Well, the weather is getting nicer. The rain is coming less frequently (though ironically enough it's raining now), the nights are actually cooling off, and the humidity is only at 70 or 80%.
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| Office: BEFORE |
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| New Classroom: AFTER |
Along with that nice weather come the floods of tourists. I recognized the peak in the tourist season when it took me longer to go around the city on the 'beltway', if you can call it that, that it would have to go through the city traffic. Now, don't get me wrong. It's not that the beltway is more crowded (though it is). The problem actually comes when the bus turns on a road that during tourist season is flooded with a sea of tour busses, large tour groups j-walking, solo tourists j-walking, city busses trying to complete their route, taxis, and private cars. Did I mention that this is a 2 lane road? The tour busses park on the road, and the rest of the busses go super slowly and one must stop as the other passes it, so as to not bump side mirrors.
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| New desk: AFTER |
This one block of traffic makes it take a very long time to get to work. I failed to remember this this morning. Though I was not late, I did not have the time to stop at work before going to the restaurant for a team meal. Speaking of team, we have a short-term team here, and I am super pumped for them! They're so energetic, and it's encouraging to be around them! They were determined to finish 2 days' work in one day (which they did!) by converting the teacher office into a classroom, moving the assistant principal/teacher into the main room with our secretary, moving the secretary's desk to the pastor's desk, moving the pastor's desk to a new place to be my desk, and moving the 2 part-time teachers' desks behind me (our backs are to each other). Now, I share a room with 5 others: 3 part-time teachers, 1 pastor, and 1 accountant. I think that I will have the room to myself a lot, though, as they all work other jobs or go to school. I just added the photos, as you can see to the side. Some of my friends made my desk ;) I used to have a bulletin board, but now I had to get rid of it, but now I have a glass cover on my desk so I can put the photos right inside! :)
Dear Alissa,
ReplyDeleteThankyou for dedicating your life to teaching the Word of the Lord to others. Your sacrafice and dedication is admirable. I love learning about God's creations so I have a couple of questions. What animalsare common in Macu? Are they cmpatible with their human counter-parts? What do you eat,is it like food in the U.S.A? Is there a mail system, can we send you things via mail? I would love to learn more about Macu. What is the main religon? Do people dislike you because of your religon/ I bet it's hard adapting to a new country.I've never been outside of Texas. What'sthe weather like? Thanks again for serving the Lord.
From,
Delaney Kempf
Delaney,
DeleteThanks for commenting! As for the answers to your questions:
Animals: pets are becoming more and more common here. Typically it's dogs that grace the homes of the Macau people, but occasionally you'll find cats. You might also find fish. They are as compatible to their human counterparts here as they are in America, though dressing up the pets is a little more common here.
There is a mail system, yes. You are welcome to send things if you would like :) Copy and paste the following URL to find our address. You don't need to include the Chinese ;) The postal system works with both Chinese and Portuguese addresses. http://www.concordiaenglish.org/about-us/contact-us
Religion: there isn't a main religion, persay, but there are beliefs. It's a mixture of taoism, buddhism, and confucianism. I don't go into a lot of detail, but check out my post from a year ago about Mid-Autumn Festival. http://alissa-asmus.blogspot.com/2011/09/incense-and-paper-kitchens.html Also, check out my post about the Hungry Ghost Festival. http://alissa-asmus.blogspot.com/2011/08/hungry-ghost-festival.html
I am not discriminated against because of my religion. Here is very much 'you believe what you believe and I'll believe what I believe, just don't try to change me!'
Since I've been here for over a year now, I am not in the adaptation phase as much, but there were a few challenges. Mostly it was surrounded with positives, though, as I am blessed with God's comfort and knowledge that He is always with me wherever I go!
The weather is hot and humid. You may equate it to Texas weather, but it might be a little more humid here, if that's even possible ;)
Keep the questions coming if you have any more! :)
Hello again!
ReplyDeleteWe were wondering what subject you teach and what grade? We had a missionary as a guest speaker yesterday who was from Cambodia. He ministers to disadvantaged children who live on the street. He is married and is raising his family over there. It was amazing to hear his stories (like eating cobra and tarantulas!) Have you had to eat anything super-gross?
Are you married? Do you have any children? Do you get to come home very often? Where is your home?
We really appreciate you writing back to us, and we look forward to getting a reply again. We thank you for having a heart for serving the Lord.
Delaney's class
Hi again!
ReplyDeleteThat's really neat about hearing from the missionary from Cambodia! I always enjoy hearing about what people are doing in other parts of the world!
I teach English, and I don't teach at a normal school. I teach at an English center, which means that people come in after school or after work to learn English. My students are mostly adults, but I teach kids on the weekends. My youngest kids are on Friday nights for our Bible Study: ages 3-10. I have some other students in 4th grade all the way up through high school.
I haven't eaten the same crazy stuff as the missionary in Cambodia, but I have eaten silkworm. I also have eaten jellyfish and squid eggs! Most of the time, I try not to ask what's in the food, but since I don't typically eat seafood, I guess I have to ;)
I am not married, and have no children. My home is in South Dakota, and I was just at home this summer. That was my first time home since I came here last year August: so I go home once a year.
I always enjoy getting mail/email. As I said before, let me know if you have any more questions!
-Alissa