A week of firsts: my first Curacao car accident and my first days of work

Goodness, there is so much to say and I don’t know where to begin!

I was in a car accident this past weekend. All people involved are fine, thankfully. My buddy and I were driving at a roundabout. Unfortunately, there isn’t a uniform rule about right of way at Curacao roundabouts. Sometimes those in the roundabout have right of way, and sometimes those entering it have right of way. As we were exiting the roundabout, another car was entering. Their hood crashed into our passenger door. I am just glad that we were not traveling any faster; the accident could have been much more severe.

This week has been our first official week of work. The past two days have been teacher work days. I was amazed at how my colleagues dressed up! I arrived on Monday in casual clothes and slippers and they looked as if they’d be teaching students. Fashion here reminds me of styles in Istanbul. In both locales, people dress with a European sophistication.

People have been asking me for the past few days who and what I would be teaching. I could answer the “what” question, but was somewhat unsure as to “who.” Yesterday, I was told that I’ll be teaching both middle and high school students. I will be sharing this job with another ESL teacher. She and I will teach different ages on different days. When I have a high school class, she teaches a middle school group, and vice versa. We plan to coordinate our lessons so that students of the same grade level receive similar instruction.

The high school class, I have been told, is a writing support class. I am to aid students with organization, mechanics, and vocabulary. This class is not strictly an ESL class. While it is mandatory for those struggling with English, other students may also choose to enroll.

My middle school courses operate differently. Middle school students take all of their core classes together. The ESL students, instead of attending Spanish and Dutch, will come to ESL class. I will be conferencing with the middle school core teachers frequently to see how I can best support their curriculum in my English as a Second Language classes.

Today is the students' first day of school. As I do not have a homeroom, I am not teaching at all. Instead, I am supporting other teachers with their activities and familiarizing myself with various ESL materials.

In other news, I am still without a car! If all goes well, my new vehicle will be cleaned and ready for me today. (I do not expect this to happen, unfortunately.) My colleagues have graciously been driving me to work and back. This means, however, that I keep their schedules! I left home this morning at 6:30, and have been leaving school around 6:30 or 7 pm. Thankfully, I haven’t been taking any work home with me…