Halfway There... OHHHHH....

Today began our 3rd quarter of school which means that we are halfway through the year! What?!? Can it really already be halfway over? I feel like there have been so many changes that it is impossible for it to already be January. There are possibly even more changes to come in a couple week! I am excited to see what God brings these next 2 quarters. I am so excited to see how God is using me here in this country. I have seen such a major improvement in my students. This year I was given the beginner level students in Grade 1 and the advanced level students in Grade 2. There is a wide gap between these two groups, but it is so cool to see their improvement over the past 2 quarters. 

Also God has given me a very spacious apartment. My housemate and I have been inviting our coworkers over for a Western meal, prepared by us. This provides us with the opportunity to get to know them better and sometimes it allows them to ask us questions about our faith. I love building relationships with the locals and our staff. Also the apartment has a very spacious living room which allows us to open the door to our Young Adults group at church to meet here on Thursdays for Bible study. So many opportunities for ministry. I am so thankful to be following God around the world! 

Drive like the Locals!

Today was the day! Today was the day that I drove a motorbike here. I have rode on the back of friends' bikes but I haven't attempted to drive myself. But today that changed!  

Driving our motorbike!!! Super exciting! 

My roommate and I decided to rent a motorbike for 2 months to get used to it and decide if we each want our own bike. it's pretty cheap to rent a motorbike here and we split it so it's even cheaper. This whole week I have been excited and nervous about attempting to drive here. I mean the traffic is crazy! That alone could deter anyone from driving. However, there is a piece of me that is excited about learning and driving here. 

Having a motorbike is really the best mode of transportation here. There are many taxis that seem cheap at the beginning but when you are paying 100,000 to go to a friends house that is only 7km and you find out that gas is 50,000 a tank you realize you are paying a lot of money in taxis. Also there are some streets that do not allow taxis or any cars. So motorbike is really the only way to truly get around. It's also very freeing. I now have the opportunity to go wherever I want, when I want. There is no having to find a cab and telling them where you want to go. I am so excited for the freedom this motorbike brings.  

At 4 o'clock our bike was delivered to our apartment from the rental place and our team leader met us to teach us some of the basics. Our security guard even came out to help. I think since we are the only foreign girls living in our apartment building they know who we are and we are always nice to them so they are nice to us. Awesome how that works :). While our team leader was taking one person out to drive around and tell them about how the traffic works the other stayed and drove on the sidewalk in front of the building. I practiced making turns so I did a lot of figure eights. Also I tried to practice using the horn because unlike in the States, the horn is just used as a signal to let others know you are there or you are about to make a turn. It is rarely used to express anger or annoyance. 

Say what? Xe máy! The view I have driving the motorbike. 

Some other things I learned about the traffic... 

1. You are responsible for in front of you. You don't really worry about what's going on behind you.  

2. It's best to drive on the white dotted line. You're not too close to the edge or too close to the middle.  

3. Pay attention to what's going on in front of you. Watch for other cars/bikes and anticipate their move.  

4. Don't talk on your phone while driving :)  

After learning these tips and practicing in front of the apartment we took to the open (and crowded) road. We didn't go far but we practiced making right turns and left turns. I practiced turning left at a stoplight and making my way into a roundabout. I made it back alive which is what counts.  

All-in-all today was great! God kept us safe on motorbikes and in traffic. I had so much fun. I can't wait to drive around the city :). 

​**update** Saturday I drove my roommate and I to school and to the post office. It was a successful outing. School is only 1km away from our apartment and the post office is 2km away. But you have to start somewhere! 

The world has opened up so much with the freedom to travel whenever I want! 

Staff Christmas Party!

On Friday the international staff at our school invited the loca staff to our house for a Christmas party! It was probably the most anticipated event of the month. Our staff was so excited to experience a Westerner's Christmas party. We planned on decorating Christmas sugar cookies, sharing the Christmas story, and doing some Christmas Karaoke (basically singing carols). Sounds simple but man does a lot of work go into doing that. I am so thankful for the awesome international staff (and their wives) for the help to host such a great party. ​

Our awesome staff!!!  

The party was planned to start at 7:30. The international staff arrived early because we were hosting it together and wanted to make sure we had everything. The rest of the staff congregated in the lobby of our apartment until 7:30. They were so excited that they were all early, which is vey abnormal, by they didn't want to show up early. At exactly 7:30 our doorbell rang and our entire staff was at our door. It was so awesome! 

Decorating sugar cookies and mingling :) 

The night began with some cookie decorating and mingling. They had never had iced sugar cookies before! It was so awesome to see their excitement! After cookies, the Christmas story was shared in the form of a game. Our staff opened presents to find two characters in the story. Then​ the characters and their role were explained. It was really cool to share the meaning of Christmas with them. 

After the Christmas story, our team leader/acting principal lead us in the 12 Days of Christmas ​song. We separated into 6 groups of 3 and were each given 2 parts of the song. My team had the 3rd and 11th day. Then we sang the song and each group sang their day. It was really cool and a lot of fun. Just listening to them try to sing the song was great and everyone had fun. 

After the 12 Days of Christmas, we started singing some classic carols. We intended for it to be karaoke style but it turned into all of us singing. It was so much fun to singing carols with everyone. I think my favorite was when we all sang Joy to the World. It is so awesome to fill our house with singing. ​

At the Christmas concert downtown :).  

All in all it was an awesome party and I feel like barriers were broken between the locals and foreign staff. Relationships were strengthened. It even opened doors for us to spend more time with each other. My co-home room teacher accepted my invitation to attend the Christmas concert downtown on Saturday. And then my roommate and I were invited to another teacher's home for dinner tonight (Sunday). It is so awesome to see how God is closing the gap between the local and foreign staff. I am continuing to pray that the light of Jesus shines through all of us and our staff comes to know the ONE TRUE SAVIOR! 

Singing carols and praise to God in 3 languages. I love how different cultures and languages come together to praise HIS name!!!