Another week gone by

Today I arrived at my school and the substitute I've been working with (more on that later) wasn't there so I milled around a bit feeling awkward and then decided to go back home. I was told the sub was having car problems and no one seemed to know if she would be coming back in anytime in the foreseeable future. Since I don't have keys to the English classroom or access to the lesson plans, I felt lost without guidance so I just left, feeling slightly guilty but also looking forward to the fabulous bed that awaited me back home. And I took a really great two hour nap!

So the sub. My main teacher, Lauren, is always on her game and pretty much teaches English single handedly to 300 kids. But she was chosen for a training session that lasts until Christmas so last week she mentioned that I would be working with a sub until the new year. Patricia the sub is a very nice woman but she is not an English teacher and she normally works with three year olds. So to say the least things were a bit of a challenge on Tuesday. I had the normal misunderstandings as she spoke Spanish and when I spoke English she didn't really understand either. We made it through the day though without any terrible incidents so I considered it a success.

To cheer myself up and get things moving into the Christmas spirit, I bought ingredients to make sugar cookies. They were very difficult to cook because our stupid oven has two settings of hot and super hot so I had to closely monitor the cookies and a couple batches burned but the remaining turned out quite pleasant. Andy and I also hitched a ride to Ikea on the number 14 bus where we bought some Christmas presents for the house such as a garlic press and oven mitts as well as some wrapping paper, ribbon and ornaments. We bought a little fake tree at the Chinese Bazaar across the street and thus, Christmas decorations have taken root in our lovely homestead. We also had a new roommate move in so we are now six and evenings are very cosy as we huddle together for warmth in our unheated apartment. Things are going well.