zhongshan

Our first week in Zhongshan was not the best. 

It was cold, cloudy, and pretty dreary.

Not going to lie all of us pretty much hated it. 

Most of the teachers only packed warm weather clothing so we were all bundled up in what we had and laid in our beds under all our blankets. 

We didn't dare go outside because it was just too darn cold.

It is FINALLY starting to warm up. 

On Friday, we actually saw the sun!! 

I was beginning to think that it didn't exist anymore. haha.

Now we are venturing out and beginning to explore.I think by the end of this trip I'm really going to love it here. 

-k  

teaching

I am now into my second week of teaching. It is far different from what I expected, but I am getting used to it and starting to like it more and more. Not going to lie, the kids are a little bit crazy. Chinese schools are nothing like they are in the states...the kids yell out, they run around, they hit each other, and they frankly just don't listen. It is really hard to get them to focus on the lesson and speak english, but I think in time I will figure out how to get them to. Already I can see that I am learning the kid's personalities and tendencies and catching on to what works and what doesn't.  

I am in charge of grade two. We start each day with an "opening" where we talk about the weather, explain the rules, and sing songs. Then we split them into two different classes and I teach one of the classes for 40 minutes, then we have a break, and then I teach the other class for 40 minutes. During their break, they do "eye exercises" which is the only time each and every one of the kids is silent and in their seats. They are instructed to rub their eyes and their necks. I have never seen anything like it before, but they do it everyday! 

Two days of the week I am in charge of teaching a basic reading program which has the lesson planned out for me and I LOVE IT because I don't have to try and be creative and think of lessons by myself. I have only been teaching for two weeks and I am running out of dumb arts and crafts ideas...haha. Oh man.

After I am done teaching, I have the rest of the day to do whatever I want. Usually that consists of skyping, eating, exploring, and planning lessons for the next day. We also have ventured to downtown Zhongshan and to this place called Walking Street, which is kind of like an equivalent to the Gateway back home.

I love it here, I learn something new everyday.

-k

 

hong kong

here are the details on what we did in hong kong the whole two days we were there-

we got to hk on friday morning. the whole "vacation" to hong kong was a little disorganized so the rest of the night we just wandered around the kowloong and mon kok area. because we were so tired from all the traveling we had done in the past 24 hours we ended going to bed around 7 o'clock.

saturday morning we went on a tour that took us to victoria peak, stanley markey, and aberdeen. the tour ended at 2 in the afternoon and we were left with the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted. some of the girls and i decided to find our way to the temple and mission headquarters. when we got there i ran into two companionships of missionaries and talked to them for a bit. i asked them if i could write a letter to jj and have them give it to them because at that point i was pretty sure i would not see him. they patiently waited as i wrote him a note and they promised me they would give it to him the next time they saw him. we continued to the temple and i as i was walking around, i had this thought in my mind that i was going to find jj's ward and maybe go to church the next day in the area he was serving. so i ran back across the street just in time to catch the elders before they left and asked for the address to the aberdeen ward. they gave me one but it was in chinese, but i figure when i got back to the hotel i would ask the information desk to help me find the bus route that would take us there. after many miscommunications they told me which bus to get on and how much it would cost. i told the group and most of the girls were planning on going to a church anyways so about 12 of us decided to go.

we met at 7:15 sunday morning and ventured off to find the bus and try to find the aberdeen ward. we ended up finding the ward which was pretty well concealed around 8:30. around 8:45 this chinese lady came into what we thought was the chapel and told us it was the relief society room and that the chapel was a floor down...i ran down the stairs and lone behold THERE WAS JJ!!!!!!!!! i took him by complete surprise. he was in so much shock. of course me being me, i started bawling. after the initial shock, we got talking and it was really good. he is doing soooo well and he is loving it in china. saying goodbye wasn't even that hard...i mean i did cry a little bit, but i'm fine. i hope he isn't in too much shock and i hope he is able to keep his focus. i got to hear him speak in cantonese as he explained to everyone that i was his twin sister. it is crazy how much he has learned in a year. even though i only got to chat with him for about a total of 10 minutes it was amazing! i cannot wait until he is back so we can talk and catch up and spend a ton of time together. i miss that kid.

now we are on mainland china in a city called zhongshan. we are still getting settled so everything is a little crazy.

more updates are on their way!!

-k

i'm in south korea!!

we are just getting ready to board the plane for hong kong!

my new adventure has begun!

-k