Time

I just feel like I don’t have quite enough time! I need to keep working on lesson plans but I want to give you guys more info. Here I go, trying to be super fast yet give lots of details.

TIDBITS FROM TODAY: Ha ha. I was working with my kids on spelling and one of the words was potatoes. So my assistant wrote it out in Chinese. It was like 5 characters! Just for that little word. So I took a picture. And he said it was actually 2 words in Chinese. But still!

My assistant came in today and gave me an umbrella. It was very thoughtful. He said there is supposed to be a typhoon coming in soon (Yvonne said tomorrow!) and he thought I might need it. I’ve decided to put it into my scooter. Then I’ll have one at home, one at the office and one in the “car.” Oh here’s something funny – I rode in a car today and immediately put on my seatbelt. Then I thought I wonder if I’ll still do that a year from now since my main transportation is a scooter and they sure don’t have seatbelts. Hm.

The first day of this week’s camp, I had to take attendance but they only had Chinese names typed on the role. So the students wrote in their English names. One boy didn’t have an English name and they told me to give him one. ME! I don’t feel qualified for such a thing. Too much pressure! What if he hates it? I don’t know anything about him so can’t even make an educated decision. Plus I’m not his parent. They are the ones responsible for naming him! The crazy thing – English teachers in primary school are the ones that give kids their English names. I think I would just have a jar of names and pull them out randomly. Te he.

Okay, one more thing about today. My assistant was asking me what I eat. Apparently he thinks I’m struggling (okay, honestly I sort of am) so he took me out to lunch. So nice! And it was expensive. It was SO much food. My goodness. 5 courses: appetizer, soup, salad, main course, dessert, drink. At first I looked at the menu and tried to decide between 3 things. Then he said I had to choose one from each category! And I couldn’t eat all of one thing. The manager came over and asked if there was a problem. I couldn’t even explain, since he spoke Chinese. Sorry, dude! It was delicious, but way too much for me. It could have been 3 separate meals. The salad was hilarious. Little pieces of lettuce all stacked with a piece of cabbage on top. At one point I knocked them over. I was sort of afraid someone would come yell at me. If I didn’t think it would be considered rude, I would have taken a picture. So that was a very interesting experience!

TIDBITS FROM THE PAST: one day this week, maybe Monday, Yvonne said, “You have such long legs.” I chuckled. She said, “I was looking at your pants that were hanging up drying and thought you have long legs like a man.” I almost was offended. But decided it wasn’t worth it and she didn’t mean to be rude. Then she said she is envious. I just sort of shrugged. It’s just what I have. I guess thank you to all my forebears and their long-leg genes.

Well, that is all I can think of right now. Here’s something you may find funny. They don’t use toilet paper on a roll. It is individual sheets that come out of the package one at a time. So the toilet paper holder is actually a square box. And it has a lid. Why? Because you don’t want it to get wet when you shower! Te he. Another thing to adjust to.

Oh dear! I nearly forgot something important. MAIL TIME: I received a package from my family and a letter from my Dad. Boy was I excited to be handed those 2 things by the security guard. But then we went to the market right after we got home. And after the market, I got sucked into a movie while eating dinner. So I ended up forgetting about my mail. Made myself laugh. I really did love it. Thanks family!! Gotta go now. Lots to do.
A beautiful site -- mail from my family in U.S.A.
The blue writing is the 2 Chinese ways to say potatoes.