Am I really here
It all seems a bit unreal still. I've only been here 3 days, but I feels like much longer. Today we got a light dose of what training is going to be like. So far most of our time has been spent getting to know each other; especially my fellow teachers in Hungary. We had a few seminars today too. Tomorrow it really begins. We are scheduled 7am to 10 pm every day for the next four weeks. Crazy. We'll be learning TEFL theory, cross-cultural adjustment, and teamwork stuff. We're going to spend a few hours a day teaching ESL to Hispanics at a local church starting tomorrow too.
Posted by neal on Jul 23, 2001 at 07:36 PM | Comments (0)
Here we go
Here we go.
After a few months of good byes, I finally left GR. Several wonderful friends helped me pack up my room to store it while I'm gone, and sort the stuff I want to take with me. My folks came into town and we all went to the airport together. Several of my wonderful friends came to the airport including a couple pimps.
The trip out to LA was painless. I sat next to a nice old man who told me all about selling high-fashion shoes and tried to convince me to move to southern Orange County. But I didn't buy any shoes or any real estate. While riding the shuttle to the training site, I discovered I'd been on the plane with a fellow ESIer who was also from GR. So we had a pleasant ride talking about Michigan.
Friday night was uneventful. Only about 30 of the 150 people coming to training had arrived, so the earlybirds sat around and talked a bit and unpacked.
Saturday was the big start of it all. ESI places nearly 300 teachers in 10 countries and all the new ones and a good portion of the alumni come to training. Meeting everyone was great. For those of you that remember the first few weeks of college, it was a similar experience; but better. Lots of people from all over the country coming to a place where they know no one. Everyone is a stranger, but there is a unity of purpose that seems to bond everyone together. Actually, I thought I wouldn't know anyone, but amazingly there are 6 other people here from GR. 5 of them actually attended Calvin while I was there and one even dated one my roommates - small world.
The Hungary team seems to be great. This year's team has 15 new folks and 10 returning
Posted by neal on Jul 21, 2001 at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)