Prayers from China

I am very tired! It was so warm and cozy this morning I did not want to get out of bed! But I did and Helena and I were off to school! No problems this morning which meant we were at school very early! I have come to find that there is no schedule for me. I show up and that is when I figure out where to go and what to do.

I had 3rd grade with Amy today and we were learning animals (which of course I found out as class was starting and I was handed the book!) I thought this was good because I had my animal flashcards, but I didn’t realize they were literally learning animals. This was REAL teaching. 3rd grade is hard because they don’t have the basic understanding of English so we can’t do sentences or anything like that..it is too confusing for them. And my flashcards would have been WAY too much, so I taught from the book! We learned monkey and duck and elephant, more simple animals. I made a movement with every animal (I am sure you can picture this) to help them learn. They we played different games as they got better. To start with I would say the animal and they would do the motion, but then as they learned I would just do the motion so they had to think of the word on their own. Both classes went pretty well I thought, considering I didn’t have the safety net of my beloved flashcards.

My potatoes were back at lunch! Woo hoo! I actually ate all of it except the meat. Helena and I both agree it is definitely not chicken, so who knows what it is. But the gym teacher really likes the meat so I give it to her. At lunch I heard Michael saying “fragrance” and other teachers repeating it. He told me they all wanted to know what I wear so I told him I would bring it tomorrow and us girls could all try it! Then I realized I had smelly hand sanitizer so I gave some to them and they LOVED it! I think I have an extra bottle so tomorrow I will give it to them. I don’t know if they really like it, or like it because it’s American, or just different!

We played at recess and it was a blast! There were kids playing ping-pong so I went over and asked if I could play (they didn’t speak any English..but we managed). Then the girls invited me to jump rope! I found out I am VERY OUT OF SHAPE. But we had fun!

Ah, and then my first bathroom experience. I haven’t gone there yet (I hold it..even when I really have to go) because I have been leaving after lunch! But I knew today Helena and I were staying through lunch and I knew I couldn’t hold it that long. I had no idea what to expect, only that it wasn’t going to be a Ritz Carlton. I was ready for “squatting” but I was not ready for what I saw (pictures uploading as we speak..don’t worry nobody else was in the bathroom!)

I walked in and the room was pretty small. There were openings..not holes, but like slats of 6 inches by 2 feet openings, probably 8 of them. And that was it. And it smelled, bad. Ugh I could not believe I was doing this! I have somewhat gotten use to the “squatters” but always with a door and walls. Now I don’t consider myself the most modest person, but the worst was all the girls saying hello and watching me! Like maybe I pee’d a different way than them! Ugh. I really don’t think it would have been as bad if they weren’t talking and looking at me. I don’t go the bathroom well with an audience. It was an experience to say the least.

Helena and I thought we were staying after for the little kids but the headmaster wanted us in 7th grade. But we were going to be together so I was happy about that. Chilli led us to the room and again wanted us to go over the vocab list and writing (so boring). We would read the list and Helena had a great idea to play hangman! But it didn’t go over so well. I think they were counting the letters and looking at the list and then saying the word! We would still make them spell it but that really wasn’t the point. So then I had them close their books (but we have a LOT of cheaters in 7th grade) and they still didn’t get the concept of guessing letters (even after I did it as an example). Chilli was no help even after I said to her, “Do they understand they need to guess letters? Can you please tell them?”

We decided just to have them write it on the board and I thought a spelling bee would be fun! So we made two teams and had them come to the board and I would say the word and it was a race. I really think they liked this!

7th grade was EXHAUSTING. Even with two of us! We left and weren’t sure where we should be etc. so asked Sophia. She told us we were free to go and I was really ok with that! Teaching classes of this size is just..hard. And staring at 40 blank faces because they don’t understand what you’re saying is hard too. But I love it. I really do love going even though I’m very tired on the way home!

I had some time before dinner and was able to blog etc. which I really enjoy doing. I ran into Callum and we decided we would meet at 6:30 for dinner. It ended up being just the two of us and we went to the “mall” area. It is more expensive and touristy but we looked at a couple of menus before deciding on Element Fresh (I had read they had some Western food!) Even though I was craving pasta I got chicken, rice and broccoli. But, the chicken looks VERY different than what I would have expected in the U.S. The meal was pretty good and relatively cheap and it was nice to have dinner with someone and talk about our days (he enjoyed my bathroom story..nice dinner talk I know!)

I think we are going to make it the Julie & Callum weekend! Ali and Randi are in Shanghai for work and Bronwen is going back to school. So I think tomorrow night we are going to go and see the Olympic Stadium (it is lit up at night). And then I am not quite sure about Saturday and Sunday..we are still trying to figure it out. It is nice because he is like my little brother here (Scott I love you more..) and I am enjoying having someone to do things with.

On a much more serious note, this was the first day I hated the fact I was in China and not at home. I would like to ask for everyone’s prayers for my Uncle Tom (he was diagnosed with leukemia in early 2009). After Callum and I got back my mom called to let me know that he had been taken to the ER and was not doing well at all. It was the first time since being here that I hated the fact I am half way around the world. I would really appreciate your prayers for Tom, my family, his family and more selfishly, myself. I am definitely struggling with the fact that I am not able to be closer to my family right now. I love you guys!

Well, after a long day I am off to bed!

Hugs, kisses and prayers from China.