Back to School

So, I'm teaching now, 8 classes a week. That's a lot to me. So many students and I don't even speak their native tongue. But I thought I'd give you some highlights so far.

One of my students asked for an English name... I named him "Titan". I thought that was awesome. Most students ask the same questions: "Where are you from?" "Why are you here" "Do you like China?" Do you have a girlfriend?" "What do you think of Chinese girls?" "Did you watch the Olympics?" "Do you like the NBA?"

Some awesome questions have been: "Do you watch Desperate House Wives?" "Do you know Michael Scofield (Prison Break)?" "Will you hook me up with some foreign girls?" Some random girl on the street asked if I would be her brother... man, if I could re-answer I would have said no, and made things really awkward, but i didn't. I was polite and let her think I was nice... even though she was very strange. Matt thought she was a prostitute at first...

Some kids are so eager to learn and are very interested and some could care less, or at least they don't speak enough English to care. It's fun to be in "control" of the class but I'm so easy going and I don't understand many of the cultural differences it will be harder than I thought to teach. My Telecommunication classes are by far my favorite because it’s so easy to see their desire to learn about English and Communication. I believe most other students in Calc, Engineering and Automation are forced to take the class, so they don't care as much.

Cell phones bother me more than sleeping. Is that strange? I mean I completely understand falling asleep in a class doesn't mean you don't like it or you think less of the teacher... shoot I fell asleep in plenty... I mean NONE of my classes... Uh... What? BUT a student that pulls out their cell phone is saying, "Hey, my time is more precious. And there are things that are more important right now than your class." Hmm... Maybe I'm just prideful. But staring at students without saying anything until they realize what they are doing is being watch by the whole class is my new favorite thing to do.

I met another American in a random restaurant Matt, Amy, and I went to. Her and her husband are from Spokane, Washington. They have been here for 4 years! 4 years! They run a teaching center in the city. It’s not really a school. I’m going to try and befriend them. Isn’t it strange that being thousands of miles away from my “home” would prompt me to walk up to a complete stranger and start a conversation with the intention of becoming good friends? I mean, if I landed in Spokane, and saw the same woman, I wouldn’t had two thoughts about talking to her.

I think everything happens for a reason. I think nothing is left to chance. I believe all good and bad things, in the end, are for the glory of God. Blindness, heart attacks, lottery winnings, being in China, the lose of life, the beginning of life, those that society has left “untouched”… all for the glory of a God that the vastness of our imagination can’t even begin to comprehend.

“Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, to cause this man to be born blind?” ~Disciples, speaking in absolutes
“Neither, this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” ~Jesus, and His ridiculous way of thinking.



Itunes: Storm – Lifehouse
(I never knew Lifehouse wrote such a good song)

Question for my readers:
What are some clever names to name my students? Remember, they don't have to actually be names... IE Fly, Milk, Creamsicle.