Hi everyone! What a week I have had! School started on Monday!! It was great to see the kiddos finally at the school instead of just teachers! They fill the school with laughter, curiosity, and sweatiness!! =] The school doesn't have any air conditioning and all week it has been in the 90's, so let's just say it's been pretty hot with all those bodies!!
I start my days off by going to the kindergarten at 9:45 AM. Luckily, it is right next door to my apartment so I don't have to walk very far =] Each day at the kindergarten, I switch off with the different English teachers; there are three of them: Lenia, Johanna, and Georgia. That way, I am able to see each of their different teaching styles and help each one of them.
The English class at the kindergarten ends around 10:30 AM and from there I either go to the Upper Elementary School to help Camilla [head of the English department] in her office, or I go to the Lower Elementary School to help Katerina with her classes. She teaches second and third graders. The first couple of weeks, I am helping with different classes, but then I think it is going to change to only certain ones. But I will definitely be staying with the kindergarteners every morning =]]
Yesterday [Thursday], I had quite an experience with a little kindergartener. Well, if you can say little. He is the strongest five year old I've ever met! He wasn't very happy to be in the English class, so therefore, he decided to start yelling in Greek and kicking anything he could put his foot against. So in the case, I was kicked quite a lot that day. ha! Hopefully, we will be figuring out how to get him interested in class and keep him from disturbing the other kids.
Well, I bet you have been wondering why I had hospital visits this week? The fellows and I have to get residency permits to live in Greece for a year. This means that we have to go to the hospital to get a TB test done and a chest X-ray so make sure that we are healthy! This was not a fun experience let me tell you! For those of you who know me really well, I absolutely hate needles, and I'm really starting to hate hospitals. We were at the hospital from 10:30 AM to 2 PM!! Things don't work fast here. We keep getting told, "It's Greece! Relax a little!" haha easy for them to say!
Anywho, after visiting several different spots in the hospital, which directly came out of a 1910's movie, we finally had the right papers to get our TB test done. After that, we were told to go to the X-ray place where you have to ring a doorbell even though we are already inside! The doctor came out with his shirt unbuttoned! haha We were told we didn't have the right stamp so we had to go back and get it. Now, I have never had a chest X-ray done in the States, but I have to say, this was a little crazy. We had to go in one at a time into the "X-ray room" where the doctor just stood there and told you to take off your shirt and bra. Then you stand there against an old X-ray machine with your hands on your hips looking like Peter Pan! It was quite an experience. And I still have the X-ray to show for it! [we are allowed to keep them!]
We went back to the hospital today to get our results. I am happy to say I am TB free =]] haha I just hope I never have to return to that hospital again!!
This experience has been completely wonderful so far despite the residency permit stuff. I'm learning the bus system, and I'm learning that my new favorite food is gyros! =] They are amazing!! I feel truly blessed to have this experience and I am not going to take one day for granted! =]] Well, that's all for now! I don't know what is going on this weekend, but I think we are just going to explore the center [downtown] some more! We might even take a day trip out to Halkidiki to go swimming. It's supposed to be the last hot weekend for it! Love && miss everyone!!
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