First Week of School

​Our team survived the first week of school! On Monday everyone showed up in their fancy dress (the traditional outfit here) or a dress shirt and tie. We were ready to welcome the students to the new campus! I was so ready to have students, they are the reason we are here!

The foreign staff ready to tackle the first day! 

This year I am teaching 3rd grade (home room, English, science, and library) and 1st grade (English and science). I am super excited about this year! It is going to be so much fun! My 3rd graders are the advanced and can have full conversations with me in English. It is so cool to see what our 1st graders will be able to do one day :). My 1st graders are beginners, so they are still learning their alphabet and lots of vocabulary.

This week has been long, but I am so thankful that we are open! We have been praying for this week for months! There were many times I thought we wouldn't be able to open by the 22nd, but God can do amazing things. We were at school for 12 hours getting things moved in and ready, but it was all worth it! The moment students arrived to my class, it was all made worth it. These are the kids God has given me to educate about His love! Yes they will learn English, but they will know they are loved and are beautifully and wonderfully made!

Some things that happened this week:

- my housemate and I were usually the first ones at school and the last to leave (about 13 hour work days)

- on Wednesday the Board decided to add a 4th grade class (AHHH)

- one of our co-workers was bumped up to full time to help with 4th grade (answer to prayer)

- Thursday was my housemate's birthday! (25 on the 25th - Golden Birthday!)

- Friday night was Back to School night (all the parents came to see the school and talk to the teachers)

It was a good week. Looking back it was good, going through it was exhausting. So thankful to be doing what God has called me to do! Please continue to pray for the school, the staff (foreign and national), pray for me as there are some transitions for me coming soon, and pray for me as I have been feeling very homesick (missing the familiar and comfort of home).

First (& second) day of School

Tuesday was the first day of school! We had been preparing for this day for the past week. We tried thinking of every possible situation so that we would know how to handle everything. But you can plan and plan and plan and it will never go as you plan! The first two days have been that way! 

School begins at 7:55 but breakfast starts at 7:20. However there are students at school at 7am! Thankfully there is someone on duty for this reason so it's not mandatory for us to be there at 7, but on the 1st day we wanted to be there to greet students and their parents.  

Every student was present. So we had a total of 62 students! This is exciting because we are only 10 students away from being at the maximum number of students. We had an assembly at 8am and then we began the day. 

First was 2nd grade English, we (the three English teacher) taught the rules and procedures for our class. It went really well. Next was 1st grade English split into two classes. Again this went really well. I guess we planned better than we thought.  

After the morning I pretty much had the rest of the afternoon off to plan and get ready for the next day! The first day went so well, I had high hopes for the rest of the week. 

Then there was Wednesday... This day started off basically the same; home room, English, lunch, and then the disastrous afternoon. I was supposed to have the afternoon free until our English IT teacher needed a TA and I went down to help, not knowing that it would be for all afternoon. And then after his two classes I had my own English Library class. It was just insane! And tiring. And chaotic. And it was only day two!!! God give me patience and grace for the students and coworkers.  

*this is the first place I have been where the student flat out disrespect their teachers. The local teachers are respected and the students obey them, but the foreign teachers have no such luck. :(  I have a lot of students tell me "No" and not follow any directions I give. 

First week

Wow. I can't believe I have been here for exactly a week! This is crazy! I am having to adjust to everything all over again. A lot of things remind me of China but other things are so new! 

I went grocery shopping on Saturday to get some basic necessities for the apartment. That is an experience in itself. I will have to post again later to just derail the shopping here! 

I went to church on Sunday and loved every minute of it! I really think I am going to like it there (cue song from "Annie" I think I'm gonna like it here). The worship was amazing and the message was great! Then after church we went to the restaurant downstairs and had my first local cuisine. It was delicious!  

Then on Monday, I started teaching! Only 3 days here and I was teaching! Crazy! But I enjoyed it! The kids were great for me and I just really think I am going to love it here! I am constantly lifting these kids up in prayer, they are just so adorable and sweet! I would love to see every one of them come to the Lord!  

My day is actually pretty laid back because this is summer school. I teach for 3 hours straight in the morning (advanced English, beginners English, and then intermediate English). Then the afternoon is spent planning my lessons for the next day/week. I am teaching them dinosaurs right now. There are tons of crafts to do, but I don't have the luxury of going to Walmart or something to get the supplies so we are doing a lot of coloring and cut & pasting! But the kids enjoy it!  

So far I think I am doing pretty well. All I really have to compare it to is China and there I cried almost daily for the first month! I am happy to report that I haven't cried since the first night. I have to give all the glory to God. It is by his strength that I am able to do this and succeed. I am also surrounded by some awesome people here, have a great support team, and all of your prayers! I am praying for you daily! Thank you for your love and prayers (I feel them!)