Van Gogh, Van Gogh, how I've missed you

Some more pics--my new coat, Van Gogh paintings, reading at the special needs orphanage, volleyball team, my awesome homeroom, my classroom!

Hello!

Sorry I haven't blogged for awhile! School takes over your life no matter where you're living!!! Things have been going really well. I have attentive students and time during the day to eat lunch, plan, and even grade! Not one student has talked back to me, or rolled their eyes at me, or smacked their lips at me (I don't know if they even know that trick!) Also, not one student has asked me to borrow a pencil, a pen, or a piece of paper!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, it's a crazy concept. My students have been really great, and I really like them a lot. :)

My homeroom has to clean the room every day, and so far, our class has received an 8/8 in terms of homeroom duties being done! For example, they have to sweep and mop, clean the whiteboard, put up the chairs, and take out the trash. Believe me, my room is clean! I told the kids that I wanted my whiteboard to be so clean I could see my reflection! Oh, and I'm thinking of taping my board, like at Bennett (shout out!) to help with all the other teachers/homework. I will say, I do miss my colorful Expo markers--especially the teal one! Ours are just basic red, black, and blue and they are really horrible.

Anyway, what else is new??? I had a coat made at the fabric market. At the fake market, there are dozens of shops with salespeople all haggling for you to buy a coat/shirt/dress, etc. from them. We went with this lady on the end because she didn't annoy us with all the "hawking"! It was really fun to pick out the material and the style. I looked in a few catalogs, and had her draw what I wanted. It cost about 60 bucks, which is great! When we went to go pick it up (a week later) I tried it on and people in other stalls were admiring it! It's a dark teal (SHOCKING, I KNOW!!!) with a little bit of a "flounce" on the bottom. I LOVE IT! I'm so going back to have her make all my clothes!!

Other than that, I'm headed on a weekend trip to YangZhou (??? I don't know, really) which should be nice. A bunch of us girls are going, and I'm sure we will have a good time. The company is sponsoring the trip, so it only cost 55 bucks for two days. We are going to visit a beautiful lake and one of China's best gardens! I'm excited!!!! It will be nice to get out of the city. I think it's about four hours northwest of Shanghai. Oh, and the principal of the school is going to, which should prove to be very interesting. :)

Diane and I just finalized our travel plans for October break--we're heading to South Korea! We were trying to get tickets to the Philippines, but it just wasn't working, so we went with something cheaper. We want to see Seoul, and Busan, and maybe Jeju (?), which is a nice island. Should be relaxing after we get back from the youth group retreat! I have ten girls in my small group, and I really like them a lot. I am also mentoring two of the girls, who also happen to be on my volleyball team.

Speaking of volleyball, I really like assistant coaching. I am a good yeller, and I hold the clipboard quite nicely, if I do say so myself. We've lost both our games thus far, but we are hoping for a win next week. Keep your fingers crossed!

Let's see . . . oh, the Van Gogh reference is basically because we just bought five Van Gogh paintings for our apartment (along with a random one and a Monet) and they look great. It makes the place seem more homey. Somehow we keep adding things--I now have a table in my room, and we now have a dining room table . . . by the end of the year we won't have any room for anything else!

Oh, I've also experienced a facial here--very interesting. The lady thought I was French. It's definitely not the facial I was used to, but it was fun. It's super cheap to get manicures, pedicures, facials, etc. (and also to have a maid) so that's the nice thing about living here!

I have my moments of frustration though--the language barrier (I'm up to 5 words!) and just the craziness of some of the systems . . . that's China!

What do I miss, besides a "real" hamburger, or mayo that doesn't taste weird, or having a car, or being able to drink out of the faucet--cold water!, or being able to go to Target and buying Sharpie pens, or a thousand other things I can't even think of? (Oddly, many to do with food--things just don't taste the same here--I tried guacamole--yuck--and carrot cake--double yuck-- equals super depressing) I miss my people at home!!! I miss my old team at BVA . . . it's not the same without you. I miss my friends . . . you can never be replaced. I miss my family . . . I wish we could be together. Ok, enough of that! Anyway, don't worry about me--adventures await! This was a good decision.

To summarize, things are good, time is flying, and I'm doing fine. :)

Write more soon & love to all,

Susannah