The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of new experiences. I started school about 2 weeks ago, and it seems like I haven't stopped to catch my breath since then. It has been somewhat of a rough adjustment, but I feel like I'm starting to get into the swing of things.
TIS is the total opposite of what I'm used to in every way, so I sort of feel like a fish out of water. The facility is amazing, the students are so great, the administrators are very involved and super supportive, I have a TA, and there are only 15 kids in my class...it's every teachers dream. I love it here, but there is definitely a part of my heart back in my run-down classroom in Fairborn this week as my kids from last year are starting their new school year. My heart breaks thinking about them leaving their first day of third grade without me there to ask, "How did it go?!?"
On a happier note, I love my new students. They are seriously the cutest little things EVER. It was a big shock for me to start my first day in kindergarten and realize that their attention span is nonexistent. Their squirreliness (that's a word, right? maybe I should say "their constant not sitting still"...) is quickly growing on me, and their sweet little faces make up for the thousand times a day I have to say "sit down, please." Most of them have little to no English, but I love it! I love celebrating little victories with them, like trying new foods without crying or remembering to dump the sand out of their socks OUTSIDE instead of on the carpet. :) It's certainly a new and unfamiliar challenge, but I think I'm really going to love being their teacher.
Hm.... What are some funny China mishaps that I can share...
Well, today we went to the store across the street and there was a bag of fish (not like a sealed bag of fish, like real fish in a grocery bag with their tails sticking out) in the ice cream cooler. Normally I would have been appalled, but not in China. You just kind of nod and say, "Well okay then!" and then snap a quick picture. My roommate bought ice cream out of the cooler and we ate it for dessert....it was delicious. :)
Tonight we also squeezed all three roommates and all three of our bikes into the elevator. It was seriously worth the laugh...and worth not having to wait for the elevator twice.
Tomorrow is Open House. I'm a little nervous about it! It's much more formal than the Open Houses I have done before. We'll see how it goes! I'll have translators in my room, so that should be interesting with me being nervous and talking super fast.
Off to bed...up at 5am to do it all over again!
Bye for now! :)
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