You can now access my blog from www.denisemgreen.com. How cool is that!! I have a website. Technically, it just redirects you back to this blog, but maybe, just maybe I will add more thrilling content. Probably not till I have internet at my home though.
Side note: I have a new internet cafe and one of its most attractive features is its soundtrack. For those of you who don't know, I love that Albania loves love ballads. Since I've been here, I've heard, "Said I loved you, but I lied," the song from Robin Hood, and Total Eclipse of the Heart. I keep catching myself singing along. Those of you who have had coffee with me in Albania realize that this is true!
February 19, 2009
February 13, 2009
Happy Valentine's Day
I must admit, I do not view Valentine's Day as a "real" holiday. If you have someone special its a great excuse to tell them that and if not its a great reason to go out with a big group of friends and have an anti-Valentine's Day party.
All this to say, that I was a bit surprised to find out that not only did we get out of school early on Friday, but the school psychologist planned a disco party. The fact that the school psychologists plans disco parties says something, but I'm not sure what.
So, I jumped in a car with some of my teacher friends, followed by three bus loads of teenagers. It was fun to watch my students cut the rug. They danced. I took photos. They begged me to dance with them. I politely declined. They drank. I looked on uncomfortably. After about an hour of floor shaking, techno music, I was mercifully released to head upstairs with my teacher friends and have a nice seafood lunch. And this was all before the final bell would have rung.
Just another long, tough, day at school!
All this to say, that I was a bit surprised to find out that not only did we get out of school early on Friday, but the school psychologist planned a disco party. The fact that the school psychologists plans disco parties says something, but I'm not sure what.
So, I jumped in a car with some of my teacher friends, followed by three bus loads of teenagers. It was fun to watch my students cut the rug. They danced. I took photos. They begged me to dance with them. I politely declined. They drank. I looked on uncomfortably. After about an hour of floor shaking, techno music, I was mercifully released to head upstairs with my teacher friends and have a nice seafood lunch. And this was all before the final bell would have rung.
Just another long, tough, day at school!
February 01, 2009
Italian Yoga Class
For the last couple of months I’ve been taking Italian classes. It’s a change of pace to be in the student’s seat. Even though it is a beginner class, they have all taken Italian courses at school and have grown up watching Italian television. Needless to say, I’m not the star pupil. It’s humbling to be beaten on your conjugations by a 9 year old.
So one day, we began learning vocabulary for activities. “Doing yoga” was one of the vocab words. The teacher translated it (into Albanian) as Chinese exercises. I laughed to myself, but let it go. A few minutes later, we had to say sentences like, “I always read books.” One of my sentences was, “I sometimes do yoga.” This caused a great stir in the class. They started peppering me with questions. “What is yoga?” “How do you do it?” “Where did you learn?”
The teacher closed her eyes and started humming. “Is it like that?” she said. Nope that’s meditation. One student started karate chopping the air and I had to say that that wasn’t it either. So after several attempts at explaining, they finally convinced me to show them.
So in my jeans, three shirts, sweater and a coat. (It was really cold that day.) I did a sun salutation for my fellow students.
Just a moment of sharing “American” culture.
So one day, we began learning vocabulary for activities. “Doing yoga” was one of the vocab words. The teacher translated it (into Albanian) as Chinese exercises. I laughed to myself, but let it go. A few minutes later, we had to say sentences like, “I always read books.” One of my sentences was, “I sometimes do yoga.” This caused a great stir in the class. They started peppering me with questions. “What is yoga?” “How do you do it?” “Where did you learn?”
The teacher closed her eyes and started humming. “Is it like that?” she said. Nope that’s meditation. One student started karate chopping the air and I had to say that that wasn’t it either. So after several attempts at explaining, they finally convinced me to show them.
So in my jeans, three shirts, sweater and a coat. (It was really cold that day.) I did a sun salutation for my fellow students.
Just a moment of sharing “American” culture.
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