I will be a large-group facilitator. For four hours a day, I will be facilitating in front of 225+ adults. Piece of cake....I think.
We have all the tools given to us which is a HUGE blessing. TIP has done this many time before and have perfected the program. Lesson plans, ppts, video/audio clips have been given to us. There is plenty of flexibility for lesson modification, which allows for the personality of each teacher to shine through. The days will be long but fulfilling.
Up to this point, we have been in intensive training for most of the day and into the evening hours as well. Even though we are getting slap happy, each training has been valuable and will serve us well when the students/teachers arrive on campus, Saturday/Sunday.
Even though I am a detail-oriented person, I cannot imagine the logistics for planning programming for 1,000+ students, facilitators, staff, facilities, etc. There is a medical team on site should any medical emergencies arise. The cafeteria staff will be busy making three meals a day for the TIP group.
How about a cultural lesson? Pushing and Shoving 101
Every time I am out on the street, I am amazed with the multitudes. The busses are jammed with people, the streets, the stores, the restaurants, the malls, the national buildings/parks/museums. There are almost 23 million people in the city, they must go somewhere, right? Their personal body bubble is narrow and they push a LOT. When we are in queue for anywhere, if you are not right up to the person in front of you, that is an open invitation for anyone to line jump and push you out of the way. My good manners are quickly disappearing after being pushed from behind, the side, in front. When a bus seat opens up, there is a scramble for the seat...unless there is a senior citizen or disabled person. I've seen men of all ages push their way in front of a lady to get the seat. I just stand so I can people watch and not lose the battle for the seat. I've not been out working hard all day and I don't feel like fighting for a ten minute ride.
Food CONTINUES to be a struggle for me. Even though I planned well by bringing food from home, I haven't been able to totally avoid it here. I have had an achy tummy every day since I've been here except the few days I ate oatmeal only. During training, we are able to leave campus during the meal breaks. Once we start teaching, we are required to stay on campus and eat with our classes so they can continue to practice English. Half the days, I've stayed back in the dorm to study up on materials or eat lunch here with a few folks. The other days, I have ventured out with various groups. There are plenty of vegetable/tofu options...the issue is the oil. Everything is swimming in some type of oil. It is simply too greasy for my stomach. The food tastes good but something isn't okay. Even Marjie is struggling.
Yesterday, I was able to find seaweed salad on the menu. That seems to be doing okay which is good as I love seaweed salad! Don't wrinkle up your nose unless you've tried it. It's my go-to option when I join friends for sushi.
Tomorrow we have a completely free day. Some of us are planning to head to the grocery story (like a Pick and Pay) to buy some produce. I'm planning on making some stir-fry with them, add them to quinoa, and have ready-to-eat meals for both Marjie and myself. We have to go to the American Embassy early in the morning as Marjie has some personal, family business to attend to. We are going to do a bit of site-seeing then back to building up our lesson plans.
Sleeping is improving. Up until last night, we were averaging five hours of sleep. Last night, we slept about 6.5 hours.
China has one time zone to in Beijing, sunrise is around 5:00. That is a weird concept to have an entire country this size on one time zone. It was explained to me that it helps with industry and commerce when companies are on the same time. Makes sense.
How am I doing?? Feels really good to be this busy. I've hit a few rough patches and have reflected upon it. The way I see it, during the school year, I was busy doing my library job during the day and the after-school program during the late afternoon. Found reasons not to do some serious soul searching. Here, those layers are peeled back and those particular excuses have been removed. I anticipated the month of July to be a tough one with our wedding anniversary and the year anniversary of Bob's death fast approaching. July 2nd proved to be more emotional than I wanted. Was able to keep my emotions under control for most of the day. Then evening hit, was so tired, stood under the shower until I was done with the tears. The sun rose on Wednesday and the day went out as planned.
As you know, I am a list person. Being able to check off the "first of...." has been a way of tracking my progress. Making through the first observance of our wedding anniversary without Bob is now behind me. Still hurts like hell...but the aching is lessening. One more major "first" on July 25th...the observance of his passing.
BUT, I shall not worry about that today. I have 1,000+ Chinese teachers headed my way and need to prepare for them. July 25th is 20 days away and I have miles to go...
Marjie has given me the go-ahead to share with you that she, too, is finding the pain lessening. Telling her story to the group was quite cathartic and people have been unbelievably kind, tender, and generous. We are both making progress and feeling stronger.
Must run off to our afternoon training. Please do keep those emails coming. We end up having 5 minute breaks every once in a while and we run back to our dorm room to see if we have a new letter from home!
Love to you all...thanks for your support and your prayers.
