The one month mark.

I can't believe I've been here a whole month. It feels like years. My Chinese is coming along. I'm extremely busy. I leave for school at 6:55 am and do not come home until 6pm on most days. Some of the things I'm doing: I have 24 classes to teach (I meet with each class once a week...24 classes x 30 students...720 students...and some classes have much more than 30 students...) On Fridays, I travel to another school and teach 6 classes. I teach another teacher English twice a week for 40 minutes. I am the sponsoring teacher for the Drama Club. I am writing a play to perform in December based on the short story "The Gift of the Magi." I am also currently writing an English conversation and American culture book for children. I am in charge of teaching the entire school the weekly English phrase. I am teaching them Shel Silverstein's poem, "It's Hot." Apparently, the principal loves this idea! What else....Oh, yes, there is some huge English competition in Tainan City. Guess who is the trainer for our school. I am training students for the read-a-loud, storytelling, and chorus competitions. I'm teaching children to sing!!! At practice today, I attempted to get these children mad and screaming...it didn't work. They just stand there and smile! (But, yet, they understand what it means to get mad). I'm organizing a school-wide event for halloween. I just finished my proposal today. I take Chinese lessons twice a week with the teacher I'm teaching English to. Oh, yes, my favorite...my badminton lessons...they want me to come 5 times a week. It works out to maybe 3...I will try for 4 next week. I really like the guys that I play with. I have so much fun laughing at them. They are so serious about the sport. This one guy gets all macho about it. It cracks me up! And I have two 4th grade male students who are in love with me...one has asked if he could be my boyfriend....And finally, I am going to Thailand and China in February...yay!!!