I koha võitja Dina Pranti lugu. Flowers in November. Experiences of a teaching assistant from Estonia in Greece.

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1 I koha võitja Dina Pranti lugu Flowers in November Experiences of a teaching assistant from Estonia in Greece. Dina!!! Hello. It s been such a long time since we spoke. Where are you? What is happening in your life? What do you do? I am sure there have been lots of changes. Natalia, an old coursemate of yours My dear it s been a month that I didn t answer to your letter. Sorry. I ll try to make it up for you. Imagine that now there is a distance of approximately 2300 km between us. I m writing you from Karditsathe very heart of continental Greece - a tiny city with a population of I am sitting in teacher s room. In 8 minutes I will hear a bell announcing that I have to go and give a lesson to the 10th grade. What does it all mean? It means that I have gone on my teaching practice using the EU scholarship called Comenius. For 5 months I will be teaching English at the 5th Upper-Secondary School of Karditsa to 120 dark-haired Mediterranean teens. I leave for Estonia in the middle of January hopefully thin and tan. But it will be the end of my Comenius adventure. Now let me tell you the story from the very beginning. Week 1 Dear, how was your flight to Athens? We hope you have managed to have rest. your worried mom and dad After a tiring flight to Athens and a long trip to Karditsa I was woken up by a rooster from a nearby granary at 6 a.m. The bastard was doing his shouting business until 11 a.m. Good morning to you too! Evharisto. One day in our next lives after all the reincarnation processes, when you are a tired Comenius assistant from Estonia and I m a careless Greek rooster, I m going to pay back. I m exploring the area. It s full of animals. During my first independent trip to a local shop I was followed by funny and fast geckos almost all the way. I m so flattered! Have never been escorted by such exotic a company. P.S. Once you re driving outside the city you see sheep, foxes, goats on the way. Wow! That s an amazing experience for somebody who has lived in urban areas all life. I witness all this. Unbelievable!

2 Week 2 γειά σου! So how is Greece? Did you find the people? Ready for the first lesson? Alessio, your amico I have been to school. I have just got to know our principal. He didn t even bother to say hi. Fortunately, other colleagues seem to be having better social skills. They do look at me, speak Greek, even smile. Occasionally. There are 20 experienced teachers, the absolute majority is at least 40 years old. Only 4 teachers, including me, are women. Yikes! This is going to be an interesting year. My students are not really different from Estonian ones apart from the fact that they speak Greek. Rebellious and ridiculous like everyone is in their teens. I think my task here in Greece in terms of teaching is manageable! P.S. Everybody here says: Where are you from? Ah, Australia! That s a beautiful country! Ooops, I think it s going to take a while to teach them where Estonia is. We ve now got a map of the world. That s a good beginning. Week 3 Dina, my love, my dearest girl, why aren t you sleeping? It s too late your caring second half If it is Dante s Divine Comedy, I m now going through the first circle of hell of teacher s profession. It s 1 a.m., I started at 3 p.m. Still checking diagnostic tests written by the new students. I think I m going to die today. Tomorrow when they discover my absence at school and rush into my place, they will find a body lying over papers with a pen in hand which will indicate my aspiration. The pile seems to be endless. I can t do it. Or can I? P.S. Sometimes while checking I also think I might die laughing. Some students write: There are two archers and a sofa in my room (archers<->armchairs) or I would like to order a room for two knights in Dioskouros hotel (knights<->nights). Having very colourful imagination, I m crying. Thanks, Panos. Thank you, Simos. You made my day!

3 Week 4 Kalimera! I m learning Arabic now. So hard. By the way how is your Greek? I m sure you re almost fluent by now. Maria, endine flatmate After a round of fights we ve got ourselves a language classroom. It s been my most successful negotiations so far. I managed a big conflict with only 2 words: signomi (sorry) and evharisto (thank you). The fewer the better. The next day Mr. Principal responded to my evharisto : pas de quoi, madam (Fr. you re welcome). Hmm. This school starts to get multilingual. P.S. Another teacher started speaking Italian to me. Wow! I knew my Greek wasn t perfect... But I did not expect everybody else to get that global so soon. Mr. Pas de quoi, madam said he d take the room away from us. We never lose our hopes. Let s keep our chins up. Week 5 It started to snow here. I think it s time to change to winter tires soon. What about Greece? What s the traffic like? your sister I bought myself a pink bike. Not that I m the fan of the colour, but it s still a means of transport. Each time I say I m going to have a relaxing stroll around the city, I m coming back home all wet. I m sweating, panicking and can t imagine relaxing when big jeeps pass by in 10 cm distance. The traffic is so chaotic and stressful for somebody from the North. I definitely have to adapt the God s attitude to feel comfortable on the Greek roads. P.S. Today during one of my relaxing rides a 70-year old shepherd with a wrinkled face, while transferring sheep from one side of the road to another, said hello in English when he understood I wasn t Greek. You can t imagine how flattering this is for the future teacher of English. Foreign language is a very powerful tool and a skill for life worth all your efforts. You might need it any time.

4 Week 6 Dina, our dearest daughter! We congratulate you on the International Teacher s Day! Now you can call yourself a real teacher. We envy your students. They must be really lucky your proud parents Maybe my students are lucky enough to have me as their teacher, but I have real doubts about my supervisor. He starts banging his head against the wall each time I say: Oh, Gerry! I think I have an idea on how to do it in classroom. Maybe it s all about the Greek gods who sit up there on the mount Olympus and inspire me. I just have an unstoppable stream of ideas that pop out of my head one after another. By the way, since I have arrived Gerasimos - my perfect supervisor - has lost 10 kilos! When people ask him how he managed to achieve such a result, he points at me and says: Get yourself a restless Estonian - and smiles very proudly. We have excellent relationships. I love the way we work together. I am very happy to have him both as my tutor and a friend. P.S. I can see peaches hanging from the branches in the yard. Nobody cares if they fall down and go bad. The same for olive trees. It s time when they gather harvest and squeeze olives. The place smells of olive oil now. Inhale. Exhale. mmm. Week 7 Hi there! life in Tartu is fine. I m starting to fiddle with my MA thesis. reading-thinking... How do you like it to be a teacher in your greek Karditsa? Annie, your keen coursemate I gave 12 presentations about Estonia. After that my students wrote compositions on what they ve learnt. Surprisingly, I found out that the euro has always been in Estonia and in January 2011 we are going to switch to the kroon. Apparently, we re dealing with futuristic art here. And it s all despite the fact that I even brought coins and paper currency to the classroom for them to to touch it, to get the sense of thing. Anyway. Today one of my students said that Estonia is washed by the Aegean Sea. He even tried to show it on a map. I barely could hide my smile. When you re a teacher you live and learn. Truly. P.S. Kids were surprised that such term as siesta doesn t exist in Estonia. Their faces straightened in enquiry: How do you survive that much work? Why? And Dimitris - one of the brightest students - said a sacramental thing because they can. Apparently we do. Compared to Greek people up there in Estonia we don t have a slightest hint of what rest is like.

5 Week 8 dear dina, when do you come to italy teach me one recipe of the Greek kitchen, greetings, Davide, your best friend Oh dear. The Greek food is both nutritious and delicious. Mouzaka, tzatziki, souvlaki, vlita, feta cheese. I keep on gaining weight. When I asked my friend from Italy if he could accept the fact that I might end up rolling instead of walking, he said I could afford extra 2 kilos in my luggage. Isn t it charming? P.S. I ve been to their cinema. Watched Inception. Tried to. Imagine Leo Di Caprio desperately shouting something on the verge of dying, jumping over huge hole trying to survive. The second after the screen turns off. That s a 10-minute break. People in the Mediterranean just need to have time to talk, visit restrooms, buy crisps. I m having cultural shock. I want to know what happens to poor Leo. Aargh... can t wait. Week 9 Hei-hei! How is your Mediterranean teaching experience so far? We are going on our practice on the 22nd of November. BTW? Do you have to wear a jacket there or swimsuit is just enough? Kati, your coursemate Today we tried to introduce the term group work to the class. It turns out to be much harder than I thought. I supposed Estonians were the ones who would form 5 different parties when there are four people. No. Now I have to find a way to separate numerous Siamese twins in my classes. P.S. Today in the teaching room, my colleagues paid for my coffee and printed a picture of Tallinn. I showed them ilm.ee website with the news about temperature going down below zero. They said the whole Greek civilisation would come to an end if the temperature once went to -30 in winter. They asked me if I miss home. Of course I do. How thoughtful of them. Week 10 Hey, little D. We miss you. What have you been up to lately? Busy? Janika, one of best friends. I m almost exhausted. Apart from teaching I made 2 big presentations on the Educational system of Estonia for the colleagues of my school and for all the teachers of English of Karditsa. The reactions everywhere are practically the same. People are depressed and wish they could have half of Estonian organisational spirit in Greece. When I tell them about e-school, ID cards and the general idea of e-state I m looked at as if I come from another planet. In a good way of course. Estonia, hold on this summer. There is going to be a huge influx of Greek tourists. P.S. We finished the tasks for the group work. Now the separated Siamese twins don t want to go back to normal seating. They like it too much. It works, it works! Yay!

6 Week 11 It s been a while since you first came to Greece. Any conclusions? Dina, the author Now it s the equator of of my stay in Greece. It s too early to draw big conclusions since my practice isn t even over yet. But the experience so far has already had a very profound effect. Being away from everything I m used to I gain a lot: unprejudiced opinions on my first steps in teaching, extension of personal limits by overcoming challenges both in classroom and in real life, understanding all the hidden gifts and potential I always had but didn t have a chance to realize. When I think of it, I recall that in Estonia sometimes there were inevitable obstacles that wouldn t let me do all this, but most of the time these were mere excuses or easy ways out. Here, on the other side of Europe, I am who I am. There s nowhere to run or hide. In addition, I represent the country I come from. I always have to be aware of what I am doing and the way I look. Most probably the majority of my current students will never travel outside Greece throughout the rest of their lives. Or even never get farther than their hometown. Thus, when is there going to be the next time they are going to see a real Estonian in action? We never know. So while I m here, I try to bring the world to my classroom. I try to share the things I ve seen and experienced so far. I try to reach their minds. I m realistic and I know that most of the time things I say go above their heads. But I m patient. I m sure it will all come out one day. That s why they call it a lifelong learning process. Maybe one day Tasia or Tassos decides to explore the world just like I did... We never know but let s just do our job well and wait to hear the good news about their future lives. I suppose I ve told you everything about my almost revolutionary experiences so far... I will keep up the good work, also enjoying the warm Greek sun and the smell of flowers blooming in November in a small city in the very heart of continental Greece... P.S. The next week is about to start and tomorrow I will step into the classroom, start the lesson, saying: Good morning everyone! and hear hellooo Ms. Prant in return. It will happen in another 6 hours but now it s time too sleep. Kalinixta everybody! For those of you who are teaching, see you in the classroom! For the ones who think of applying, good luck! Truly yours, Dina Prant TU student (MA Teacher of English, 2nd year) Comenius Teaching Assistant in the 5th Upper-Secondary School of Karditsa

7 This picture illustrates my first week at school practicing different activities aimed at getting to know each other in the beginning of new school year.

8 II koha võitja Angelina Laskova lugu Once upon a time in Sicily If anyone had told me a year ago that I would live in Italy, speak Italian language and consider this country as my home, I wouldn t have believed that person. That would sound ridiculous! Can you imagine a girl from a tiny town in the North-East of Estonia, a future teacher of English and Estonian whose dreams and aims are quite modest? Could she dream of Sicily? Well, only as a destination for vacations. But in my case, Sicily has become second home. My story started from an , a simple message containing information about an opportunity to participate in a project, which I have never heard of. That mysterious project was called Comenius. A beautiful name, I thought but what is this all about? And I started reading and asking, reading more and asking as much as possible. At the end of this asking-reading process the final decision was made. Sicily, I m coming! The X-day has come. It was scary, but exciting to go to a foreign country I have never been to. I have never travelled by plane before that day, therefore, I have never been in an airport. I was nervous about the fact that I would teach at school I have never taught at school. Oh, there were so many nevers. But I was trying to encourage and convince myself that everything was going to be alright. Palermo welcomed me with an African heat and warm wind coming from Tyrrenian Sea. A fairy-tale My tutor met me at the airport of Palermo and we headed to the Bed & Breakfast hotel, where I had booked a room beforehand. I couldn t sleep that night, because of strong excitement. I couldn t believe that I was in Palermo. In the morning, I went for a walk to explore the city or at least its central part. I got lost immediately but I had a map with me, so I found the way even without asking for help until certain moment. I was forced to ask for help later that day when I felt desperate to find a grocery store. Can you imagine a tourist asking a local to give directions not to a famous sight but a shop to buy food! In a couple of days since my arrival the issue of accommodation was solved. And I could visit the school where I was supposed to have my teaching practice. I was really nervous, because I was afraid that school s staff wouldn t like me or I wouldn t like them. My tutor introduced me to every single staff member. I didn t memorize any name, there were so many people that I had to get acquianted with, and their names

9 were so unusual for me: Gabriella, Giovanna, Tanina, Giuseppa, Filippo, etc. All these signora and signore confused me as it was so untypical for my country. But what happened next was much more confusing than anything before. When I entered the school building, I got absolutely overwhelmed with about a hundred of kids, each waving a handmade Estonian flag and singing. My astonishment was so strong that I didn t know how to react. They all were extremely curious; I could see how attentively they were looking at me, pushing each other. Everyone wanted to ask me something and they got a chance. They wanted to know as much as possible about me: my name, my origin, languages I speak, my boyfriend and so on. During that day I visited every single classroom and spoke about myself in three languages (Estonian, Russian and English). Children didn t understand a single word but it wasn t my purpose. I wanted to show them how different languages can be and that it is great to speak a foreign language. They liked my performance very much. I was satisfied, too. Then, after arranging my timetable and documents, I started working. I was always supported by my colleagues, English language teachers. They were always there to help me with discipline and translation, because in the beginning I hardly spoke Italian. Day by day, I was getting more confident and convincing. I started feeling myself like a teacher. Even my voice got louder and stronger. In the beginning, I couldn t draw children s attention at all, because I spoke too quietly. Days were passing by and Christmas came. With regard to Christmas, I explained to all the pupils the differences and similarities between Estonian, Italian, English and Russian Christmases. Before leaving the school for vacations, children prepared a performance for their parents. It was fun! My little pupils recited poems in foreign languages and enjoyed it. Their parents were very surprised and fascinated. Last Christmas was also a starting point for an international subproject. As my mother works in one of Estonian schools, I and my tutor decided to use this opportunity and establish certain relationships with this school. We wanted to fulfill an idea of correspondence between Estonian and Italian children, which would be held in English. And we did it! Children wrote letters to Estonian kids and, later, received the answers. They were so happy! They couldn t wait to read those beautiful Christmas cards. Both Estonian and Italian kids got to know many interesting things about the foreign culture and country and, of course, improved their English. Our international mail s participants sent and received letters throughout the school year. They continued this correspondence even after summer vacations. It means that we have set a long-term project, which enriches and encourages as pupils so teachers.

10 There have been many interesting activities and ideas fulfilled, such as Estonian and Russian language lessons and a project called Palermo opens its doors. I taught English, Russian and Estonian greetings, numbers and simple everyday life phrases. I thought that would be impossible for them to acquire all this, but they succeeded. And when in May the project Palermo opens its doors started, children spoke English to the tourists and told them the story of the church of Saint John of Hermit s. They felt very independent and proud of themselves. During these projects my pupils became polyglots, not for a long time, but they did. To be honest, it was very flattering to take compliments on my work as a teacher from the tourists, as my pupils spoke very well. Thus, in the course of time, summer came. Kids were going on summer vacations, my teaching practice came to an end. And we had to say goodbye to each other. It was a very fruitful year, full of new things, new work, new people, new emotions, and new friends. Everything was new and exciting. And what is more important, I felt very satisfied. It is extremely essential to know that you did your best. My teaching practice was supposed to be a starting point for my future career of a teacher. In fact, it has become also a starting point for my new life. I m afraid to think about what would happen if I hadn t received that from Archimedes about the Comenius project I would have never arrived to Palermo, I would have never met my Italian friends, and I would have never seen those incredible Sicilian landscapes. Those nevers would have remained nevers. I am happy they didn t.

11 III koha võitja Eeli-Kadri Posti lugu Comeniuse õpetajapraktika raames olen just praegu tegemas hüpet ühelt Euroopa kultuuri- ja haridusmaastikult teisele - Eesti koolist Rootsi kooli. Kõik toimub praegu, kiiresti ja korraga sissesulandumine, kohanemine, pedagoogilised väljakutsed, uued sotsiaalsed interaktsioonid. Üks harilik praktikapäev koolis on nii mitmemõõtmeline ja ülevoolav, et esialgu on raske üldistusi teha. Ma ei püüagi selles veel varases praktikafaasis oma kogemust igakülgselt kokku võtta, vaid jagan teiega esmamuljeid oma uuest õpetajarollist Rootsi gümnaasiumis. xxx Saabusin siia mägisesse Dalarna maakonna väikesesse nurka Rättviki (4000-elanikuga asula Rootsi keskosas Siljani järve kaldal) augusti õhtupoolikul hiirvaikse ja hirmkiire moodsa lääneeuroopa rongiga. Esimese vaatepildina Rootsist avanes mulle rongiaknast idülliline kuppelmaastik järvesilma ja mäenuppudega. Noogutasin endamisi äratundvalt just sellisena ma kõike kujutanud olingi. Maaliline ja vaheldusrikas Põhjamaa loodus, millesse lõikub heaoluühiskond oma moodsate ja turvaliste rongide, Volvode ja vaskpunaste ühepereelamutega. Teadsin juba ette, et Dalarna on väidetavalt kauneim Rootsi maakond, et Rootsi on kallis, keskkonnateadlik, sotsiaaldemokraatlik heaoluühiskond, et rootslased on töökad, täpsed, rikkad, suitsidiaalsed, üleolevad, introvertsed võrdõiguslikult meelestatud indiviidid. Arvasin, et minu küllaltki süstematiseeritud eelteadmised keelest ja kultuurist aitavad mul kiiresti sisse elada. Sellise, pisut üleoleva hoiakuga alustasingi oma rahvusvahelist õpetajapraktikat pisut enam kui kolm kuud tagasi. Kindlakskujunenud eelhoiakutest hoolimata tundsin end reisile kooli saabudes üsna halvasti ja ebakindlalt. Arvasin, et minul kui eesti keele ja kirjanduse õpetajapraktikandil polegi justkui oma kitsa erialavaldkonna tõttu välismaale asja. Imestasin siis, et Rättviki gümnaasium, kuhu ma sattunud olin, sellest mingit probleemi ei teinud ja mulle kiiresti tegevust leidis. Siiralt abivalmis õpetajad abistasid mind alguses praktiliselt igal sammul, võiks öelda, et lahkus, millega mind vastu võeti, ei haakunud mingil viisil minu ettekujutusega külmast Skandinaavia inimesest. Pean tunnistama, et minu küllaltki lünklik teadmine Rootsi riigist ja rootslastest lagunes kildudeks juba esimestel praktikapäevadel - nii mitmekihiline ja mitmekultuuriline maa nagu tänane Rootsi võib stereotüüpe ühtlasi nii kinnitada kui ka kummutada. Oma põhiülesandena asusin minu enda suureks imestuseks abistama rootsi keele õpetajaid rootsi keele algkursuse läbiviimisel. Olen selle ülesande kujul saanud äärmiselt keerulise, kuid ka erakordselt huvitava väljakutse. Minu õpilasteks said peamiselt täiskasvanud immigrandid motiveeritud ja lootusrikkad inimesed maailma eri nurkadest, kes on Skandinaaviasse uut elu alustama tulnud. Neil kõigil on erinev kultuuriline ja hariduslik taust, kombed ja harjumused, erinev emakeel, kuid üks eesmärk õppida koos suhtlema, töötama ja elama rootsikeelses ja meelses ühiskonnas. Minu õpilaste hulgas on akadeemikuid, on kirjaoskamatuid. On neid, kes alustavad kooliteed esimest korda elus ja peavad seda suureks privileegiks, on teisi, kes ohates peavad juba teistkordselt otsast alustama. Pean tunnistama, et keeleõppe tähendus muutus minu jaoks radikaalselt, kui nägin, missuguseid huvitavaid väljakutseid koolitunnid võimaldavad. Keel ei ole pelgalt suhtlusvahend või

12 abstraktne reeglite kogum, keelega mõtestame maailma ja loome sotsiaalseid suhteid. Taipasin, et keelel on minu õpilaste jaoks suur sümboolne väärtus, sest see on nende uks tulevikku. Seetõttu ei tohiks ka keeletunnid piirduda vaid kirjutama-lugema õppimisega. Uute mõistete tundmaõppimisega püüavad siinsed õpetajad avada ka järjekordse ukse rootsi kultuuriruumi. Et õppida tundma toidutegemiseks vajaminevat sõnavara, küpsetasime klassiga ühiselt traditsioonilisi kaneelisaiu; et tutvuda siinse taime-ja loomariigiga külastasime kohalike talupidajate lautu ja talle ja loodusloo muuseumi. Olen samuti aru saamas, kui oluline on integratsiooni juures kultuuride vastastikune mõjuväli: õpetamisprotsess ei saa kunagi olla valutult ühepoolne, sest mitte ainult õpetaja, vaid ka õpilased tutvustavad oma maad ja keelt. Iga päev koolis on minu jaoks suur kultuurisümpoosion, kus kohtuvad Rootsi, Türgi, Tai, Filipiinide, Brasiilia, Peruu, Kanada ja Eesti esindajad. Mul on hea meel, et hoolimata oma algsest ignorantsest hoiakust, ei pääsenud ma igapäevastest ehmatustest koolis. Individuaalne siin-ja-praegu kogemus erineb alati igasugustest pealiskaudsetest üldistustest. Vaid mõni nädal tagasi rääkisime keeletunnis õpilastega perekonnast ja joonistasime sugupuid. Selle tegevuse käigus õppis üks noor ema esimest korda kirjutama oma tütre rootsipärast nime. Rõõm, mis teda valdas, on kirjeldamatu. Minagi aga olin ühtaegu nii õnnelik kui ka hämmeldunud. Arvan, et õpetamiskogemus nii mitmekülgses keskkonnas ongi aeg-ajalt positiivselt šokeeriv. Positiivselt, sest ärgitab küsima kuidas on see võimalik? ning seejärel ehk nägema, miks ja kuidas see kõik, mis mulle kodus nii võõras, on reaalne kusagil mujal või/ja kellegi teise jaoks. Geograafilisest ja kultuurilisest lähedusest hoolimata pakub elu Eesti naaberriigis üllatusi ka argielu rindel kõik on päris sarnane, aga siiski täiesti uus. Hakkan tasapisi harjuma, et rootslased võivad ühel hetkel olla lahked, avatud ja abivalmid, teisel hetkel endassetõmbunud oma-töö-kallal nokitsejad. Hakkan harjuma ka kange kohvi ja tihedate fika- pausidega (kollektiivne töövaba hetk kohvi ja võileiva jaoks, vähemalt kolm korda päevas), sest need tohitud kohvitamised annavad hea võimaluse kolleegide tundmaõppimiseks ja pingete maandamiseks. Eriti meeldiv on järgida alguses liigse viisakusena tundunud tava: tervitada kolleegi või lihtsalt tuttavat nägu iga kord, kui teda kohtad ka mitu korda päevas. Aga muidugi on lihtsalt tore kaasinimest märgata! Iga päev tekitab jätkuvalt uusi küsimusi igas eluvaldkonnas. Võib-olla teate teie, miks armastavad põhjamaised rootslased regulaarselt tortiljasid süüa või miks ei panda põhikoolis õpilastele hindeid? Kuidas on see võimalik, et paljud rootslased ei tea Eestist midagi? Kas Rootsi koolilapsed on ärahellitatud või lihtsalt eneseteadlikud? Kui paljud rootslased tunnevad rahvuslikku uhkust, kui kõne alla tuleb näiteks Volvo ja Ikea? Miks peavad kõik eramajad olema vaskpunased? Kas monarhia aeg Rootsis on lõppemas? Miks ei salli rootslased teietamist?. Leian, et praktika-aasta välisriigis pakub palju mõtlemisainet ja ka terve virna praktilisi oskusi tulevaseks tööks. Võõras keskkonnas on ehk alguses isegi lihtsam avatumalt, tähelepanelikumalt ja loovamalt toimida. Comeniuse-aasta on piisavalt pikk aeg, et mitte ainult eemalt võõrastada, vaid korralikult sisse elada. Ma ei eeldagi, et kõigest alati aru saan, kuid tahan ja loodan veel paljustki osa saada.