They are precious in His sight

The holiday is approaching!

Next week is a China National Holiday. I really don't know what it is for, but I kind of don't care because I get the week off of work (woo hoo!). I am super excited because I get to travel around China. I leave on Saturday with 4 boys from our group to Zhang Jie Jia. You should look it up, it is absolutely gorgeous. All for of these guys are definately "manly men" in regards to they have the attitude of "we don't care if we have a place to sleep at night" and "Sarah, you have to make sure all your stuff for one week fits into a carry on bag", so it should be exciting. I did reserve a hostel for us to stay in, so I know I have a place to sleep (and them too if they want to join). Then it is off to Yangshou. Well, we fly into Guilin then take a ferryboat to Yangshou on the Li River. We will meet up with the rest of the group (so there will be 12 of us total) to spend that remainder of our time ni beautiful Yangshou.

Unfortunately for y'all this means no random stories and pics from me for a week. So sorry to all those who waste time at work by readin my blog. BUT (and there is a light at the end of the tunnel) I will be back the following week with pics and stories that are at least somewhat amusing and interesting. I am just assuming that everyone loves to read what I have to say, so humor me and pretend like you do :)

Oh yeah, on a random note... my phone is working now! I know, it took forever to work, but now I can communicate with the outside world once again! Let me know if you want the number.

More pics of the Bund area

Looking over the Huangpu River into Puxi at sunset.

Mc Donald's are everywhere! Good for me b/c I love vanilla frosty cones, but still kind of disturbing.

Walking around Shanghai

The Pearl Tower!

Last weekend the weather was absolutely gorgeous. For the first time in a little while the sun was shining so staying outside was a mandatory. No one else wanted to do anything, so I just decided to walk around and explore a little. I went to the Bund, more exacly Pearl Tower. Shanghai is divided into parts: Pudong (the side I live on) and Puxi (pronounsed Pu Shi) and the dividing line is the Huangpu River. Anyways, the Pearl Tower is in Pudong and side opposite of the River is Puxi.
As I was saying, the day was absolutely amazing and I hope that you can enjoy these pics as much as I enjoyed the day.

This week in review

This week in class went pretty well except for I had a few random events take place:

1) Monday-- the first kid peed his pants in class
2) Monday-- in my after school class a girl burnt her hand b/c she was getting water out of the dispenser and got the "hot" water and not the "cold" water. Apparently 5 year olds don't associate red with hot and blue wioth cold yet. Oh well, she should have brought water with her to soccer class anyways.
3) Tuesday-- my second kid peed her pants (I was afraid a trend was starting)

Well, besides 1 burnt hand and two wet pairs of pants everything went as planned! All in all a successful week.

Oh yeah, hopefully this weekend my phone will work b/c we found out where to buy the stupid piece we have been missing. Well, we actually went to the store to get it and after 45 min on taxis and subways and getting lost twice we arrived at the electronics place at 7:10 to find out it closed at 7... oh well. At least now I know. Email me if you need the number.

I found a team!!!!

The other night I was at a bar called O'Malleys and started to talk to this guy named Max. Anyways, I found out that he plays soccer and the team is sponsored by the bar. Turns out that there is a league in Shanghai and that each team kind of represents a country (his team is the Dutch team and there's a British team, Japanese Team, German team, etc.) He told me that they were going to a tournament this weekend and that I could come. Even though I would not be playing I wanted to go and at least be around soccer. Long story short, after their first game like half the team had to leave and they found out that I played so they let me play the last two games. It was kind of funny b/c I felt like a little kid in my father's clothes b/c the jersey was huge, my shorts went past my knees and the socks couldn't stay up w/o tape. Regardless of how ridiculous I looked I did not care... I got to play.

The guys on the team are so nice and I had a great time. Most of them are from Holland, but Max is from Argentina, two guys are from the US, and I am sure another counrty or two is represented.

Every Tues they practice so I am going to start to practice with them. As far as I know there are no women's leagues, so this is all I got. I am not sure if I will play in other games, only if they need me, but I am so stoked to be able to pracitce once a week. At least when I return to Cal Copy I will not have lost my skills, and hopefully they will improve.

I finally get it...

For the longest time I have wondered why teachers want to teach and why they like it so much (ok, I realize that there are some teachers who don't like it, but let's leave them out for argument's sake). Anyways, my first week of teaching I wondered why the heck I even wanted teach and why it seemed like a good idea. Trying to control four year olds who don't even really know english, how was that a good idea? Well, I think I am finally realizing why... the joy that they have.

There is this boy in my class whose name is Luke. He is super cute but really hyper and does not listen. I tell him to sit and he doesn't. I move his chair to the back and he doesn't care so I move him to the front of the room and he sits (thank God) but he scoots his chair around and is just a bigger distraction. I keep him after class to talk to him, but he doesn't understand so I feel like the teacher on Charlie Brown who speaks but the words just come out as noises. So, I decided to talk to his Chinese teacher so that she can talk to him (at least she knows Chinese) and I find out that even in Chinese class he misbehaves (I was relieved to know that is wasn't just me). Anyways,I realized that disciplining is not really going to work, so I decided to just keep him involved. On Wednesday he was a lot better (not perfect,but who is) so I gave him a sticker. He came for class in the afternoon and he was so much better.

Well, I talked to his teacher to tell her how good he was and she told me that in the morning he showed her the sticker so she gave him a big hug and that even in Chinese class he was better. It amazed me that all it really took was one simple sticker for him to be better. Seeing Luke change in such a short time made me realize that I can have an impact on these children.

There are countless other stories of my kids and how in just two weeks I already have so much love for them. At times they drive me up the wall, but they are teaching me so much. They are teaching me about the little joys in life. They are teaching me that even a sticker can be the biggest reward. They are teaching me how to be a kid again. They are teaching me about patience and understanding. They are teaching me that there is so much in life to learn. They are teaching that it is fun to run around and scream with laughter. They are teaching me that it is ok to to dance crazy and sing with a bad voice and color outside the lines...

And I realize that this is why teachers love to teach, because not only do you get to impact others but you get to have others impact you in ways never thought possible. And so here are some pics of my kids... some are of them running and sleeping, no, they ARE NOT falling asleep in my class (althought this boy Danny thinks it is funny to pretend that he is sleeping) in a song that we do and the others are of them coloring.

I love my kids

So, for the first time my students are listening to me. It is unbelieveable. I hope I am not jinxing myself by openly stating this. I have to say that it is so glorious to be able to feel like I am controlling my classroom instead of my kids driving me into complete insanity where banging my head against the wall seems like more fun (and trust me, that is how I felt last week).

Today I was able to get through my complete lessons and I even had time left over. In case you are wondering, we are learning to ask "What's this" and respond with "It's a..." We are also learning about the letters P and B. It is so awesome to have a job where I get to sing the Hokey Pokey and read Berenstain Bears and act like a complete fool. I always wondered why people taught elementary school but now I know. Despite the agony I have when I have no control, the moments where they listen and do what I say are just beautiful. Also, running around and singing and dancing is actually a good work out, so I kill two birds with one stone!

Coffee, glorious coffee

This week has been beautiful... no, I am not talking about the weather b/c it has been raining. Anyways, this week has been beautiful because I found a coffee shop and I got a coffee maker! I know, this sounds so trivial, but believe me I could not be happier. For the past month I have been drinking this Maxwell House instant coffee crap. The sad thing was I sort of started to get use to it. Well, not sure if I got use to it or if my body decided it should stop trying to fight the crap that I was drinking b/c it would be the coffee it would get. Tangent, so back on track. The coffee shop is called the Coffee Beanery. It has couches and even magazines in English! There, I sat on a couch drinking REAL coffee with whip cream as I read some trashy gossip magazine... it was so beautiful. Sure the gossip magazine was a month old so I sure it is now old news, but to me it was new. Who knew that Ashley Simpson got a nose job (not me till two days ago). And then, to top it off, I was given a coffee maker! This means in the morning I can now make coffee. Praise the Lord! I need to figure out what type of coffee here is good, but even crappy drip coffee is better than instant coffee. If you don't believe me I will send you some of the stuff I have been drinking and you can compare and get back to me.

I know, simple pleasures for simple people, but I don't like to think of it this way, I like to think of it as a a coffee addicts dream come true.

Pics of my classroom

Here are pics of my classroom. I admit, one of the board I can't get to stay on the wall so it is crooked. I will send pics of my kids. Last week I was so lost in the class and had not control and today they were so freaking cute. I am learning so much everyday about being a Kindergarten teacher. I am convinced that I will learn more than they will. As the saying goes... "all I ever need to know I learned in Kindergarten."

Chipmunks...

Whoever said that chipmunks can't be pets? I was tempted to get one but I was able to show some self control. It would be fun, but then I thought about having the things run around my house and I walked away. Besides, I don't want to get rabies. Oh yeah, Mom, the tower of turtles was a picture I thought you would appreciate :)

Big Thumb Plaza

Big Thumb Plaza is an area in Pudong that we visit at least nce a week. It is a nice little break from the Living Quarters and there is an American food restaurant that resembles a 50's diner called Moon River. Every Tuesday is teacher Tuesday and we get 50% off all the food. It is nice to be able to get a salad (that is what I get) but others enjoy hanburgers, breakfast burritos, etc. There also is a DVD store where we can buy just about nay movie or TV series for really cheap. They vary from like $1.50 to $2.50 per DVD while TV series are like less than 4 bucks per season. It is nice to be able to get TV fixes ever now and then. At this time we are into Gilmore Girls and Band of Brothers. Kind of an interesting combo, but such is life. I also like that there is a McDOnalds for vanilla cones. It is hilarious b/c the workers there have a western theme and they wear black denim jeans with the McDonald's Arch sewn on the butt pockets and cowboy hats. I want to take a picture, but I am not sure how they would feel about it

First day of teaching

Today was the first day of school, well, at least for me. The students have been in school since Friday (so this is technically day three) but for me it was the first time that I had them alone. As they entered into the classroom I could not tell who was more frightened, the students or myself. I had my lesson planned, even with back up activities and everything, the seating arrangements were made so that I knew where each child would be sitting, but a slight )ok, slight may be an understatement) feeling of apprehension lingered. Questions and thought shot through my mind: What if none of them know English? What if I lose complete control? What if I have a cryer, or even worse, a pee-er? What if they get bored? What if all of them have ADD?

As they came into the class I could tell that they were a bit timid. I approached each of them, got their English name (since there is not way I can remember their Chinese names) and showed them their seats. There was one girl who came in with tears and she was supposed to be in another teacher’s class, but she was scared and wanted to be with my class, so I sat here down with her friends and the crying ceased (boy was I relieved). One by one they began to be seated, and each of the looked up to me wide-eyed wondering who I was and what the heck I was doing. I took a deep breath and the first class began.

The first class was only an hour, and the hour flew by. Surprisingly the kids knew more than I thought… in fact, I was shocked to know that some of them could write their names (trust me, this is huge). I spoke, and they listened. I asked questions, and they answered with enthusiasm. This is not to say that I did not get the ever so common look that basically screams out “What are you talking about”. I also had the roamers, the kids that couldn’t keep their hands off each other, the students that are “too smart” and yell out every answer, the kids that are quiet, but answer when I ask them questions, my ever so favorite kids that pull the shapes that I have taped to the desk to designate seats... When the hour was over, the chairs were put away, the crayons were put in the baskets and placed on their shelves, and their pictures were placed in a pile, and I realized that I will be able to survive this year.

finally, pics of our apartment

Well, I realize that moving is a never ending battle, ecspecially when starting from scratch and having to move three times within two and a half weeks. I have come to the conclusion that we will probably be getting random items for our apartment for awhile, so I figured I might as well show you my new place. It is a pretty sweet set up. We have "wood" floors, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a decent size living room, a dining area, two balconies... Our apartment has kind of turned into the hang out apartment since we have the biggest one since it is three BR. It is nice because most the time I don't have to go anywhere to see everyone at night (not like our friends live far). I have included pictures of our living room, dining area, kitchen, and my bedroom. Everything, except for my bedroom furniture pretty much came from Ikea (thank God for Ikea). I still need to hang some pictures up in my room and buy a shelf type thing. My favorite part of my room is my window seat. I basically have been using it for storage, but the other day I did watch Entourage on my computer in my window seat. I hope to buy more pillows and make it into my reading area (assuming I start to read more).

Anyways, since I am sure most of you won't get to see it in person, this is the best I can do. I actually really like our apartment. Since we are on the third floor, and not the first as we were before, we have gotten rid of our ant and mosquito friends, which is so nice. I have realized that mosquitos LOVE me. Normally I would like to be loved, but in this case it sucks. Since we have moved I have had a lot fewer attacks so not only did we get a better apartment but I also am getting bitten a lot less. I guess having to move isn't always a bad thing!

Translating English

I am not saying that my Chinese speaking is even existent, although I did tell the taxi where to take me today and I got to where I needed to go, but it is freaking hilarious to see how Chinese gets translated into English. We wonder why companies can't just get an interpreter or a proof reasder, but it is cheap entertainment for us. For example... today in a taxi there was a sign posted behind the head of the taxi driver which reads (and this may be somewhat paraphrased), "Drunkards and schizophrenics may not drive alone". I also purchased beef jerky today. I realize that that in itself was a risky manuvuer because I really have no idea if it was even really beef, but I love beef jerky so I figured I might as well try it. Anyways, here is what suggestion on the back of the package read (I have also included a picture of the beef jerky bag).

In case it doesn't come out this is it word for word "Don't be big the mouth when children is eating, so as mot (and no I did not mispell that) to choke, thank you!"

Our phone and internet

Today we got internet in our apartment... Yea! The internet man came and installed it. For 15 RMB he said he would hook up our wireless router, and considering that is less than 2 bucks we figured, why not? Anways, not realizing that our wireless router is 110V not 220V like it needs to be in China he plugged it in and caused it to short circuit. Damn, one battery down. Well, thanks goodness our router for our phone was Linksys too, Janai grabbed that battery so we could hook up the wirless router. This time we plugged in an adapter thinking that that would cause it to not short circuit and to our amazement the wireless router turned on. Unfortunately it turned on for about 5 seconds before it too short circuited, kind of started smoking, and now no longer works. So, what this means is that we have a router for our wireless, a router for our phone, working internet, but not batteries to plug them in. We can plug our computers into the cable, so we can use it one at a time, but our phone doesn't work and we can't all be on at the same time :( Hopefully we can find the batteries and buy them and get everything working. Oh well, we are at least one step closer to having it all situated.

Where we live...

Here are some pics of where we live. I will take pictures of the inside of our apartment once we have everything set up. Right now it is kind of a mess b/c we have boxes still everywhere. Well, not everywhere but enough that I will wait to take pictures. My classroom is all set up,. so I will also post pictures of it next week so you can see where I work. Love to you all.