A Little Bit Stronger Winds

Today, we experienced our first Typhoon 8. When a typhoon 8 occurs, businesses close and everyone stays home. It's kind of an intense thunderstorm/mini hurricane from the ocean. It's not really dangerous so long as you stay inside a sturdy building. Also, because most businesses are open front (that is, they don't have doors, they're just open to the streets), the hard rain and wind would blow into the shops. So people just stay home and close shop. At some points it can be difficult to walk in the winds, and most people walk around here anyway. Our boss texted Lauren that we shouldn't come into work today. We did until this evening when Ray decided to have Shakespeare practice because the rain had hit and we thought it was pretty much over. (We are such great employees!)

Sare Evans has a pretty good song about getting over an ex called "A Little Bit Stronger."  I have revamped this song to be "A Little Bit Stronger Winds,"--my song about our Typhoon 8 today. Enjoy! (Here's the youtube video of the original song pre-Chelsey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22zB6Soc2Gk&ob=av2e).

Woke up late today and I smelled the first signs of the rain
But I brushed my teeth anyway
I got dressed through my mess and put oatmeal in my face
I got ready for the typhoon

Didn't ride the bus to work cuz Lauren caught me at the door
Our boss had texted her not me, 'don't come in in the typhoon'
I'm glad I listened and I didn't, cuz it was wet
I'm getting a little bit tired, think I'll take a long nap
I slept in til 11 this morning
It felt really nice that wind and rain allowed me to stay home today, woah
I'm done thinking that I might go out in the rain
I know the streets will be too wet to play, but I'm telling myself I'll be ok
Even on this typhoon day
I think I'll go read a good book...yessss, on my iPad

It was supposed to happen overnight, but I woke up
And a cloud's gone by and I realize it hasn't rained
I guess I'll wait another hour or a second or another minute longer
I'm busy making tea now

And I'm done hoping that we will go outside
It's way too windy out, all the stores'r closed
I guess I'll drag my feet around
And, oh, I'm done thinking, that I could stop the rain

I know my workload will be there Tuesday
But I'm telling myself I'll be okay
Even on my off work days, I sleep a little bit longer
I sleep a little bit longer

Getting along in the rain
I'm better off with the rain, hey
How does it feel off work today?
I'm getting excited about typhoon 8's!

And I'm done hoping we could go to work
I'm done with how it feels, with dry outside
I'll play solitaire and minesweeper
Oh, I'm done thinking that I don't like the rain

I know this day will never be the same
But I'm telling myself I'll be okay
Even on my off work days
I get a little like a school kid

I get a little like a school kid
On a snowed out school day, yeah, yeah,
A little bit, a little bit, a little bit school kid
I get a little bit happy, yeahhh.

..Haha. And there you have it. While at home today, I read some more of the book I'm working on The English Orphans, fixed the zipper on my wallet, sewed my change purse, made everyone tea, talked to the Kazak Xin Jiang teacher who came to visit us, hung out in the living room with the ETAs, listened to music, played minesweeper and spider solitaire (in honor of my mother, the champion), and cleaned a bit. I was really glad that we had the day off honestly because I was going to sit and do desk work until our Shakespeare rehearsal at 4:30, and I had to put in 9 hours today since we're not working tomorrow. Plus, out of all days to see my first typhoon level 8, today was pretty convenient considering it's a holiday weekend.

I don't think I'll be blogging for a few days since I will be in HK.

You'll catch more of the crazy writings of this kid soon enough.

Examen info

Here are some of the examen questions I mentioned yesterday:
-For what moment today am I most grateful? For what moment today am I least grateful?
-When did I give and receive the most love today? When did I give and receive the least love today?
-What was the most life-giving part of my day? What was the most life-thwarting part of my day?
-When today did I have the deepest sense of connection with God, others, and myself? When today did I have the least sense of connection?
-Where was I aware of living out of the fruit of the Spirit? Where was there an absence of the fruit of the Spirit?
-Where did I experience 'desolation'? Where did I find 'consolation'?

"The examen makes us aware of moments that at first might easily pass by as insignificant, moments that can ultimately give direction for our lives." -Dennis Linn
It's often easy to remember the really difficult or frustrating parts of our days, but we often forget or look over what goes on the rest of the day. This self-examination of God's presence in our day can help to pinpoint the times that were good that we may not have picked up on while also helping us answer why the bad parts were so difficult for us/ how to handle them better in the future.
And here's the song I referenced http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEbs5ePV_6c.

He is, therefore I am.

Can I just say that God is good? Can I just say that? Yes, I can. God is good! He has brought me to this place with a plan and placed me in a family of fellow believers. I have a growing support system with similar interests. Beautiful.

Tonight, I joined a group of 4 Christians for dinner before going to a Bible study at one of the church members homes. There were probably 12 people at the Bible study. We talked about examining our lives through a process called ‘examen’ (yes, I know it’s spelled weird). It’s a series of questions you ask yourself to look at the presence of God through your daily activities, relationships, etc. It’s pretty neat. Maybe after they send me the email on what we discussed tonight, I can remember to post some of those questions up here for you guys to look at. If not, remind me! We also exchanged prayer requests with 2 other people—mine were Winnie and Angie—both very sweet 20-something girls that love the Lord J.

They opened Bible study with a NewWorldSon song about pride and worry. It’s one that I’d heard back in the states when I was in college.  I remember listening to the song over and over online when I got stressed during exam time. It was amazing to hear that over here—picked out by a New Zealander who lives here. God constantly reminds me, “hey, remember me, I had control then too,” “hey, why don’t you talk to me a little more…after all, look at all I’ve done for you,” and “see what you thought was such a big deal was really just a tiny part of my plan—remember this next time you stress…and just don’t.” A song can say a lot, and this one took me to fretting at my kitchen table. God is so good. He is sooo good beyond compare. I cannot explain to you the things that He has done and is doing all around us. So examine (examen too) your life today—where is God in your day, your relationships, etc.? Where do you keep Him out? …then what do you need to change?

Work today was lesson planning and meetings. We are drafting some questions for the next round of the speech competition. We were brainstorming topics, which we will expand on later. Although Macau is a place with religious freedom and pretty much free expression, we still have to be cautious on asking political questions concerning the mainland because many college students and workers are from there.

An interesting fact on superstition, which I’ve mentioned briefly in the past: so 8’s are good luck, 4’s are bad luck, remember? My boss was telling us today that the way the license plate system works is letter letter number. During the time they are on 8’s, the cars are selling like crazy, and when the license plate order reaches 4’s, like one car sells a month. Really superstitious, huh? Makes me wonder what people do when their child turns 4? I guess that makes reaching 40 and going ‘over the hill’ just that much worse.

I have to admit that my weakness is grocery stores. Okay, I'm not sure 'weakness' is how to say it, but I absolutely LOVE trying new things--especially healthy stuff (which is generally expensive...ouch). I'm going crazy having fun trying new cereals and things over here in the groceries!! I will say that I am more grateful for my dad keeping plenty of fresh fruit in the house though--free, fresh, and for all! I'm realizing what a balance buying fruit is...you have to predict the exact amount you'll eat before it goes bad, but bulk is cheaper...certainly a balance when eating for one and fending off bugs in the kitchen.

Everyday is a new opportunity to learn.
May His love be with you from this side of the world to your time zone.

To the left, to the left, to the left...

This morning was lesson planning. Nothing eventful.

This afternoon I taught my Class 1a. This was the first grade class that I got half way through the lesson with last week. This time it went GREAT! They were well disciplined, but still involved. Believe it or not, they were still cute too ;). I used a revamp of Tic Tac Toe and fill in the blank activities to help them with pronunciation and learning ‘h’ and ‘b’ again. I also taught them the Cupid Shuffle. For those of you that don’t know, the Cupid Shuffle is a hip hop dance. I just made up words to go with it that had to do with learning that ‘h’ and ‘b’ sounds. Ha. Success.

Debate was tonight and the argument was whether or not chickens should be imprisoned. I don’t think my students knew too much about chicken farming. I adjudicated one of the debates by myself. They last about an hour after we give the students half hour prep time and then have half hour start up/follow up.

Dinner was at a cheap noodle place in Senado Square. Senado is kind of a touristy shopping area that has a lot of old Portuguese looking building fronts. On the menu for me tonight: Fish and noodles in soup. When I was served, it resembled tofu a lot more than fish. That is how I learned about blocks of fish. You probably didn’t know they existed, did you? Ray tried to explain it to me, and I summed up that it was basically the equivalent of fish bologna…but it was tasty, and at 9:00 I was more than ready to eat it. The broth the noodles were in was made of coconut milk. This was the first time I’d had this sort of broth, but it was delicious and less salty than most of the broths here. Afterward, I had an amazing chocolate milk tea. Mmmm. My treat for not buying a drink during the meal.

Home now. I'm really excited to see what tomorrow holds...and for breakfast. What can I say, it's almost always been my favorite part of the day. :) I found a cereal here from the UK with wheat bran flakes, coconut pieces, hazelnuts, raisins, and banana chips. And it's pretty cheap too. I like.

Speaking of America, I rather like it

Today was the 10th annual Macau-wide speech contest hosted by MPI and the 1st non-annual time this kid helped judge it. This morning I helped judge the junior high school group for about 3 hours of 5 minute interviews. We start with common topics, then ask them to give a one minute speech on a randomly selected topic (grandparents, a present, your favorite book, etc.), and then we ask them follow up questions on their speech. The variety of speakers was interesting. I had people that were clearly forced to sign up (there's a money prize), and I had kids that were like my bff (if I were 13) in the way they spoke. One girl got the topic of shopping and went on to tell me about her whole closet was full of H&M and how her mom did not let her buy the things she wanted to wear. Another girl was talking about changing her grandparents' diapers. The opinionated ones were comical. I had Chinese, Macanese, Portuguese, and Canadian students interview.

It was pork dumplings for lunch and then back at interviewing again for 3 hours. This time I judged senior high. The format was the same, but the speech topics were different (Happiness, America, Olympic Games, and Clothes). The answers were fantastic. I had a Filipino girl who said, "When you know how to speak English, you know how to speak to the world." Can we get her on an advertisement advocating literacy and encouraging reading in America, please? There was a girl whose English name was Martharoot (I was rooting for her...). One of the follow up questions to her speech on America was "If you could change one thing about America or American people, what would it be?" She answered that she would lower the crime rate because her parents were afraid to send her there to study (told you it was safer here, Dad ;) ).

A girl named Dae reminded me a lot of (insert famous feminist of your choice here). She was sassy, but she's going to be a world changer and not take crap for it. She shared with us that she was a mixture of African, Portuguese, American Indian, along with others. Her name Dae comes from a beautiful African Princess in a story. She chose the 'clothes' topic--one that most people gave bland speeches about--she gave a speech about how clothes are just meant to cover and that fashion, materialism, and trying to create an identity through style are not right in her opinion. The same kid also expressed to us that the most difficult thing about learning English was the culture. She gave an example about how an older Brit might say, "don't hurt yourself, love," where love has a completely different meaning than the standard--smart kid who has been to or lived in many countries.

There was Kenny, who said that Taylor Swift was his favorite English singer. One girl said that she wanted to go to America so that she could go to Oxford....process that. Another student had an American flag watch, and I was really interested to hear what they had to say about America, but they drew the 'clothes' topic.

When asked if she wanted to go to America, one girl said she wanted to go to America when Barack Obama became President because she thought he could do miracles, but now she didn't think that about him anymore, that America needed a new President, she no longer wanted to go, and China was holding the life of America.

I'm wondering if me being in the room influenced any of the interviewees answers about America. When I wasn't the head interviewer, they could have very well thought I was from England since I wasn't speaking. Some people said China was better than America, others said America was better than China...so there was no single opinion on that topic. One student said America is in a depression...recession, honey, it's recession.

In our spare time between interviews, the other 2 interviewers (teachers at MPI originally from mainland China) and I discussed American politics and the global economy. I explained to them the positives and negatives of the housing bubble, how the primary elections work, etc. One of the teachers asked why Bill Clinton couldn't run for President again. I told her about the two term limit, and she said that was such a shame. Monica agrees. haha. Ok, I take it back!

I love hearing opinions from outsiders about America. Sometimes being comfortable at home in America can keep us from being aware of what people in other countries perceive about America/Americans. In an increasingly globalized world, the opinions of foreign investors and the citizens/governments of other countries are becoming more important every day. To that point: be alert, be informed, and be smart.

Your speech is now over. Thank you. Goodbye.

the world is in pieces...not like reeses

Today was e=mc², and by that I mean e(today)=marvelous Chelsey squared!!!

I finished the book that I was working on—the one that I told you was so horribly tragic with the guy dying in Afghanistan! Well, let me take that back for a second. I closed the book happy, and with a new perspective. Turns out there is a note from the author (Heather Huffman) in the back about taking action to end human slavery and trafficking. Prostitution as a result of young girls being sold is a very, very real deal and is common throughout the world. Don’t think that the U.S. is an exception. I heard of a ring that was broken up in Illinois. The author made the book free on the iPad with the hope that it would encourage people to see prostitution from another point of view and to try to help end slavery by purchasing Fair Trade products or donating to World Vision’s Hope for Sexually Exploited Girls fund. Legit stuff. Throwaway is the title of this book about a girl who comes from horrible circumstances, defies the odds, and then tries to prevent this recurring circle by helping 18 year olds who are no longer taken care of by the state and have no where to go and no way to support themselves.

This afternoon I went to the Protestant Cemetery and old Protestant church that are tourist attractions here. There were grave stones of U.S. Naval officers from the 1800s, and plenty of them. I always feel such a peace and honor to be among military, living or dead. The sacrifice that military men, women, and their families make is huge. It was really neat to see the headstones that told where the men were from—I have pride in my country and the values it has fought for.

There is a park close to our apartment building that has these neat little tile mosaics on the ground. There also is a lot of greenery, which I love. It’s quite the hang out on weekends for all ages, but specifically men playing some Chinese game similar to checkers and older women on the free public exercise equipment.

(a poem in the park--this is one of the many translations)

Next door to the park was a building with a free World Press Photo exhibit sponsored by Cannon. The pictures were amazing, and the captions that went with them told of a world with great pain and chaos. I couldn’t take pictures in the gallery, but this is the pamphlet that displays one of the pieces of art. This girl had her nose and ears cut off after she ran away from her husband. She’d complained about abuse by her in-laws, and when she ran away, men took her into the woods and cut her nose and ears off. It is said that when a woman disgraces her husband, it’s like cutting off his nose (figuratively), so they did this to her literally to prove a point. She was then discarded as I understood it, but rescued by a group called Women 4 Afghan Women, and then sent to America for psychological therapy and care.

After that, I went to Starbucks. Mostly I went because I thought they had free wifi to upload my pictures from today with, but also to take a picture of my drink for my old Starbucks boss. They do not have free wifi, so that didn’t work. Hopefully I can put some pictures up on here, but I’m not sure if they will upload right….so stay tuned til internet arrives in October!

On my way to the office (where I eventually came to use the internet after the no free wifi let down, I ran into some Macanese high school girls at a popular intersection. They were asking for donations for the Macau Deaf Association. Once they realized they needed to speak English and I needed to speak slowly, we were able to communicate. What a great thing these 16 and 17 year old girls were doing on their Saturday! I tried to communicate just how proud I was :) Here's the stickers they handed out for donations. I accidentally tore it when I took it off to take a picture :/

Moral of the story: what are you doing to help your world today? A world in need is this world indeed.  

Have a great golly gees gusto kind of day!

an oddly romantic themed day...

Today was one of those days that leaves you laughing with tears in your eyes thinking, ‘that just happened…and am I crying because I’m sad or because this is so hilarious I’m crying, or both??’ Gosh, where to start?

This morning started with training for the speech contest that we are working on Sunday. It was very informative and to the point. Good.  My favorite part was when we were reading the questions we will prompt the speakers with. In the college section under the category of love was, “If a friend asked you for advice on how to find a love partner, what kind of advice would you say? How romantic do you think men/women in Macau are? What could be done to make them more romantic?” haha. What?

Next came a dim sum welcome lunch with the Xin Jiang teachers that are training here. Dim sum can be summed up as more snacky/simple foods. Although it was a full meal, it was more finger food type of dishes, only in the Chinese style—so dumplings and such.  Very good.

The Amazing Race: Macau style came next. I helped the teachers start, but had to duck out early because of my class of second graders. Apparently the race went longer than expected, was revamped, but I heard from Lauren that the teachers seemed to enjoy themselves.

Meanwhile, I was teaching 58 second graders in a classroom big enough to hold that many people, but not to move. Second graders who do not speak a language fluently (and therefore cannot understand instruction) need room to play games and wiggle and dance to creatively learn the language in different usages. AHHHHH. No worries, I still have hair. It wasn’t so bad, I just couldn’t do what I intended to do, so I had to revamp the lesson on the spot.

The story is that they offered parents this after school program with a foreign teacher, and all the children’s parents wanted to sign their kiddos up. The admin must have thought, “well, we’re paying a flat rate for her and the parents really love it, why not let all the kids in?” Funny story is that I can finally say, “it’s because I’m white.” And it’s true—it totally is. The parents see a white person and automatically think their children have been promised a life of prosperity. In some ways, it’s disgusting that they attach a skin color to success—even if it means they love me more. (And I know this to be fact about the skin color preference because Ray told me during our meeting with the Cantonese speakers, they commented that I was white and the parents would like that.

My teaching aid today was none other than a Ty Cardinal bird. Imagine that—the bird conquers again (I think that happened last weekend too?) So the bird that came as part of my Senior Dinner bouqet has ‘flown’ around the world to a second grade classroom to teach the concepts of ‘in front of, behind, and near.’ --a splendid little toy that made my students giggle.

After work I came home and read a book I downloaded on my iPad yesterday (for free!). I read 150 pages last night til 2am. You all that know me know this is insane. It’s true. I don’t even know who this author is. Anyway, the point of this blip is that in the story this boyfriend goes off to Afghanistan to fight and dies while this chick who has had everything go wrong in her life (orphaned, abandoned, prostitution, abused, scandal, someone tries to kill her, etc.) is waiting back at home with his child in womb!? Whatttt. And I see at the top of my iPad there’s like 200 pages left!…but stay tuned, there’s more on this theme later.

Tonight we had Italian food, gelato, and went catch a movie. Lauren had heard they were showing One Day (an American movie with Anne Hathaway) at the Macau Cultural Center. We were running behind, so rather than walking, we caught a cab to go not that far. When we got in the cab, the man looked at us and asked if we were working. Here’s the thing with the variety of accents and levels of English here: sometimes r’s and l’s sound similar. What I believe he meant was ‘are you working,’ but what Lauren heard and answered to was ‘are you walking?’ She said yes. I thought—no, no, we’re not working. Working, as in prostitution. So of course the 3 of us girls are giggly about something  (who knows what) as always, and he thinks we’re not only prostitutes, but drunk prostitutes. “Oh, you have been drinking beer and whiskey.” Lauren responds, “no, no, have you been drinking beer and whiskey?” He then stared toward Athena in a weirdly curious way with her next to me in the back seat. When we arrive (it was literally like a 5 minute cab ride), we pay him, and as we’re exiting he says in this weirdly sexual voice ‘mmmmm, so beautiful.” Creeper.

So then we get to the cultural center (reward for the weird cab ride, right?). No. The movie is actually at a theater that isn’t that far of a walk away, but we’re already late. So we walk until we catch another cab to come back where we came from. This guy misunderstands us slightly and tries to take us back to the cultural center (even though Nancy told him in Cantonese)…we finally get there. The movie is maybe 10 minutes in. Looking back I’m glad the movie was 10 minutes in. The movie wasn’t bad in the way of not keeping my attention, it was bad in that everything dreadful happens: the mom dies, the dad fights, the guy screws up his life, the wife cheats, the baby hates, love that doesn’t happen as a side story, the other wife dies. In the end, you’re not even sure what you’re rooting for, but you know that the couple the story was supposed to be about is no more because the chick DIES! I’m like, really—2 in one day?!?! I’d apologize for ruining the movie for you, but really you should thank me because I just saved 1.5 painful hours of your life. I can appreciate the theme, which is to embrace the day you have because anything could happen and you’re not guaranteed tomorrow, but there are MUCH more effective ways to make that point.

At the end of the day, I’m looking back and I’m laughing. Isn’t that the irony of life? Today has brought to my attention and made me extremely grateful for the ones I love, having seen the drama and loss that many people face.

On that note: go embrace the day—you’re not guaranteed this many laughs tomorrow.

Much Ado About...Cheese.

Today I tried cheese in oatmeal. I had convinced myself it would taste like a grilled cheese. It was so far from a grilled cheese that someone in another place probably cried about the disaster it was on my tongue....or they should have. But I survived, and a Granny Smith Apple later (yes, I bought some U.S. ones at the Americanized grocery store in Taipa) all was well.

Work was short today (2.5 hours)--mostly because I made it that way since tomorrow is packed and I'd already worked close to my hours for this week. Other than that, I went to CuppaCoffee to download some free books and free apps, went to the grocery, and spent a surprisingly long time peeling and cutting up veggies for lunches and dinners in the future.

Tomorrow will be a day of 2nd graders, our version of the Amazing Race: Macau for the teachers from the Xin Jiang province in China we are helping train, and training for helping conduct the Macau wide speech contest on Sunday. All is well here. We won't get internet at the apartment until October 1...so sorry for all you out there still waiting for Skype calls! Hopefully we'll get more opportunity in a little over a week.

Enjoy your weekends, by golly, do!

A picture--from Cuppacoffee...I know it sounds like I'm ALWAYS there, but I'm not. It's mostly the free internet that's not at work.  And the coffee part doesn't hurt... :)

Catholic School, Girls Rule and Boys Drool (no bias; Joyce played the part of a princess in my skit)

Ray woke us up at 6:30 this morning. For a casino culture where stores don’t open until 11, this is really early. We didn’t have to wake up for an hour. The good news: he made us breakfast. It consisted of curry noodles with tofu and veggies. It was fabulous. He takes good care of his girls. The other day he brought us all PB sandwiches with chocolate and craisins….just as a snack. Nice guy.

Today started with 5^th graders. “Gude Mourning Miss Hawwww.” It’s cute. The school I teach at on Wednesdays is a Catholic school and I’m beginning to understand why my father turned out so perfect. (You’re welcome, Dad.) Okay so maybe the part about my dad was a stretch, but if most Catholic schools are anything like the one I teach at, there is structure, structure, structure. I was concerned at first that  teacher (me) would be doing something wrong during one of their routines because I wasn’t aware of all of them. Also interesting is that the teachers switch classes instead of the students. I guess with multiple levels and primary school aged children, this makes sense.

My first class of 5^th grade boys were a little out of order today. Yes, I’m aware that contradicts what I said above. It’s difficult to discipline the whole class. I can raise my voice and threaten the ones that understand me, but for those that don’t know much more than a lick of English (which I’m finding is closer to 20 to 25% of my class), they don’t know what ‘be quiet’ means. Hmmm. How do you sign that? Your actions.

Interesting connection and side note—I saw two men signing Chinese Sign Language to each other on the bus today. I never really figured out why there was both Chinese Sign Language and ASL (American Sign Language). I’m sure there’s a reason.

Okay, back to the school. The second and third classes of fifth graders were much better behave, though much poorer English. It’s interesting how I go in with one lesson plan and teach it differently to each class. The skit I chose failed EPICALLY in my first class so I skipped it for the second class. The third class tried it and it was a successful teaching method I felt. It’s all Joyce….she’s my girl!

We had English corner today with many of the similar lunch table students. The girl from Beijing was back. She asked Ray about his political views—which kind of blew us out of the water because she’s from mainland China and they don’t seem to generally talk politics unless it’s repeating something the government told them…at least that’s my experience. Maybe she realizes she can discuss it for the first time in her life.

I barely had enough time to start grading my papers from my 5^th graders before I had to leave for my second class of 1^st graders. Today went much better. These kids had wayyyy more energy, but it was still controlled. The issue was the technical issues. I’m not sure how I was supposed to upload the songs I was using online if the computer was having issues…But I find that a teacher’s number one motto must be “back up, back up, back up plan.” So we sang the song “I’m an H, an F, a B” to what you probably know as  “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” We made the letters with our bodies while we sang, kind of like how you do in the song “YMCA.”

When it was time to part ways, I had to take the kids to the gym to meet their parents. The Chinese assistant teacher asked me to hold the hand of one little boy who couldn’t take the stairs alone. I think that was the best part of my day. It hit me that I haven’t had human touch since the airport in the U.S. outside of handshakes. Human touch is surprisingly important to mental health and growth (as shown in some research study someone probably got paid too much to do). It’s not that I long for touch—don’t pity me or get sad now, I’m doing great here—but it just helped me realize firsthand how incredibly lonely some people are on an ongoing basis because no one will touch them. So go hug somebody, or at least put an arm around them if you can’t do the 2 arm hug.  Even if they stink, you can always shower later (some of you guys probably need motivation to shower anyway ;) ).

The work day is over, but I’m excited that my next venture is dinner with a girl from church. She’s one of the ones I had lunch with and she has a sense of sarcasm. LOVVVE IT!!! She shares my faith and my true language (the one other than English…sarcasm). She said for her Teach for America interview they’d asked what would make her break her 2 year contract. She answered, “if I fell in love with one of my students.” She actually said that! And she still got a job offer! Great stuff.

So I’m off to laugh. As if I ever do anything else...

Oh yeah, here's the view from my computer right now. The camera doesn't do it justice.

If you could feel with your eyes, it would hurt.

Being in a city with neon lights and water shows all over the place, I realize more and more just how desensitized of a people we are...scratch that...I don't know your story, so I'll reflect on mine. I realize that when I see destruction from earthquakes on the TV of people's homes utterly in ruins with no hope of normalcy in the near future that I sometimes shrug it off. I realize that often when I see horrid pictures of hungry babies it doesn't always tear me apart like it should. I realize that sometimes things don't satisfy me or entertain me (i.e. firework shows) because I've seen better or been there, done that. And to some degree I think these are all side effects/results/etc. of wealth and privilege.

It wasn't until I held an orphan baby that had no one to love her daily that I really understood those pictures and that need. It wasn't until I looked over the top of tin roof houses that I realized the poverty that is the normal for many. It wasn't until the students I've taught in Chicago and Vietnam showed me with their eyes how much my time meant to their hearts that I understood the value of my knowledge beyond a GPA or college degree.

It wasn't until...

I think about these things often. I am aware I cannot change the world, but I become more conscious each day of just how intertwined all of our lives are. We are the world. Sometimes looking out for the happiness of another is looking out for your own happiness.

I hope at some point we will stop needing to see things/touch things/experience things firsthand to understand the reality of the issues and need surrounding us. I pray that our vision becomes one of bold clarity--the ability to see right where we need to be and who God has for us to help. That's what I pray and long for. This video surprising came up when I was looking for a song to teach the word "where" to my second graders. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glny4jSciVI


...Today I planned lessons for 1st, 2nd, and 5th grades, and college nursing students. It was good.

Make Every Day Shine. -Dole

Who knew that pineapple juice cans were giving out free therapy sessions? It's like Oprah in a wrapper, only better. The title of this blog is an exact quote/slogan from my can of pineapple juice I bought on the way back from teaching tiny 1st graders today. "Make Every Day Shine." Interesting story was that I already tried to put a little sunshine into someones day today by using the sun as a visual for happiness. Well, what am I doing here in Macau when I could be writing slogans for fruit juice companies?!? Kidding, of course. I know what I'm doing here: drinking pineapple juice--haven't you been reading? :)

So you're wondering how teaching 1st grade tots went? Me too. I finished about half of my lesson because in the 40 minutes I had, the Chinese teacher who sits in the room for discipline let the entire class use the restroom first. There's about 25% of the lesson gone. Then I decided to get them to do name tags with ribbons that they could wear around their necks so I would know who they are when we get up and move around. Have I ever told you I'm horrible at estimating the size of Asian children's heads? --It's true. It's one of my 3 greatest weaknesses and I fear I will never be a rice hat engineer. What's a girl to do?-- Anyway, so I cut the string too small on a handful of the pre-tied name tag lanyard things and my kids are like,  'American sizes must be different!' Okay, they never said that but maybe they were thinking it. My favorite was this boy who I can tell will be a handful putting it barely on his head and flapping around. That's my kind of guy, laughing at the ridiculousness of life and just going with.  We danced, we sang, we recited, we learned (or something like it), and voila I was out of time. I was a little worried about running out of materials with kiddos, so I was dragging my feet a bit. At least now I have more of an idea of what I'm getting into on Wednesday. My contact told me I have about 58 second grade students on Friday...hahaha. God, is this a test? I knew God was going to grow me as a person on this trip, but this is going to be like one of those 'grow a girlfriend/boyfriend' sponge things you stick in water, with a side of Miracle Grow. Oh buddy...at least the twins (Emma and Emily) have helped prepare me for this!

Lunch today was cafeteria food since we were doing sign-ups for the Shakespeare team auditions. I had rice with cream corn and chicken as it was called. It was less chicken and corn, more cream, but it wasn't horrible. I guess school cafeterias are pretty much the same around the world ;) That is, except when my grandmother was a lunch lady--I bet it was really good back in the 70s.

In other news, I rode a bus and had to strongly nudge people to get off it was so packed. Let's just say there are some really cozy times standing on the bus during peak time.

Last, tonight in debate, the motion was that people should be required to reveal their real identity on the internet. I was fortunately adjudicating the more fluent, more experienced debaters. It was a very interesting debate from both sides. It takes a lot to think on your toes in general, but especially in your second language.

As Porky Pig says, "Tha-tha-that's all follllks!"

What color is the brightest crayon in the box anyway?

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Racism is stupid. I'm not sure who the first racist was, but no, it wasn't necessarily a white guy and no, racism isn't only against blacks. Thank you for putting your stereotypes aside.

The logic (if any) that I can find behind racism is that it is/was some method of protection or survival of family or status. This idea is based on someone entering into a place and maybe being competition to an already full job market. 'What can be done to keep them from beating me at my job? I can make them appear as less than. After all, they look different than me, they very well could be less than...?' Or maybe there was less strategy behind it, and as with almost any type of change, a slightly different nose, eye shape, skin color etc. scares a person because they aren't used to this and don't know what it means....and it only grows from there. Some people have racism ingrained into their minds because 'momma always said it was that way, so it was.' While I'm a huge fans of moms and feel blessed to have a pretty smart one, parents can be wrong too. And thus, the importance of seeking out the truth of anything you are told or believe.

Racism is alive and well all around the world. It's not always extreme oppression, but my fellow Asian-American ETAs are having a different experience than I am because of the expectations that go with being of Asian descent, just as an example. When we were in the grocery the other night, Ray (who speaks Cantonese) heard the cashier saying about Lauren and I that if America was so great then why were we here. People often insult Athena because she looks Chinese but does not speak Cantonese. Filipinos are seen as a lower ethnicity here; many of them come here to serve in households.

Beyond racism on my mind, today I went to church and then out to eat with a lovely group of teachers from my church that teach at UMac (University of Macau). Two of the teachers are from the US and one was from Singapore and actually here doing research. I had bean curd and noodle soup at this very cheap restaurant. The bowl was the size of a cake bowl! Crazzyyyyy. But since most if it was broth, it was conquerable. One of the professors has connections at a local foster home/orphanage because she works in the psychology department at UMac. I asked her to pass my information along for the potential of volunteering on weekends. This potential has definitely made my day. :) This rainy nasty Sunday cannot be made nasty now! I will sing in the rain! ....okay probably not actually as my computer might drown.

Change the world. Start with your outlook (and no, that doesn't mean your email inbox...though that works too).

I did not cry over spilled milk...I growled

Today I slept in. It felt amazing.

Laundry and breakfast followed along with both my soy milk and cow milk boxes leaking in the fridge. Urg. No worries, I just downed most of them and put the rest in bottles. One thing I am getting used to here though is the different pasteurization methods of making milk. A lot of the milk sits out on the shelves in stores, telling you immediately that you are dealing with a different animal. This means the milk is pasteurized at extreme temperatures so that no preservatives are used but it lasts longer. The milk comes out tasting more like the milk you get after you eat all the cereal out of the bowl than what we're used to in America.

Athena and I set out on an exploring journey today, finally venturing to the farthest Macau island: Cotai. It is a completely different feel than Macau island because there is a lot more greenery and a lot less development. We ended up at Hac Sa Beach, though we did not go swimming. There was a nice little restaurant catering to Europeans who live here or tourists. There was Beatles paraphernalia everywhere in the restaurant. We had fish and chips, which for some reason I had been craving for a while. I also got to teach Athena about how an espresso shot dies and gets bitter. Poor thing thought she was getting something different. Thank you, Starbucks, for that part of my education.

The beach is not your typical beach setup, but similar. There are small bbqing shacks ran by locals that sell drinks and skewers of octopus or chicken for cheap. I find myself happiest when I find something other than concrete to breathe in. Macau is nice, but I've never lived without green for long. That's why Taipa and coloanne are my weekend getaways.

We walked past these waterfront historic looking Portuguese style houses that you could tell only the very rich would own or live in. One house even had one of those self set up swimming pools you buy at toy stores. Very few people have grass around here, especially not enough grass for a pool. Beyond the houses was a park with rock climbing. It seemed to be quite the hang out for local college students.

We are currently back in Taipa and at (you guessed it) Cuppacoffee. Since we don't really have internet at the apartment yet, we use what resources we can. On a hot hot hot humid day like today, an ice blended mocha is soooooo rewarding.

That's pretty much the story from here. I think I will go home to clean the bathroom---uhg. We have 3 rotating cleaning jobs: kitchen, living room/trash, and bathroom. I being the mini-Vickie that I am discussed with the girls and made a calendar rotation of jobs to keep everyone happy and no one whining 'I did kitchen lassssst week.' Not that I think my roomates would whine, they've been great to live with....it just keeps things easy and open communication. So anyway, moral of the story is I got bathroom duties first week, and it wasn't cleaned to par before we moved in. Score! So glove shopping, here I come!

Look out, look out wherever you are

It's ok if this boring. My daddy said it didn't have to be interesting. Thanks, dad ;)
So instead today, I'm going to give you a few pictures--that's because I'm currently on my laptop in my office, so I can finally upload pictures.

Here's a peak:

 Chelsey's desk pre-Chelsey

 Chelsey's bed- pre-Chelsey (how does the room look now that I'm moved in?!?! Oh, the suspense...this is how I keep you coming back to the blog. muahaha)

 The above and following 4 give you a view from our balcony. It's even prettier at night. We could watch the sunset every night if we were off work by then. Some days this will happen. Zhuhai (mainland China) is across the water there. That is no longer Macau.

 Funky shaped crown building in the background is the Grand Lisboa--one of many casinos here.

That's about it. Today I made lesson plans actually very successfully, sat in on a Speech and Debate class the other ETAs will be teaching and that I might play a hand in (it overlaps with my elementary time), and had a meeting with the business school director (my favorite).

Enjoy your weekends!

Smelsh

P.S.--the highlight of my day was talking to my family this morning when my brother told me there's a UL sock monkey keeping my bed warm at home. Whoever thought up UL sock monkeys should get a Nobel 'Piece' Prize because it's a piece of genius!!!

Why is the red man red? Spicey food, duh.

The days are passing so quickly. This morning Athena and I set out to walk to work from our apartment. We don’t have a specific time that we have to be there (everything is super flexible here), so we set out with the goal of arriving in 30 minutes. Well, that didn’t happen, but we did find the nearest hospital, which is about a 5 minute walk away. We arrived in about 45 minutes, so we did not discover a quicker route as we had hoped. We did stop for a cold drink on the way—I accidentally picked up pear flavored tea that I thought was apple flavor. Surprise in my mouth!

For lunch today we had Indian—good Indian food. It was a splurge because we finally have an income. By splurge, I mean like $12 US when the fancy drink was included. I had Mango Lassa—a sweet yogurt drink, Chick Pea Curry (which has some other fancy Indian name), and a large plate of white rice (because they force you to get bread or rice with your curry). Delish—and kept me full for a long time. Tonight I had vegetarian dumplings because I wasn’t very hungry even 8 hours later.

Quick other synopsis: gum on my shoe, purchase of Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam, did laundry, went grocery shopping, proposed to a box of cereal (because I love it), and danced in my room thinking I might actually burn off my horrible free breakfast buffet overeating from last week (come on, it was free food).

I also visited the elementary school where I am teaching 1^st and 2^nd graders. I went with a trainer at MPI who is originally from Maryland. She told me that when I had called her she picked up on my accent and asked me where I was from. Accent? Please, y’all, I ain’t go no accent.

I was really glad Sharon went with me to meet because the teachers I work with have poor English and the culture of Macau is much less forward, so you have to ask everything in several different ways and kind of be forceful about what you want. All they had told me to this point was the grade level and to focus on phonics. I had no books, no idea what number of students I would have, who I would be working with. Fun. Today I got 2 books, found out I will have 35 non-native speaking 6 year olds in each class to teach letter sounds for 40 minutes. I’m learning I will need the diligence of a maid, the patience of a praying mantis, the creativity of a circus performer, and the evil eye of…my mother to pull this off. Let’s just say I will deserve a lot of gelato at the end of the day on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. J I’m okay with that. Actually, I’m excited to work with these kids—and they are SOOOO cute. But if you have any tips on teaching young ones and English through simple games, please share.

On the way home from the school I passed a little girl waiting with her mom at a crosswalk. She must have been between 4 and 6 years old. At first, I made eye contact with her and noticed her eyes were growing rapidly larger as I approached. I smiled at her, letting her know I was a gentle giant…  Surprisingly, compared to mainland China, white people are not as much of an abnormality/specialty. There are many Americans and Europeans that live here, so I can understand why.

The funniest thing that happened today was when Ray was mistaken for a Chinese high school student. Ray is Vietnamese-Cambodian mix and he speaks fluent Chinese. Many people mistake him to be younger than he is as well. So today during lunch when he got off the bus, the truancy officers that were monitoring the high school students that get to leave their campus for lunch freaked out on him for trying to skip school and go work at the casinos. Haha. If you knew Ray, this would be even funnier. He’s been identified as a young native Macau resident more than once.

That's about it besides the fact that Chupa Chups suckers are really popular here (which I know you were wondering). I cant say I've bought any here, but the name has always simultaneously excited and puzzled me.

one of those wow moments

My church at  home is having revival this week. I decided tonight to intentionally pray for the revival and read through the notes I had from the youth revival that I heard the preacher speak at this summer.

It's amazing how God works. Brother Rick impressed me and so many others to such a degree that I got his information. I'm now around the world, and it is not I who specifically benefits from him coming to revival as I'd suggested, but others. This is the Spirit of Christianity: the benefit of others to the glory of God.

Tonight, I'm just so in awe of everything God has done in my life and where He has brought me. I read a journal entry written in a journal that came home from a friend's Argentina mission trip. This journal entry was from October of last year. I pray and vent to God in this journal about a variety of things, but specifically one topic that stood out were the classes. God not only answered them, He helped my stress, and looking back it looks so petty.

I had a running list of names that were in the front of the journal--names to mention in prayer. I look at this list, first amazed at the number of answered prayers, and also amazed at the changes in relationships (most of which are growths) within this less than one year span.

This year has flown and taken me places where I would have never pictured myself. I'm halfway around the world, I'm graduated (with my final goal), I'm in a relationship with someone who respects my family/me/God, and I'm on a computer overlooking both poverty and prosperity--amazed at how God is in it all.

Praise God. That's pretty much all I have to say. And I don't want to stop there because it's not even close to enough. I get tangled, I get twisted, I get wound up on things that when I look back, I go wow--really? But yet, He cares enough to give it His attention and to give me His comfort if I let Him. Wow. It's like when you realize your best friend has let you take advantage of them and their services for years, and they never complained--that's how I feel sometimes when I look at all I've not done for God and all He's put up with and showered me with love along the way. Amazing.

I want to leave you some quotes and thoughts from Brother Rick Owensby (who you should go see at Unity Baptist at revival this week). These are from 3 months ago, but still so applicable.
--Jesus doesn't save us in our sin, Jesus saves us from our sin.  (Holy Ghost Soap)
--Being a witness is of no value unless you are willing to tell what you've seen. Tell people about your experience with Christ.
--John 6:1-13 tells of when Jesus feeds the 5,000. He did this by expanding one little boy's lunch...the miracle began with the little boy's sacrifice and willingness, but it expanded to much leftover. "Can Jesus have your lunch?"....and your abilities...and your time...and your all?

What do you have to thank Him for--the One who is, was, and always will be? If nothing else, thank Him for your life, and please send up a prayer for this revival this week. Lives are always waiting to be transformed, and God is always waiting to do it. Play your part. Love you all.

back at it.

Today we walked to the elementary school to teach for the second time, but for the first time not walking from the hotel. We walked the path to school from our apartment last night. Lauren had borrowed and misplaced my map to the school, it was dark, and we had no idea what street it was on. Never fear though, I find more and more that our ETA group is like a super hero team (in other words, we found it). Armed with my direction skills, sarcasm and sass; Ray's Cantonese, Beyonce dance moves and magnetic pull of 17 year old girls; Lauren's Mandarin, world travel experience, and childlike excitement; and Athena's back up laughter to make us all feel like we have a clever sense of humor, we are pretty much unstoppable. Come rain or shine, elevator doors without sensors, or buses that stop in the middle of the city, we will thrive.

So this morning (how did I get so off track!?) we went back to the elementary school, and I taught my lovely 5th graders. I counted wrong last time. I actually have 103 students across 3 classes. I'm not going to lie--I'm a horrible teacher because I'm completely partial toward my one girl, Joyce. She admires me, what can I say? And she's smart, she's joyous (kind like Joyce with an extra syllable), she listens, she speaks logically and with poise--she embodies all things a woman should. :)

Because I underestimated the number of students I had, I also had too few worksheets. I am now the mean teacher that assigns homework; at least it was fairytale themed. I didn't get through half of my lesson--which is good for me because I can use it next week and focus on preparing to teach 1st and second grade.

After those classes, we came back to lead English Corner. English Corner is an English only lunch table in the canteen that spans the entire lunch period. This means we got to mingle with a variety of people during the time. I'm noticing an overlap in the participants for many of the MPI campus activities. The good news with this is that I get to know the students better. The bad news is that most of them are Chinese-English translation majors, so no other majors are really getting experience with English. At least the ones that come are enthusiastic about learning. One of the girls invited me to visit her family and have dinner next time I'm in Beijing. How sweet of her!

Debate came last today. We are doing a new style of debate and I'm still getting my bearings while trying to help teach the new students the things I barely know. This was not my most favorite part of the day since student enthusiasm was low, participation was low because the students I work with are 1st year with a low level of English, and all I could think of was 'me want food' in some sort of grizzly-esque inner stomach voice.

Thus concludes at least this portion of the day. We are about to go grab dinner and head home again.
Highlight of the day today: Blueberry Swiss Yogurt.

Fact of the day: Chinese people think that the number 4 is bad luck, and so there was no floor 4 or 14 at our hotel. They also believe 8 is a lucky number, so casinos here have phone numbers like 2888-8888 (and yes, they have 8 digits in them, though I'm not sure if the lucky part is why). I was born on the 18th in the 80s. Coincidence? I think not...I am my maternal grandparents' favorite granddaughter after all. (Insignificant side note: I'm their only granddaughter).

Feliz miércoles

21 floors

You’ve probably heard of those women who men call teases...those ones that just dangle themselves for the temptation? Then internet service I am attempting to use from my balcony is clearly a woman. Oh, the female gender. ;) Macau actually has this really neat program called wifi-go. I think it’s mostly because the large percentage of tourists that the city entertains. The government has set up wifi hot spots all over Macau where you can get 45 minutes of wifi free. This can be found in parks, at museums, etc. Anything they want tourists to visit. It’s pretty nice. It’s unsecured, but it’s free. Currently, I’m not near a park or tourist attraction that I know of, but up this high, maybe it just becomes part of the oxygen molecule (makes sense when you consider some people pretty much breathe, eat, and sleep the internet).

So today we moved in! Yay! This means every drop of water and breath of A/C I consume comes from my wallet. No, really, I’m happy to just finally have a home again. Thus begins my 10 month routine.

Since today was a public holiday, we moved in, unpacked suitcases and shopped. When I say ‘shopped,’  I mean that I bought only the basics (remember, we still haven’t got the moolah moolah yet). As Madea would say in Diary of a Mad Black Woman I bought wi-ah hang-ahs!  (wire hangers). We ate McDonalds for dinner again…it’s addictive!!! I have eaten more McDonalds in the past 3 weeks than I have in all of college. Not good. Even worse, tonight we found the nutrition information on the back of the tray paper. Why do they print stuff like that? It’s like someone was giving you a high five and then hit you in the forehead. We know it’s not good for u; we just tell ourselves that the walk to McDonalds somehow burns 5,000 calories. …oh, and on the topic of McDonalds…they are EVERYWHERE. If you ever come visit Macau, do not try to landmark something with a McDonalds. It’s kind of like being in a fun house…you’ll just get lost in all the maze of mirrors/McDs.

There’s this store here called Daiso. It’s a Japanese bargain superstore—think a big Deals or Dollar Tree-esque. Everything is 14 MOPs, unless it is labeled otherwise. This means most things are about $1.50. I was happy to find colorful baskets and such. I didn’t buy any pretty stuff except for a rug, which doubles as a place to wipe my feet before I get into bed. I’m excited to turn my white walls and fake wood into a little more personal space in a few days J

A big thing we have to pay attention to here that you don’t have to in the states is humidity and mold. We have these disposable dehumidifying boxes in our rooms that hopefully help prevent mold and mildew. We shall see. This is the dryer of the seasons, so hopefully we’ll get used to 90% humidity and rain effects by the time it gets here.

Well, I’ve actually typed this post in Word, but I better not make it too large or it won’t upload before the teasing internet departs. We hope to get our own wifi soon. Tomorrow is back to teaching 5^th grade boys. I’ve got so many back up plans it’s like a 401k teaching method. …not a good example. I have a worksheet, a Hip Hop fairytale song, a Powerpoint, and so  on and so forth.

Adios amigos y amigas.

...and I cannot believe I forgot and had to come add this back in after I posted it, but we found a building with a bowling alley and ice skating rink near our apartment today! The inner child in me is screaming birthday party! :)

The Price is Right

Unfortunately (or fortunately?) there were no men confessing love to me in elevators, getting locked in buildings, or fancy art displays. Today was the first day I officially clocked in with my fancy new employee ID card. Other than that, I spent the day preparing lessons and going to meetings for the Shakespeare Festival, elementary school check-up, and debate society. It's amazing how fast the day has flown, but even more so that tomorrow morning will mark 3 weeks since my departure from the U.S. Wow.

Tomorrow we leave the hotel and depart to our new apartments. We have the day off because it's a public holiday (Mid-Autumn Festival, based on the Lunar Calendar). I did have some decent moon cake today that someone gave us. I can't lie, I was hungry and the old-fig newton taste of it worked. Since I will be moving in, and since work will be closed from internet use, I will probably not get a chance to blog tomorrow....but who knows, I may go buy towels in Taipa and end up at Cuppacoffee. I cannot predict the day. So anyway, just know that I probably won't be responding for a day. Enjoy the peace!

We just got home from dinner. We went to a cheap place and I had spicy tofu with rice (yums). The good news: it was cheap. How did I pay for it? Bug in my food. You get used to it, and you tell yourself that it reached a certain temperature that killed most bacteria, and that you blessed your food. Hey, it happens in America too.

Over and out...I've got a mansion to get to (..and like your cereal box says, that was enlarged to show texture).

America, art, and aye aye aye

I just checked my email and a Jehovah's Witness in South Carolina emailed me. Huh? It's okay, he told me they have a Spanish congregation (he must have heard about my Latino love affair!...If you don't follow this, read the previous blog post). The JW email part is true. And, I have no idea.

This morning I ate a lovely breakfast buffet spread for one of our last remaining days at the hotel and then ventured to Taipa with Ray, another of the ETAs, to attend church again. After church, Ray and I went wandering through home stores and supermarkets looking at pricing for cups, bowls, etc., since all of us will be moving in this week. The bad thing about Taipa is that we have to get it back to the other island if we buy it there. Yikes-a-bee. Ray has the apartment next door to the girls (he really has it made since he has about 2/3 the space we do, but doesn't have any room mates. ...so we're making him cook for us and teach us Beyonce dances....and life is fair again.)

While venturing in Taipa and through the weekly Portuguese flea market, it began to rain. Most of the showers that we have experienced here have been short lived. This one was not. Unfortunately that meant a beautiful, free Sunday afternoon turned into trapped inside since we did not have umbrellas. You'll never guess where we ended up (Cuppacoffee!). So we sat chatting near the miniature toy store in the mezzanine about his life in NYC and L.A. and my different levels of drama in KY. Voila.

When we arrived back in Macau mid-afternoon, I laid down for a nap, but mostly ended up thinking about the apartment. I'm beginning to realize these are my last few days with constant A/C, someone to clean, and a free breakfast at my living quarters. When we move in 2 days, we will be walking a half hour to work versus the current 10 to 15 minute walk. Oh, life's little luxuries.

The evening brought us back to Cafe E.S.Kimo--the cheap place we eat at allllll the time. Then we ventured off to find an art display for 9/11. It was by an artist named James Chu. Apparently he attempted to do this display in the U.S. over the past 10 years at some point and was never allowed. So, up on the roof top (click, click, click...down through the chimney old St. Nick)...oh, darn, wrong season. So up on the roof top of a 10 story building, we saw an incense burning of art resembling the Twin Towers. It's always difficult to describe art, so I hope to post pictures in the future that do it a little more justice.

The artist also had 2 paintings and 2,977 bells hung up around the border of the roof that blew in the wind and represented each person lost in the attacks. It was deep and affecting, especially when the first tower of incense fell over. It was like reliving the moment a little bit. James Chu said that the point of his exhibit was to show that people all over should forgive and not harbor resentment for 10 years. He has a good point on forgiveness. It can be hard with loss and bitterness to do so, but we must.

Oh, and the most exciting story line of the evening: I got locked in my work building last night. Haha. Yeah. So the story being what you read last night and the guy knew I was in there, but didn't come tell me when he locked up. I closed out the blog and walked to the front of the building, only to find all the doors were locked. Great. I tried calling Ray (couldn't get through), texted Ray, called Lauren (couldn't get through), called my boss (couldn't get through)...hmmm. I kind of chuckled. Either way, I would have been fine, I had A/C in my office, water, snacks, a bathroom, and they'd come open it in the morning. The idea of sleeping in there kind of stunk though. I called the 'In Case of Emergency' number that was on the desk where the man who saw me walk in had been. The person on the other end spoke Cantonese....'Do you speak English?'...Cantonese response..."Ying mon? (the Cantonese pronunciation for English)...response in Cantonese containing the word "Ying mon"...he hangs up phone. Aye aye aye! So I went to the other side of the building. There was a girl student outside. I banged on the door, waved, etc. until she saw me. She went to get a security guard, who unlocked the door. Hooray! He said sorry (though he wasn't the one that locked me in). It really was my fault, but I went out praising God and thanking the student. ...and that's how the west was won. Haha.

I'm running out of time as I am NOT in my office at midnight, I'm on the hotel computer. Here I must close. In other news, I wandered Macau and found alternate routes to the apartment. I had no map and no street names. I was very glad to see that if I am diligent enough, I will find whatever I am looking for eventually. Once again, I am thankful for my father's sense of direction. (We have maps for brains).

Now, what shall we get into tomorrow? Oh, the suspense.

It's getting hot in here...no wait, it's been that way

I just got a weird look from a guard when I came into my office to blog at 11pm on a Saturday night. Wonder why?

In other news today, a man in an elevator told me he loved me. I've been waiting for this my whole life! Now I can retire early!
Enter: Chelsey and 3 twenty-something latino-ish looking men into hotel elevator. One notices she's a tall white chick (thus, she MUST speak English).
Dude: Hello! Good morning!
Chelsey: Good evening (it was night)
Dude: (insert something that didn't seem to be English but sounded something like 'leadah' here).
Chelsey: I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Dude: (repeats self)
Chelsey: (shakes head) sorry
Dude: I love you
Chelsey: (laughs) I understood that one.
(Enter awkward moment. Chelsey turns to stare at the elevator door. She's relieved to see it's getting closer to their floor)
Dude: leadah (like most men, they repeat things even when women don't get them or tell them to do something otherwise ;) )
Chelsey: Sorry, I still don't understand
Three guys leave elevator, smiling.
Chelsey: goodbye (pushes close door button ASAP)
And that was when I met my true love...we had Latino babies, one of which we were inspired to name Lydia (inspired by 'leadah').

In other news today, we took some more stuff to the apartment. I then bought a book and some scissors. The book was called something  like 'The Beauty Bible,' and although it does have great beauty tips from 1996 (really, that's when it was copyrighted), I purchased it mostly for the pictures. I cut out a lot of colorful pics and my room is starting to look a lot more like a home (color, yay!).

While I was at this bookstore, I saw a little Asian girl that reminded me of my cousin Hayley. Although Hayley does not look Asian, this little girl was half talking half singing and wiggle dancing while in the bookstore. Cute.

The firework competition started today. I think it was S. Korea against Canada this weekend. It was good, but no worries 'Thunder', you still win the prize in my heart.

For lunch, the 3 girl ETAs met with a lady and 2 friends that Lauren had met on Couchsurfing, a website that connects people in areas either just to meet new people (have lunch) or because they need  a cheap/free place to crash. So we met a lady from Italy and her 2 coworkers from California and Nevada. They were from a school (teaching) in Taipa. The vegetarian restaurant we ate at was delicious and affordable (we get paid this week, yay!). The ladies were really nice, and at the end of dinner they offered us moon cake because the box said something along the lines of 'that is what friends eat together'. They misread that description, which really said, 'that's how to keep friends from getting together.' Haha. I'm kidding. Some people like moon cake. Not many, but some. Okay, I think a lot of Asians enjoy it. Hence, it's popularity. Moon Cake is hard to describe because it's nothing like cake, but it is used for a lot of celebrations in Asia (like the Moon Festival). I will tell you this, it's wrapped in something similar to a pie crust texture, but surrounded on all sides, and the inside can be a variety of things. Today the options were black sesame or some peanut mixed thing. I've had the bean flavored one before in my Chinese class in the U.S. and it tasted like dirt. This time, the peanut one tasted like bacon grease...iggg. I may just have to try to bring some home to the U.S. so that fruit cake won't seem all that bad. You know how in Kentucky, we say 'thank God for Mississippi?" Fruit cake says 'thank God for moon cake.' ...it makes it look good.

Other than Latino love, bacon grease cake mush, and cutting up books, my day was pretty much normal...
I'm excited to maybe post pictures somewhere at some point when I get my apartment completely complete. Mmm redundancy.

Well, I'm going to get out of here before they lock me in....I hope. muahahaha! My favorite day of the week tomorrow!

P.S.--I think I fixed the comment where you can do it without signing in by clicking 'anonymous'...just put your name in the comment so I'll know who you are. :)

CuppaLife

Today I was wonder woman. No seriously, I wore a cape to work. Okay, not so true, but I did make a worksheet from scratch for my 5th grade class to do. What they've done is give us the books that the kids use, but tell us they're covering that material in their classes the other days of the week. My job is to use their vocabulary, and more and more it seems like I am going to be making the activities from scratch. I Googled and YouTubed my little heart out today trying to find songs, games, and materials. I did find the hip hop fairy tale song, but pretty much everything else was too basic or not cool enough for 5th grade boys (or so I guessed). So voila, I have a worksheet from scratch about Ms. Smith and Mr. Timothy using the vocal words like 'wealthy, handsome, glad, castle' etc. I was tempted just to put a picture of Ben in front of his 3rd street apartments as an visual example for a lot of the words. ;) okay, not really, but those were actually some of the vocab.

We also took another trip back to our apartments. This time they didn't smell as fresh because they weren't being cleaned while we were there, and Lauren found a peed on blanket they'd left for us to use (it's furnished)...? Yay! She came up to me and told me to smell it. Do I look dumb enough to sniff something you tell me smells like pee? Don't answer that. We plan on moving in this weekend, but may face challenges since 2 of the girls' keys don't work (mine included) and we don't have the entry code for the building. We shall see. We still have the hotel for a few more days, no worries.

The international fireworks competition will be taking place here in Macau for the next few weekends. This means countries from around the world (US does not participate) will be blowing up money for our entertainment. Score. Even better news is that since we have an apartment higher than other buildings in the part of the city we are in and that is somewhat near the coast, we should have a great view from our balcony.

Tonight we ventured to Taipa, where I had my first gelato ever. It was a splurge, but I've been eating a lot of meals from the grocery and not eating out as much, so it wasn't so bad. I had chocolate on one side of the cone and strawberry-blueberry on the other. They give you two flavors of deliciousity. Yum. Actually, interesting side note: when I got my 5th grade boys to do their acrostic names the other day, the word 'yummy' showed up a lot for Y. :)

Interesting fact of the day: the Chinese word to answer a telephone is pronounced like the English word 'why.' So every time I hear someone pick up the phone and say the Chinese hello I giggle to myself, thinking it's like 'why did you call me'...well, hello to you too!

I'm currently at my favorite coffee shop in this part of the world again--Cuppacoffee :).Thus the end to a good day.

Cha cha cha.

that's not so funny

Today=uneventful: office hours, teaching prep, and first official staff meeting where we met all the trainers we work with.

In other news, I've been thinking a lot more recently about the seriousness of issues in this world. Maybe it's the fact that I'm surrounded by some of the 'best and brightest' (as Fulbright coined it) minds in the U.S. When we have dinner, sure we talk about Beyonce and the like, but I find that more often we discuss things like human trafficking, famines, child mutilation, and other important, often ignored, and very serious topics.

I love America. I REALLY, really do. I also realize that growing up in the most developed country in the world has sheltered me from some of the realities and struggles that are more than common in other countries. Women's rights, laws again abuse, support against hunger, freedom of speech, etc. are all things that are a completely different story in America (and probably many other developed countries) than in areas outside of the states. Are there struggles in the states? Sure. I completely believe that there are still needs to be filled by loving people in the states and that people in the U.S. experience pain, need, etc. But so often I am afraid that Americans do not acknowledge just how blessed they are. One of my primary school pupils is missing 4 of his fingers. I'm no expert, I know no information as to his personal situation, and I will NOT state any assumptions, but let's just say it got me thinking.

So do you have it bad? I'm sure your struggles are completely legitimate and I am not trying to underestimate or under-acknowledge what you are facing. But in a world where babies are abandoned, people are intentionally mutilated to beg for money, and 8 year old daughters are sold into the sex trade by their families so that the brother might get an education/the family can survive/have a promising future...in a world where all these things exist, we must be cautious in considering our situations to be so horrid/painful. I am currently reading a book about a Russian in a camp back in the days of Stalin. This helps me keep things in perspective...and I need that. Sometimes I get the blahs, and next thing you know it's contagious...my Tuesdays catch the 'blah' bug from my Mondays, they spread it to my Wednesdays, and before can say 'sugar molasses,' days and months turn virally 'blah.'

God bless America; no, seriously, God bless it! And may all of us Americans that sometimes let the little frustrations of life get us down not only keep in mind the horrors some people of the world face, but also take action to make changes. Don't just pity people's conditions; do what you can to help. Be proactive in improving the lives of others, and, by doing so, improve your own.

sally+larry=salary

You're welcome for the fabulous jokes. You burned extra calories there rolling your eyes or giggling slightly. I'm the new diet plan! woot.

Although I'm not exactly salary, I have recently had a taste of what it is like to work a salary job and the struggles of not working 24/7.  When I worked retail at my first 'real job', my boss used to tell me there was always 'something' to do (be it cleaning shelves or reorganizing something you forgot existed).  I also probably get this mentality from my mother and father, who are both extremely diligent and hard workers. The job I am in requires me to choose the hours I work to a large degree so long as I get the work done and hit a certain number of hours. I have some commitments in the morning, others in the afternoon, and still others at night, all varying depending on the night of the week. Point: I'm not working any certain consistent shift. I also am beginning to realize the amount of time it takes to prepare lessons, especially when you have students with unpredictable understanding levels of things as simple as directions (English is their second language and my first/kind of only language, remember). This first week post-orientation has been a lot of meetings, but also a lot of late hours at the office because there are things to do and...well, we don't have families to get home to. It's working out fine, but it's definitely been making me think about what I want to do in my future.

Today was my first official day teaching. The kids use my last name since non-native English speakers seem to be challenged with my first name. Often, when they attempt to say my name, I find it produces a lot of spitting, confusion, and something that sounds like 'shelphshelly' more than my name. That's completely fine and understandable considering how much I butcher Chinese words, but I've tried to use my last name to make it a bit easier. So it was me against 3 classes of 30+ ten year old boys today (and one girl!). I only had to give them my mother's eyebrow and squinted eye look once. In other words, discipline was pretty good considering they're boys at that age. Their Chinese teacher is in the room in case they need to be disciplined, but otherwise it's all up to me. I found that my first class had excellent usage of English with a narrow vocabulary (which I can help expand!), but that my second and third classes struggled more to understand directions and explanations. I quickly was able to deduce that the lower level of English in the same grade was because, although they are supposed to be taught in English all day, the teacher of the 2nd and 3rd classes had extremely poor English, even in speaking to me. Well, we'll just have to work on that, now won't we? :)

A cool fact about kiddos in Macau (and mainland students learning English) is that they get to choose their own English name. In Debate the other evening, I had a girl named Swiky, and a girl at the Speaking with Confidence interviews went by Fangtasia. My elementary boys have more common names, many of which are Oscar and Sam. Oh, and last in list of popular names, there are 3 Echoes in Debate. I think it would be fantastic to pick my own name; I'd go by something fabulous like Onomatopoeia.

That was my morning. This afternoon included interviews for Speaking with Confidence, and I just recently finished Debate Society. Tonight's debate: "Macau has no future." I was coaching a team of new debaters in a style I have not used: British Parliament style. It was a great debate and these university kids are brilliant (some with GREAT english). I really enjoyed learning about this new style of debate, although it is much longer than what I've used in the past. (In other words, it's a good thing these students are good debaters or it could get really boring).

Everything in balance...even work hours, trapeze artists, and hippos on bouncy balls. Wait, what?

Done.