I'm a teacher!

Well, I have officially completed my first week and 2 days of teaching. It has been absolutely wonderful so far. I am learning the strengths and weaknesses of my students as well as how I can best teach them. The hardest part has been the incredible range of abilities. Not only do students range from below grade level to above grade level academically, but they range from almost no English knowledge to fluent English. Knowing how to help students understand what I am asking them to do has given me the biggest challenge this week. I had to redo several lesson plans because I knew they just wouldn't work with my students.

Here are some pictures of my classroom:



I finally got it all set up at 10:45pm the night before school started. Wow. The first week was a bit of a blur, but I got some good rest this past weekend to make up for my lack of sleep.

In other news, China is becoming more like home every day. I'm loving the food and getting to know the other teachers. Life is filled with lesson planning, laughter, lesson planning, sharing stories and more lesson planning.

I have more pictures posted here. Thanks for all the love friends and family!

Calm in the chaos

A few shots of the city.


So much has happened in the past few weeks. It feels like a whirlwind of meetings, preparations and lots of moving boxes. KIA moved into a new building this year and it has been a bit of a scramble to try and get everything done before school starts on Monday. When I first toured the school it was a mess filled with wires hanging from the ceiling, dirt/dust everywhere, no furniture - I had no idea how we were going to get everything done in time for school to start. I'm still not totally sure how we're going to get everything done, but at least there's some furniture built and boxes are in the classrooms. I'm still missing a few student spelling workbooks and language arts textbooks, but otherwise I think I have most all of what I need. The goal is to have shelves and cabinets built and completed tomorrow so i can put everything away and have room for desks in the room. I'm really hoping it will actually happen.

First look at my classroom!

And that's only half of the boxes... My classroom library.


So basically I've been incredibly busy this past week getting ready for school to start as far as writing lesson plans, creating a behavior management plan, thinking about procedures and emotionally preparing myself to have my own classroom of students. There is an incredible amount to think about and I feel as though my brain is always on overload with random thoughts about school. I'm surprised I haven't had any dreams about it all yet.

Emotionally and spiritually I have been doing alright. I haven't had too much time to feel lonely yet. It helps having so many people so close by. In the almost 4 weeks we've been here, Kim and I have only been on our own for dinner a few times. It's incredible the amount of support we've received. I ask that I continue to feel that support as school starts and that I would lean on my Father for my strength, not my own strength. I cannot do this without Him and He is the reason I am here. As school begins I know I will have a tendency to forgo quality time with the Father and I ask that I would be consistent in my pursuit of that time.

Thank you all for loving me so well. I enjoy getting all the emails and facebook messages. It is wonderful to know that I am being thought of often and loved intentionally. Keep it coming - I will need continuous love from you in the weeks and months ahead.

And we're back

For those of you following or interested at all, this is my first post in about a year. There have been several times in the past year I thought to myself, "I would really like to blog about this..." but it just never happened.

Now that I'm in China, I thought it'd be a great way to keep you all updated on life and to have a place to sort out my rambling thoughts. I've been in China just over 2 weeks now and I still don't think there's been a moment when it's really hit me that I'm living in another country - one completely different than what I'm used to in almost every way. First, I'm living in a city, which is a huge adjustment. Thankfully, the school is within walking distance in the same complex that I'm living in. Having it so close is nice, but also means I might not get out as much once school starts. City life is a bit overwhelming. It's taken me a while to get my bearings straight, but there is still so much of the city I'm not familiar with.

As far as day to day life, there isn't much to complain about. As new staff members we have been well taken care of. It wasn't until last night that my roommate and I needed to make dinner for ourselves. There is an incredible, caring community of people who have surrounded and supported us in incredible ways thus far.

I'm hoping to post some pictures of my apartment soon and to update on a somewhat regular basis. Hope you enjoy hearing about my life in China!

Reflections

Tomorrow is my last day in Malaysia. I am still having mixed feelings about leaving. I am more than ready to be home, be hugged by my friends and family and enjoy the comforts of "normal" life. But I will miss this beautiful country. I will miss meeting new people and traveling around, not really being sure if we're headed in the right direction. I came here not really knowing what to expect. I wanted to be challenged, I wanted to teach in another country, I wanted to figure out if I would be comfortable enough to live and teach in another country. I was challenged, I taught in another country, and I'm still not sure if I could teach in another country.

This has been the experience of a lifetime, and I know I will continue to have reflections and lessons from it. I have learned again that being challenged is a good thing. I was taken out of my comfort zone and forced into situations I was not familiar with. In return, I learned about a new culture and how to communicate beyond a language barrier. I learned to enjoy, and even crave at times, a new kind of food (rice will never be the same at home). I was able to be a part of another family, and even get so attached that tears were shed upon parting. It was heartbreaking to see my 5 year old sister crying when I left. And it's those moments that will always bring a tear and love to my heart. I am continuously trying to process everything that has happened here, everything I have learned and everything God is teaching me. It is overwhelming to say the least. Six weeks has gone by so fast, yet it seems like so long ago I was saying goodbye to my dad at the airport. I hope I will continue to update on life back home. It is my plan at least to keep this blog updated with my adventures of student teaching, but who knows how busy I will be. My first week home will already be a busy one with moving in to a new house, cleaning my old house, preparing to start student teaching, and getting ready for my maid of honor duties for my best friend's wedding. I am excited for it all. Change is coming quick and I only hope I can rely fully on my God to get me through it all.

Top 10

As I sit in the last hotel room I will be at in Malaysia, I have created several top 1o lists. The items appear in no particular order and do not include everything I thought of. Here goes:

Top 10 things I miss from the U.S.
1. hot showers
2. fajitas
3. hugs
4. clothes dryer
5. full closet of clothes to choose from
6. diet coke
7. the English language
8. comfortable beds
9. good conversations
10. straightening my hair

Top 10 things I will miss from Malaysia
1. spicy food
2. mountains
3. hospitality
4. cheap prices
5. my host family
6. visiting beautiful places
7. bright colored beautiful clothing
8. being with my classmates
9. amazing fruit
10. being challenged and taken out of my comfort zone

Top 10 things I will not miss from Malaysia
1. squat toilets
2. being stared at
3. high school boys trying to hit on me
4. UPSI photographers and videographers
5. rice
6. intense temperature and humidity
7. not being able to communicate
8. durian (the one seriously gross fruit)
9. rose syrup juice (aka pink torture juice)
10. wet bathrooms