So, today was Thursday, and I woke up excited to see my friend, Julie, who was coming over for breakfast. Most mornings, I just take my time getting ready for the day, without too much pressure. I usually have the apartment to myself, and it's a good time to talk to friends and family, or surf the net. But this morning was different and fun. Julie has been in Taiwan for 9 years, and she's getting ready to head back to the states at the beginning of next year, so she and I are processing together. I enjoy her a lot, and am so thankful that God orchestrated our meeting at the English fellowship on the first Sunday I was here a year ago. For breakfast, (cause I know some of you will be interested) I made breakfast burritos (complete with Trader Joe's salsa I "smuggled" into the country) and fresh mangoes. Good times.
At the last possible moment, I dashed out the door for work, hopped onto my scooter, and began to listen to Joyce Meyer's sermon, as I do most days on the way to the job. She was on a roll today, talking about how all of us have the fruits of the Spirit in us, but some of the fruits haven't yet been developed so we can't see them. As she was talking about this, a huge tanker truck rambled at a pretty fast pace right out in front of the scooter in front of me, and we all (there were others near me) had to stand on our brakes to avoid hitting him. I was incensed...once again at the utter selfishness of some of the drivers in the TW. Surprising myself, I showed no outward signs of my inner rage, but kept scooting toward work and listening to Joyce. Not long after this, Joyce said, "So, you have all the fruits of the Spirit in you...love, gentleness, self-control, patience..." and on she went. I was pondering these things and agreeing with some of her thoughts, when I was approaching a light and a car just about ran me off the road so he could get two feet in front of me and only to be stopped by the red light. I could not help myself (at least that's what I told myself) and I reacted with some outter rage. I got next to his window and stared through it shouting, "Was it worth the two feet? Just so you could stop at this light? Huh? You almost killed me, and for what?" Then I scooted around him, went the four cars ahead of him and was with the rest of the pack when the light turned green, way in front of him. I heard Joyce say, "You have patience, but it just needs to be developed in God's dark room" about the same time I heard the car I had told off peep it's horn at me from back in the line. I had to smile at the irony and timing of such events, and then feeling some conviction, had to ask God to forgive me (and pray that the guy wasn't a member of my church. Isn't that awful?
Well, after all that happened, I realized I had an extra couple of minutes so I stopped to get some tea at the tea/juice shop I like. Since I would be at work late today, I bought two drinks for the day, one grapefruit green tea, and one milk tea. I scooted on down the road, and when I walked into work, there was a grapefruit green tea on my desk, a frequent but unpredictable gift from one of my co-workers. Wow! Now I had three. It's so hot here, it's not that difficult to drink that much tea in a day, and by tonight I had them all down. There are few breaks in our schedule for using the bathroom, and often when we do have a break someone else is in the toilet, so I don't always get to go. I've sort of adjusted to this, and tonight I didn't really notice that I needed to go.
After work, my co-worker, Cara and I went out for a light dinner with another co-worker Joyce (both Chinese girls) because Joyce will have her last day at Kang Ning tomorrow. We talked a lot about how disappointed she was with the leadership of the school and how she had been treated. Her English is quite good so she was able to express herself pretty well. She told me that she had done her best so she had no regrets, just that she didn't feel things had gone fairly for her. I was able to encourage her a little bit, I think. After we shut down the TGI Friday's, we were standing out in the parking lot and I realized I needed to go to the toilet, but there was nothing around. Then, Joyce started kind of doing the pee pee dance, and I said, "What's the matter Joyce? Are the mosquitoes gettin' ya?" She said yes, and we continued to say goodnight. As I was getting on my scoot, I looked at Joyce again and she was laughing and dancing around and she said, "Oh, I have to pee!" I started laughing then too and knew I better get home soon. For those of you who are jumping ahead in this story, thinking that I wet myself, I want to quickly assure you I did not, but I will say, the potholes were more torturous than normal on the way home tonight!
I'm excited for this weekend. Apparently, my new co-worker, Ryan, is a big basketball fan, and he found out there was a game this weekend in our town between two teams made up of retired NBA players. Clyde the Glide and Scotty Pippin were a couple of names he dropped, and I'm sure there are others I'll know. So, Ryan and his girlfriend, Liz, me and my roommate, Ryno, and two of our other friends, Amber and Sarah, are all going to the game on Saturday. Should be a blast.
Well, that's the update from my end of the stick. As always, thanks for praying!
Until next time,
LC from the TW
8.24.2008
Urging, Splurging, and Aging
Just a quick check in to tell you a little about the last week in my life here in the TW. That's more or less what a blog is for, and sometimes I neglect it, mostly out of laziness I guess.
Last Monday I was informed by my Chinese co-worker in a communicae that went something like this, "Hey, Loreesa, you have new class. You do demo August 28, start beginner class September 1st. O.K.?" I had been warned this was coming, and I knew there was nothing this woman could do but tell me, so I said o.k., and she kept talking. "You new class is Monday Thursday 2:30. When you have 1 on 2 you start at 12:40. O.K.?" Again, I had a heads up from my Teaching Assistant, so I knew what she was talking about...that on the days when my adult tutoring class of 2 came in, which they do from time to time at 2 on Mondays and Thursdays, they wanted me to teach them at 12:40 until 2:10, then the beginning class at 2:30. I told my co-worker o.k. again, and I continued to work on my lesson plans.
The next morning, Tuesday, before I left for work, I penned an email to the owner of the school, Serena. I told her I felt with one month left in my teaching contract it wouldn't be the best use of my time and wouldn't for many reasons be in the best interest of the school if she asked me to open a new class, demo for the parents what I do as a teacher, and then pass the kids off to someone who is not me (duh!!) in four weeks time. I asked her to reconsider giving me hours doing something that I'm good at and I enjoy, like editing the school newsletter or various other English signage that exists around the school, or anything else she could think of. Urging was the order of the day, and I did my best to urge her to be wise about this.
The next day, Wednesday, was and is always my longest day, and after being at school for 10 hours about to head out the door, exhausted, I got a phone call from Serena. She said she understood my email and agreed with me so I didn't have to open the new class. Then she tried some urging of her own. She asked me to stay at Kang Ning teaching until the end of the calendar year. She said she had been let down by two new teachers she thought she was going to have that didn't end up coming, and she really needed me. I told her I would think about it, but I know she is not as desperate as she sounded, and I know it's time for me to leave, so that's not going to happen.
The rest of the week played out pretty well, with me enjoying Thursday afternoon without teaching, working on planning. It's a new thing for me, and I love it.
I arranged with my new Canadian co-workers, Ryan and Liz, to come over this weekend for Mexican food and a swim in our village pool. (I live in a place called Holland Village, but it is not a village in the quaint and cute sort of way. More like a village because enough people live here to populate one of those cute and quaint mountain towns that we think of when we say the word village. We have a pool.) So, on Saturday, planning for Sundays visit with Ryan and Liz, I "splurged" on some sour cream at the gourmet western food store in my city. (Actually, it is kind of expensive, but something I deem necessary for Mexican food, so I wouldn't have called it splurging, but I wanted another word to rhyme with urging for my title. It costs about $4.50 for a tub of Daisy Sour Cream and it lasts for about a month.)
Lastly, I want to tell you about my Sunday, or at least part of it. My pastor, Rocky, is a retired missionary from Wisconsin or somewhere up there. (Those states kind of all run together for me. Sorry, Lea Ann.) He's boring, and that's putting it nicely. I easily get distracted while he's "preaching" because he doesn't usually preach, more like talking. Yesterday was no different, except that he sprinkled an adult believer and called it baptism. First time I've seen that at this Lutheran Brethren church that's full of people from many denominations. I don't want to talk theology but it was not very moving. I like the immersion baptisms at my church, when there's a little more drama when the person is "raised" to new life in Christ. So, that was during the sermon. We finished worship and then Rocky came back up to say, "I've got one more announcement." He's almost 70, and he came to Taiwan two weeks before me last summer. He nursed his wife about 3 years ago when she was dying of cancer. He's got 5 adult children back in the states. Well, anyway, he called a woman up to stand beside him, and I took a double take as I saw him hold her hand as you would with someone "special". Then he said, "This is Rebecca. We started spending time together in April and we're going to be married in February."
You could have knocked me over with a feather. I've never seen the woman before, never heard a peep that the dude had a sweetheart, and "married" is what he said. I was thinking, "Mawwied?" "Mawwied?" (You have to picture Long Duck Dong from 16 Candles saying that to understand what I was thinking.)
So, that brings me to the third and final point of this blog...aging. Kind of creeps me out that Rocky is going to marry this woman, about 15 or more years younger than him, and I can't decide if it's the creepy old man thing, or the he should marry someone from America who can relate to his culture thing, or if it's the secretive nature of it, or if I'm just jealous...o.k., that's it. I guess deep down inside I don't think my pastor should be making out more than me! I've said it! It's not an aging issue...it's a jealousy issue.
I'll leave you to ponder that one. Looking forward to the comments this week.
Until next time,
LC from the TW
Last Monday I was informed by my Chinese co-worker in a communicae that went something like this, "Hey, Loreesa, you have new class. You do demo August 28, start beginner class September 1st. O.K.?" I had been warned this was coming, and I knew there was nothing this woman could do but tell me, so I said o.k., and she kept talking. "You new class is Monday Thursday 2:30. When you have 1 on 2 you start at 12:40. O.K.?" Again, I had a heads up from my Teaching Assistant, so I knew what she was talking about...that on the days when my adult tutoring class of 2 came in, which they do from time to time at 2 on Mondays and Thursdays, they wanted me to teach them at 12:40 until 2:10, then the beginning class at 2:30. I told my co-worker o.k. again, and I continued to work on my lesson plans.
The next morning, Tuesday, before I left for work, I penned an email to the owner of the school, Serena. I told her I felt with one month left in my teaching contract it wouldn't be the best use of my time and wouldn't for many reasons be in the best interest of the school if she asked me to open a new class, demo for the parents what I do as a teacher, and then pass the kids off to someone who is not me (duh!!) in four weeks time. I asked her to reconsider giving me hours doing something that I'm good at and I enjoy, like editing the school newsletter or various other English signage that exists around the school, or anything else she could think of. Urging was the order of the day, and I did my best to urge her to be wise about this.
The next day, Wednesday, was and is always my longest day, and after being at school for 10 hours about to head out the door, exhausted, I got a phone call from Serena. She said she understood my email and agreed with me so I didn't have to open the new class. Then she tried some urging of her own. She asked me to stay at Kang Ning teaching until the end of the calendar year. She said she had been let down by two new teachers she thought she was going to have that didn't end up coming, and she really needed me. I told her I would think about it, but I know she is not as desperate as she sounded, and I know it's time for me to leave, so that's not going to happen.
The rest of the week played out pretty well, with me enjoying Thursday afternoon without teaching, working on planning. It's a new thing for me, and I love it.
I arranged with my new Canadian co-workers, Ryan and Liz, to come over this weekend for Mexican food and a swim in our village pool. (I live in a place called Holland Village, but it is not a village in the quaint and cute sort of way. More like a village because enough people live here to populate one of those cute and quaint mountain towns that we think of when we say the word village. We have a pool.) So, on Saturday, planning for Sundays visit with Ryan and Liz, I "splurged" on some sour cream at the gourmet western food store in my city. (Actually, it is kind of expensive, but something I deem necessary for Mexican food, so I wouldn't have called it splurging, but I wanted another word to rhyme with urging for my title. It costs about $4.50 for a tub of Daisy Sour Cream and it lasts for about a month.)
Lastly, I want to tell you about my Sunday, or at least part of it. My pastor, Rocky, is a retired missionary from Wisconsin or somewhere up there. (Those states kind of all run together for me. Sorry, Lea Ann.) He's boring, and that's putting it nicely. I easily get distracted while he's "preaching" because he doesn't usually preach, more like talking. Yesterday was no different, except that he sprinkled an adult believer and called it baptism. First time I've seen that at this Lutheran Brethren church that's full of people from many denominations. I don't want to talk theology but it was not very moving. I like the immersion baptisms at my church, when there's a little more drama when the person is "raised" to new life in Christ. So, that was during the sermon. We finished worship and then Rocky came back up to say, "I've got one more announcement." He's almost 70, and he came to Taiwan two weeks before me last summer. He nursed his wife about 3 years ago when she was dying of cancer. He's got 5 adult children back in the states. Well, anyway, he called a woman up to stand beside him, and I took a double take as I saw him hold her hand as you would with someone "special". Then he said, "This is Rebecca. We started spending time together in April and we're going to be married in February."
You could have knocked me over with a feather. I've never seen the woman before, never heard a peep that the dude had a sweetheart, and "married" is what he said. I was thinking, "Mawwied?" "Mawwied?" (You have to picture Long Duck Dong from 16 Candles saying that to understand what I was thinking.)
So, that brings me to the third and final point of this blog...aging. Kind of creeps me out that Rocky is going to marry this woman, about 15 or more years younger than him, and I can't decide if it's the creepy old man thing, or the he should marry someone from America who can relate to his culture thing, or if it's the secretive nature of it, or if I'm just jealous...o.k., that's it. I guess deep down inside I don't think my pastor should be making out more than me! I've said it! It's not an aging issue...it's a jealousy issue.
I'll leave you to ponder that one. Looking forward to the comments this week.
Until next time,
LC from the TW
8.15.2008
Full Moon, Firecrackers, and Prayer
Last night, while I was teaching, I could hear firecrackers going off randomly outside of the building. It happens enough that I know there's something up religiously speaking. Then later, when I left work, I noticed almost every home had a little fire burning out in front of it. It's boiling hot here, so that was not in order to keep the cold away. Instead it was to keep the ghosts away. Apparently in Taiwan, the people believe the heavens open in August and on/near the full moon you must put fire on your door to keep the ghosts from coming to your house. Pray for this nation and those of us who try to love the people here. It's challenging!
On a separate prayer issue, I ask you...
"What do you pray for?"
Well...I pray for my family. That my parents will heal from their respective health issues and at least begin to feel less pain, and I pray that my siblings will have love and peace in their relationships with their spouses and kids (and now grandkids). I pray for friends who ask me to pray for specific things, like my friend whose husband moved out and needs to hear miraculously from the Lord that he's going against God's will by abandoning his marriage and three beautiful daughters, meanwhile I ask that God's grace will be sufficient for all her needs and those of the girls ... and my friends who go on mission with God to places like Nicaragua, India or New York City (yea, they all come to mind at the same time) and I know that mission trips are only successful because God's people ask for His guidance a lot more when they are away from their comfort zones and daily routines. I also pray for world issues, the President (present and future), and humanity to begin to act a bit more human toward one another.
Of course, just like many of you, I pray for myself more than anyone else, because I'm reminded many times a day that I need God to help me get through life (and I'm WITH me all day, every day!) And sometimes I pray for God to reveal big things to me...like who to marry (you know that one has become less urgent over the years, but it comes up now and again), how to live my life on a bigger scale (trying to find things that really matter to God), and what to do in the future (where to live, what to do, when, etc.)
I asked so many people to pray for me over the past couple of months as I saw them and they asked how things were going in Taiwan and I said things were challenging and I had applied to teach in New York City...yada, yada, yada. I know many of you prayed for me, and I'm so humbled and thankful because I believe God answered your prayers (if you prayed for His will and not mine.) I heard last night by email that I did not get accepted into the Fellows program, so I'll not be entering their Masters degree program and I won't be teaching in the public school system of NYC in the immediate future.
How do I feel about that? I was kind of prepared to hear it, strangely, because I approached it more or less with the same attitude I do most things...kind of laid back and trying not to care or get too anxious. But, I was kind of disappointed too, since I knew it would be such a great opportunity for me...or so it looked like that on paper (computer screen really). However, I often think something looks good that turns out to be not so good for me. So, I've been praying that God would only open the doors He wants me to walk through, as I often pray, and He's been faithful...I am not supposed to be in that program this year, for some reason, and God only knows.
What's next? That's where your prayers come in again...would you just ask God to keep giving me ears to hear and eyes to see? I have some ideas, and I will walk toward those unless God shows me otherwise. In short, there are two paths I'm looking at - one is to apply for a tutoring job or other type jobs in NYC like I've seen on Craigslist. I will probably do this and see how far it takes me. The other path is to spend a few months in Thailand, with my friends the Kapurs (Kris and Jen), teaching and touring a bit, until Christmas. The day after Christmas my SF church (Temple Baptist) is heading to India and I would join them for a mission at an orphanage our church sponsors. This would be an answer to a long-standing prayer for me. Our church sent a team there two years ago and I wanted to go but the timing wasn't right for me. Plus, I have several friends living there and others who love it and go often, so it's something I've thought about for a long time. (Not to mention the fact that in the world of evangelical missions, India is right next to China in the "two most populated and lost nations in the world" category.)
So, there are a lot of things to pray about and I would once again appreciate your prayers.
love to all of you,
Until next time, LC from the TW
On a separate prayer issue, I ask you...
"What do you pray for?"
Well...I pray for my family. That my parents will heal from their respective health issues and at least begin to feel less pain, and I pray that my siblings will have love and peace in their relationships with their spouses and kids (and now grandkids). I pray for friends who ask me to pray for specific things, like my friend whose husband moved out and needs to hear miraculously from the Lord that he's going against God's will by abandoning his marriage and three beautiful daughters, meanwhile I ask that God's grace will be sufficient for all her needs and those of the girls ... and my friends who go on mission with God to places like Nicaragua, India or New York City (yea, they all come to mind at the same time) and I know that mission trips are only successful because God's people ask for His guidance a lot more when they are away from their comfort zones and daily routines. I also pray for world issues, the President (present and future), and humanity to begin to act a bit more human toward one another.
Of course, just like many of you, I pray for myself more than anyone else, because I'm reminded many times a day that I need God to help me get through life (and I'm WITH me all day, every day!) And sometimes I pray for God to reveal big things to me...like who to marry (you know that one has become less urgent over the years, but it comes up now and again), how to live my life on a bigger scale (trying to find things that really matter to God), and what to do in the future (where to live, what to do, when, etc.)
I asked so many people to pray for me over the past couple of months as I saw them and they asked how things were going in Taiwan and I said things were challenging and I had applied to teach in New York City...yada, yada, yada. I know many of you prayed for me, and I'm so humbled and thankful because I believe God answered your prayers (if you prayed for His will and not mine.) I heard last night by email that I did not get accepted into the Fellows program, so I'll not be entering their Masters degree program and I won't be teaching in the public school system of NYC in the immediate future.
How do I feel about that? I was kind of prepared to hear it, strangely, because I approached it more or less with the same attitude I do most things...kind of laid back and trying not to care or get too anxious. But, I was kind of disappointed too, since I knew it would be such a great opportunity for me...or so it looked like that on paper (computer screen really). However, I often think something looks good that turns out to be not so good for me. So, I've been praying that God would only open the doors He wants me to walk through, as I often pray, and He's been faithful...I am not supposed to be in that program this year, for some reason, and God only knows.
What's next? That's where your prayers come in again...would you just ask God to keep giving me ears to hear and eyes to see? I have some ideas, and I will walk toward those unless God shows me otherwise. In short, there are two paths I'm looking at - one is to apply for a tutoring job or other type jobs in NYC like I've seen on Craigslist. I will probably do this and see how far it takes me. The other path is to spend a few months in Thailand, with my friends the Kapurs (Kris and Jen), teaching and touring a bit, until Christmas. The day after Christmas my SF church (Temple Baptist) is heading to India and I would join them for a mission at an orphanage our church sponsors. This would be an answer to a long-standing prayer for me. Our church sent a team there two years ago and I wanted to go but the timing wasn't right for me. Plus, I have several friends living there and others who love it and go often, so it's something I've thought about for a long time. (Not to mention the fact that in the world of evangelical missions, India is right next to China in the "two most populated and lost nations in the world" category.)
So, there are a lot of things to pray about and I would once again appreciate your prayers.
love to all of you,
Until next time, LC from the TW
8.12.2008
Swollen ankles and a tired voice...
must mean I'm back at work in Taiwan. I arrived about 53 hours ago, and have already worked two days, teaching only 3 hours on Monday and 4.5 Tuesday. (I've got to get back in the habit of taking my vitamins, because tomorrow and Thursday are 6 hour days.) Jetlag's not been too bad, but I stayed up really late last night saying goodbye to Erin, my co-teacher and friend. She left today to return to her life in Canada. I'm really proud of her for finishing well. We were side by side in this endeavor for the most of this year, 'til I left at the end of June, and I sometimes felt like I was abandoning her in her greatest hour of need. But, she persevered, finished strong, and today she left a lot of students who love her. We got to scoot over to the beach last night for a few hours and watch the moon starting to set. It was great closure for two girls that have "survived" the work schedule and culture of Taiwan for a year. I will miss her.
So, I've still not heard from New York, but it's only been two weeks this Wednesday, which means it's just reaching the minimal amount of time. They said it would be 2-4 weeks before they let me know. Thanks to all of you who are praying with me/for me about this next move for me.
Sorry to keep this short, but I'll need to sleep now......zzzzzzzzzzzz.
Until next time,
LC from the TW
So, I've still not heard from New York, but it's only been two weeks this Wednesday, which means it's just reaching the minimal amount of time. They said it would be 2-4 weeks before they let me know. Thanks to all of you who are praying with me/for me about this next move for me.
Sorry to keep this short, but I'll need to sleep now......zzzzzzzzzzzz.
Until next time,
LC from the TW
8.04.2008
August is here...and so am I
Hey there everyone, just checking back in quickly here from San Francisco on a foggy, chilly Monday night. I leave for Taiwan on Saturday to resume my job until the end of September.
So...some of you have asked me about New York City and how my interview went, and here's my attempt to answer.
Well, thanks for everyone who was praying for me. I definitely knew people were praying. I arrived in NYC after an eventful day of travel (which of course is always welcomed), and made it to my hotel, where I'd never stayed before, without any problem. After a good night's rest, I got up on Wednesday to a sunny and warm day with several hours to solidify my thoughts on my teaching sample lesson before heading to my interview at 5:00. I was able to meet up with Rebekah Slick, a friend of mine that just moved from SF to NYC about 10 days ago. We hung out for about an hour before I went back to my hotel to change clothes for the evening.
So, I made it to the interview early, and sat in a classroom with 7 other candidates for half an hour before these two teachers came in to interview us. After some introductions, we each had five minutes to do our teaching sample. It was very regimented and felt really false, since we were all trying to teach to a chosen age group, mostly elementary, although we were all adults of course. Anyway, I chose to teach on the present continuous form of the verb "to be". After my intro, I told a story about a mother named "Be" (last name "ing") who had three young children and two older children. My lesson focused on her three young children called "is, am and are". (The older children are called "was and were".) Each of the children have some friends. "Am" is shy so she only has one friend, "I". But, "is" and "are" have three friends each. "He, She and It" are friends with "is" and "You, We and They" are friends with "are". The story made sure to point out that mother "Be" always goes everywhere with her children, so whoever she's with and whatever they're doing, "ing" is also there. For instance, if there's "am" in the sentence, there will also be "I" and you must have "ing" on the end of the verb, like "I am playing". Also, "He is running" or "She is laughing".
I ended my lesson with a game where the students had to unscramble sentences that included the present continuous form of the verb.
I think my lesson went pretty well, all in all, so thanks again for praying.
After we had all done our lessons, we had a short break before returning to the interview for group discussions. Our two interviewers had randomly split us into two groups, where we were asked to take part in a discussion about a real life situation in a public school in New York City. Of course there were some hard to navigate issues in the discussion, but I think it went alright.
We then had to write an essay on the same issues that were addressed in the discussion. We were timed, and I guess I did alright on that too.
Lastly, we had a 25 minute interview one on one with one of the teachers who had been interviewing us. I got to go first, as I was the only one who'd flown in for this event, and she had some mercy on me. There were some tough questions during that part of the evening, but I did my best to be honest, even if I didn't know much about that subject. Since I was first to go through this part, I got out early, and it wasn't even dark outside when I left the building. I got back to my hotel in time to watch "So You Think You Can Dance".
As I was walking back to my hotel that night, I had to take a deep breath and sigh a prayer of relief. I knew I had done all I could do at that point, and that's still how I feel. I will know something within the next three weeks and will certainly keep you posted. It was great to know people were praying for me and that I would be in God's will throughout this process. I would thank you all for continuing to pray for me around this decision as God lays it on your heart.
I've had an awesome vacation, and now I'm gearing up toward teaching in Taiwan for the next several weeks, starting one week from today. I'll keep you posted on that too.
Take care, until next time.
LC from SF (after NYC and OKC! ;)
So...some of you have asked me about New York City and how my interview went, and here's my attempt to answer.
Well, thanks for everyone who was praying for me. I definitely knew people were praying. I arrived in NYC after an eventful day of travel (which of course is always welcomed), and made it to my hotel, where I'd never stayed before, without any problem. After a good night's rest, I got up on Wednesday to a sunny and warm day with several hours to solidify my thoughts on my teaching sample lesson before heading to my interview at 5:00. I was able to meet up with Rebekah Slick, a friend of mine that just moved from SF to NYC about 10 days ago. We hung out for about an hour before I went back to my hotel to change clothes for the evening.
So, I made it to the interview early, and sat in a classroom with 7 other candidates for half an hour before these two teachers came in to interview us. After some introductions, we each had five minutes to do our teaching sample. It was very regimented and felt really false, since we were all trying to teach to a chosen age group, mostly elementary, although we were all adults of course. Anyway, I chose to teach on the present continuous form of the verb "to be". After my intro, I told a story about a mother named "Be" (last name "ing") who had three young children and two older children. My lesson focused on her three young children called "is, am and are". (The older children are called "was and were".) Each of the children have some friends. "Am" is shy so she only has one friend, "I". But, "is" and "are" have three friends each. "He, She and It" are friends with "is" and "You, We and They" are friends with "are". The story made sure to point out that mother "Be" always goes everywhere with her children, so whoever she's with and whatever they're doing, "ing" is also there. For instance, if there's "am" in the sentence, there will also be "I" and you must have "ing" on the end of the verb, like "I am playing". Also, "He is running" or "She is laughing".
I ended my lesson with a game where the students had to unscramble sentences that included the present continuous form of the verb.
I think my lesson went pretty well, all in all, so thanks again for praying.
After we had all done our lessons, we had a short break before returning to the interview for group discussions. Our two interviewers had randomly split us into two groups, where we were asked to take part in a discussion about a real life situation in a public school in New York City. Of course there were some hard to navigate issues in the discussion, but I think it went alright.
We then had to write an essay on the same issues that were addressed in the discussion. We were timed, and I guess I did alright on that too.
Lastly, we had a 25 minute interview one on one with one of the teachers who had been interviewing us. I got to go first, as I was the only one who'd flown in for this event, and she had some mercy on me. There were some tough questions during that part of the evening, but I did my best to be honest, even if I didn't know much about that subject. Since I was first to go through this part, I got out early, and it wasn't even dark outside when I left the building. I got back to my hotel in time to watch "So You Think You Can Dance".
As I was walking back to my hotel that night, I had to take a deep breath and sigh a prayer of relief. I knew I had done all I could do at that point, and that's still how I feel. I will know something within the next three weeks and will certainly keep you posted. It was great to know people were praying for me and that I would be in God's will throughout this process. I would thank you all for continuing to pray for me around this decision as God lays it on your heart.
I've had an awesome vacation, and now I'm gearing up toward teaching in Taiwan for the next several weeks, starting one week from today. I'll keep you posted on that too.
Take care, until next time.
LC from SF (after NYC and OKC! ;)
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