Updates

So, some updates :)

November's been an interesting month.  There is a relative norm here, since we have similar teaching schedules thoughout the whole year.  The norm was replaced this month, since I had 3 group classes at the beginning, but 2 were cancelled, leaving me 6 hours of empty space.  Once our short-term teacher left on Nov 2, those 6 hours were filled back up again with her students--students that I have never actually met before.  That isn't normal for me, as I know most of the students, and have personally taught many of them!

But with the switch, a holiday or two, a TOEFL symposium, and more, there hasn't been a normal week yet.  I guess this week is normal, but I have adjusted my schedule so much already that it is no longer normal.

What remains normal, though, is the desire to build relationships.  2 weekends ago, I was blessed to be able to go to Zhuhai to eat at PapaJohns.  I brought with me 2 Americans and 4 Chinese people.  It was so much fun to be able to do that with all of them!  They called me their local tour guide, because I seemed to be more familiar with the city than they were, which was a confidence boost for me ;)  It is exciting to be able to make my way around the city without help...that is something that I had lost when I came here, and I am slowly gaining it back: independence. It feels nice to have that again.

We are preparing right now for a fun time.  Thanksgiving!  We are going to make cute little turkey cookies and some treat baskets and thanksgiving cards.  We'll also be learning about the meaning behind Thanksgiving, and possibly watching a Peanuts video, if we can find it.  I've been spending a lot of time doing that, and also planning a bulletin board that will go up soon after we finish that event on Sunday.

Speaking of Sunday, we have an international food festival happening right now, and my plan is to go on Sunday, as long as it is not closed by then! It comes to Macau every year the same week as the Grand Prix, but lasts longer.  The Grand Prix finished up last Sunday, and now the International Food Festival is leaving I believe this next Sunday.

That's all of the updates that I have for now, but I will hopefully get more to you as soon as I have them!