Adjusting to Our New Life

I guess I never mentioned my change of classes.  I loved my little first graders from the very moment I met them, but sixth graders are a little harder to love!  They were sassy, bold, and sometimes even rude.  Honestly I was intimidated by them, and had a lot of anxiety just thinking about teaching them.  I taught them once last Monday (after having met them on Friday), and promptly afterwards had a meltdown because it was so terrifying.  I was going to tough it out and not say anything, but sweet Bailey wasn't about to let me carry that anxiety for 4 months of teaching, and talked to the head teacher and our friend Spencer who was more than willing to switch me classes.  So now, I teach second grade as well as first grade!  My first grade class is still my favorite though, so I took another picture with them today.

Poor little Samantha (on the very right) was so melancholy all day long because, from what I understand at least, her water bottle broke.  CJ, next to her, is about the cutest thing ever with his little red coat with ears on the hood.  James, next to him, can be super wiggly, but has been telling me every day, "I LOVE YOU TEACHA MADI!" so it is a little tough to be strict with him.  Yes, Patricia wears those pom pom ears every day, and Diego (right next to my head) still keeps the class in order.  She has this new thing where she says, "AH-TEN CHUN!" and the class says "ONE TWO!"

Not pictured: "Brady" or "Brittney", who was absent today.  Still trying to figure out that one's name #Chineseaccents

I do feel a little bit bad for Jackson, one of the sixth graders I had.  He is definitely a naughty child who can really give a teacher some grief.  He was rude to me and I mentioned it to a Chinese teacher (we are supposed to mention those kinds of things) and I'm starting to think he has been blamed for me switching which is really not right nor very cool.  He hunted me down the other day to deliver a formal apology and this gift, and said, "I made this for you!"  I'm a little confused by it, but very touched.  I just feel bad because he probably feels really bad.

Something wonderful happened this week in the form of a glass bottle.  Mae Ploy: a gift sent from the heavens.  A necessity we never knew we needed.  Something that will get us through the bowls and bowls of rice we eat every day.  Shoutout to the member that ordered us 5 bottles off Taobao!

Bailey and I tried some local snacks from the supermarket bakery the other day.  Some were good and some resulted in faces like this:

We also found a Tesco which was a wonderful thing, because they had cheese flavored snacks!  And this insightful sign.

Tonight the school paid for us to get hot pot, which is actually an experience I've never experienced.  Another experience to experience is a broken stoplight in the middle of a gigantic city as your coordinator drives you to dinner.  Good old Kimmy got us through this craziness, and only used his horn for at least 10 seconds at a time.  He also taught us nice and not nice things to yell out the window when you want people to move.

Hot pot was crazy delicious!  10 of us around the table, dropping raw meat into boiling soup and digging out whatever seemed cooked... good times.  My favorite were the quail eggs!

On our way to the corner market tonight we stopped in a random indoor alley that is usually used for parking motorbikes.  There was some hardcore mahjong going on - they have freaking automated tables that shuffle your blocks and deliver them to you in neat rows!

I thought I was adjusted to this place, but I was feeling a little bit homesick this morning.  I can't get out of my head this scene of the trail up to Timp, where the wildflowers grow up to my waist.  I miss the smell of fresh air and clear blue skies.  I miss my mountains and our quiet suburbs.  Though I know if I went home now, the air would be horrible there too and I'd be surrounded by snow (which I hate).  But the nostalgia is real, man.

Of course, I've only been here for two weeks.  And I am loving it!  I'm just glad it's not a forever thing.