ministry of education

i just love that the school system here is called that, it's so harry potter :)

many of you have been asking about my teaching, and what it is like here. i will try to give you some insight on what my days are like here at the skule, norwegian for school. for starters, i am with some adorable 2nd graders for most of the week, but occasionally hop to other grades to teach english, the language. before coming, i was under the impression that the children learn the curriculum in both norsk (norwegian) and english. however, upon my arrival, and after the first week, i  quickly realized that this is not the case. the students here are taught the curriculum in norsk, and then have a few hours a week of english, the language. while i am here, i will be creating lessons to teach english. since i work with the younger pupils, it is quite a bit more challenging. they have not yet learned enough english to communicate with me - they only know a few phrases like, "can i have an apple, please?" so, this week i have designed my lessons around the days of the week. i taught them a song yesterday that goes to the adam's family tune, and they seemed to really take a liking to it.

i take my weeks teaching one day at a time. some days are better than others. the 2nd graders have really shown me that they feel comfortable with me by talking to me more. unfortunately more than half of the things they say to me i dont understand, but smile anyways. we went on a hike last week to get to know each other, and that helped tremendously. on our way back to the skule, i had 4 pupils surrounding me trying to help me learn a few norwegian words, even breaking the words apart to teach me the pronunciation. it was really sweet. i decided to take advantage of this opportunity, and counter their linguistics lesson by teaching them the english word. so we would tell each other words like tree, grass, mountain, etc. it was a great "teachable moment" for all of us.

i am very eager to learn the language, though it is quite difficult. i feel a bit arrogant coming into a country expecting everyone to speak to me in english, and not know any norwegian. i do think it helps my students in particular that i dont speak norwegian, in a way forcing the both of us to learn each others' languages.

my skule is about 45 minutes, by car, and 1hr 15min, by bus, away from the cabin. it makes for a long commute, but we dont have to leave until 7:15, and my classes usually get finished around 1:00, so i leave the skule around 2ish. it is a beautiful ride, none the less. we drive around a few mountains to get to valen, the town where the skule is.

now that i am on a schedule, my days have gotten easier, but there are a few set-backs, and unfortunate events that have happened. the people here are very gracious, and accommodating. i feel very welcomed to be here, and cant wait to share this with you all.

my classroom

c h e e r s !
whit