палачинка

I was SO not excited about going to Macedonia. The weight of finding money for airfare, program costs, and tuition was really overwhelming. My original tickets were canceled due to miscommunication between my bank, my booking website, and me; I had to buy a new round of tickets yesterday (thankfully with the same money as before!). The program costs needed to be paid today so the money could be wired over to Macedonia tomorrow - another stressor. And lastly, I see - but don't fully comprehend - the amount of work in front of me: lesson planning, buying my textbooks, gathering up all my teaching materials, packing all my teaching materials, deciding how much stuff I need and can take, and lastly packing the right amount of professional clothes, casual sight-seeing clothes, toiletries, bedding, school supplies/teaching materials, etc.

Today, however, I am really excited to go.

I get to spend six weeks in Eastern Europe! I get to live in a capital city. I am going to see the Aegean Sea. I will visit (the airport of) a really cool city called Ljubljana. Can you pronounce that? "Lube-lee-ahna"... I think.

I am looking forward to living with five other female TESOL majors. I don't know any of them very well, but we will know each other well after living in a little apartment for six weeks! And traveling...you really get to know the people you travel with.

My excitement for teaching is also growing. Once I get to the schools, do my thirty hours of observation, and meet my students, I am confident that I will be fine. I hope. At the very least I will have a good attitude. Part of my confidence comes from being a native-English speaker... I almost feel like I should apologize for that misplaced confidence because I didn't earn it - I was born with it. Should all my lesson plans fail and the class is going horribly, I can at the very, very, very least deliver an engaging and creative monologue/lesson about speaking in English and life in America. I am an expert on those two subjects because I've done both my entire life, but more importantly because I've taken classes and classes on English grammar, second language acquisition, intercultural relationships, English linguistics, teaching strategies, etc. However, I think I'll be okay with my planned lessons.

My biggest anticipated struggle? The language. I just do not know Macedonian. I am learning the Cyrillic alphabet but at this point my study habits are comparable to reviewing the basics of swimming before getting into the water. I think I just have to jump in and do it. Sink or swim method - not recommended for ELLs here in America (English Language Learners for you non-TESOL people)! Apparently, I am not alone in my dismal grasp of the Macedonian language and comfort with the Cyrillic alphabet. Last night our little group of five teachers met at one of our supervising teacher's home (i.e. Rachelle). Rachelle and her husband have spent considerable time in Macedonia because they ran a English language school last year and are going back to start up a new school. They know a lot about the culture, teaching English, and - most importantly at this point - the Macedonian language. They have also hosted other American teachers (not necessarily English teachers though) and they shared a story about one of the groups. Apparently, a few Americans came to Skopje to teach something in some school and these Americans were convinced that they could not learn Macedonian because of the Cyrillic alphabet. Rachelle and her husband Josh were determined to disprove that erroneous thought so they would point out specifically chosen signs and have these American teachers sound the words out in Macedonian. The signs Josh and Rachelle chose were mostly cognate words - very similar to English - but written in Cyrillic: words like "stop," "May," "restaurant," and "cheeseburger." Because of their success in correctly "reading" Macedonian, the American teachers were brave enough to ask if "Macedonia is just English written in Cyrillic?" Um, no. Just no. (This story is what leads me to believe the teachers were obviously not linguists or English teachers.)

Oh, and if you're curious about the title of my blog? The title of my blog is the Macedonian word for the DELICIOUS Macedonian crepes (in the Latin alphabet: palačinka) we had last night at my supervising teacher's house. See the picture below... mine was similar - full of Nutella, sugar, bananas, and whipped cream. Yum!