2nd week in Hawaii
Door: Ellen
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Ellen
14 September 2015 | Verenigde Staten, Kailua-Kona
2nd week in Hawaii
As I told in the first blog, we went to Hapuna Bay on our first Saturday here. Since we work with an entire crew here, we were with around 50 people all together on the beach. It was so much fun to finally really get to know some people. We had a nice white beach, blue ocean and a lot of sun. Most of us got burned because of the UV, but now we’ve learned for the next time that we have to take care of our skin a bit more.
We got back at Hale Ola (which is the name of the housing I’m staying) around 3 in the afternoon. Everybody showered and got ready for diner, which we have on campus, but I’ll tell you more about that later. After diner we walked around for a bit to see where everything is and bought an ice cream. After an hour everybody was so tired that I think that all the lights in Hale Ola were off at 8 o’clock.
The next day was Sunday, so we didn’t have to do anything, which is why Marlien and I decided to get a brunch in the city and go to the beach again after that. While walking around after brunch we met some of the crew and hang out with them for a while, where after we went to the pool of the University of Nations (the place I work), instead of going to the beach.
That Monday our official first workday started, but I couldn’t start at the Learning Center yet, because it was Labor Day and the school was closed. So I worked at the Go Center for a day. The Go Center is a kind of hotel on campus, where family of the students and speakers stay during their stay. They pay a donation of whatever they are able to pay, so really different from other hotels. Because there was enough staff at that moment to clean the rooms, Marlien and I got assigned to do the garden with a man called Jackson. Jackson is a man from Cameroon and he has a Dutch wife that we met earlier that day, which was pretty funny. We first started weeding plants and after lunch we went to the store to get some new plants. It was so amazing to see all the different plants and flowers they have in Hawaii, compared to Holland, so we’ve learned a lot that day about different kind of plants and flowers. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to Jackson at 3 in the afternoon, because our workday was over already. We did make a deal with Jackson to come visit him, his wife and children and drink some Dutch tea sometime.
On Tuesday the day was finally there, I was going to start at the Learning Center! I was so excited and couldn’t wait to start helping at the school. After breakfast, Connie (my roommate), Marlien and I walked over to the Learning Center to meet with the teachers. Unfortunately something went wrong with the information they gave the teachers, which is why they didn’t know that we would come that day to help. They thought we were coming at the end of September, which is why we had to wait for an hour, but they were very happy to have us already and we could start right away. We first had a talk with Pam, who works at the office for the Learning Center, to get everything signed and to give our information. After that we had a talk with one of the teachers, Mrs. Judy Kim, who asked us about home, school and what we were comfortable with doing. It was decided for me that I will teach Bible classes and biology classes to the 4th and 5th grades.
On Wednesday I had my first bible lesson with Mrs. Cunningham. It was really interesting to see how this lesson was taught. In the beginning of the lesson they read a the chapter of the bible if it is not long and otherwise the most important parts of the chapter are discussed. After that they do some kind of an activity which is mostly a puzzle of some kind. I also have to watch the children during reses. Which is a challenge on its own. Some children are running with their snack in their hand, which they know is not allowed, but they do it anyway. I cannot remember how many times I had to say to the children: “eat your snack first and then you can play”. After reses I had biology with Mrs. Cunningham and Ms. Walles-Welsh and the 4th and 5th graders. They combined the biology lessen with reading strategies. So the lesson was not only about biology, which is something totally different from what I am used to. After biology I had lunch with Marlien and Connie. After lunch we worked in the trailer. We worked on the prep work for the coming lessons. The time flew by today and before we knew it, it was already 2.45 pm. And it was time to go back to Hale-ola (which is where are dorms are). In the evening I was so tired I didn’t do much other than sitting in the common room and talk with other mission builders (people who also work for this organization) which was so fun because they came from all over the world, China, Korea, Japan, Brazil, Germany Denmark, America and so on.
Thursday was a little chaotic because they didn’t expected us yet, we didn’t really have clear instruction other than just go with this teacher and do what she says. Which was for me help the new Korean children Daniel and Angela. Because they didn’t really understood English yet, I had no idea how to help them. In the end I just did what I thought was best which was just explain things slower and use a lot of hand signals. In the end it worked out ok. In the afternoon I had a meeting with Marlien, Connie, Mrs Kim and Susan about where we would be the best of help in the learning Centre. We got a little more information about how our day would look like and in which grade we would assist the teachers. For me it is the 4th and 5th grade class in which I would help Daniel & Angela with bible and biology class.
Friday was a half day. Which means that the children only go to school till 12.15. Friday was also picture day so no lessons. Picture day was very chaotic for the children and especially the teachers and us. The children were very busy, loud and not very patient so we constantly had to correct them which was very exhausting for us. All the teachers had to have their picture taken, even I had mine taken which was very fun. After the pictures, which took the entire morning to take, we went for lunch and after lunch we were off because there was no teachers meeting. In the evening I went for shaved ice, it was so amazing!
The classes at the learning Centre are very interesting because they combine different course stuff together. The lessons are made interesting by the teacher who are amazing. They really have a bond with the students. The teacher have an interesting way of getting the attention of the class. They have two ways of getting the attention of the students, one way is that the teachers say: “class class”, and the children say:” yes yes” and the other way is that the teachers clap their hands together 5 times and the students do the same. These two ways of getting the children quiet work like a charm. The classes are mixed, so the 1st till 3rd grade are together, 4th and 5th grade and 6th till 8th grade.
The children in the learning Centre are from all countries. The parents of the children either work at the campus or they go to school on campus, so the children go to school in the learning Centre. The nationality of the children are so different. They are from the main land, Korea, Japan, Spain you name it.
Even the teacher are from different countries. Some teachers are American-Korean and some are American and others are Korean and we even have a teacher who is from New-Zealand. The teachers are not afraid to make a fool out of themselves. This creates a very open class. All the teachers I’ve met in the learning center are so happy that we are there that is makes working these so fun that I go to the school with a smile on my face.
Almost every Saturday there is an organized trip. These can consist of going to beaches or tours around the island. This Saturday we went to Kua bay. Kua bay is a beauty beach where the water is amazingly blue, but the downside is that there are high waves. On Sunday I didn’t really do much I just slept in and watched some movies. And before I knew it, it was already Monday again and the week started over again.
So this was my story for this week until next time!!
As I told in the first blog, we went to Hapuna Bay on our first Saturday here. Since we work with an entire crew here, we were with around 50 people all together on the beach. It was so much fun to finally really get to know some people. We had a nice white beach, blue ocean and a lot of sun. Most of us got burned because of the UV, but now we’ve learned for the next time that we have to take care of our skin a bit more.
We got back at Hale Ola (which is the name of the housing I’m staying) around 3 in the afternoon. Everybody showered and got ready for diner, which we have on campus, but I’ll tell you more about that later. After diner we walked around for a bit to see where everything is and bought an ice cream. After an hour everybody was so tired that I think that all the lights in Hale Ola were off at 8 o’clock.
The next day was Sunday, so we didn’t have to do anything, which is why Marlien and I decided to get a brunch in the city and go to the beach again after that. While walking around after brunch we met some of the crew and hang out with them for a while, where after we went to the pool of the University of Nations (the place I work), instead of going to the beach.
That Monday our official first workday started, but I couldn’t start at the Learning Center yet, because it was Labor Day and the school was closed. So I worked at the Go Center for a day. The Go Center is a kind of hotel on campus, where family of the students and speakers stay during their stay. They pay a donation of whatever they are able to pay, so really different from other hotels. Because there was enough staff at that moment to clean the rooms, Marlien and I got assigned to do the garden with a man called Jackson. Jackson is a man from Cameroon and he has a Dutch wife that we met earlier that day, which was pretty funny. We first started weeding plants and after lunch we went to the store to get some new plants. It was so amazing to see all the different plants and flowers they have in Hawaii, compared to Holland, so we’ve learned a lot that day about different kind of plants and flowers. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to Jackson at 3 in the afternoon, because our workday was over already. We did make a deal with Jackson to come visit him, his wife and children and drink some Dutch tea sometime.
On Tuesday the day was finally there, I was going to start at the Learning Center! I was so excited and couldn’t wait to start helping at the school. After breakfast, Connie (my roommate), Marlien and I walked over to the Learning Center to meet with the teachers. Unfortunately something went wrong with the information they gave the teachers, which is why they didn’t know that we would come that day to help. They thought we were coming at the end of September, which is why we had to wait for an hour, but they were very happy to have us already and we could start right away. We first had a talk with Pam, who works at the office for the Learning Center, to get everything signed and to give our information. After that we had a talk with one of the teachers, Mrs. Judy Kim, who asked us about home, school and what we were comfortable with doing. It was decided for me that I will teach Bible classes and biology classes to the 4th and 5th grades.
On Wednesday I had my first bible lesson with Mrs. Cunningham. It was really interesting to see how this lesson was taught. In the beginning of the lesson they read a the chapter of the bible if it is not long and otherwise the most important parts of the chapter are discussed. After that they do some kind of an activity which is mostly a puzzle of some kind. I also have to watch the children during reses. Which is a challenge on its own. Some children are running with their snack in their hand, which they know is not allowed, but they do it anyway. I cannot remember how many times I had to say to the children: “eat your snack first and then you can play”. After reses I had biology with Mrs. Cunningham and Ms. Walles-Welsh and the 4th and 5th graders. They combined the biology lessen with reading strategies. So the lesson was not only about biology, which is something totally different from what I am used to. After biology I had lunch with Marlien and Connie. After lunch we worked in the trailer. We worked on the prep work for the coming lessons. The time flew by today and before we knew it, it was already 2.45 pm. And it was time to go back to Hale-ola (which is where are dorms are). In the evening I was so tired I didn’t do much other than sitting in the common room and talk with other mission builders (people who also work for this organization) which was so fun because they came from all over the world, China, Korea, Japan, Brazil, Germany Denmark, America and so on.
Thursday was a little chaotic because they didn’t expected us yet, we didn’t really have clear instruction other than just go with this teacher and do what she says. Which was for me help the new Korean children Daniel and Angela. Because they didn’t really understood English yet, I had no idea how to help them. In the end I just did what I thought was best which was just explain things slower and use a lot of hand signals. In the end it worked out ok. In the afternoon I had a meeting with Marlien, Connie, Mrs Kim and Susan about where we would be the best of help in the learning Centre. We got a little more information about how our day would look like and in which grade we would assist the teachers. For me it is the 4th and 5th grade class in which I would help Daniel & Angela with bible and biology class.
Friday was a half day. Which means that the children only go to school till 12.15. Friday was also picture day so no lessons. Picture day was very chaotic for the children and especially the teachers and us. The children were very busy, loud and not very patient so we constantly had to correct them which was very exhausting for us. All the teachers had to have their picture taken, even I had mine taken which was very fun. After the pictures, which took the entire morning to take, we went for lunch and after lunch we were off because there was no teachers meeting. In the evening I went for shaved ice, it was so amazing!
The classes at the learning Centre are very interesting because they combine different course stuff together. The lessons are made interesting by the teacher who are amazing. They really have a bond with the students. The teacher have an interesting way of getting the attention of the class. They have two ways of getting the attention of the students, one way is that the teachers say: “class class”, and the children say:” yes yes” and the other way is that the teachers clap their hands together 5 times and the students do the same. These two ways of getting the children quiet work like a charm. The classes are mixed, so the 1st till 3rd grade are together, 4th and 5th grade and 6th till 8th grade.
The children in the learning Centre are from all countries. The parents of the children either work at the campus or they go to school on campus, so the children go to school in the learning Centre. The nationality of the children are so different. They are from the main land, Korea, Japan, Spain you name it.
Even the teacher are from different countries. Some teachers are American-Korean and some are American and others are Korean and we even have a teacher who is from New-Zealand. The teachers are not afraid to make a fool out of themselves. This creates a very open class. All the teachers I’ve met in the learning center are so happy that we are there that is makes working these so fun that I go to the school with a smile on my face.
Almost every Saturday there is an organized trip. These can consist of going to beaches or tours around the island. This Saturday we went to Kua bay. Kua bay is a beauty beach where the water is amazingly blue, but the downside is that there are high waves. On Sunday I didn’t really do much I just slept in and watched some movies. And before I knew it, it was already Monday again and the week started over again.
So this was my story for this week until next time!!
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