First day on the job! At our morning meeting Evelyn arrived with matching shoes, unlike, she claimed, on earlier occasions. After an orientation with Carl, and a fond farewell to his family, we walked with Chuy to a restaurant on the plaza to breakfast with several other members of the English faculty. Breakfast was followed by a short, but impressive orientation/overview of UTNG and the department’s expectations of us. We were driven to the campus, had a very brief tour and then, to our surprise, were honoured guests at a welcome ceremony held in the auditorium, including a speech by the rector. After visiting the English faculty offices and meeting additional faculty (a large department with several native English speakers), we set off to our first class.

What an experience! Thrown in cold with Lucio’s group of beginners; discussing workplace values and career plans with JJ´s last year (TOEFL-tested) young adults, then more beginners with Nathan’s class. After a 3:00 lunch break (nutrition not a curriculum at UTNG, unfortunately), and some time in the cyber-library, we had a final class with Gaby´s external students -– ranging from doctors to elementary school students –- where we worked on a “Jeopardy”-like game.

We´re beginning to see how what we´re doing fits in with the faculty vision for the English curriculum. We´re tired but excited.

THOUGHTS:

A) St. Augustine: ¨”Love and do what you will.” B) Mother to child: “How do you know you’re dead? When you stop learning.”