We're Officially HK students!

Jamie and I have officially made it to Hong Kong!

The flight to Chicago was super fast, I believe only 40 minutes.
I met up with Jamie right when I landed and we chatted for I think an hour and then realized that we had an hour to eat, change money, bathroom, and check in!!
We had our final "American meal" while chatting about the 1st phase of our student teaching.
The rate of exchange was actually better in Chicago (1:7.85) than in HK (1:7.75) so we ended up exchanging most of our currency right at our gate!!! Eric (our HK friend) says we got a deal!

The flight to HK was long and I was squished. I sat next to a elderly women that didn't speak english. The meals were pretty good (chicken/rice, noodles, pretzels, and a turkey sandwich - i survived!).
I ended up sleeping for the majority of the flight, which was much needed!

We arrived late in HK and Eric was worried, of course! But we made it through immigration, no problem!! Eric picked us up and we went by bus 3/4 of the way to HKiED (where I am living)....it took about an hour.
We then took a taxi the rest of the way.

We got settled in and Eric took us to the store to buy food and shampoo, etc.
I got to see Gigi and Han-Han (2 people I met in May).
We had a snack and then unpacked. There are so many nooks and crannies to put things in and our suitcases fit on top our closet so they do not take up much space. I have attached some pictures of my dorm room as well as the view. Jamie and I woke up about 5am and talked about life and shared boyfriend stories. We decided to get up and go to the Coffee Corner for some much needed breakfast. We got muffins, egg salad sandwiches and chocolate mousse and watched the sun rise over the mountains....life is pretty rough :-)






Something that surprised me: It gets dark before 6pm!
Something that I am loving: How much Jamie and I have in common :-)

I miss everyone and hope to update frequently!!
Sending my love to the states.....

It's here!

I'm going to Hong Kong!
I cannot express how excited (and scared) I am to leave in the morning.
It has been a long journey to get to where I am today; classes, student teacher part 1, prayer, etc. But for some reason it just doesn't seem like enough....I just don't feel ready. I have packed all day, I have checked almost everything off my "to do" list, I have even said 'good-bye' to the important people here in STL, however, I still feel as though I could fill days with arrends and good-byes.
I am excited to share my journeys, struggles, and experiences.
I feel it will help me get my thoughts on paper, so to speak, and give me the opportunity to share my life with my family and friends!

Get ready, get set, GO!
See you in 2 months :-)

Hong Kong...round 3!

In 2 1/2 weeks I leave for Hong Kong!!! I am headed to student teach with high schooler's at Renaissance College. Excitement fills my bones as I think about the people and sights I get to see :-)
Some of the things I most look forward to are:

Life-long friends...>Stephanie & Little Lee :-)


Night life!!


Downtown HK!


The culture.



HKiEd - Where Jamie and I will be living!

Im Sorry.

Last Thursday I was nearing the end of the day (a GREAT day, I might add) and all of the sudden I feel something hit my leg. I look down and to my surprise I see an eraser from the end of a pencil. Shocked and confused I raised my eyes and with the meanest voice I had in me I said, "Freeze." The class stared in anticipation as I glared at each one of them. I asked to see who had a pencil and much to my dismay each pencil had an eraser on the end. I quickly asked who had thrown the eraser....no reply, just blank stares.
About this time my CT walked in and was curious as to why class was stopped. After explaining to her the situation she proceeded to explain that this is no way to treat any person in authority. Their punishment? Each student had to write me an apology letter. Thus the need for a blog. I must share excerpts from some of these letters with you simply because I could not keep myself from chuckling when reading them:

From Alexis:
"If I find out who it was I will tell even if it was my friend. I hope you don't punch everybody because we have some really good kid in this class. I love music and people who are in violen wouldn't do it. Maybe if you look at the video if you have them and look to see who it was. If you don't have any you shoule get some and put them in the music room where the kid would lest expect it."

From Eric:
"I'm glad you don't have to learn because it is stressful...I know your glad about is that it is about the end of the week and you get a time with 2 days off."

From Kam Ron:
"I understand if you want to go back home. Or just make us sit in the dark for 45 mins and do nothing."

From Randy:
"That person shouldn't have done that because now the class has to write that's dumb and that person who did it should of thought."

The person came forward at the end of the day and I got to experience my 1st parent/teacher conference!!

An EPIC day.

Today was the day to top all days!
Here are a few highlights:

1) School Lunch.
The culprit: Miss Slates
The menu: chicken nuggets (or fish shapes....yes, shapes).
The choice: chicken

I forgot my lunch today and decided to purchase my first school lunch. I walk up to the lunch line with my $3.10 that had been scrounged up from various teachers and proudly request my chicken nuggets. Little did I know what I was in store for. Along with the chicken nuggets came a scoop of mashed potatoes (hold the gravy) and a slice of bread. Yes, 1 slice of bread. I head to the "salad bar" to pick up my dixie cup filled with lettuce leaves and get some ketchup for the nuggets. My last stop, the milk carton station. School lunch experience, check!

2) I have been waiting for this moment since I began student teaching August 19th. No I am not talking about a great review, or even the chance to teach "full time." I am talking about a nose-picking sighting....and today was my lucky day!! 5th grade was in the middle of their lesson and I scanned the rows as the students were echoing a rhythmic pattern. What do I see? A youngster digging away at her nostril!! Nose picking sighting, check!

3) As I was getting ready to leave school, my teacher walks out of her storage closet with a black case. She proceeds to ask me if I know what an autoharp is....OF COURSE!! And through a series of events I managed to walk out of the building with it. I have never been more excited about a musical instrument :-) Autoharp, check!

If you fail, try, try, try again.

Lunch today was eaten in front of the school T.V. My CT turned on CNN and us teacher-bodies sat in silence glued to the words of President Obama. Though I did not agree with some of what he said, one of his first statements has not stopped replaying in my head:

There is NO excuse for not trying.

I could not agree more; there is no formal explanation for not making an attempt at something. No more is this try than in the classroom. I have seen it more and more in the past few weeks. Students will be asked a question and before a few seconds have passed they shrug their shoulders or say something such as "I dunno."
After prompting them and/or asking them what they think they at least try to give me an answer. Sometimes I feel like kids are afraid to even take a stab at a question for fear of being wrong (especially at an older age).
I hope I can provide a classroom environment that is a fearless, discussion based place that students feel they can at least try Though they may fail, they will have the tools to find the answers and one day be successful!

Dollar Store Craft.

I saw this craft idea on a blog that I subscribe to appropriately title "Dollar Store Crafts."
I went to deals and purchased the necessary supplies:
1.) crayons
2.) picture frame

This is the final product :-)



My plan is to give it to my CT when I am finished student teaching!