Getting into the swing of things...

It's been too long since my last post which is definitely a sign...I'm getting into the swing of things. :) I am surprisingly finding that adjusting to life in China is not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. The weather has calmed way down and it is beautiful! I can actually enjoy being outside and while I'm sitting here writing this I have my windows open! It's awesome!

School has...I can't exactly say "settled down"...because honestly, with 24 kiddos who barely speak English, I can't imagine it ever settling down! But I am feeling much more comfortable! The (what felt like) drastic change in thinking that needed to take place for the adjustment with curriculum is starting to transpire; things are beginning to make sense and slowly but surely, I'm beginning to see how I can mesh what they want me to do, with what I believe to be what's best for kids. And if I'm being honest....the two things are not that different....just different than what I'm used to. But hey...that's what I came to China for! Something different!!! :) My classroom is too big! Never in a million years did I think I would ever say that...but it's true! It's like a huge gym, where kids are tempted to run all day long, and my voice, no matter how loud I talk, becomes nothing but an echo barely recognizable. As a result...my voice is currently on it's way out. :) And just in time!!! Friday, P3 (my class) is hosting a school wide assembly. Yikes...it's absolutely exhausting to prep for, but I'm sure even if it goes completely wrong, the kids will be adorable and funny...people will laugh at the chaos unraveling before them....it will be great. 

I had to share this photo. This is Teo; such a cutie! A little exhausting at times, but completely adorable! This is his "me" poster they had for homework. I wanted to put this photo on our school website, but we're not supposed to display work that isn't correct unless it clearly has "draft" written across it!!! Come on...they're 5 years old! How hilarious that he decorated it backwards. :) Even so, his goal was to be a "communicator" and he did an amazing job. :) 

If you want to check out the rest of my kiddos or see what we're up to at any point in the year, here's the link to our P3 page of the school website. I'll attempt to keep it updated as much as possible.  

http://www.wuxitaihuinternationalschool.org/p3.html

Last Thursday I went to the Wuxi Grand Theater with Kayla and Doug to see a rendition of Carmen. There were rumors of possible thunderstorms earlier in the day, but all day long, it had been fine! By the time we were heading out to dinner before the show, the thunder started to roar and we began to ride our bikes as fast as possible...hoping to find some refuge. We finally made it to a restaurant we knew and trusted :) when the actual storms kicked in. We were in the restaurant maybe an hour, and when we left the building, the once dry ground was covered in inches of water! Kayla took off her shoes, I had sandals on with my nice pretty dress (mistake) and Doug luckily had some rain gear so he suited up. We decided bikes were NOT the mode of transportation we needed so we made our way to the street in an attempt to find a taxi. Thank God it was dark out, because the smell coming out of the flooded sewers was straight up nasty and if we could have seen what we were walking in....we might have vomited right then and there. It was foul!!!! 

We found a taxi and made it about 3 minutes down the street when he finally backed the car up and decided to take an alternate route. The street was completely flooded! Water was up to the bottom of car doors...insanity!!! We made it to the theater eventually and enjoyed the show. When we left to walk home...the sidewalks were almost completely dry with the exception of a few puddles here and there. Talk about extreme weather!  

Most of you probably already know...but my first holiday in China is booked. September 29th I'm leaving for Vietnam and I am so unbelievably excited!!! Sometimes I look around and it hits me that I'm living in China, my life has done basically a complete 180 in the last year, and I am sooooo lucky! I know this trip is just the beginning of many amazing adventures I'm going to have over the next 2+ years....and I am so extremely grateful for these opportunities.

I'll try and take some more pictures in the next couple of weeks....I know words are great, but pictures really can tell a great story! :)