Boom! Three Months Down....

I have made it three months here in Beijing. I keep thinking back to my first scary week in the hotel, not knowing where I was, thinking I could never figure out how to get around, and worrying about how to get food. Worried that I had made a huge mistake. I'm happy to be far from that place now. It still can be a bit overwhelming at times, but I'm doing o.k. I'm making some new friends who have helped me tremendously and am learning how to be a ELL teacher. I am learning new things every day and that is a gift.

Today was a busy teaching day. I had my fun group of four-year-olds this morning who were delightful. They are starting to sight read some basic words. It has been fun watching them advance over the last few months.

I had my first new preschool class that I am taking over for Amy. It is an orange level small stars group and they are busy! Poor kids were a bit freaked out to see me instead of Amy this morning. We got through it alright. A bit bumpy, but we are getting to know one another.

I had my other early elementary class this afternoon. It was the last class for their unit and they had a big test. We reviewed for the first hour and most of the second hour was test filled up by test taking.

I taught my first class of another class that I am taking over of Amy's. It has an age range from 11 to 16! They looked at me kind of crazy for the first hour, but I think we'll be o.k., too. I can already tell it is an interesting group of vastly different personalities and maturity levels! One of the eleven-year-olds was trying to tell me a story he made up about a person who could never stop puking and one of the sixteen-year-olds is drawing a beautiful masterpiece quietly away from the group. I think this class will be a fun challenge.

I had a funny encounter with one of the clerks at the gym this evening. I had paid for another month last week and have not been issued a new card. I've just been showing them my old card from last month and they let me go on my way. This time, the clerk kept on talking to me and I was just like "Sorry, no Chinese, no Chinese." Then, she gets on the loudspeaker. I feel people have been asking a lot of questions about me being here on the loudspeaker. Eventually, someone came out of an office with a key to get into the card membership drawer.

Uncle Ladd's Corner: What's the water bill like?

Hi Uncle Ladd. I got my first water bill under my door last week... the same day I ran out of electricity! For my first three months here I have used 28 RMB worth of hot water. I had to pay it, like almost everything else, at the bank. There was lots of stamping and checking of my passport and such. It's very thorough here!