The First Day at School, well, sort of...

A Romanian School Crossing Sign

The first of September is supposed to be the first days for teachers to go back to school, but at my school this was not the case. Students who did not pass their end of year tests last year had to re-take tests and this meant that no teachers (except those giving exams) could go into the school. My counterpart and I tried to do an errand at school on Monday and were refused entrance at the gate because we weren't involved in the testing. So the first of September came and went and I did not go to school.

However, today we finally got to go! I was excited at the prospect of meeting other teachers and getting copies of the English textbooks so I can start lesson planning. Today was just a day where teachers could do work if they wished so there was no official schedule. The student schedules have not been made yet, so no teachers know which classes they will be teaching. I was looking forward to meeting the two new English teachers that will also be new in my school this year, but they were not at school today. No one has met these teachers yet as teachers are assigned based on test results, especially my counterpart, who is the head of the language department. While I did not get to meet two of the teachers that I will be sharing classes with; I was able to meet a few of the 100+ teachers in the school. It was nice to meet a few more people in town (now I just need to be able to remember all their names).

Before we left school for the day, my counterpart and I walked over to the building that houses the language classrooms to get copies of the English textbooks for me. A woman ran up to us and stopped us just before we entered to let us know that the whole building had just been fumigated so we could not go in. Thus, I will save getting my books for next week. We can't go to school tomorrow because of more exams. For now, I'll be happy for a three day weekend!