Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Road Closures, ATM's out of cash and SWINE flu
OHHH where do I begin...First, it is Tuesday night! One more day of work then off to Bali. I know most people back home don't know anything about Bali, either did I before I arrived here. I knew it was another place besides the US, that was about it. Bali is in Indonesia, it is a small tropical island. Sand, surf, sun and booze. :) I am going with the girl I coach volleyball with, she is from California. Rough few days, but making it through. Everyone here is so broke, our wallets are so dry they need WD40. Not kidding, we haven't had a real paycheck since May 25th. I had my last bit of ramen tonight, hoping that I don't have to eat ramen again until the depression hits Asia. I heard through the grapevine tonight that we had already received our paycheck, I road home quickly after practice, avoiding as much rain as possible through my rain gear, grabbed my ATM card and bolted to the ATM. (I had already received word that the ATM's around here run out of cash). Was there in 5 minutes to an ATM that needed WD40 too...:( Looks like my wallet will stay dry another night... This is what happens I guess when you have an all cash society. I do have to say I am glad for the early release day tomorrow. China is getting ready for their big celebrations so they just close roads. We have to be able to get the kids home in time, which means early release for us...smile... Lastly, the swine flu..since China is highly over populated they do not have enough vaccinations for the H1n1. Every school I enter I am getting my temp check. Before buses, before I pee, always temp checks.. If you have any sign of a temp you are sent to prison. You are not released for year, since the symptoms for H1n1 may be dormant. OK, HA HA HA not that intense, but damn, they are ON this one. I am glad they are though! Alright, my man is calling..love you all~! I will have lots to talk about after Bali. Get back the 10th. Then only 2 months until I get to come home..I am going to eat and eat and eat when I get back to the states! ( I MISS AMERICAN FOOD)
Friday, September 25, 2009
Friday Evening...
Been awhile since I have wrote, so let the novel begin! I know DAD that you want me to change the background so you can see it better, I will do that too:) I will break this into sections, since it has been so long..
Last weekend was my first time watching a rugby game, oh my...Never knew it was so intense. The weekend started by me staying in on Friday night. I am honestly realizing I am older now. I don't care to go out all night, I hate being tired, and I like relaxing on Friday's. That is so different for me, as the last 10 years I never missed a beat. I can't wait until Jordan is here, we can do dinners in town, explore the city during the day, and just be together in China.. So, the rugby game! My Asst. Principal Ty plays in a competitive league, after my vb tourney on Sat we made it a fun filled day. It started off with beers on our bike ride home from my vb tourney. There was a grand opening going on right by the school, I have never seen so many black haired people in one place. They loved looking at us drinking beers on our pink bikes..I think they thought we were part of the grand opening. lol. We continued having beers on the subway, then during the game. I enjoyed the game, what is better then watching a bunch of big men holding each other in bear hugs, tackling each other, kissing. HA HA. The game was good, we were invited on their team bus to have more beers after. The bus ride is what made the day. The guys were singing, and we were definitely bonding! My friend Kelsey was proposed to by this Russian guy, he even said the names of their future 4 children! The night continued on until the late hours, good times... Sunday was a lazy day. Hours on Skype with Jordan then a two hour massage. The massage places around here are super cheap. I paid 15.00 dollars for two hours..I was over it at first, they put me in a room that someone had just smoked in. They smoke EVERYWHERE HERE. UGH.
China Trip: The entire school leaves for a trip once a year. Each grade level does something different. The younger kids, my kids, went to a town two hours away called, Suzhou. The point of these trips is to socialize them with reality. 99% of our kids come from affluent homes, live in compounds that are hidden away from the real China. The compound (AKA neighborhood) next to me that majority of them reside in is similar to Scottsdale. The older grades go and live with locals in small towns, they volunteer at orphanages or help out in the schools or farms. Since my kids are still so young, they got to camp for the first time. For me it would've been easy, but the rain poured like Niagara falls! From the moment we got on our boat ride to the island it rained..The island we went to has 280 families that live on it. It was neat to see that they are completely self sufficient. From their goat milk to their chili pepper treas, to the daily fish that sat in the sink waited to be cook, it was all there. The women cooked and cleaned, the men fished. I watched a man one morning grab the closest chicken, kill it, then clean it in the lake..nice hu? It sure did taste good though! We did manage to get a hike in, but most of the day was spent indoors playing card games, talking and bonding. I truly take each moment in with these kids. They all come from different cultures, have different ways of doing things, ways of how others should be etc. The true meaning of International School is finally hitting me. Setting up tents went smoothly, came back after bringing in supplies, looked up to realize the girls might as well just slept in my tent. I was in the center, they were so close I could have tickled their backs:) When I finally got everyone settled in, I laid down with my journal, listened to the rain and relaxed. I have always loved listening to the rain while I fall asleep. Then I heard one zipper, followed by zippers all night. If one wasn't up it was another..Finally I fell asleep, prayer after prayer asking God to let up on the rain, I hear another zipper..Followed by, "UM, Ms. Johnson I have to pee." After a few deep breaths, I said, "Just pee behind the tent." I was finally dry, and my last time I got up I slipped on the mud, flew up in the air, and hit my butt pretty hard. Thank god I have a cushioned butt! I was so out of it, irritated, that I didn't even realize that this young Korean girl probably hadn't pee'd outside..I won't continue with that story, just a bit of it was her tent mate waking up telling me she pee'd in the tent! I think I was able to get a few hours of sleep, I was obviously to sleepy to figure out that my pillow was soaked, so was my bag, but I was dry...
I did like listening to all of them talk to their mom's before bed. 6 different languages, all at once... I am finally adjusting/accepting the language barrier. It can cause a helpless feeling, a feeling of insecurity, a feeling of jealousy and more... To speak a different language would be great. I do realize how many of the locals want to learn English, and I want to learn Mandarin, it is just so hard... If I was younger, not that I am old, I would possibly think about starting an International school in Phx. Imagine if we offered these back home, and they were Spanish only. All the kids speak English at home, but only Spanish at school. We could offer languages of all types..not a bad idea!
Starting to get dark out, going to my neighbors for a glass of wine. They are a family from Michigan with two little kids. Not doing much this weekend, usual pancake breakfast tomorrow am with some friends then off for a bike ride. I leave for Bali next Thursday. Not sure what to expect there, just know everyone that has visited Bali mentioned it is their favorite place. Endless beaches, years of history, hopefully no RAIN. Dad has been, he gave us the name of an English driver, that should help. We are going to backpack, so I am sure we will be island hopping. I will take lots of pics of course. I haven't posted many pics on my blog, it takes forever. As you know blogs/FB and more are all blocked here, the VPN I pay for isn't always a 100%. The govt here is odd! Thank god I didn't book a trip to Tibet with several of the other staff. Just yesterday the govt stopped all travel there for the holiday. Odd hu? To much political unrest during this specific holiday.
Love you all...
China Trip:
Monday morning
Last weekend was my first time watching a rugby game, oh my...Never knew it was so intense. The weekend started by me staying in on Friday night. I am honestly realizing I am older now. I don't care to go out all night, I hate being tired, and I like relaxing on Friday's. That is so different for me, as the last 10 years I never missed a beat. I can't wait until Jordan is here, we can do dinners in town, explore the city during the day, and just be together in China.. So, the rugby game! My Asst. Principal Ty plays in a competitive league, after my vb tourney on Sat we made it a fun filled day. It started off with beers on our bike ride home from my vb tourney. There was a grand opening going on right by the school, I have never seen so many black haired people in one place. They loved looking at us drinking beers on our pink bikes..I think they thought we were part of the grand opening. lol. We continued having beers on the subway, then during the game. I enjoyed the game, what is better then watching a bunch of big men holding each other in bear hugs, tackling each other, kissing. HA HA. The game was good, we were invited on their team bus to have more beers after. The bus ride is what made the day. The guys were singing, and we were definitely bonding! My friend Kelsey was proposed to by this Russian guy, he even said the names of their future 4 children! The night continued on until the late hours, good times... Sunday was a lazy day. Hours on Skype with Jordan then a two hour massage. The massage places around here are super cheap. I paid 15.00 dollars for two hours..I was over it at first, they put me in a room that someone had just smoked in. They smoke EVERYWHERE HERE. UGH.
China Trip: The entire school leaves for a trip once a year. Each grade level does something different. The younger kids, my kids, went to a town two hours away called, Suzhou. The point of these trips is to socialize them with reality. 99% of our kids come from affluent homes, live in compounds that are hidden away from the real China. The compound (AKA neighborhood) next to me that majority of them reside in is similar to Scottsdale. The older grades go and live with locals in small towns, they volunteer at orphanages or help out in the schools or farms. Since my kids are still so young, they got to camp for the first time. For me it would've been easy, but the rain poured like Niagara falls! From the moment we got on our boat ride to the island it rained..The island we went to has 280 families that live on it. It was neat to see that they are completely self sufficient. From their goat milk to their chili pepper treas, to the daily fish that sat in the sink waited to be cook, it was all there. The women cooked and cleaned, the men fished. I watched a man one morning grab the closest chicken, kill it, then clean it in the lake..nice hu? It sure did taste good though! We did manage to get a hike in, but most of the day was spent indoors playing card games, talking and bonding. I truly take each moment in with these kids. They all come from different cultures, have different ways of doing things, ways of how others should be etc. The true meaning of International School is finally hitting me. Setting up tents went smoothly, came back after bringing in supplies, looked up to realize the girls might as well just slept in my tent. I was in the center, they were so close I could have tickled their backs:) When I finally got everyone settled in, I laid down with my journal, listened to the rain and relaxed. I have always loved listening to the rain while I fall asleep. Then I heard one zipper, followed by zippers all night. If one wasn't up it was another..Finally I fell asleep, prayer after prayer asking God to let up on the rain, I hear another zipper..Followed by, "UM, Ms. Johnson I have to pee." After a few deep breaths, I said, "Just pee behind the tent." I was finally dry, and my last time I got up I slipped on the mud, flew up in the air, and hit my butt pretty hard. Thank god I have a cushioned butt! I was so out of it, irritated, that I didn't even realize that this young Korean girl probably hadn't pee'd outside..I won't continue with that story, just a bit of it was her tent mate waking up telling me she pee'd in the tent! I think I was able to get a few hours of sleep, I was obviously to sleepy to figure out that my pillow was soaked, so was my bag, but I was dry...
I did like listening to all of them talk to their mom's before bed. 6 different languages, all at once... I am finally adjusting/accepting the language barrier. It can cause a helpless feeling, a feeling of insecurity, a feeling of jealousy and more... To speak a different language would be great. I do realize how many of the locals want to learn English, and I want to learn Mandarin, it is just so hard... If I was younger, not that I am old, I would possibly think about starting an International school in Phx. Imagine if we offered these back home, and they were Spanish only. All the kids speak English at home, but only Spanish at school. We could offer languages of all types..not a bad idea!
Starting to get dark out, going to my neighbors for a glass of wine. They are a family from Michigan with two little kids. Not doing much this weekend, usual pancake breakfast tomorrow am with some friends then off for a bike ride. I leave for Bali next Thursday. Not sure what to expect there, just know everyone that has visited Bali mentioned it is their favorite place. Endless beaches, years of history, hopefully no RAIN. Dad has been, he gave us the name of an English driver, that should help. We are going to backpack, so I am sure we will be island hopping. I will take lots of pics of course. I haven't posted many pics on my blog, it takes forever. As you know blogs/FB and more are all blocked here, the VPN I pay for isn't always a 100%. The govt here is odd! Thank god I didn't book a trip to Tibet with several of the other staff. Just yesterday the govt stopped all travel there for the holiday. Odd hu? To much political unrest during this specific holiday.
Love you all...
China Trip:
Monday morning
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Tuk Tuk with a system?
Just got in, Tuesday evening here. Caught a ride with young Tuk driver who had American music blasted like a young kid who just got his first car. He has this look on his face of pure excitement when I got in. Hopefully everyone back home has an idea of a Tuk Tuk now, if not it is a three wheel bike with a cover on the back. He was so proud to have me in his cart, every time we passed someone he would honk, not to get out of the way but to say, "LOOK at the blond in my cart!" He was blasting, "I like to move it, move it," brought up the Rocky Point days. We used to love that song...or it loved us after 10 beers:) It is cooling down quite a bit now, thank GOD. I know I will end up swallowing my tongue for saying this, but I can't wait until winter. It has been warm, wet, sticky, smelly. The cool air is fresh. There are days where the pollution is heavy, other times where the sun is bright. Odd. Downtown the air quality is not good...wish they would work on that.
Hangzhou this weekend was a memory I will not forget. Hangzhou is a town two hours from where I live. A guy we work with that is from New Zealand arranged it for us. I was thankful, that trip wouldn't be easy to new as a newcomer. We took the train, arrived around 9am and hit the mtn. around 10. We hiked through villages, tea gardens, then did a strenuous mtn. hike up to the top. Great group of people, friendly with a lot to share. I am enjoying hearing about every ones travels. We have a large group of couples that have been part of the international teaching scene for years, they switch schools every few years or so. Wish Jordan was a teacher:)
Ok..off for a bike ride after I finish this episode of Sex and the City. With no English TV, I have been purchasing seasons. As for Sex and the City, I am addicted to it but damn, these girls do nothing besides the obvious! How did Sara Jessica Parker stay married!
Hangzhou this weekend was a memory I will not forget. Hangzhou is a town two hours from where I live. A guy we work with that is from New Zealand arranged it for us. I was thankful, that trip wouldn't be easy to new as a newcomer. We took the train, arrived around 9am and hit the mtn. around 10. We hiked through villages, tea gardens, then did a strenuous mtn. hike up to the top. Great group of people, friendly with a lot to share. I am enjoying hearing about every ones travels. We have a large group of couples that have been part of the international teaching scene for years, they switch schools every few years or so. Wish Jordan was a teacher:)
Ok..off for a bike ride after I finish this episode of Sex and the City. With no English TV, I have been purchasing seasons. As for Sex and the City, I am addicted to it but damn, these girls do nothing besides the obvious! How did Sara Jessica Parker stay married!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Thursday night...
Night is almost over, bedtime soon. Had a good week, finally think I am adjusting to working 10 hour days. The days are long, but the kids make it worth every minute. I am learning that working at an international school is about working hard and playing hard. These kids are super involved in school, so we are always there making sure they are involved in everything to make those college applications to the states FULL. Went this morning to get my visa, and that was easy. I am loving the fact that we are taken care of always. Always having drivers, maids, food provided at work, even the coffee is made for us. I like that. Had a minor setback after our visa appointment:( We were getting in the van, and I got on first. Our asst. principal was looking for the van, saw it, then took one step without looking. BAM, he was hit by a scooter... It happened so fast, and THANK GOD he was okay. It was only him and I, and our driver who only speaks Mandarin. I ran out of the van and helped our AP up, and he was fine. The scooter driver was fine as well, but pretty upset. After a few minutes of him yelling, a nice lady who was watching walked over and yelled back. Basically it just frightened them both... Incidents like that happen here way more then they should, all because NOBODY abides by rules. Traffic is a complete nightmare here... One positive aspect is the locals really look out for us. That lady did not have to step in, which was great. My day was good after that, practice went well. I like my girls, they are super sweet and full of life. I am finally realizing that VB for once is not about competition, which has been a struggle for me.
Friday tomorrow. We have another away game. I like going to the different international schools, checking them out:) We have a short trip planned this Saturday to Hangzhou. It is two hours away, so we are taking a train. Looking forward to getting out and seeing more of China. We have hiking planned, lunch, temples and of course cold beverages!
Night..
Friday tomorrow. We have another away game. I like going to the different international schools, checking them out:) We have a short trip planned this Saturday to Hangzhou. It is two hours away, so we are taking a train. Looking forward to getting out and seeing more of China. We have hiking planned, lunch, temples and of course cold beverages!
Night..
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Ultimate Frisbee (Opening night)
Monwei and Kelsey..They teach with me, but didn't get on the same teams:( We still have fun though. 
After the game..I haven't worked out for 3 hours straight in ten years...Feeling it now.
Before the game they have an hour of conditioning. Out of 40 or so people only the NEW people showed up for workouts. I think that is a sign... We ran a mile, then 3 more laps then more..ugh..
Ladies doing a dance/work out at night right by the stadium we played at.
After the game..I haven't worked out for 3 hours straight in ten years...Feeling it now.
Before the game they have an hour of conditioning. Out of 40 or so people only the NEW people showed up for workouts. I think that is a sign... We ran a mile, then 3 more laps then more..ugh..
Ladies doing a dance/work out at night right by the stadium we played at.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Sunday Evening..
All of you are fast asleep, it is 5:15AM your time, and I am just chilling..Had a great Sunday. Jordan stayed in last night, and we stayed on Skype for 5 hours. I am not kidding, 5 hours..It is so amazing that we can talk for hours and hours, 10 times a day and never have a silent moment. He makes me so happy:) I know, some of you think that is lame but I just have to share! For so many years I would pray that I would meet someone that I could be with and not get tired of..and all of you know that I have dated all of the men in AZ. Ladies used to tell me through the years to just be patient, that it would happen when I would least expect it. I never believed them..I also hated when people would say, "You will know when it is right!" Now I know that is all TRUE. I wish I could tell the rest of the single people to not SEARCH! And how odd that I would end up falling in love with Jordan, I remember when he lived with me 4 years ago. And he was always telling Joel he would marry me someday.. How funny:)
Anyways, 3 weeks of school are down. I am working on my lesson plans for this week tonight. Now that all of my kids have their own Macs, I am trying to get everything online. I also stress that I won't be able to challenge them enough, and I don't want to just load them up on work, I want to make it meaningful. That just means I need to work harder. We had our first volleyball match yesterday. It was a cool setup, and I had no idea what to expect. I mean, NO IDEA. I didn't even know until Friday morning that it was an all day event. Honestly for me I am struggling with getting to know a whole new system. I know I have mentioned it before, but it is not easy learning a new job after 7 years of staying at one place. When I took this job I did not think about the adjustment to the new job phase. This is good for me though. My biggest thing is keeping my little BIG mouth quiet:) Roll with the punches right? It is not that I think they do things wrong here, I actually know they do things a great way, it is just the process of knowing those things...
Each day gets a little better. Participating in that tourney yesterday made me feel good. My girls skill level is pretty low, but they have heart/desire and that is what matters. Academics are first here, they just play sports for fun and to stay active. Not like the states where kids are playing from the age of 2. It is also nice that the girls do not have any atitude, they would never even think to disrespect a coach, nor do they show any sort of negative emotion if they don't play. That is nice, I am sure I won't have to worry about any parents giving me a hard time either! I also really enjoy the people I coach with. One of the girls I coach with is from Cal, she is so much like me. Hopefully we can start hanging out more. Just working with girls from all over the world will make every moment worth it. I have girls from Korea, Holland, Finland, Michigan, Kentucky, and more.. Learning the different cultures is the best part.
SCIS has 3 campuses, in 3 different cities in China. They also have a school in Jakarta, South Africa, one in Indonesia and they are building one somewhere else as well. The tourney yesterday was just in-between our sister schools. Basically rivals, and we lost everything:( We will improve though! And MOM you will be proud, they had a staff/student game, I didn't play. It was one of the hardest moments, saying no and admitting I am hurt. I didn't think I was hurt anymore, played last week, was barely able to get out of bed the next morning. SO, I signed up for Ultimate Frisbee instead! I start tomorrow. We have a league that plays on Monday nights. It is in the city, a few of us are going to share a cab. If this sport is to hard on my back I am going to pick up gluttony. You know where they eat for a competition?
Going to finish my movie, wrap up my last bit of planning and hit the hay. I did make my first real meal tonight. Not to mention it was actually healthy. I made a chicken stir fry. I made enough for tomorrow as well, so no more ramen for lunch. I have a new AYI starting Friday, in addition to my other maid and this AYI is just going to cook and shop. That should help me get some of this baby weight off. LOl. More like booze weight. This maid is Filipino, speaks fluent English, so she is going to hook me up. She made a dish last week for a friend that was amazing.. All of this and I pay less then a $100 a month for my ayi's! Life is good!
Miss you all, talk soon.
Anyways, 3 weeks of school are down. I am working on my lesson plans for this week tonight. Now that all of my kids have their own Macs, I am trying to get everything online. I also stress that I won't be able to challenge them enough, and I don't want to just load them up on work, I want to make it meaningful. That just means I need to work harder. We had our first volleyball match yesterday. It was a cool setup, and I had no idea what to expect. I mean, NO IDEA. I didn't even know until Friday morning that it was an all day event. Honestly for me I am struggling with getting to know a whole new system. I know I have mentioned it before, but it is not easy learning a new job after 7 years of staying at one place. When I took this job I did not think about the adjustment to the new job phase. This is good for me though. My biggest thing is keeping my little BIG mouth quiet:) Roll with the punches right? It is not that I think they do things wrong here, I actually know they do things a great way, it is just the process of knowing those things...
Each day gets a little better. Participating in that tourney yesterday made me feel good. My girls skill level is pretty low, but they have heart/desire and that is what matters. Academics are first here, they just play sports for fun and to stay active. Not like the states where kids are playing from the age of 2. It is also nice that the girls do not have any atitude, they would never even think to disrespect a coach, nor do they show any sort of negative emotion if they don't play. That is nice, I am sure I won't have to worry about any parents giving me a hard time either! I also really enjoy the people I coach with. One of the girls I coach with is from Cal, she is so much like me. Hopefully we can start hanging out more. Just working with girls from all over the world will make every moment worth it. I have girls from Korea, Holland, Finland, Michigan, Kentucky, and more.. Learning the different cultures is the best part.
SCIS has 3 campuses, in 3 different cities in China. They also have a school in Jakarta, South Africa, one in Indonesia and they are building one somewhere else as well. The tourney yesterday was just in-between our sister schools. Basically rivals, and we lost everything:( We will improve though! And MOM you will be proud, they had a staff/student game, I didn't play. It was one of the hardest moments, saying no and admitting I am hurt. I didn't think I was hurt anymore, played last week, was barely able to get out of bed the next morning. SO, I signed up for Ultimate Frisbee instead! I start tomorrow. We have a league that plays on Monday nights. It is in the city, a few of us are going to share a cab. If this sport is to hard on my back I am going to pick up gluttony. You know where they eat for a competition?
Going to finish my movie, wrap up my last bit of planning and hit the hay. I did make my first real meal tonight. Not to mention it was actually healthy. I made a chicken stir fry. I made enough for tomorrow as well, so no more ramen for lunch. I have a new AYI starting Friday, in addition to my other maid and this AYI is just going to cook and shop. That should help me get some of this baby weight off. LOl. More like booze weight. This maid is Filipino, speaks fluent English, so she is going to hook me up. She made a dish last week for a friend that was amazing.. All of this and I pay less then a $100 a month for my ayi's! Life is good!
Miss you all, talk soon.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
My new fridge! The last one was 4ft high and FIT nothing. 
Korrine and Amira taking a little nap at our principal's house. 
Small get together at our principal's, this is LARS. He is my boy. From Oregon and a RIOT. Everyone needs a Lars in the group. 
The gang...Principal and his wife, they are from Canada, Asst. principal in the blue hat, AD to the right, and a few others..Good People
Pepper and Sherry. Pepper is from Phx and she is here with her son. She has been here 3 years.
Pepper and Sherry. Pepper is from Phx and she is here with her son. She has been here 3 years.
Fabric Market. This was just one shop! They can make anything you want. They have fabric from all over the world, it was neat! I am still waiting to get my two pillows (they are huge with silk fabric) and my dress.
The Emeral's clubhouse. The Emerald is a place where most of the wealthy westerner's live. They have a gym, restaurant, and more. We use their gym for free:0
For Carnel.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Good day but I am beat tonight... Made it to the Farmer's market this morning at 6:30am. They set it up in the compound next to me where all the wealthy white folk live. They had everything there, and I came home with fresh vegetables, breads and several items from a Mediterranean place that is amazing. Had some of it tonight, fresh homemade tomato soup:) It was great! Jordan was able to Skye in the afternoon and watch me teach, that was nice. The kids didn't know of course but he was able to listen to their questions and hear me. I think he was pretty amazed at how tuned in the students are. He is even more excited to come now, which is great. I miss him like crazy. Never would've thought I would fall in love then move half way across the world! Going to bed early, since I have a long weekend. We have our first volleyball tourney. Talk soon!
Take a look at this if you get a chance, very sad..She is in my prayers.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/swvalley/articles/2009/09/02/20090902swv-millerobit0902-ON.html
Take a look at this if you get a chance, very sad..She is in my prayers.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/swvalley/articles/2009/09/02/20090902swv-millerobit0902-ON.html
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Wednesday evening..
Just walked in from work. Eating a fresh carrot that was picked right from the field. Reminds me of when I was little, my dad used to take us to pick carrots. Something about the taste, just so good. I saw the sun for the FIRST time today, it has been a month and a few days since I have seen it. At home I wouldn't even let myself look directly at the sun, today I couldn't stop looking. Pain and all. Amazing the little things you miss... sunsets, food, birds, smells. Don't think the sun isn't here, it is just where I live the buildings are to high to see it:) And the birds don't like it here, must be the pollution or maybe they eat them?
Had a good day at work. Took the kids on a little field trip to our elementary school to get some books. I like the fact that I can just book a van, send home permission slips and go on my way. I don't want these blogs to turn into sounding negative about how they run things back home, since there are positives and negatives in every place. However, I am learning quickly why education elsewhere is much more advanced. Keep in mind though that all of these kids want to come to America for their college education! We definitely do our higher education right! They allow teachers so much freedom here, they trust in what we do, pay well and take great care of us, so we want to do really well. I am finally getting used to being treated like we should, respected by all. Teachers are placed in the higher class here, back home it seemed the comment I repeatedly heard was, "I don't know how you do it, you don't get paid enough and have to many kids." Here I have 20, don't have one duty, (Principal and Asst. P do them, they literally come out of their office between every 50 minute period and stand in halls, do before school and after and LUNCH), no committees, and to top it off I received an email today saying I have 900USD to buy anything I need for my classroom? WHAT. I almost fell off my chair. I thought I already had everything. We have a supply room that has a full time employee, we can get anything at any time. I don't even know what to buy.. I am sure I will find something. I wish they had electric pencil sharpeners here, or REAL staplers! I am also enjoying the fact that nobody can make major decisions besides the administration. I just feel that is how it should be.
Ok..SO my point is to not bash anything back home, since I loved it for 7 years and will be back someday. More of the fact that I am learning how things are ran here, and will definitely share the wealth when I get home. We will see:) If they keep things this good I will be here forever.
Just picked up 3 bottles of wine and dinner for 111RMB. That is 12.oo. That is my style. Going to try and drink all 3 and go for a bike ride.
JK. Headed to grocery shop. Have to drink a glass before or I will end up having a break down. Store is packed and instead of shopping they watch me. I might charge. Maybe I should walk around with my thong out. That is an idea. Every time I get a little more confidant. They don't mean any harm by it, they are just very interested. 98% of them have never been to America, and they don't have any American TV so they don't see 10ft tall blonde white girls!
Love you all...
Stacy
Had a good day at work. Took the kids on a little field trip to our elementary school to get some books. I like the fact that I can just book a van, send home permission slips and go on my way. I don't want these blogs to turn into sounding negative about how they run things back home, since there are positives and negatives in every place. However, I am learning quickly why education elsewhere is much more advanced. Keep in mind though that all of these kids want to come to America for their college education! We definitely do our higher education right! They allow teachers so much freedom here, they trust in what we do, pay well and take great care of us, so we want to do really well. I am finally getting used to being treated like we should, respected by all. Teachers are placed in the higher class here, back home it seemed the comment I repeatedly heard was, "I don't know how you do it, you don't get paid enough and have to many kids." Here I have 20, don't have one duty, (Principal and Asst. P do them, they literally come out of their office between every 50 minute period and stand in halls, do before school and after and LUNCH), no committees, and to top it off I received an email today saying I have 900USD to buy anything I need for my classroom? WHAT. I almost fell off my chair. I thought I already had everything. We have a supply room that has a full time employee, we can get anything at any time. I don't even know what to buy.. I am sure I will find something. I wish they had electric pencil sharpeners here, or REAL staplers! I am also enjoying the fact that nobody can make major decisions besides the administration. I just feel that is how it should be.
Ok..SO my point is to not bash anything back home, since I loved it for 7 years and will be back someday. More of the fact that I am learning how things are ran here, and will definitely share the wealth when I get home. We will see:) If they keep things this good I will be here forever.
Just picked up 3 bottles of wine and dinner for 111RMB. That is 12.oo. That is my style. Going to try and drink all 3 and go for a bike ride.
JK. Headed to grocery shop. Have to drink a glass before or I will end up having a break down. Store is packed and instead of shopping they watch me. I might charge. Maybe I should walk around with my thong out. That is an idea. Every time I get a little more confidant. They don't mean any harm by it, they are just very interested. 98% of them have never been to America, and they don't have any American TV so they don't see 10ft tall blonde white girls!
Love you all...
Stacy
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Open house
Just watching a movie...getting pretty good at watching them over and over:) Had a good day, we had open house tonight. Pretty neat getting to know the parents, I just love that they are from all over the world. Out of 20 students I have 12 from Korea, 2 from Sweden, 1 from Mexico, 3 from Michigan, and 2 from Finland. It was different tonight because I only had one mother talk. It is pretty common in other country's that the men work, and also fulfill the role of monitoring their child's education. Honestly these students have tutors, and the Korean parents all mentioned MORE WORK, and their kids even go to Korean school at night. Meeting their parents made me more excited for this year. I look forward to working with those kids everyday, they are intriguing.
Finishing off a bowl of hot and sour soup. My daily diet. I wouldn't know if I lost any weight though, since the scales are in Kilo's and I can't read the calories! I am going to the store tomorrow, I truly put that off. My maid is now done with getting my apartment all set, so I think next week I will have her start grocery shopping. She came today, I love coming home to a clean house. I also had a new fridge when I came in today. I love how they work here, you ask and you receive. No questions asked. I mentioned to the school that my fridge was super small and so little. It literally was only a ft taller then the mini fridges we used to keep in our rooms back home. They brought me a new one today, it is great. I will hit up the store tomorrow night, my goal is to learn how to make something new each week. I am just proud that last week I wore tennis shoes and not flip flops. The tiles here are so damn slippery. I felt like I was playing dodge ball while slipping around Asians. Literally, since they all stare and stop to look at the world's largest white girl.
Another funny story about my feet and their wacky tiles is when I went to get a massage. I walked in and walked right into the fish pond. The fish pond was in between the TILES. I should look down hu? I forgot about that quickly when I went to the room to get my massage, took my clothes off then looked at the bed and there wasn't any sheets. I was lost..I didn't know what to do, put mine back on, take a shower in the large shower that was in the room, or sit there naked! I found a robe, and just sat on the bed.. Long story short after sharing this story with my coworkers, you keep your clothes on when you get a non-oil massage! No wonder the guy didn't touch me once. He would put a towel under his hands. lol.
Alright..bed time..talk more soon!
Finishing off a bowl of hot and sour soup. My daily diet. I wouldn't know if I lost any weight though, since the scales are in Kilo's and I can't read the calories! I am going to the store tomorrow, I truly put that off. My maid is now done with getting my apartment all set, so I think next week I will have her start grocery shopping. She came today, I love coming home to a clean house. I also had a new fridge when I came in today. I love how they work here, you ask and you receive. No questions asked. I mentioned to the school that my fridge was super small and so little. It literally was only a ft taller then the mini fridges we used to keep in our rooms back home. They brought me a new one today, it is great. I will hit up the store tomorrow night, my goal is to learn how to make something new each week. I am just proud that last week I wore tennis shoes and not flip flops. The tiles here are so damn slippery. I felt like I was playing dodge ball while slipping around Asians. Literally, since they all stare and stop to look at the world's largest white girl.
Another funny story about my feet and their wacky tiles is when I went to get a massage. I walked in and walked right into the fish pond. The fish pond was in between the TILES. I should look down hu? I forgot about that quickly when I went to the room to get my massage, took my clothes off then looked at the bed and there wasn't any sheets. I was lost..I didn't know what to do, put mine back on, take a shower in the large shower that was in the room, or sit there naked! I found a robe, and just sat on the bed.. Long story short after sharing this story with my coworkers, you keep your clothes on when you get a non-oil massage! No wonder the guy didn't touch me once. He would put a towel under his hands. lol.
Alright..bed time..talk more soon!
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