Actually, you're in somewhat of an enviable position. First, you're not restricted or confined to what can often be dull and/or impersonal material. Second, you have the opportunity to find that creative person within. Third, your employers are obviously giving you free reign - that in itself can be a confidence booster in that they obviously have placed alot of faith in your abilities.

Beyond all that, you have the opportunity to use authentic materials in your classroom; therefore, my advice is to browse the internet and see what you can find in the way of the use of authentic materials in the EFL classroom. Just to give you a headstart, here's a few excerpts from one such article:

There is obviously a kind of school English which does not seem to exist outside the foreign language classroom. As a result, learners who leave their school surroundings very often find it hard to adapt to the English used by native speakers. Learners who communicate with native speakers constantly have to reshape their linguistic behaviour in those areas of the language which were not taught properly. (p. 232)
The last sentence in the above passage is what I can personally testify to - During the constant process of discovering the main-stream usages of English in the U.S. and in the U.K., I had to UNLEARN a fair amount of the English I was taught back in Taiwan. Nevertheless, even after my twenty years of living and working in English-speaking countries, the earlier years of English instruction in Taiwan was so ingrained in me that it still "haunts" me from time to time.

And this:

This is exactly what we need-a self-created "English Language Environment." This endeavor is even more strategic in EFL learning, where no built-in day-to-day contact with the language is provided.

As for specific contents, teachers need to "shop around" and make selections based on their own and their students' interests, because only interests can lead to a sustainable passion for this practice over the long haul. When learners truly enjoy authentic materials that are pegged to their levels and interests, they could be gradually "hypnotized into" the rhythm and pattern of the target language.

Also, the role of teacher would be transformed into a "coach," providing doses of lexical and grammatical explanations when students encounter difficulties in these areas. Once the students are hooked on these authentic materials, the process of natural language acquisition begins to set in.
2. Examples of Authentic Materials to Use
Books: e.g. Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People series
Magazines: e.g., Reader's Digest, YM, Good Housekeeping, GQ, Time, Newsweek, National Geographic
Video/Audio:
* MSN Video (MSN provides video clips from NBC news, etc.)
* "Behind-the-Scenes" on cable movie channels
* (Selected) films
(Sorry I can't give the proper citation for the
above, but you can find it at "Asia EFL Journal.")

The author of the above also mentioned that textbooks are often improperly sequenced. I've noticed this on numerous occasions in China when I've been handed a textbook to use in one of my classes - a textbook that seems to have been randomly chosen without much in the way of insight, and that I could notice right away was "all over the place" and that showed little in the way of knowledge of proper sequencing.

You would do well to realize that your freshman students, fresh out of middle school, have spent many years studying English mostly by rote. The biggest percentage of them remember only a little of what they've learned because it wasn't presented to them in a logical way and/or they did a great deal of cramming just to pass the exams. Moreover, middle school students are burdoned with an unbelievable amount of work compared to their Western counterparts -English is just a small part of the curriculum.

So, my meaning is that you need to be careful not to assume that because they are college Freshmen they have English skills that are "college level." If you don't have quick access to authentic materials at this point, you might try your hand at writing dialogues that your students can relate to. Don't get overly hung up on the idea that your students need exposure to Western culture. What they need is exposure to the language as it is used in real life situations.

Finally, don't be afraid to do pronunciation drills. You are the native speaker that they really want to mimic. Also, interact with them as much as possible. Create role plays and make sure you model the target language well and frequently. Let them have fun!

Worry not, you can do it - just be yourself and believe in your own abilities.