Out of the frying pan

On Thursday, I completed my two-week practicum. I taught in three different schools and to several different classes. I also observed a lot, too. I felt relief once the practicum was over considering that we planned classes, taught lessons, and then had language classes all afternoon. It was incredibly tiring. I’m glad that we got the opportunity to do it but I’m also happy it’s over so I’ll have time to focus on other things.

As a group, we were exposed to a lot of different situations that could be our realities once we get on-site. Between the four of us, we taught a few lessons without having the books, without knowing what lesson we were going to teach until we got to the class (meaning we had about five minutes of preparation), minor inconveniences when it came to class planning and communication, and general confusion. Like so many things in life, you plan and plan and then something completely different ends up happening. The other day in language class, our teacher told us an Albanian saying: “God laughs when we make plans.”
But it’s not all negatives. The practicum and the hurdles we had to jump to keep things running as smoothly as possible make me certain that I will be able to do well here. It’s just nice to have some reassurance.

I had a great conversation with my host parents completely in Albanian. It’s hard to express the frustration of having so much to say and having such a limited way of saying it, but sometimes there are just moments of clarity where it seems like you understand everything and can say exactly what you mean to say. It was just one of those moments and I ran with it. It was nice to expand the conversation into something a little deeper. I asked them more about themselves and they asked more about me and my family. I could explain in more detail about my parents and about what my plans for the future are. I could answer their questions about what my expectations of Albania were. They suggested that I stay here in Albania, find an Albanian husband, and teach English in Tirana.

They asked me what is different here than at home. At this moment, I can honestly say I haven’t had to make many adjustments on an epic scale. It goes back to expectations. I don’t even remember having much of a picture in my mind of what it might be like. The first day or so, I was a little shocked because it was all so new. Now it is all normal. The only thing that is really that different is that sometimes we don’t have power or we won’t have hot water. These are incredibly minor things. I’ve been lucky to land in a great family, first and foremost. Although I am tired almost all of the time and too busy to really think about anything outside the professional realm, all of my needs are being met and I’m doing the things I need to be doing.

In fact, morale is so high that during my mid-training interview/review, I was actually told that my “positive attitude” has really been appreciated. At that moment, I had to cover my mouth to hide a grin that could have easily turned into a chuckle. Or an outburst.