I gave a man my coat, he said, "What about your gloves?"

Today Flora gave me a more complete teaching schedule. Because there were supposed to be two English teachers, and there is only me, I have ended up with a very complex schedule. I was worried I would have to teach twice as much as I was supposed to, because the other teacher backed out. It turns out I am teaching twice as many classes as I was supposed to, but they also aren't allowed to give me more than 20 periods a week. So that means I have this weird two-week schedule. The first week I teach the classes I was intended to teach, 20 periods worth. The second week I teach the classes the other English teacher was intended to teach, 20 more periods worth. So every other week I switch schedules between my original schedule and the other teacher's schedule, and the students have class every other week, instead of every week. They also had to drop a few classes, or combine them with other classes, which means my classes will be larger. I hope I don't get my weeks mixed up! That also means different lesson plans for all these different classes, and all the students are at different levels as far as speaking English. So I will do the best job that I can, and hope they don't fire me! In a way it is a good thing, because the other teacher only had a high school education, and they were giving her all the easier classes to teach. So now I will get to have easier classes as well!

Half my periods each week are at the primary school, and I look forward to that, because I will be more of an assistant teacher there, and the regular teacher will tell me what he/she wants them to learn about. All the rest of my classes, except for one, are in the same two buildings on campus. One of the buildings is right beside my apartment complex, and the other is also very near. I can see it from my window at night, and wonder if anyone can see me from one of those classrooms, as I often hang my laundry to dry on the balcony in my underwear. Except for two of my classes, which are in the afternoon from 2:30-4:30, all of my classes are in the morning from 7:30-11:30. It looks like Wednesday will be my busiest day, as it's the only day I have 6 periods of teaching. I will have to devise some kind of week A/week B lesson plan chart.

I have already been thinking that this week and next should be easy, because I will give all my classes the same first-day introduction. I will tell them my name, where I am from, about my schooling, about my family, etc. Then I will ask each of them to introduce themselves and include the following: their names, where they are from, how old they are, something they like to do, and something they don't like to do. I'll write on the board the script, so they feel more comfortable.
Hello, my name is _______.
I am from _______.
I am _______ years old.
I like to _______.
I don't like to _______.

That should suffice to take up the first periods of all of my new classes, and if there is time left, we will play a game. I would like to play this game I read about where you put a bunch of different articles of your clothing in a pillow case and pass it around the room. Every student pulls out a piece of clothing and puts it on. Hats, underwear, shirts, gloves, anything really. Then you talk about the name of the article of clothing, what color it is, when is the best season of the year in which to wear it, etc. I think my students would think it was really funny, because my clothes are so big. They'd probably be four or five times too large. Everyone would look ridiculous, it would be hilarious, and they'd all get a good laugh at my expense (which is fine with me, as long as they're learning something). Especially my bras! Imagine a 15 year-old Chinese girl wearing one of my bras. In any case, I'm not totally certain this game is appropriate, or if anyone would want to play it. I think it sounds really great, though.

I am digging around in my head trying to come up with things to lecture about, and corresponding games to play. You know, which words are too difficult? Which topics can I teach in a single class? Which topics will be most relevant to actually communicating in English? If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate some advice.