I am one week into the 10 week program called "Stage One." This is a time of orientation as well as language/culture study. Last week was primarily orientation to the country & the field, and we are now on the threshold of a new daily routine: excursions and tutoring.
On Friday, we paid a visit to a neighbour's home. This woman knew we were new to the country, and she very graciously visited with us and shared some suggestions, advice, and observations with us. She served tea and goodies, and explained things as she went along (such as how long to wait before partaking of the refreshments and why she didn't pour herself any tea). She also invited our questions and drew us into conversation (through an interpreter). She encouraged us to smile a lot, say "thank you" a lot, and say "sorry" a lot, saying that those are the three most important things. She also said we should talk a lot, and not worry about making mistakes.
While we were in the neighbour's home, we took pictures of household objects, such as a plate, spoon, and chair. Tomorrow morning, each of us will meet with a tutor and begin learning the vocabulary for some of the objects we noticed in our excursion to the house. We may also learn some verbs and practical expressions (like "please sit down") as well.
After our tutoring session, we'll be going on another excursion--this time heading downtown to observe, experience, and learn about different modes of transportation. The next day, we'll learn transportation vocabulary with our tutors, then head off on another excursion. This is the pattern that we'll follow most days of the next several weeks. We'll have opportunities to experience new things & learn the language that goes along with them!
No doubt I'll be posting more about specific excursions as we go along, so stay tuned. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment