Subways, Sales...Shanghai

Sorry that I haven't posted in so long! I just realized that it's been a full week since I've updated the blog. So fair warning, this post might be a little long...here we go!

Friday was the first day of Spirit Week and it was Pajama Day! Watching everyone walking around in pajamas, robes, and slippers was quite a sight.  It seemed like most people were a lot more relaxed as well, but the students did look rather sleepy.  I never thought I would be able to teach in sweatpants!  After school, I went to a Chinese restaurant down the street from the school with both Sarahs and Haley, the other student teacher at ISW.  It was interesting to see another part of town that I hadn't been to before and try some new food!  We had more jiatsa (which are delicious dumplings, possibly my favorite food here), won ton soup (Shout to Sky for the won ton sooooouuuuup!!), and of course lots of rice. We may have eaten other things too, but at this point I just can't remember.  It was great! I was able to get some money out to take to Shanghai and also have my first milk tea. I got an iced, cherry chocolate milk tea and I'm pretty sure I have a new love now. It was so good :) Upon getting back to the apartment, I was able to rest and get to sleep early on a Friday night with all of my lesson plans for the week already completed!

Saturday and Sunday were so full of events that I'll just give you the short version for now.  I went with 7 other wonderful women from ISW to Shanghai for Saturday and Sunday.  Four of us got to the train station with plenty of time to find out gate with the help of our new friend within the apartment just as we realized that he dropped us off on the wrong side of the train station.  Here, there are slow trains and fast trains.  We were taking a fast train to Shanghai, but we soon realized that we were at the gates for the slow trains.  Thankfully one of the women in our group knew the train station well enough to lead us all the way around the station to the other side.  We got to our gate after some running and got in line to board our train 3 minutes later.  What a praise!  The train station and the fast train reminded me a lot of an airport with the baggage checks, boarding gates, and seating, except there's more room for your feet on trains! I enjoyed talking with the other women as we traveled 280 km/hr to Shanghai.
When we got to Shanghai, all I could think of was that it was probably the equivalent to NYC in the states.  The streets were full of people, there were name brand stores lining the streets, and people without homes on just about every corner.  We bought 24 hour subway passes right away which was a great idea because we rode on the subway more times than I could count.  The subways were completely packed every time, and I think I got a seat on the subway twice throughout the times that I rode.  It's just part of the culture to push through when you need to get somewhere, so I got used to pushing myself on and off of each subway so I didn't get left behind and get separated from the group.  Definitely an interesting experience!  That same day, I went to a restaurant called Wagas, bought a knock off pair of TOMs the equivalent of less than ten dollars, got a pomegranate chicken sandwich at Element Fresh, attended a truly awesome worship service at the fellowship in Shanghai, and went to a jazz club to end the night.  A full day spent with lots of food, fellowship, rain, and shared experiences.
On Sunday, we got to sleep in (until 8:30!) and go to a bagel restaurant (after quite a hunt) which was really exciting for the teachers here!  Bagels are something a lot of them miss, so they loved being able to eat bagels again! I got an omelette with meat, cheese, and avacado in addition to an everything bagel.  It was absolutely delicious :) We then went to the import store where the teachers who have been here for a while were able to pick up some of their favorite foods that you can't really find anywhere else here.  However, all of these foods were super expensive as well! Let's just say if you wanted Cheez-Its, they were the equivalent of $11 or $12.  Crazy!  After the import store, I stayed in Shanghai with Sarah M, Haley, and Kim (the PE teacher at ISW) to explore a little bit more.  I got Costa Coffee for the first time, had some deep conversations on couches in one of the many malls, saw the Pearl Tower and The Bund, ate at a curry restaurant, enjoyed frozen yogurt, and went back to the train station to buy our tickets and head back to Wuxi.  It was a wonderful weekend to get to know more about these amazing women, and had a perfect ending as I worshiped with three others in an apartment with a guitar and beautiful voices :)

Turtle Head, Stuff Mart, and Street Food

So I haven't blogged in almost a week and there is quite a lot to talk about! I had a full weekend full of many adventures as well as some great kid stories to tell from my school :)

This weekend, I got to go with six other teachers from ISW to Turtle Head park.  It was a way to celebrate Sarah's (one of my apartmentmates) birthday!  All of us simply walked around the park and spent time together.  It was quite big and we did walk the length of it within the few hours we were there, but it was definitely an enjoyable time.  The flowers are blooming here and the color of them among the fresh green of the trees was a beautiful site.  The park is also right next to Taihu lake which also was rather gorgeous.  The Father's majesty was truly displayed throughout the park.  As we walked around taking pictures, people were also taking pictures of us.  It's not everyday that foreigners are walking around the park, and one little girl even came up to the group of us and asked if we would take a picture with her.  I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to being part of the minority, but it's definitely a good experience! 

The Sarahs and I caught a taxi back to the apartment when we had finished our adventure in the park just in time for me to meet my cooperating teacher and go to Starbucks.  After we both got some much needed coffee, we talked about which classes I would take over this week, the curriculum I would be teaching, and how we could adjust classroom management to better meet the needs of our students.  We spend over 3 hours there, but it was time well spent.  I loved being able to talk to her outside of the school environment and work with her to do the best we could for the students.  It was true collaboration and I loved it!

After getting back from Starbucks, I had a mini adventure trying to find Kim's (the physical education teacher) apartment by myself.  I met people there to continue celebrating Sarah's birthday and praise the Father through song.  It was so wonderful to take time out of the busy weekend to do what I was made to do :) This also gave me the opportunity to get to know some of the other teachers I had not spent much time with yet which was wonderful.

That brings me up to Sunday! After skyping with my amazing family, I took an adventure to Stuff Mart with Sarah to try to find some sort of foam or mattress pad for my bed.  When I say adventure, I truly mean an adventure.  I wasn't sure what to expect when Sarah said we were going to a place called Stuff Mart, but she just prefaced it by saying "This will be a truly Chinese experience."  When we got there, I was pretty much speechless.  There were at least 10 different buildings with 3 or more floors in each building.  Navigating through the different streets and stores was quite interesting as there isn't really any way to know where the different shops were.  Thankfully Sarah looked up the word for "mattress pad" in Chinese before we left, and after over an hour of asking different store owners where to find one, we found who we called "the foam man".  He sold us a thick piece of foam and sewed a cover on it for us in ten minutes.  We were out for about two hours, but my body is very thankful that we finally found the foam man and got a mattress pad. 

Also on Sunday, I got to go to the fellowship in town.  It was a wonderful opportunity to meet new people and see a lot of the teachers in a setting outside of school.  It was good to be filled again and encouraged by the people there.  Afterwards, a large group of us went o Jiatsa to celebrate Sarah's birthday once again.  I think there were 17 of us total, and we got our own room in the back.  Eating with a large group is always like family style dining.  Our table even had a huge lazy susan on it!  Sarah ordered over 10 dishes for the large group of us, and we all shared whatever was on the table.  It was great! I ate sweet potatoes and cauliflower which I don't usually like, but it was absolutely delicious!

That brings me to Monday.  School went well as I taught math and science, and I can't remember anything too exciting happening.  Once I got out of school, I went to the supermarket across the street with Haley, the other student teacher at ISW.  We got some good snack foods included oreo sticks covered in coffee flavored chocolate. So good.  Then we decided to be adventure and walk a couple of blocks to get fresh fruit and produce.  Although neither of us know Chinese, somehow we successfully order really delicious and cheap street food along with fresh pineapple and apples.  We also found an awesome bakery down the street and got some good deals on bread at the end of the night! I was a little nervous because of the communication barrier, but we did it! We were very proud of ourselves by the end of the night. It also gave us some great insight into how our students who do not know much English may feel everyday in our classrooms.  How cool is that!

Tuesday was a pretty good day within the classroom as it was my first day teaching three different subjects, and those lessons all happened to take place back to back in the morning.  They went fairly well and I learned a lot through the experience!  Later in the day after working on classwork and more lessons, I got to go with the Sarahs to visit the art teacher and his wife, along with their two kids.  Joy is 2 years old and Thomas is just over a week old.  It was nice to see their family environment and be welcomed in.  The kids are both so precious and Thomas is getting pretty big already!  I got to hold him for a short bit as well which was a good way to end the day :) 

I absolutely love my second grade classroom and all the Father has taught me through them.  Although it can be very challenging at times, my cooperating teacher and I are working on a new classroom management system that seems to be working a lot better. I'm not teaching math, science, and humanities, and next week I'll be adding reading to the list!  The planning can get somewhat stressful, but it is definitely all worth it.  I know this is where I'm supposed to be right now and that confirmation is amazing!  Everything has felt so natural and the peace and comfort truly surpasses all understanding :) 

Ni hao!

So I just wrapped up my first week at ISW and my fourth full day in China! I was expecting the transition to this new place and culture to be more difficult, but the Father has truly given me an amazing network of people to encourage and support me both here and in the states.  I have felt more love, grace, and understanding these past few days than I could have imagined.  I have felt so welcomed by all of the staff at the school, and I am being included in many things that make me feel like I am part of this community.

School itself has been absolutely wonderful!  The staff works well as a team, and I have enjoyed getting to know other teachers within the past few days.  Many people have introduced themselves to me in the hallway or stuck their head in the classroom to see me.  It's been a big blessing to see how many people have reached out to welcome me and make me feel right at home.
I also had the opportunity to extend this same the love to a few of my students as two new girls joined the second grade class on Thursday.  One of the girls speaks English fluently and had no problem joining right in with the routines and conversations of the other students, but my second girl barely speaks any English.  I felt like I could see a little bit of myself in her as I watched her simply look around and watch the other students with a scared look on her face.  I'm trying my best to smile and communicate the best I can with her, but I feel like my efforts are so small.  I wish I could simply comfort her and let her know that everything is going to be okay in this new school where she can barely understand what is being asked of her, but I know that she has been put in my class for a reason.  I will do my best to love her through my actions and words, even if she can't understand everything that I say to her.

On another note, this week has been teacher appreciation week at school.  Even though this is only my first week there, the students have already showered me with gifts and cards.  On Wednesday I got a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the school.  Thursday, students brought me jelly beans, a cappuccino, and a sucker in addition to Starbucks from the school.  Today, I was invited to go to a teacher appreciation breakfast with food made by parent volunteers.  What a week to come into the school!
I also had the opportunity to teach science the past two days!  I'm teaching about changing weather patterns and the water cycle, and the kids were absolutely great during my lessons!  They were attentive and participated during my instruction which was a great way to start my role as a teacher in the classroom.  One of my students even told me, "Miss Lovejoy, you are like a real teacher now!" I love just hearing my name being said by the students whether it's "Miss Lovejoy" or simply "teacher".  I'm falling in love with my students more every day, even through the tough times of classroom management and discipline.

Sorry this has been such a long post, but there are just a couple more things that have happened that I would love to share!  The music teacher is letting me borrow one of her bikes while I am here, so I will have a faster way to get from my apartment to the school in addition to getting around the city.  I also got to go to Cup Stacking Club yesterday because my cooperating teacher is the leader of it.  It was so fun to be able to watch the students enjoy this activity and learn some new things from them.  Their faces lit up when I asked them to teach me for a change!  On Thursday evening, I had the opportunity to go out to dinner with the other student teacher at the school, the principal and his wife, and one of the IT guys from the school.  I am so privileged to have had the chance to get to know all of them a little bit better over some delicious pasta :)

That should bring everything up to today! I got to go closer to the center of the city today as a small group of teachers were able to go to the ELL teacher's husband's noodle restaurant closer to the center of the city.  I was on the most crowded bus ride I've ever experienced, and I ate more food than I could have dreamed!  As a custom here, the more food you are provided with, the more you are welcomed or appreciated as a guest.  Well, we were brought 9 dishes of food in addition to noodles and soup to enjoy and sample courtesy of the ELL teacher's husband.  It was wonderful to get together and enjoy an evening with the wonderful ladies I got to spend time with at the restaurant!
Well, Friday is here and it looks like I have a weekend of lesson planning ahead of me.  The joys of being a teacher!  I also get to go to a park to celebrate the birthday of one of my apartmentmates! I also get to work with my cooperating teacher to map out some of the curriculum that I get to teach over the next several weeks :) I'm looking forward to all the Father has planned for me here and I am so thankful for all that He has already done!

I'm Here!

Well I'm in China! After about 28 hours of waiting in airports and flying in planes, I'm finally here!  It has been quite a lot process, but most definitely worth it :) I was greeted at the airport by my cooperating teacher complete with oreos and potato chips.  Then we were able to pick up one of the Sarahs I am living with from the school and go to the apartment.  I was able to move into my room and unpack fairly quickly before the other Sarah came home.  I loved being greeted with hugs and smiles!

I had my first experience at a restaurant here as I got to go out with Sarah and Sarah to a Japanese restaurant where I had tea and Japanese fried rice (which I ate with chopsticks).  It was absolutely delicious!  I also learned of a store called Tesco which is basically comparable to a Walmart in the states.  It was an interesting cultural experience to walk around and see how the store was set up complete with three floors and escalators that were basically slanted treadmills instead of having actually steps...hope that makes sense.  On the walk back to the apartment, I got to see many people dancing in the square just as happy as can be. It was a great first night in China :)

Today after waking up later than anticipated (I'll blame it on jetlag), I got to go to school for my very first day.  I rode on the back of Sarah's bike to school and I didn't even fall off! I was introduced to the teachers at the morning meeting and welcomed by so many of them! Once I entered the classroom, I was shown to my desk (yes, my own desk!) where I got to read all of the cards and letters that my students wrote me welcoming me into the class.  I was feeling the love right away :) I was greeted many times in Albanian because it is communication week and that is the language of the day.  Throughout the day, I was able to see instruction in all of the subject areas, play frisbee at recess, and get to know some of the students' names through interactions in the classroom.

After school, I experienced my first bus ride as my cooperating teacher took me to a Korean restaurant in another part of the city.  The bus is super cheap and a very easy way to travel throughout the city.  We first went to a small store to buy drinks and went to the restaurant.  I tried kimchi, kimbob, pickled radishes, and jaiozi today, and the jaiozi was definitely my favorite.  It was a good time to just sit and talk with her about the school, her experiences, and the classroom in general.  To get back home, we took a taxi ride which was another unique experience. It was a great ending to my school day :)

I got to come home and simply rest for a while by texting some friends and family within the states and getting caught up a little with facebook.  I was also able to talk with one of the Sarahs here for a little bit just about life. I've really enjoyed just getting to know and spend time with people.  The cat here, Xiong Mao, is starting to warm up to me as well. She did wake me up at 4:00 am playing with a battery on the floor of my room, but we're becoming friends more day by day.  I'm looking forward to getting to know my kids more tomorrow as I am the featured teacher for show and tell! I'm also going to be able to teach on Thursday and Friday as well so that will be a great experience! Sorry this post is so long, but there is a lot to try to wrap up in the first 24 hours of my wonderful adventure here in China! I'll try to keep you guys updated as much as I can :) Thanks for all of your love and support!

On My Way

Right now I'm sitting on my couch taking care of last minute details and realizing how surreal this experience feels.  In less than 12 hours, I will be getting on a plane to China, following the plan that is being laid out for me.  Things have been busy, stressful, and exhausting this week with finishing up my student teaching in the states and preparing to leave, but today I am beginning to experience the excitement that overwhelmed me when I first made the decision to go.  The Father is filling me with peace that surpasses all understanding and that fills me with so much joy :)

I know that this experience will be difficult as I've already been a part of some tough goodbyes.  This is a huge step for me to venture off by myself to do what I feel I am called to do.  There are so many questions, apprehensions, and thoughts that keep flooding my mind.  Things have been difficult with getting my vaccinations, getting my visa processed, and trying to figure out what to do with myself during layovers, but this is it.  Everything will be taken care of, and I will truly have a life changing experience.

Thank you to everyone for your support and encouragement throughout this preparation process!  I have been humbled to see everyone who has written me letters, sent me emails, and talked to the Father for me.  I have such a wonderful support system and I know a new system is being prepared for me in China as well.  Some amazing things are going to come out of this trip, and I am so excited to see what is in store.  Keep checking in here for updates on my trip as I'll try to post fairly often. Thank you all once again!