The title of this blog is for my dear Ben, who I am missing greatly, though it doesn't imply that things are miserable here as that T. Swift song does. Actually that song came to mind because today I've been thinking a lot more about the ties in our brains and memories to objects. This idea was sparked today at lunch when I was drinking a can of Coke. For those of you who know me, I rarely drink actual Coca-Cola because I never fully appreciated the taste of it, and it used to make my tummy hurt when I was younger. I have no clue why. Anyway, here Coke has sugar in it rather than corn syrup, and I've recently been craving Coke a lot more (also, it's often cheaper than other drinks, even water, at restaurants). Today as I drank my Coke through my straw, I was taken to New Haven, KY with my Pappaw. You see, since my Coke drinking was limited, the only time I hardly ever drank it was at my grandparents' house. Even to this day, I guarantee you my Mammaw has a 12 pack of Coke in the room past the bathroom (whatever the official title of that room is). For me, this memory was extremely bittersweet, but welcomed nonetheless.
The other day, I had a cornbread patty type of bread at the Indian restaurant we went to, and something in the flavor of it took me to my Ma's kitchen. Though not as good as my grandmother's cooking, it had a similar flavor. This was another addition to my stream of thinking about brain ties. I appreciate them really. Although I have had my fair share of CDs and songs that remind me of miserable break ups, I often find that these tastes and music and such take me to happy memories. So cheers, Pappaw.
Other things that happened today included a seminar on grammar and one titled 'what I wish I'd known about teaching'. Wow, how dumb I feel after going back over past participle and countable nouns and so on and so forth. This English grammar stuff has names! Here I was thinking it was just some algorithm in my brain. Okay, I didn't think that, but I haven't needed to know the names since elementary and middle school.
We had another meeting with an elementary school (the highlight of which was the Macau version of coconut gelatin and water they gave us). I learned that I may very well be teaching 1st graders English....aka the alphabet. This should be an adventure. It's just one more thing that confirms to me that God is in charge. It amazes me how I get into situations and then later look back and go 'ah ha! That's why God put me there.' In this case, the 'ah ha' comes from a preschool class at church needing an assistant teacher. I've learned a lot from moving from teaching teens down to 4 year olds....they're not so analytically minded. lol. This should be fun...or a hilarious disaster. You might be thinking, "I thought she was going to teach at a university," and you would be right. I am. I'm working for an English center at a university that also contracts out to a community begging for English experience. I'm excited about working with different age groups and learning even more.
The most exciting thing that we did today was find our apartments. I prayed and I prayed while that door was being unlocked that we would have a nice place, and I am very grateful. Now, mind you 'nice' here is not what you're picturing. It's about the equivalent of a college dorm from the 80s, but it's very nice for some of the Macau standards I have seen and I am grateful. It's in an area where there is more of a local/Chinese feel to it than the touristy area we are in now. What that means is, less English but more bargains. We are on the 21st floor and have a 3 bedroom apartment with a kitchen the size of your bathroom and a bathroom that's a similar size. We were blessed enough to get a balcony and windows--natural sunlight!!! After seeing our USJ friends' apartments with no sunlight in their bedrooms, I am very content. I'm excited that we have bunks, so people can crash there when visiting...although there's only one mattress. And by mattress, I mean about a third the thickness of a twin bed. But there is bedding included, and I'm hoping the school is paying our rent...that's still TBD. All around, it's not the Hyatt, but it's cozy and my first place ever. I am very, very grateful. And I will go ahead and give God the glory for that one. I think He's pretty much been in control of all of this.
I haven't had dinner yet, so no adventures there. But, oh yes, this morning! I woke up to the hotel room door bell (which sounds more like a dying cat mooing...yes). I was hugging my alarm clock in bed... The story behind that is that last night I fell asleep with the one of the very few English TV channels on and woke up at about 5 this morning. Then I turned the TV off, brushed my teeth, set my alarm, and officially went to bed. After that, it's all really unclear how I somehow turned off my alarm clock and then proceeded to cuddle it... lol. It's cordless, so this is good and less of a hazard. I went to bed really early last night, so it's not that I need sleep. Anyway, there's your giggle for the day. Be warned though that if you ever wake me up, I may reach out and start cuddling you not fully awake.
Zippidy Doo Da! Zippidy Day! My, oh my, reading this blog should pay!
Chesley Jamison...shhhhh
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