Busy Busy

I have been a bit busy lately. I am teaching the writing portion of an English course for seniors at the foreign language high school. The students are writing paragraphs and essays for the first time so it is challenging. My team of students was also selected to be part of Model UN this year, so I have started planning that as well. Next weekend there is a training of trainers for MUN and I will find out the country we represent and will get started. Two weeks ago was Halloween and I went to a party in Elbasan. I look like a pissed off dwarf in that picture but it was the only one of me. This last weekend my counterpart and I held the fourth annual teacher training in Berat. We had a larger turnout than expected with close to 100 teachers in attendance from all over Albania. We thought they wouldn’t come because there was a conference fee this year and we heard a lot of negative feedback about it. They still came. I think it was for the party afterwards. The teachers love dancing. I was sick and missed some of the presenters. My program manager came and said it was bad luck to be sick while holding a conference. The conference went well nonetheless. I am feeling better today. I will soon be traveling around the region to see if teachers are implementing some of what they learned at the conference. I will be in Tirana for training on the weekend, traveling around the region, teaching writing and working on MUN. It makes me tired thinking about it, but before I know it, I will be coming home for Christmas. If you are wondering what some of the costumes are, look up the Albanian flag, think Iranian elections, Dumb and Dumber and popular artwork.