Not the good kind of nervous where the adrenaline propels you to greatness. The painful kind of nervous where you can't sleep well, and you can't eat much breakfast, and right before you're about to give lecture you think you might die.
I didn't die. In fact, my lecture on variables and primitive data types went amazingly smoothly. There were a few rough patches here or there: things that I wish I could've explained differently or spent more time on, or places where the English barrier may have played a greater role than I expected. (Words like 'asterisk' or 'increment' or 'division'... words that some do not know in English.)
After lecture, we went to an activity with Boaz and Basar that was about self-empowerment.
Again, they talked a little more than necessary. However, there were two really awesome things that made the time worthwhile. The first is that Basar has a little wooden toad that makes a frog-like sound when you stroke a wooden dowel against its back. Croak croak.
The other thing that excited me was an example about ability. Michael stood in front of an interviewer, and other kids began to gather behind him. Each kid represented an ability. Tracy represented skydiving, Yakir embodied overcoming fear of heights, another kid stood for ability to speak English, and so on and so forth. When it came time for Michael to be interviewed, the abilities attacked the interviewer. Although I personify things (like thinking of carbon or oxygen atoms as my friends who are interacting for my own good), I'd never connected that same mentality to my abilities. Very self-empowering.
Following the workshop, we enjoyed a falafel-filled lunch. But more importantly, the kids enjoyed running around outside. 15-year-olds have far too much energy for their own good, and we're going to have to get it out of them so they can focus.
Then, recitation. Rather than standing in front of 40 kids and teaching, I stood in front of 10 kids and taught. In a lot of ways, this was perhaps more intimidating due to the endless supply of questions. At the same time, it was a lot easier to assess the understanding of a smaller group.
Again, recitation went rather smoothly. By explaining everything slowly and thoroughly, and working through examples together, the kids solidified the concepts presented in lecture. And I fell a little bit in love with teaching.
But I was moreso in love with the watermelon we enjoyed just before lab. Look at this picture of Lama... don't you just want to SQUEEZE HER?!
What about Aalaa... let's squeeze her too!
Lab happened, and much chaos ensued. The students used their knowledge of primitives and variables to work through some math examples, and to calculate the time a race car would take to finish a race. Since this was the first time they had really written code, it was 2.5 hours of running around and answering questions, and familiarizing students with the lovliest part of Java: error messages.
After MEET ends for the kids, MEET continues a little while longer for the instructors as we talk about how the day went, and ways we can improve on the following day. The Year Two instructors planned how they would keep Zach awake during lectures.
When we got back to the flat, we (Bo, Mike, Ted, Zach, and I) decided to walk to our favorite falafel place. There is a really sketchy cart in front of Damascus Gate that stays open long hours. Given the high traffic of the area, as well as the high quality of the food, this falafel stand stays excessively busy. They also fry up your falafel and prepare the other ingredients right in front of you. All of this deliciousness for only 6 shekels. I've not yet seen anyone other than the locals brave this stand; an obvious sign of excellence. Here's the giant deep fryer (as opposed to a "friar" which is a monk, or a "fryer" which is a young chicken; thanks, Humberto), home of wonderful chickpea greatness.
Ted convinced Bo and Zach to go to the restaurant around the corner instead, but we all ended up eating together in a pleasant outdoor setting, complete with grapevines overhead.
On our way back home, Ted picked up lots of fruit from a local vendor, including figs. I'd never tried a fig before... they are DELICIOUS. So sweet, almost like candy. Nothing at all like a Fig Newton, I assure you.
In like of today's quote of the day, it must be noted that Jerusalem is filled with cats. Andy mentioned he was disappointed in my lack of cat pictures. This is partially because I hate cats, and partially because the ones here are so stealthy. Unlike cats seen in American cities, these are not overfed pets gone astray; they are scrawny, wild creatures slinking through the dumpsters of Jerusalem. Not fodder for cute pictures, and also not desireable for petting. Regardless...
"no picturz plz"
"i iz in ur cities, climbing ur treez"Quote of the Day: "Jerusalem is lolcats gold." (Max) (see http://www.lolcats.com)
Next Post: Tuesday, the humpday of Jerusalem.
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