"Last month I was a waitress, this month I am an English teacher! Good morning class!"
Great news -- I LOVE teaching! (Thank goodness)
I am finally feeling settled in my Bulgarian community and appreciating all the aspects of my new life here. Vegetables are fresh, people are kind, and time moves more slowly. It was an adjustment, but after experiencing a constant state of cultural adjustment for almost a year, this is nothing new. Classes and extracurriculars have been extremely successful, and I have been surprised at how well my backpacking trip prepared for this adventure.
I teach sixteen classes per week, grades 8, 9, 11, and 12 that speak English as their first foreign language. I see each class once per week, plus a couple of extra classes I sometimes add to my schedule, and for the most part, class with me is a type of “break period.” Students take a rest from textbook work and use the vocabulary and grammar they have been learning to take part in my activity-based curriculum. My classes are designed to engage students in practical conversations, English-based competitions, and creativity-maximizing projects. For example, this week my 9th graders made Tinder bios and my 11th graders learned how to make a believable alibi. (I know, they clearly gave me way too much power.) I love spending my evenings lesson planning and dreaming up activities that engage my students in colorful discussions and humorous projects. I do not assign homework or host exams. Although I did not expect my role to be quite this flexible and fun when I applied for the Fulbright, and I know that it does not look like this at every school, my new job description has been an absolute blessing.
I have always loved working with empowered young people, so outside of class I have been hosting coffee hours, coaching BEST, and supporting student-led community projects. My weekly “coffee hours” invites all students to meet me at a cafe for English conversation. This allows me to help students practice conversing while we all engage in some cultural exchange. My favorite after-school activity is the club “BEST,” an English competitive speech and debate team that participates in tournaments across Bulgaria. Armed with my personal experience in the American Forensics League, the students and I are determined to bring a winning team to our competitions this year.
In recent news, I am helping a passionate 11th grader launch a film club that will be preparing a competitive video to submit to the Pravets Film Festival in the spring, and two student leaders are in the process of launching a community workshop to educate Bulgarian teenagers on mental health. I am living my absolute dream.
To my surprise, I attribute much of my success here to my recent backpacking trip, which taught me rapid adaptability and cemented my long distance relationships with people back home. I have quickly embraced Haskovo as my new community, and feel comforted by the permanence it offers compared to my past year of hostel life. I love cooking, reading books in my living room, and buying furniture that I get to call my own. I do not miss the midwest because this communist era apartment already feels like my home. My amazing friends, all too familiar with long distance friendship at this point, have been as loyal and supportive as ever. We have reached that age where we are scattered all around the world (I have always taken this a step too far), but now we know exactly what to expect. I am so grateful for this steadfast support across the ocean.
From classes that leave me feeling energized, to our upcoming win at the BEST tournament, to my constant gratitude for some peaceful permanence in my life, I am feeling sincerely optimistic about this upcoming year. A high school English teacher position was a plot twist that even I didn't see coming, but things seem to have a way of working themselves out. I am already looking forward to life’s next surprise.
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