I know a lot of people were concerned that I was just having way too much fun over here and doing nothing, but rest assured, all that has changed. School has started. Classes officially began on Monday. I spent the weekend before writing up my ‘apresentacao’ to introduce myself to the class and writing my overly strict rules for the classroom and being reeeally nervous about Monday. Becky and I showed up like an hour early for our afternoon classes. We get there, and all the teachers are just lounging around and students are just hanging out. I was told, ‘Maybe we’ll start Wednesday.’ There was a holiday, Hero’s Day, on Tuesday, so I guess no one felt like teaching on Monday. So! I got nervous all over again on Tuesday night, showed up Wednesday, and finally did introductions. I don’t want to be dramatic, but I kept having those moments where the voice in your head is like ‘I can’t believe this is happening right now, stop talking to yourself and focus on what you’re supposed to be doing!’ Since it was the first week, only about half the students showed up, which is a scary thought, because even with half a classroom, it was hard to get them to pay attention. I had a couple students correct my Portuguese (I need to get a tutor soooon to look over my lesson plans, that’s going to get old fast). During my second day of lessons, I shut the door because it was loud outside, and when I tried to open it at the end of class, it was locked. That’s right, some students locked the door from the outside and we couldn’t get out. This, the class found to be hilarious. After a few minutes of yelling, someone came and unlocked it and let us out. All in all, I am mentally exhausted from my 3 day week. I am really proud of myself for getting through my first few days without anything really horrible happening. I did not have an emotional breakdown in class, hit any students or faint. For me, this is a success. Next week: substances and mixtures; it’s going to be awesome.