...in Spanish!!!
I have been so nervous for about the last week, for lots of reasons. Last school year, I really wanted to have relationships with the tico parents, just like I did with the gringo parents, but it was virtually impossible because of the language barrier. The tico parents knew I was learning Spanish, but it is hard to bust out a Spanish conversation A) when you're not confident about it and B) after a day of speaking English with 10 year olds. So the tico parents turned to the EFL teacher when there were issues the school needed to know about... and I was left feeling like I wanted more.
Plus, my goal someday is to work in a bilingual school in the States... so I felt the weight of that goal a little bit as I asked,"Can I really do it? Can I really be fluent and have relationships with families in both languages?"
So this year parent teacher meetings yesterday were like my debut and the culminating point for my nerves. I spoke in Spanish for 5 conferences yesterday and it felt so good!!! We were able to discuss concerns and strong points of their children, and I told the families that I wanted to learn about the language and the culture from them. I also told them to contact me at anytime by phone or email.
I did it!!! Thank you, Jesus, for teaching me so much in one year!!!
2 comments:
Your hard work has certainly paid off, good job! I'm sure the tico parents appreciate all of your efforts with their kids.
Great! I'm very glad that it went so well. You can speak their language and it will work for you next year in the states! Love ya! Dad
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