Happy Easter (in English)

This week at school went pretty well. At Tweetalig, the new school where I teach Mondays and Tuesdays, the behavior of my four classes is split. The first years are terrible and the second years are nearly perfect. It is the opposite at PRO. I am slowly getting the hang of the new system, but it takes time, and the kids (in the first year anyway) are really pushing the limits. It doesn't help that a quarter of the class has been told they need to find a new school for next year - they have already failed out.

At PRO this week things ran like a dream. The third year students were in England for the week and the second years had internships, so the school was peaceful and quiet. I brought my system of working that I developed for teaching the more difficult second years into the first year and it worked like a charm. It was like I waved a magic wand over all 6 classes and they just behaved perfectly and worked hard. I am sure it won't last, but it was quite nice for this week.

We didn't get Good Friday off, so our Easter weekend is only three days long, but we still managed to make the trip to the East Side to visit Naomi's mom and grandma. This morning we went to a cozy little Anglican church nestled behind some soon-to-be-prolific rhododendrons overshadowed by tall trees. The chapel was decorated nicely with wood on the inside and it was quite strange to hear so many English speakers in this part of the country - German is more common here as a second language.

The service was a lot like a Catholic Mass, and that was nice because it reminded me of Easter in Stevens Point. There was a part where we were meant to greet each other with 'peace be with you', and it wasn't until after this that Naomi explained to her mom that she wasn't meant to say 'pleased to meet you'. We had a good laugh about it.

Snow has been falling outside (quite strange for this time of year as the daffodils have been blooming for awhile) so we are torn between getting some much needed exercise and fresh air, or just sitting inside by the fire and planning our trip to France. We shall see what happens...

A Chaotic Sanity

This was the most difficult week of the year for me (I think). My new job started at Wolfert Tweetalig Monday and Tuesday. For the first time in the Netherlands, I felt that my presence and my work were appreciated. The lessons with the students went well (there were even a couple girls who said they finally understood math), the colleagues were interesting and friendly, and the administration helped me to get situated.

Many things did not work as they should have: my key card wasn't working properly, rooms were inconsistent, and there were computer problems, but I always knew how to get it fixed. Hence, there was a system that was able to correct the problems. This was quite refreshing.

I teach 4 lessons per day at Tweetalig. My coach (yes, I have a coach, and we already talked!) looked at my schedule from WolfertPRO and her jaw dropped. She couldn't understand how I was given such an impossible load. In my three remaining days there I have 20 hours of teaching. That number would have been around 12 had I been full time at Tweetalig. Something is not right about this....

At PRO we finished up the balloon car project this week. That took a lot of energy. Some classes did very well with it, others were almost a complete failure. Strange how that worked out. Next week I will start some traditional book work because I was not happy with the results overall and I don't have time to develop a new project.

So many teachers are gone (we just lost another one this past week) that the kids are getting really hyper. The schedule seems to change more than it is consistent, and this is hard on everybody. My focus and energy are quickly shifting to the new school.

On Wednesday we had some friends over for dinner which was nice, but it was a slightly late night. Thursday was my three hour Dutch lesson (after teaching 8 lessons) and yesterday we went to Den Haag for a going away party. One of Naomi's friends is spending six months traveling around the world. Needless to say, I am proud that I made it through this week in one piece.

The Last Full Week

This week started out quite restfully. I had my second year students on Monday and Tuesday for the last time. The lessons were taught together with our former team leader, Wim, who will be taking over the classes. It was really nice teaching with him because the kids were not misbehaving at all.

Now that the schedule was fixed so that the second years are in the same room with good time intervals, I figured the time was ripe to do a project. Especially because Wim is passionate about projects and does them really well. I was a bit shocked to hear him say that he preferred having the classes for two hours at a time instead of one, so he wasn't really sure about making a project happen. This made me feel pretty proud of the job I have done this year!

I didn't hear about my new schedule at Wolfert Bilingual for this coming Monday and Tuesday until Thursday morning. Apparently the director failed to communicate that I was coming, and it turns out I am scheduled to start straight away Monday morning. This gave me some stress as I had 8 straight hours to teach on Thursday, followed by 3 hours of Dutch lessons. On Friday I had another 8 straight hours of teaching (during which I was forced to do prep work) but I was able to arrange an appointment with the teacher I will be taking over from right after school on Friday. He was very helpful, and nice, and after that we had a friend over for a drink.

This was all so exhausting that Saturday was pretty much a day of rest. Hopefully today will be better. We plan to go to the gym and then to Edith's birthday party in Amsterdam. It looks like the sun is wanting to come out, so that would be a great source of energy for me!

Irony

Since the last school year, I have been requesting a schedule that would allow me to do more projects and nicer assignments with my second year students. What I have been given is a mess. I am in 2,3 or 4 different rooms most of which don't have a projector. The lessons are spread throughout the week and often sandwiched by first year lessons. This makes it virtually impossible to set up labs and do projects.

This is one of the reasons why things haven't gone very well in the second year, which led to my observations at a different school, leading to an immediate job offer - taking me away from Wolfert PRO. This coming week is my last full-time week at Wolfert PRO. They have fixed my schedule in exactly the way I had requested it. So I get my needed change after it is too late. Typical.

In other news, I had my first Dutch lesson this week. It lasted three hours (a long time after a full day of teaching). There are about 20 people in my class from all over the world. I am the only native English speaker, but the fall-back language of communication is English. It is the second level, so the instructor gave the whole lesson in Dutch. Surprisingly enough, I understood most of it. Perhaps my Dutch is better than I thought.

I also started writing a novel this week. It is already around 5,000 words so it is coming along quickly. Who knows how long my motivation will last, but for now it is fun, and I like the idea of one day finishing such a massive undertaking. Speaking of the Novel, I might as well get back to it!

Roma

Both Naomi and I were sick for pretty much the entirety of our time in Rome. In spite of spending a full day in bed/on the couch, we still managed to do everything we wanted to in the Eternal City. It would have, of course, been much more enjoyable had we been healthy, but the incredible things we did and saw still left their impression.

Sunday morning happened to be the one day per month that entrance to the Vatican Museum was free. We wanted to take advantage of that, and the Metro line (imagine trying to build a Metro through all of those archeological ruins!) managed to bring us right there. The line wrapped around several towering walls, it was at least a quarter of a mile long, but it was moving quickly. Things go much faster when they don't need to charge entrance.

Our plan was to see the Pope speak afterward, but we got a bit lost in time. The Vatican Museum is in a category of its own. Most museums have art hanging on the walls. Here, everything visible is a canvas: floors, walls, and ceilings. The Sistine Chapel was indeed grand, but our favorite was the hall of maps. Amazing to see maps turned into artwork.

Our typical Italian breakfast.

Less than half of the line at the Vatican Museum.

A bit of New mixed with the Old.

The hall of maps.

One of many chapels.

After a restful afternoon, we took to the city in search of a nice meal. We found a very nice looking place - great atmosphere, service, and history - but below average food. After dinner we came across a nice church to take pictures of, and then called it a day.

On our way back from dinner.

Monday we only briefly left the B&B for a bite of food. Our included breakfast took place in a cafe around the corner, very Italian in style. It was too sweet for Naomi, but I enjoyed it. The B&B itself was less that 35 euros per night, and quite comfortable. Normally we would have shared a bathroom with the hosts, but they were in Pisa for pretty much the whole time so we almost had the place to ourselves. The one other room was occupied by a French couple, but they kept to themselves.

After plenty of reading and a movie, we forced ourselves outdoors in search of food. Most places are closed on Monday, so we got stuck with one of those spots where someone stands outside recruiting dinner guests for their amazing deal of a meal: everything for only 12 euros. Well, the gnocchi was quite good, and the tiramisu not bad, but everything else was a bust. I guess that matched quite well to the day's theme. On our way back to the B&B we managed to stumble across some nice ruins to photograph at sunset. This was the only high point of our day, and the only time something other than grey, rainy clouds could be seen in the sky.

Thankfully, an elevator (even if it didn't seem too safe)!

Sick day.

Ruins near the B&B.

Tuesday was much different. We woke up to sunshine and a bit more energy. After our Italian breakfast, we set off toward the Colosseum. Along the way we came across Trajan's Baths which was a ruined complex that must have been quite impressive a couple thousand years ago. The Colosseum is still impressive. We took a ton of pictures, waited in a long line, and enjoyed the sunshine immensely.

Colosseum by Day and Night.

After a perfect little lunch, we made our way toward the Forum. Naomi wasn't too interested, and a few rain clouds came out to play, but after about an hour, the sun began to shine, and it turned into magic. Naomi was resting on the steps while I became thoroughly engrossed with taking pictures. The setting was incredible. Needless to say, Naomi got a bit tired of sitting there. After the Forum, we walked to the National Museum which showed the powerful splendor of what the Forum must have been like in its prime. After a nice dinner, we enjoyed the Trevi Fountain as the sun went down.

Buildings overlooking the Forum.

The Forum.

The National Museum.

Dinner.

Trevi Fountain.

Our last full day, Wednesday, offered a cloudless sky. For the whole day! What a wonderful contrast from this Dutch climate we are stuck in. We started off at the Spanish Steps and wandered through some narrow streets until we found the Pantheon. It was incredible. If one were to extend the dome into a sphere, it would rest perfectly on the ground. I couldn't believe the structure is almost 1,900 years old! Pictures don't do it a justice.

The Spanish Steps.

The Pantheon.

Does it look 1900 years old?

Fun with Spheres.

Same holds true for true for St. Peter's Basilica. Photographs can't capture it. It was started just after Columbus set foot on America, and took 120 years to build. Unlike many Cathedrals and Basilicas across Europe, it doesn't show signs of different phases of construction or Master Builders with varied styles or war damage. It is a cohesive whole and doesn't seem to look much different than on the day of its consecration in 1626. I personally like the Gothic styles from Northern Europe better, but there is no denying this Masterpiece.

This doesn't look Italian!

The other half was being restored...

Walking up the dome - note the sloped hallways.

View from the Top.

Proof of Sunshine.

That old uniform...

While I was climbing the 551 steps to the top of Cupola, Naomi was doing some shopping. We met back at the B&B for some R&R before dinner, and then found our way to a fancy seafood restaurant. We found a Groupon deal online - it was a 120 euro meal for a third of the price. It was much fancier than we are used to, and we really enjoyed it. My favorite was the thinly sliced octopus. It tasted better than chicken or turkey - not fishy or tough at all. A perfect end to a sunny day.

Quite the appetizer...the octopus is on the right.

Thursday morning we sat in a park and enjoyed the sunshine. Around noon we headed to the bus that would take us to the plane that would fly us to Eindhoven where we took a bus to get to a train that would take us to Rotterdam followed by a Metro home. The trip took over 8 hours. Not fun while sick, but it was so good to be home! The last two days have been very relaxing (I even finished my taxes!) and hopefully we will be up for school tomorrow. Still sick, but oh well.

A beautiful ride home.