I SURVIVED!

Well I have officially survived my first day of teaching!  My first class went alright...it was a beginning reading class.  For the most part, my kids are sweet hearts.  There is this one little boy that came in to class screaming and yelling.  I put a stop to that really fast.  Then, as he continued, I moved him to the corner of the room.  He was quiet once he had to sit in the corner.  The other kids in that class were just adorable!  The language barrier poses some challenges but I think I am going to like it here!  It will definitely hard but...in the long run...it will be worth it!  Then, after beginning reading, I had my fifth grade class.  They were amazing!  I love that class!  There is one boy that tried to be the class clown but I put a stop to that.  :)  At one point I asked them to write a 5 sentence story about what they like to do during their break time.  As soon as they got their stuff out and started writing they were silent!  It was amazing!  I loved it!  There are only 7 kids in that class which might have made the difference.  Although there are only 9 kids in my earlier class.  That's not too much of a number difference....I am looking forward to learning new things as each day passes and growing as a person.  This will definitely be a strengthening experience for me.  

After work Sunny, Kaitlyn, Nicole and I (the other new teachers) went down the street and got a Bing Sha.  That is an awesome smoothie that they sell here in Taiwan...and it's only a 5 minute walk from our apartment...that might get me into trouble! :)  I got a Pineapple one.  I also bought chicken there today for dinner.  Mom you would be proud of me.  It was definitely authentic Taiwanese cuisine.  I wasn't exactly sure what I ordered.  I told him "chicken".  Then he tried to communicate with me by using charades.  I had no idea what he was saying so I had Nicole come over to try and translate for me....she didn't really understand him either although she does know some Chinese.  So....as I watched him make my food he grabbed a whole chicken from his container, chopped it up and put it in the fryer.  I just hoped that I asked for the right thing.  It was actually decent.  I was impressed.  I guess I did order the right thing.  I have definitely been a more adventurous eater since I have been here and I keep trying new things EVERY DAY!  The problem is that we haven't really had time to go to Costco so we just buy meals at local restaurants and things like that.  Luckily they do have 7-Eleven and local grocery stores here but they are more expensive than Costco I guess.....7-Eleven does have some pretty good things though.  My favorite thing is a bag of frozen chicken (enough for one meal).  It is 28 NT or about 96 cents.  That's a pretty good deal for one meal!  I was really worried about the food here before I came.  Now I'm not so worried.  I think I will be just fine!  :)

Another thing about this place is that the mosquitoes are relentless.  I have gotten so many bug bites since I have been here.  I can't even believe it.  My ankle is so swollen that it hurts to walk on it.  That's probably partly because of the mosquito bites and partly because I was on my feet all day.  I tried to find mosquito repellent at the store but it is so expensive...especially since I'm not officially getting a salary yet.  Oh well.  Maybe the mosquitoes will run out of places to bite on me.  :)  Anyways....I will keep you posted as the days go on.  :)