English Corner & American Food

So we have taken all of the quilts, comforters, and sheets (a total of 16) in the apartment and piled them onto the mattress and, finally, the bed is comfortable. In fact, it is now more comfy than the one we have at home.

Yesterday was our first day of teaching. The students are sweet, excited, and non-English speakers. Some know only “hello," “how are you,” and “I’m fine, thanks.” We definitely have our work cut out for us. Tyler and I have separate classes, except the senior one sessions. There are four levels of senior classes, so sr 1 students are freshman...and the senior four group failed their exit exams, so it’s really a bonus round. In my classes, I began by telling about myself and about Texas, showing them pictures of the Alamo, longhorns, and an armadillo. They chose English names for themselves, made name tents, and played one of those awful name games. English names or not, I am not kidding myself for one second that I am going to be able to learn all of them. After that, we began talking about greetings, which we will continue next week. We will also hold “English Corner” during their dinner break on Fridays, under the pagoda (pictures found at http://betheeespics.shutterfly.com/ ). We’re inviting all students to come have a casual conversation with us, so as to include the kids that we don’t teach in class. This was done by Anna, so don’t give us credit for that one.

For some reason, there is blood all over the school grounds. I wish I were kidding about this, but around every turn, there is blood smeared on the walls or dripped onto the staircase. I suppose the school is taking precautions and warding off the Angel of Death.

At first, I was the only one having food withdrawals; however, Tyler saw a boy with a Pepsi today, and I thought for a second that he was about to steal it right out of some little boy's hands. He whispered with excitement and lust, “American fooood!” He’s craving popcorn chicken, which we don’t even eat at home. I, of course, miss Tex-Mex and sandwiches. We bought Pringles, Oreos, and a Sprite just so we could eat something, anything familiar. Although delicious, I’m getting pretty tired of rice or noodles.

Another thing I miss: toilet paper that is serrated for easy separation and with a hole in the center for the toilet paper holder.

One thing I’m glad I packed: Uno. We’ve been playing that every night.

Tomorrow, we are going to go climb a local mountain...and sweat off all the Oreos we’ve eaten.

I am missing my friends and family something fierce, too. I have a feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg. I have five and a half months left! Love you guys!