Teaching Sums

Finally, the last of catch up blogs before getting into a routine again. Here's a recap on the week:

Monday: (Holiday) Ill

Tuesday: (Holiday) Recovering, Doctor's

Wednesday: Teaching 1st and 5th graders...no option. I was testing my 5th graders. We orally test them one at a time while the other kids watch an English video. The projector in my second class was broken and I hadn't brought anything else, plus I had to do the test because of when Chinese New Year falls and when grades are due. So I gave them a difficult writing prompt (with no real intention of grading them for anything except maybe extra credit). Glad that seemed to work well enough. The lesson I learned from this though was why my teachers in middle school were so particular about the format and where we wrote our names on our papers--it was amazing to find the places and sizes my students wrote their names. Locating them was like Carmen Sandiego without a cool theme song.

Thursday: Still not 100%. I lesson planned and helped consult a business school student on her resume. I found an internship on my Alma mater's job board at JP Morgan Chase and sent the web link to the accounting student I referenced in the past. She was very excited to say the least. I'm not sure what the odds of her getting the job are because she has limited experience and the visa process for companies is more work than hiring a U.S. citizen, but it will be a valuable learning process for her. She didn't even have a resume completed, so this has been motivation.

Thursday morning I made muffin cakes with the lovely 'just add water' packages I brought back from home. I found this cheap and small heart shaped pan the other day, and made it for my roomies to share.

Thursday evening, USJ hosted a free musical event of a French classical composer's pieces. There were a variety of instruments, pieces, and musicians from around the world (mostly from participating in the Hong Kong Orchestra).

This was in the bathroom stall at USJ. Yes, I'm the weirdo that pulled out her camera in the stall, but I found it too funny and cute to pass up sharing.

Friday: My second graders had a lot of energy. After work, I chilled out at a large Starbucks and made progress on a lot of non-work things I needed to be doing. I've started looking for jobs--if you know anyone needing someone to tell cheesy jokes in 6 months, give 'em my name ;). I'll still be taking the GMAT in Hong Kong, but am passing on grad school currently because of several factors.

Saturday: Today I went to the orphanage for the first time in a month. We've decided from here on out I will help 2x a month as it works better for both of our schedules. I worked with an 11 year old girl on numbers and then talked with/did a puzzle with the boys. I'm trying to win them over to boost their interest in practicing English by using my mad puzzling skills. Okay, it's not like I'm that great, I've just got a decade of practice on them, so they're amazed. shhhh don't tell. After that, we headed to the church where I helped teach one of the teenage boys Jesus Loves Me and the Lord's Prayer.

Tonight, Lauren and I went to see New Year's Eve at the movies. Cute movie. We went to Starbucks while we were waiting for the movie (we had to buy tickets early because they sell out). Her and I have some of the most interesting conversations. Tonight, we were talking about the selection process for our jobs, the mystery behind why we were chosen, and the fact that it's not always the smartest or the 'x'est candidate that gets the scholarship or job, but the one that seems to fit best based on what may be random criteria. For example, I have no idea what got me past the U.S. level, but I think I'm at MPI over USJ based on my experience with debate. Things like that always amaze me--the puzzle of our lives.

 So be encouraged today that whatever good or bad you're facing, it's an important piece no matter how fast of a puzzler you are.

That's a wrap!