There's definitely some work to be done

This past week we finished winter break only to go back to school for two days and break for the weekend. Its sort of a nice schedule, especially for the Peace Corps Volunteer. Before break we have observation and selection of our teachers then winter break, and then we come back for a couple days to begin our teaching in a easy, 2 day, kind of way.

However, this Friday I wasn't reflecting on how good it was to finally be teaching. And I wasn't reflecting upon the fact that finally, after so many months of training and so many more months of waiting, I was doing what I had applied to. Rather I was reflecting on my mood and the fact that I was sort of bummed to be here.

For TEFLs in Peace Corps Azerbaijan we don't have our own classes for two years. Rather we work with other teachers and co-teach our classes. The point (and one of my favorite points) of TEFL PCAZB is not just to teach students, but to develop current teachers and help them utilize more effective teaching methodologies. Thus, we must be working in cooperation with the teachers instead of simply usurping their role in the classroom.

There are a ton of things that could be done differently immediately to have a more productive learning space, but the objectives of TEFL PCAZB isn't designed to promote that. Success isn't leaving out a worthless activity in the textbook or using a new teaching technique in the classroom; success is your teacher counterpart suggesting to leave out what is now realized to be a worthless activity or to suggest a new teaching technique s/he has learned or created.

And, as I realized on Friday, that is going to take a lot of time and work. I'm not just dealing with malfunctioning teaching robots I'm dealing with real people who need time to absorb and time to digest what is new. Change isn't going to happen instantly but they would take time, and they would take very real work, and that sort of bummed me out.

By this point in the bum out I had roused myself out of my room onto the misty muddy streets walking towards town center. And on the way I chanced upon my friend and fellow PCV Glendene who shared with me her (re)learn of the week, to stop putting too much pressure on herself to accomplish things. And she also told me I had a package waiting at the post office. And at the post office I met a student who was so excited to say 'hello' to me. And leaving the post office I got a call from a friend who wanted to invite me to a dinner on Saturday. And then I got another call from a friend asking if I wanted to play football (soccer) on Saturday. And then I met up with my host brother and my tutor and we talked over starbucks via.

And finally, at this point, I realized that I was supposed to get out of this funk. Yeah there's work but thats what I signed up for. And to only look at the amount that has yet to be done disregards the amount that already has been done like integrating into my community.