Blog 8: Challenges and Future Plans

●     Discuss the challenges you've faced during your study abroad teaching experience.

●     Share your future plans, whether it's extending your stay, returning home, or pursuing further education.

My challenges have gotten easier over time as I get used to the environment of the school and the family I am staying with. At the school, I struggled in the beginning with the setup of my schedule and how many observations I was to be doing. At home, I struggled to see how I fit into the couple's lives and plan what I wanted to do while I was here. I only have one week left in Auckland and have only made it into the city once, with another teacher for the St. Patrick's Day parade. I am hoping to make it back to do the base jumping from the Sky Tower.

At school, as the weeks went on I was given a more stable schedule and more input in its creation. I am given a new schedule by Cheryl each Monday morning. By the 5th week I had a schedule that felt it fit what I needed to be doing while I was here. The day-to-day schedule is different for the whole school, so in order to plan my observed lessons that would be in Mrs. Nairn's classroom I had to wait for one of the weeks I had her class on Monday as well as Thursday and Friday. This happened at the beginning of March. I asked her about teaching on Monday and then taught two lessons later in the week. Mrs. Nairn is the teacher who accepted my presence in her room the quickest and allowed me to take on a more active role. Two of the teachers asked me to simply observe as there was already a teacher aid in the room to provide support. After meeting with Cheryl about this she took me out of their classes after a few observations to try others. I am now mostly in Mrs. Nairn's and Cheryl's classes. I spend the periods they aren't teaching in the LSC. This allows me to have a more active role while in the classroom.

At home, I have struggled to make a positive relationship with the couple I am staying with and effectively communicate. This is something I had worried about before coming over and one of the reasons I would have been okay if I had gotten placed in an apartment-like setting rather than a family. I am glad to have met them, but I am excited to have from next weekend on to travel on my own or with my family and stay elsewhere. I am excited to have control over where I am going and input on what I want to be doing.

This upcoming week I only have four days of school before their Easter Break starts. These will be my last days because their break goes through my last scheduled day. Over the Easter weekend, I am going down to Queenstown while the couple I am with do their family plans. The most exciting part of this weekend will be on the Monday when I go to see Milford Sound. I will return to Auckland on Tuesday and leave again with my family on Wednesday to explore other parts of the North Island. We will start about 20 minutes away from the house I am staying at and climb Mount Wellington since we have a Wellington address at home. Then, we will go to Waitomo caves, Hamilton Gardens, Lake Taupo, and Rotorua for a few days before coming back toward Auckland and going to Waiheke Island for the last day before flying home. Once home, I have a few more weeks at Medina High School and then graduation and looking for a job for the fall.