Teaching & Swear-In

Last week all of the trainees in my program, EGE (English & Gender Education), moved to Kpalime to practice teaching. The first week I taught at the MLK school, where class sizes were generally small (about 20 students) and in addition to English grammar we taught students about American holidays and sports. The MLK school's director had a vision for a school that was different than the norm in Togo but was unable to get others to agree with him and the curriculumn didn't change. However, after a few years selling and trading bicycles he ran into some wealth, and put it all into building his own school. Thus, the Martin Luther King, Jr. school was created.
This week I switched to the local public school where my class was about 50 students and the focus was just on English grammar and vocabulary. The second school will be similar to where I'll be working at post, where I'll have a class size ranging from 50 to 100. I'll also be using the same text book as this school at post, which is a bit dated (for example, a passage from the reading today was about an air hostess sending a telegram). Part of my job will be helping my post modernize the materials used. So perhaps, I'll be teaching about flight attendants sending texts instead :).
Jumping right into teaching an hour class was overwhelming , but after the second or third class it ran a lot smoother. Students in Togo act pretty much like students in American classrooms; such that, they love warm-up games like "Simon says," and crossword puzzles; they're not a fan of homework and they try sneaking games into class (we had to confiscate an etch-a-sketch this morning).
A difference is how great these kids are at English compared to, in at least my experience, with foreign language classes in the U.S. I barely learned anything in my High School French class, and these kids speak French and local language fluenty, and are now on their way to mastering English. In my class, quatrieme, they're still learning the basics but their ability to form sentences and comprehend new material is impressive. The U.S. should take note and start stressing the importance of foreign languages.
The big difference are the resources. Today about fifteen of my students had the text book; the rest couldn't afford a copy. Computers and projectors do not exist and all of my visual aids have to be drawn on khaki or the chalkboard (all that doodling as a kid finally pays off). Lastly, there isn't electricity and students sit 2 to 3 in a desk.
I was surprised how quickly it was to get over the hurdle of few resources. The great thing about teaching is that if you're energetic and can get students motivated, it's all you need for students to learn. While laptops and smartboards are convenient and make things easier, it's not impossible without them. I just need to get better at sherades for some vocabulary. I wouldn't mind a smartboard though :).
So while I'm loving teaching, I'm very excited to get a few days off. Tomorrow I head to Lome for Swear-In, where I'll officially become a volunteer! 37 people including myself flew from Philadelphia to Togo, and all of us have stayed the course. 12 are in my program , 11 are in CHAP, and 12 are in EAFS. In Lome we'll be shopping for things like mattresses and stoves for post. After we have our Swear-In ceremony where we each have to present ourselves in local language. My local language is Anufo;  to give you a little taste, this is how you say "My name is.." : Bu fere n Lara. I would type the rest of my speech but Anufo has letters English doesn't use.
Anyways, that is what's up in Togo. For now I'm off to go play with the baby visiting my host family, Samuel, who is too cute for words.