Hello, My name is Miss Good

Well, I've got 2 weeks of my student teaching done already. It's been a busy couple of weeks. I moved here to Utah on New Year's Eve. Since that time, I've gotten settled into my apartment. I'm really enjoying living alone for the time being. Of course, if I do end up getting a job somewhere in this area, I'll likely move in with roommates, but for right now, it's nice to have "me time." I kind of have a cat. Actually, the people I live with have a cat, but she won't leave me alone, so I call her my cat. I really like my ward. I feel more welcome here than I have in any other ward I've been in--at least with the sisters. I don't know that I can say as much for the guys. But I've only gone 3 Sundays. Something is bound to change sooner or later.

I'm also completely loving life in the Salt Lake area. This past weekend, I hopped in the car and made the short drive to Provo. It was very much like all of my driving from Rexburg to IF and back...just with more traffic. I was able to see a bunch of friends--family, friends from high school, old roommates, mission friends. And I met some new people as well. It was fantastic! I love living this close to Provo!

Anyway, I'm really enjoying my student teaching. So far, I've only had 4-day weeks...and this week is no different. Next week when I have all 5 days is going to be a real shocker...but then again, I have a training all day on Monday so I'll still only be in the classroom for 4 days. In my class, there are 31 students, but we switch back and forth with the other 6th grade class, so I have the wonderful opportunity to get to know all 61 6th graders at Fremont Elementary. Yes, that is a lot. And it makes it even more of a challenge that about 2/3 of the students are English Language Learners. But...the whole reason I'm not already done with student teaching and graduated is because I wanted to be certified to work as an ESL instructor...so it's totally worth it.  It's going to give me a lot of experience.

There are many different nationalities and languages represented in my classes. I don't even know them all. They include: Burma (Chinese), Thailand (Khmer), Somalia (Somali), India (Indian), Vietnam (Vietnamese), Japan (Japanese), Latin America (Spanish)--I lumped them all into the same category, because I have no clue which countries are represented. As as you can see, we have a very diverse class. It can make instruction difficult at times, but it is so rewarding to be able to see the students succeeding and to be able to help them realize that they really can speak English and perform well if they put their mind to it. And I love the challenge that each new day brings!