Off to Taiwan!

So this is just a little added note since the blog I just posted is a week old.

This past week went really well, a lot occurred, but God worked things out in the best way possible! See, he knows what's going on, I just need to learn to trust that!

In terms of school I felt more prepared and just generally more comfortable. Things really kick into gear after the holidays though!

We are off to the airport in umm, three minutes. :) I am so excited to be going with Ellen, Heidi, Beka and James to Taiwan! It is going to be great. I will be sure to post all about it when we return.

Blessings on your week!

Yours in Christ,
Elizabeth

Playing Sardines on a Chinese Bus

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Except we weren’t playing sardines. We took a bus to the market and there must have been 50 people on there at times. Lots of fun!

Time is flying by; I think it’s Monday and it’s already Friday!

These past two weeks have held a lot in them though. Last week we all had our first formal observations. Dr. Lin our Supervisor is really sweet and encouraging. I was nervous for my first observation, but I now truly realize she is there for us, to help and support us, to be constructively critical.

I am personally still struggling with management. But know it will get better as I gain even more confidence and set boundaries with the students. According to a couple of the Kindergarten teachers I need to instill just enough fear in them. And I can see what they mean now. Maybe this week I can try it. ;)

Last weekend Heidi, Ellen and I helped out with a Student Counsel overnight retreat. Jane had organized it, and she asked if we would be willing to help chaperone. It was really great! We did some fun activities with the kids, including the “Bubble Tea Game” and helped them get breakfast and dinner together. Definitely an experience being a chaperone. I even taught one kid how to flip a pancake with just the pan! A life skill right there…

Later that Saturday Heidi and Ellen and I had our first experience with chopsticks. It is not too bad, my hand cramps up some times. But as a tip, when you are first learning, come at things from the side, not vertically. It didn’t take long though for Heidi and I to get to the point where we were picking up slimey watermelons seeds. So who’s up for chopsticks at Christmas dinner? I am perfectly serious. I will bring some for you!

This last week was full of school! I am really tired by the end of the day, but every morning when the children come in, I do find myself still super happy to see them! J I don’t even want to think about having to leave them in December. I do know, however, that I will be getting them all a pad of sticky notes. They love them! Too much! I need to keep a close eye on the sticky notes when they are laying around.

Anyway, this past week… Hmm… Sunday we went to Cat. Tuesday was mandarin. Ellen and I were both there. I don’t know if anything is sticking, by Mr. Murphy let us download some of the beginning lessons to work on. So that will be good. Wednesday I taught full day and was observed and we had a parent helper (we actually have parent helpers quite a bit). At first I thought it had gone terribly, but thinking back, we all were alive by the end of the day. That, I believe, should be the primary goal of a student teacher’s first full day. Everyone is alive and healthy. Healthy you cannot always control, but it is very much preferable if at all possible. And  on top of that I actually think they got at least 4 out of the 6 lessons I taught. Shoot for a 100% next time right?

Thursday after school Heidi, Ellen and I babysat a little girl named Joy. I just had to mention this as the name of the blog is “Rejoice.” And there is no name more perfect for this beautiful 2 month old. She is from an organization that helps babies with disabilities have the surgeries they need and be adopted. Joy has yet to have her surgeries, but God has already blessed her so much by getting her to this point. She is so blessed to have been found and taken in by this organization. I hope and pray she finds a wonderful loving family when the time comes. (The organization makes sure to place the babies – who are typically girls – with Christian families.) I also learned from Joy that even though I love babies I am not used to them like Heidi and Ellen are! For example: how exaggerated your movements have to be to quiet them and help them sleep… Now I know. Lesson on Babies #1 learned…

And then there was Friday. And the poor children, this Friday was so crazy with extra activities, there was really nothing of the normal routine to help them stay focused. We had a lovely fire drill to start our day off. Then we had a family potluck (right after our all-kindergarten sing-along). It was the culmination of our first Social Studies Unit on “My Family, my friends and me.” Perfect unit for Kindergarten by the way! The potluck was a chance for the parents came and see the projects the children had done up to that point after which everyone sat down to eat a potluck lunch. And then all of the sudden it was the weekend! Yay! What can I say? We rejoiced. Not that we don’t love the kids, but everyone needs a rest and time to catch up on what needs to be done.

Then last evening and today all four of us hung out for a bit. After Heidi and I got back from our adventure to IKEA with Jane, we went out to eat at this cheap chinese place with Ellen and Justin. Then tonight was Japanese. All with chopsticks!

There is so much to tell, but a lot will have to wait until I get home! Don’t worry, whenever I think of things they go in my journal. Let’s just say T.I.C. (I hope you can figure it out…)

I love you all! And think of you often! Really, I do. Thank you for all the e-mails! I get super excited whenever I get one!

You are in my prayers!

Rejoice in Christ! 

Have a blessed week.

Prayer Requests:

Barb – Ellen’s Mom who is battling brain cancer, as well as Ellen and her familyThanksgiving for CISS’s 15 years of existence and the teachers and students, it is truly an amazing school .

Everyone who is traveling this week. (It is Chinese National Holiday.)

Baobei (the organization I was speaking of) and all children needing a home

Shining Stars, Monsters, and Sparkly Rainbow Huskies.

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It has been two weeks since I last posted and I name it this? Well. I’ll tell you about it in a bit. ;)

The past couple weeks have completely flown by. With what, I don’t know. Probably school, food and people. Or something along those lines!

People - Joel and Jane Klammer are awesome. I feel like we are in and out with things going on at school and with Bible studies and dinners and sleepovers, but they are fine with it. They are so welcoming and kind. Always willing to listen about our day at school. Ready to share with us stories of their own experiences. It is a good environment to come home to during student teaching. And Aaron just keeps us on our toes. Never know when we’ll need a password to get out the door or be attacked by an very zealous Star Wars character. Which one? I don’t know, I don’t know Star Wars that well. (Don’t judge me. I am likely to grow in this knowledge the next few months.) It is like coming home to the little brother I never had. His laughter is so infectious. Makes any day better!

Food - Another nice thing is that the Klammers like to try the traditional chinese food, and will have Ping, our Ayis make the traditional food she knows. But they also enjoy some of our traditional comfort foods as well. They know it is nice to come home to something familiar like chicken-pot-pie.

I hope to come home at a decent time starting this week so I can watch Ping make the traditional food. I would love to be able to cook a few traditional dishes when I get back. Ping is awesome and very sweet. I wish I knew more Mandarin, but she does know a bit of English. If we doubt ourselves on a pronunciation she is willing to help. We also asked her if she knew how to make this certain dumpling we have had a school a few times, and she is now planning to make it this week I think!

Some other food we have tried this week includes Bubble Tea, and Indian food. The later took strange effect on us, though it was enjoyable at the time, and the former was an experience. Has anyone ever had bubble tea? I had my first bubble tea my first week here. It is tea (typically with cream and sugar) with tapioca balls. Imagine the Big Fat Straws you get at Panera Bread with the smoothies. The Tapioca balls are about that size. And when you suck them up with the tea they feel like bubbles in your mouth. They literally do. So it is an interesting combination of sipping and chewing which must take place in order to finish said tea. I wonder what my face looked like when the first “bubble” made it up the straw. However, it is all the rage here. Even KFC sells it. I think it is pretty good, but I could do with about half the amount of “bubbles.” If you can find a place that sells bubble tea it is definitely worth the experience.

School - The Kindergarten Team, including Mrs. Nurre are as great as ever. We have lots of fun! (Notice in the picture there is not only Mrs. Nurre, Beka, Michelle, Misha, and myself, but also “Mushie.” “Roomie” did not make it into the picture.)

They are always willing to explain things to me. And they are very encouraging. As is everyone else at the school.

The Kiddos – I have been teaching more the past couple weeks. I must say the first time I got all them through calendar and down to chapel all in one piece, I was so happy! I made it through the first 15 minutes of the day! And we were all alive! Realistically, however, my obvious struggle is with management. But I try to pick up tricks and reflect and learn from each instance. It is only week three. I have learned that if you read a book, they will come. And they will be attentive. So guess how I am going to start some of the math lessons this week?!? Even with all my struggles managing them I do love each and every one of them. I just wish could spend more one on one time with them.

Oh! I got my first piece of fruit this last week! No, it wasn’t an apple, it was a mandarin. But I know it’ll be the best mandarin I will have ever eaten! I need to remember to write a little thank you note for it… And for the record it has also been determined just this past week that I am Miss Miller, not Miss Melon, nor Miss Mailbox. Though I made sure to compliment them on how they figured out they all started with the same the letter/sound of “M.”

A favorite scenario of the week? The littlest girl in the class turning around, looking me straight in the eye and telling me, “You look young!” I wanted to retort, “Well, you look younger, so you still need to do what I say!” But I didn’t. J

This week has already been  full of surprises. I am doing all of the morning meeting activities (calendar, devotions etc.), and math, as well as a religion lesson, and a mini-lesson in reading. The last religion lesson was the Good Samaritan. We did a dramatic retelling of it. The donkey was the most sought after part. But I think it was beneficial because by actually going through the motions I believe they will be much more likely to remember the story. This week is Ruth and Naomi though. No donkeys… Sad day. With devotions I do always try to wrap it up in Christ – as I will with this religion lesson. And sometimes it feels redundant what I saying to them; didn’t I just say the same thing yesterday? But, I figure if I need a daily reminder of what he has done for me, so do they. And I am likely the only one they hear it from. That is very eye opening. I hope I tell them enough! Please keep them and all the school and teachers in your prayers. It is amazing the presence they have here and the influence they can have on the children.

Wow. That should probably wrap it up for now. I have a bazillion other things in my head. But they can’t all  come out at once. For example: Us girls have decided we are going to Taiwan for October Holiday. Don’t worry, two teachers from CISS will be accompanying us, Beka and James, they know Mandarin. Also, Heidi and I had our first moon cake experience this weekend. Then Ellen recently had her first experience traveling on the back of a bike. We are all very proud of her bravery. And Justin? He had his first real volleyball game. He is the head coach! (Mr. Salotti, if you are reading this, I have pictures I will be sending.)

And are you still wondering about the title of this post? I am really bad at titles. It just so happens that Mrs. Nurre’s class is named the “Shining Stars,” and Beka’s are the “Monsters” and Mr. Graham (Misha) - who graciously allows his class to name themselves - ended up the “Sparkly Rainbow Huskies.” Fun, right?!? You know you all want to be in Kindergarten! (I will have to ask Michelle the name of her class!)

Have a blessed week. And Christ is with you! Remember your baptism!

(Please continue to keep Ellen and her Mom and family in your prayers as, from what I hear she is likely to start treatments soon.)