After about a month of living at Mr. and Mrs. Mills house after the workshop... I moved to my very own apartment!!! I'm pretty proud of it! It is my first one... thankfully it came pretty much furnished! But the best part is that I never feel like I'm alone, all I have to do is talk out loud and I can hear an echo! It's like someone is really talking to me! haha! My living room is HUGE! It's great because I can feel free to invite many Chinese students over at one time, but when it's just me it's more like a mini stadium! My bed my look soft, but do not be deceived... it's only a little cushioned, but it really doesn't matter cause when I finally get to sleep I'm so tired that it feels amazing!
Just for fun Elizabeth, Ruthie, Carol and I all spent the night in a 4 star resort hotel... it was marvelous! and well worth the $35 spent! We went swimming in the most amazing pool! We also slept in hammocks by the beach. It was so relaxing!
So for the last 4 years of my life I have been entering the classroom to sit and be taught... on Thursday, September 1, 2011 that changed...
I walked into my very first class... Sophomore Tourism English... WOW... it was a little intimidating... about 45 students and very few speak English at a conversational level. That's where I come in;) I am there to teach them once a week for an hour and a half how to speak conversational English. Thankfully some understand, and I think more understood than let on. I just hope that I can crack their shells of shyness, and give them the confidence they need to speak in English.
Other than that class I am free everyday... I have to wait for the Freshman to begin classes (they will begin Sept.21) then I'll have more classes to teach! YAY!! But in the mean time I'm studying Chinese, helping Mrs. Mills, collecting ideas for class, reading, cleaning and organizing my house, and spending my time with students! Steve (the other American teacher at my school, who also works for Mr. Mills) and I had a game night. He asked me to invite some students and he would as well... I invited 4 and it turned into 9! He invited 1 and got 3! hahaha There were 13 of us and it was so much fun!!!! We played chopsticks (aka spoons) and mafia... the Chinese people were amazing liars... it's kinda scary! ;)
Another week is beginning and I hope more opportunities will arise! My goal is to build strong friendships with my students and co-workers! and it will also help me learn Chinese;)
