It's been one of those days. Gotta blog it out. Here you go.
6:09AM--wake up. Sun's coming up.
6:15 --alarm rings. Read the Word.
7:00--breakfast.
7:15--dishes, shower, get dressed
7:30--start lesson planning for next week (yesterday I only wrote 1 and a half preps' worth, today I have to finish the other 4 and a half)
8:00--run out of good lesson ideas/begin to doubt lesson plans
8:15--check FB. Wait for new inspiration.
8:25--new inspiration hits. Begin writing again. (plans in English, activities in Spanish).
9:05--hit another wall in inspiration. Groan in pain as creativity is gone.
9:45--Mandy comes up to help me. Life is better, since we can bounce ideas off each other. (translate my Spanish ideas into English to discuss them.
10:05--Kyle shows up too. Now the party is fun. (They give me sentence ideas in English, I translate them into Spanish and write them down.
11:15--all lesson plans complete.
11:20--get ready to go to lunch.
11:30--meet Chinese sista for lunch. (This lunch is in English with Chinese thrown in when she can't remember or understand a word. I also order the food in Chinese).
11:40--while we're waiting for food, I see Luis and Coco. Luis is my Spanish student, so I chat with him in Spanish. Coco is his girlfriend, and I chat with her in English.
12:25--lunch with sister finished. We walk back home for "naptime".
12:30--begin checking email, putting out fires as best I can (this is in English).
1:15--lie down for a few minutes peace and read in English.
1:45--go to Spanish class. (in Spanish). Give directions in Spanish. Correct students any time they speak Chinese, tell them how to say the things they're saying in Chinese in Spanish (especially the things said over and over.
3:50--class A leaves, class B comes. Rinse and repeat.
5:00--break time. Students ask me the dreaded question: are you married? The following conversation takes place in all 3 languages--Spanish, English, and Chinese, with everyone using all three languages to communicate.
5:10--break time is over. Class starts again (in Spanish.).
6:00--class finishes, run home, change into purple sweatshirt.
6:15--dinner with two Japanese teachers. One can speak fairly good English, the other has very basic English. Dinner conversation is in English, Japanese, and some Chinese mixed in as we're all learning Chinese. Chinese with a Japanese accent is difficult for me to understand.
6:50--our waitress comes and introduces herself. She wants to practice English and Japanese, but knows no Japanese and very little English. The Japanese teachers are polite but strain to understand her limited English. Chinese gets thrown into the mix, and it's a game to see who understands most.
7:15--oops, gotta run. My Chinese tutor's at my house and I'm still at the restaurant.
7:20--Chinese tutoring starts. It's in Chinese with a lot of Spanish translation, occasionally an English word here or there for clarification.
8:50--my tutor leaves, and I write this blog (in English.)
They have a word for this in Chinese--fuza. Confusing.
6:09AM--wake up. Sun's coming up.
6:15 --alarm rings. Read the Word.
7:00--breakfast.
7:15--dishes, shower, get dressed
7:30--start lesson planning for next week (yesterday I only wrote 1 and a half preps' worth, today I have to finish the other 4 and a half)
8:00--run out of good lesson ideas/begin to doubt lesson plans
8:15--check FB. Wait for new inspiration.
8:25--new inspiration hits. Begin writing again. (plans in English, activities in Spanish).
9:05--hit another wall in inspiration. Groan in pain as creativity is gone.
9:45--Mandy comes up to help me. Life is better, since we can bounce ideas off each other. (translate my Spanish ideas into English to discuss them.
10:05--Kyle shows up too. Now the party is fun. (They give me sentence ideas in English, I translate them into Spanish and write them down.
11:15--all lesson plans complete.
11:20--get ready to go to lunch.
11:30--meet Chinese sista for lunch. (This lunch is in English with Chinese thrown in when she can't remember or understand a word. I also order the food in Chinese).
11:40--while we're waiting for food, I see Luis and Coco. Luis is my Spanish student, so I chat with him in Spanish. Coco is his girlfriend, and I chat with her in English.
12:25--lunch with sister finished. We walk back home for "naptime".
12:30--begin checking email, putting out fires as best I can (this is in English).
1:15--lie down for a few minutes peace and read in English.
1:45--go to Spanish class. (in Spanish). Give directions in Spanish. Correct students any time they speak Chinese, tell them how to say the things they're saying in Chinese in Spanish (especially the things said over and over.
3:50--class A leaves, class B comes. Rinse and repeat.
5:00--break time. Students ask me the dreaded question: are you married? The following conversation takes place in all 3 languages--Spanish, English, and Chinese, with everyone using all three languages to communicate.
5:10--break time is over. Class starts again (in Spanish.).
6:00--class finishes, run home, change into purple sweatshirt.
6:15--dinner with two Japanese teachers. One can speak fairly good English, the other has very basic English. Dinner conversation is in English, Japanese, and some Chinese mixed in as we're all learning Chinese. Chinese with a Japanese accent is difficult for me to understand.
6:50--our waitress comes and introduces herself. She wants to practice English and Japanese, but knows no Japanese and very little English. The Japanese teachers are polite but strain to understand her limited English. Chinese gets thrown into the mix, and it's a game to see who understands most.
7:15--oops, gotta run. My Chinese tutor's at my house and I'm still at the restaurant.
7:20--Chinese tutoring starts. It's in Chinese with a lot of Spanish translation, occasionally an English word here or there for clarification.
8:50--my tutor leaves, and I write this blog (in English.)
They have a word for this in Chinese--fuza. Confusing.
