Sorry for the lag in posting, these past few weeks have been kinda wacky. A combination of work craziness, my birthday, and home improvements has eaten all of my time.
The second phase, or the post Chris and Brent era as I like to call it, is in full-swing.
It has been much more pleasant than I had anticipated. I think my boss and the Chinese teachers now realize that I am more than capable of taking the reins as the lead teacher in the office. Carol, the boss, has been very supportive of me. She has arranged my schedule so that I can concentrate on my writing class and a few other classes that are considered very valuable to the school. I think she is working hard to keep me happy...how cool!! Further evidence of this theory came today; she bought me a couple of my favorite doughnuts while she was out shopping today...hmmm.
Even more importantly, the Chinese teachers have been great! I've come to the realization that in order to be a truly successful foreign teacher here, you have to accept that you know very little. Lately, I have been approaching the Chinese teachers and asking them how they would approach/teach the various lessons. As a result, I think they see that I am serious about being a great teacher and it has strengthened my relationships with them. I have had nothing but positive feedback from them and it feels great!
I had a wonderful surprise on my birthday. I was wrapping up my work day in the office when Lydia, one of the secretaries, came out of the break room with a great birthday cake. All of the Chinese teachers sang Happy Birthday to me and we had a cool little party. It shocked the heck out of me. Afterwards, Scott told me that he was shocked because no one in the office had remembered Chris' or his birthday...interesting.
The apartment is great, I love this place. Recently, Scott hooked me up with some fabric. His girlfriend works for a company that makes textiles so she had a bunch of free fabric. I have been trying to figure out a way to get some curtains for my place on the cheap. The curtains that are on the windows are off-white...not much good for blocking the sunshine in the morning. As a result, I have been waking up waaaay too early lately. Well, I was in an industrious mood this past weekend so I made some curtains, kinda..lol. I managed to get them up by utilizing paper clips, safety pins, and velcro...lol. They work great, but look a bit odd.
Finally, I would like to congratulate my niece Jami. She recently was awarded an internship with Greenpeace. How freaking cool is that!!!!!!! Good luck Jami. Have fun and conquer the world.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment