From My Corner of the World...

I'm always going to remember learning about the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan yesterday. I was at the gym putting my book bag down and starting to take off my coat when I noticed the news video of the whirlpool that was occurring. I went over to the treadmill with the TV on and couldn't figure out where it was. Two of the custodians stood next to me just nodding in awe. I went back to my own treadmill to watch the English channel that usually talks a lot about Russia for some reason and learned that it was happening in Japan. I had that moment of relief that it was not China. I was also wondering how no one at the school had learned about it before I had left.

After the gym, I went home and learned about the tsunami warnings issued for Hawaii and the West Coast and was pretty anxious. Laura posted some news on facebook for me and I was able to chat with Angela which called my anxiety a bit.

This morning, I was able to debrief a bit with Ryan about the situation. The Californian and I shared what we had read about our states, and I was really glad I got to talk to him before classes started.

I definitely wasn't at my best in my classes today due to lack of sleep and feeling sad. I talked a little bit about the earthquake and tsunami with my older classes. A few of the boys said they were happy that it happened to Japan. One older student started telling me how the disaster would ruin Japan's economy which would be good for China. A few students told me that they were sad for all the families. One student, Grace, was trying to figure out how she could help.

I did catch a second wind this evening for my China's Tree Planting Day program. We had about sixty parents, grandparents and students in one classroom! Almost everyone had brought their containers as instructed. I only had thought Sue was going to stick around to help me translate, but I was lucky to have two other teachers, Marie and Sabrina, and two customer service staff members, Nina and Getha, stick around to help, too, which I appreciated and needed! A member of Beijing's chapter of Save the Tigers started the program. She was nervous, but did a fantastic job. The students and families were enthralled. She also brought pamphlets and DVDs for the students. I think she helped inspire a few future animal rights activists!

Then, Sue, Marie, and Sabrina took all the little small stars out of the room to plant their sunflower seeds and get them home to bed a bit earlier than the older students. I stayed with about 20 elementary, middle and high school parents and their families. I introduced the tree and we talked about photosynthesis. We talked about what would happen if we cut down all the trees. We talked about how many things that we get from trees. I lead the students and their families through a computer game brought to us by Oregon State University that asked us to decide how many items came from trees. I had been surprised when I played it earlier in the week, and the families and students were pretty impressed, too. We ended the evening by planting our sunflower seeds. Most of the students had never planted anything before in their life and were extremely excited to the point where they were pushing through the line to get their soil and seeds! We talked about how to care for our plants and that even talking to them would help them grow! They left excited and happy.

So did I.