Monday, July 20, 2009

First impressions



It is hard to believe that I’ve already been in Paraguay for five days. It doesn’t seem as if Asuncion is all that different from things that I have experienced before. I’m not sure if this is a result of having now moved around more than the last time I picked up and changed countries, if it is because I didn’t actually make it back to the US this time before leaving again, or because I really knew so little before arriving. While there have been instances when I’ve had to pause and think to myself “oh yes, you are living in a new country” such as when we passed a man juggling fire in the middle of a street one evening, I also feel as if things are a bit more familiar. Although in the past few days it has really hit home to me that I need to learn yet another new language. Until I get a handle on Spanish I will not feel self sufficient here. Most of what I have been exposed to is my new school. The American School of Asuncion has a nice campus just off of one of the busier roads in the affluent part of the city. What I do like is that it is a campus set up around green space. Students will be walking outside to get from class to class, and they are free to make use of the grassy areas as they wish (or so I’ve been told). It is clear that the school is smaller than the one I just left…there are probably fewer classrooms for K-12 here than there were for the high school in Istanbul. This just gives me hope that I really will know all of the students better, even if I don’t teach them. Sadly I’m still in a hotel, but there is hope that we might get to move into our house tomorrow (more on that later). I’m excited to see what this country holds in store for me, I have no doubt it will be another great adventure which I’ll be happy to share with you.

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