Well...today was an absolutely amazing day...and I thought that I should share.
This morning I got up and went (by bus) to my tutor's apartment. We were supposed to have a class but ended up eating borsht, drinking coffee, and just chitchatting. It was great. We have both been really busy, and that was the first time that we have just hung out together for more than a few minutes. I needed it.
Around 2, I took the bus back to my end of town and went to the Art School to teach an English lesson to the Sunchild Kids. Five showed up, and the class went very well...at least in my opinion. We reviewed the basics today. Basically, I was checking their pronunciation and speaking schools. Because of the rote memorization practices of the schools in Armenia (and all post-soviet countries) the children have a huge English vocabulary, and know how to technically use it..but cannot actually speak it and have a conversation. I had a whole lot of games and speaking activities for them to do. They were pretty quiet and shy at first, but once they warmed up..it was amazing. I used a lot of visuals, which I learn way better with..and had them writing or speaking for the whole class. My favorite was the 'run and touch' game I used as a review. I stole it from one of my PST teachers. I wrote a bunch of words in English randomly on the board, then split the class in 2 groups and lined them up. I would say the word in Armenian, and the first kid in each line had to run up and touch the equivalent English word. I had heard from other volunteers that they love competitive games, and they really did have a good time with it.
We finished up class after about an hour. Some of the kid's caught the bus home, but a few stayed to make some more recycled paper. I showed them how to make it colored (by adding paint or colored paper) and they were having fun with it. I had my laptop there, and so they chose to listen to some Shakira. Some of the girls were dancing around, and it was just a really fun atmosphere.
Left for home around 5, and when I got home went online to check my email. My host Mum has been using my account (and typing skills) to email back in forth with her Aunt (Netherlands) and her sister (Russia). She hadn't seen her aunt in 12 years, and today her Aunt emailed me her Skype information. Not 5 seconds after I added her to my contacts, my host Mum and her were seeing each other over a video phone call. Both of them were incredibly happy. Asking each other all sorts of questions, and twisting around the cameras (or laptops) in my case to see each others kids. It was amazing to watch. I am having a hard time not seeing my family or friends for 7 months, never mind 12 years. It made me feel good to see my family so happy.
Well..I have some homework to do for tomorrow, so off I go. Only 20 more days (well, closer to 19 for me) and I cannot wait to see you all!
Miss and love you!
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