concentration and interest, but with a few fun games related to the topic, you can often get it back.

However, the language barrier can sometimes be even harder to overcome. You want to explain something to them on a sheet of paper and then have to explain it in English to one of the coordinators (Santi or Rossi), hoping they will translate it correctly. Unfortunately, sometimes they don't understand you either, which makes a task nearly impossible. But most of the time, we communicate through gestures and body language, and eventually it works out.

I've also learned that you need the courage to be silly in order to goof around with the children. Startle them, dance with them, or even dance on the small stage in front of everyone so that they can imitate you.

During break time, we always play and dance with the children. In school, they usually keep themselves busy, and the language barrier is much smaller here!

The children in school show their gratitude with flowers in their hair or with paper boats containing folded messages for you. It's incredibly heartwarming and gives you a lot of strength. In school, we also occasionally have tests at the end of a topic, but the best ones always receive a prize. The last few times, it was finger puppets :) they love it because they see the test as an opportunity, not as punishment or anything like that.

I'm curious to see how it will be for me next week when my partner and friend is gone....