Well, it is September! School has been in session for two weeks now and I am surviving! I am more than surviving! I am enjoying it. SO MUCH. Now, I have to say it has not been easy. Some times have been so challenging and frustrating and disappointing and irritating. Not just in the classroom. I was told that the language barrier would be a challenge. I said yeah yeah, I know. Wow. I think knowing that it will be hard and experiencing it are two VERY different things. I was told there would be culture shock. Once again, knowing it vs. experiencing it are two different things. God has placed some amazing people with me here who have been incredibly helpful & I can honestly say I would not be as comfortable and confident as I am if I did not have them to lean on and learn from.
I will keep this post short(ish). I will answer some questions that I have been asked so if anybody else is wondering, you can know also!
How is the food? Well, I have been a self-proclaimed picky eater since...pshh, I don't know forever, right mom? So, coming to a different country and experiencing their food has been...interesting. I have ventured to try food I cannot pronounce, or even describe really. I have been here almost a month and I think I have hit the limit of "new food" I want to try for my time here. Who knows, my mindset might change. They have very good drinks! There are drink shops literally everywhere you look on the streets around me. They have a 7/11 (not a gas station though, just the convenient store part) and I get food there often. It is cheaper to eat out every day rather than cook for yourself...also something to get used to.
How are your students? GREAT! Here, the students refer to the teachers as "Teacher ____." or just "Teacher" I did not think I liked it at first, but now I can see how much more respectful that is than in the states. In the halls, they say hello when they pass me. They wave and smile. I actually had one dancing in a circle around me today. So much energy and excitement. They are respectful and attentive. I only speak English so they have to listen purposefully and closely to understand me. I repeat myself and speak s.l.o.w.l.y. We are getting ready to enter the third week of school, so they are still learning to trust me and I am still establishing relationships with those nearly 300 kiddos. I love my students. I love what I get to teach them. I love when they don't understand and give me that "What the heck are you saying right now" look. :)
Are you homesick? No, I'm not. Don't get me wrong- I miss people back home of course. I am learning to get in the swing of things here and I still have the ability/time to talk with them and stay in contact. Yay for Facebook! The time difference is kind of frustrating, but there is nothing I can do about it. My friends and family know that I had the opportunity of a lifetime right out of college and supported me 100% to pursue it. Knowing that, I can be more content in being here and learn things I may or may not necessarily want to learn. I am thankful every day for having supportive & encouraging family, friends, and college professors!
Will you be home for Christmas? No. I am spending all holidays and even my birthday here in Kinmen. I may travel to mainland Taiwan or Japan. Still undecided. With that being said, nobody really dreams to spend holidays and birthdays alone. (If you do...to each their own I suppose). I have made friends here who will be with me, so I won't be completely alone :) It will be very different spending my first Christmas without my family. And my first birthday without friends and family. So, around the holidays, some encouraging words would be appreciated! Hey, you asked. Well, maybe not, but you're reading this so now you know.
Alright, that is all for now. The following are some thoughts on September 11th.
It is September 10. It has hit me hard that tomorrow is September 11.
I was very young when the events of 9/11 unfolded. Like many, if not all people, I remember exactly where I was & what I was doing on that day. When I was doing practicums or observations throughout college, the teachers would make it a point to teach something on the student's level about September 11, 2001. Here, in Taiwan, that is not the case and understandably so. Let me say being here instead of in America at this time is very strange. Tomorrow is such an important day to all Americans and has changed how we live in many ways. The kids and adults will wake up tomorrow like they do every other day and go about their day like they do...every other day. Not the Americans that are here. It has been heavy on my heart and will continue to be. I have been to the Flight 93 Memorial a couple of times and it is challenging to put into words the feeling of visiting a place like that...especially when it is so close to home. Tomorrow, I will be remembering what all Americans will be remembering. Just because I am not there does not mean I forget. We remember.
No comments:
Post a Comment