Some Like it Hot

Hot- the only adjective used by our coordinator to describe Pekanbaru, my home for the next 9 months. Considering that she is Indonesian and used to the heat, I may be a little worried. While I will not actually be living in Pekanbaru until the third week of September, I have been told a little about the city. Pekanbaru is a large town/city, and the school I will be teaching in is very large. My accommodations will be dorm-like, with a bedroom, bathroom (with western toilet) and small kitchen, kind-of like a rented room. Much different than the 5-star hotels that we have been used to for the past week, and which we will be living in until September 17th. I will be teaching English in a Muslim vocational school to 10th grade students for the first three months, and 11th grade students for the last 3 months. It will be a challenge considering that each grade has about 300 students (split between classes) and that I am used to teaching a much younger set. However, I believe that everything happens for a reason; so, I will make the best of this experience to strengthen my skills as a teacher.