Day 6- The boys are back in town

Well well well, school finally began for the students of my school today. School opened with an assembly held by the principal to welcome all of the students back. My oh my was the gym the most humid spot to have it, not to mention everyone's body heat all gathered together... My hair was up in no time! After assembly, the Year 8's broke off into their "contact groups" or homeroom so to speak. I was able to interact with a lot of the students. It was nice to speak with them and meet all of the faces I have heard about throughout the week. They are quite fascinated my Americans and said it felt like meeting a celebrity.. :)

What was interesting to see were the amount of adults that assist the special education teacher. There were maybe 12 or more students in the homeroom and first period and 4 adults, not including myself. I enjoy watching the interpreters to see how similar our American Sign Language (ASL) is compared to their AUSLAN. Also, several of the students sign Kiwi and there's even one little girl from Ireland who is very friendly who is learning their sign language. It really has perked my interest to get back into ASL, since my course in my undergraduate I have rarely used it!

Since the Year 8 students are in and out of the classroom, I get to see kids of all ages. Many of the higher education students (Year 11s and 12s, about 15-17) do vocational type work through the school. One of the girls is even learning to become a tattoo artist through an assisted program! Throughout the day, the main discussion was "what did you do over holiday?" I was shocked to hear that most of the kids worked, and worked MANY hours! It's not uncommon for children their age to have jobs and work part time. One of the girls told me she worked 10 hours a day 7 days per week at a cupcake shop and one of the boys worked two jobs to save up money for a car 6 days a week. I felt so selfish to think of what I was doing at their age while they are out working, it really put my blessings into prospective.

Once it got around to the Year 8 classes, I was able to assist the Melody with English and Science. Melody is an expert when it comes to individualizing instruction and can run about 3 lessons within one class. She also strongly advocates for independent work. She is far from a spoon feeder and forces (politely) the kids to do work on their own, which is exactly what special education students need. Far too often, you see teachers simply get frustrated and do the work for the students thus creating a sense of learners helplessness. It was reassuring to see that there are teachers like Melody still out there pushing students to give it their all. However, the students seem to be very behind so there is much catching up to do.

After school, I walked down to the local mall to grab a few things. In their Wal Mart, so to speak, I wondered around trying to find some good deals. It is amazing how much more expensive everything is here and now I understand why they try to use whatever it is to the fullest extent possible. Wasting is not an option here. One thing that stuck out to me the most was the price of soft drinks, a 24 pack of coca colas was $32! Could you imagine?!? I definitely had a case of sticker shock. Once I picked up a couple of things I needed it was off to the bus. What is nice about their public transportation system is that they have security guards who patrol busy stops. As I was walking onto the bus I told the driver that I was heading to Bayswater, he replied "BAAAAAYYYYYSSSSS-WAAAATTTTEEERRR?" Dragging out every sound chuckling to himself. He asked if my accent was Irish! This is the second time this has happened since I arrived. I told friends that I may pretend I am from Ireland (which wouldn't be a total lie since I do have Irish heritage) to get a good laugh in! Tomorrow is Friday and Chelsea and I are planning on going into the city to explore and relax a little! I am excited to do all of the cheesy, touristy sort of things. Photos to come!