My Favorite E4 Memory

Yesterday in my E4 class, we wrote about our favorite memories from the school year. Then we flew kites. Probably flying kites ended up being my favorite memory of the year. :) Some of the kids had never flown kites before. Kites trailing behind them, they ran around the field with huge HUGE smiles on their faces. It was really cool. I wish I could have gotten some pictures, but I was too busy coaching, assisting, and mending broken strings.

But anyways, I wanted to share parts of the students' writing about their favorite memories. Some of them made me tear up. Spelling/grammar is in it's original written form. :)

"One days anna say we can go to her home, I am so happy like fly to sky so happy.
That day we sit on chair and eat pizza, eat pizza and watch movie is my favorite things to do. I eat and eat... and watch and watch to the time to go home."

"When I went to cela and know many friends and teachers we learn, play, talk and test I like many things in CELA I work on but sometimes I and Jack will go and that time always is we are so so so so x2000 happy and listen "Jack and Ben, you will go!" and I am so sad but I thinks I can come again on tomorrow so I am happy."

"My favorite time is Jenny's visit E4A, Jenny play with we, and we play "UNO", I isn't the winnter, Jenny is the winner! Jenny give our the gift. I am very thankful she can come! My favorite time is Anna teach our. Anna play with we. she teach we, I am very thankful Anna can teach me! I want to say to Anna, "Thank you! Every day I am very happy with you. "I LOVE You!!" You and we just like the family!"

"My favorite E4 Memory is learn how to play chess. When I am E3, My friend singsing teach me how to play chess, but I forget it. Now I am happy to learn the chess again, It fun."

"In E4-A I am so happy to go on E5 but Anna is not teach me on E5 so I am so sad and afraid. I think my favorite is eat pizza Alvin and the Chipmunks, chess, making play-doh, playing games, Typhoon, games with friends and teacher, New Dawn, singing and using maps. I want thank you Anna to teach me on E4A but I will go to E5. I thank you Anna every day when I am every where. I like Anna!"

"I like everything about CELA E4A class and New Dawn. We play games, talk about Jesus and sing songs. New Dawn they play the drom..."

"My favorite memory in E4A is when Jenny visited to see us. I hope she can come to visit us again. She taked her student's picturs, and we play games with her, this is my favarite memory in cela."

It has been a very memorable and wonderful year. I'm thankful I'm coming back. I'll be teaching a new group of kids, and I'll miss teaching my old students, but as Bill pointed out, "Teacher! You'll be here, so we can still see each other!"

Praise God for the many blessings of each day!

Tidbits?

What to say? I haven't blogged in a coon's age. Not for lack of subject matter, that's for sure... perhaps for TOO MUCH subject matter in life. Here are some random thoughts to share because my brain is all jumbled and I can't promise sensibility.

GOD IS GOOD! I was in a kinda major scooter accident two weeks ago. Heidi was a passenger on the back. Miraculously (seriously, it was a miracle - thank You, God!) no one was seriously hurt. I still have remnants of giant bruises on my leg and arm, but that was the worst of it. I put on my gas a little early as the light my way was turning green and, going the other way, a car decided to run the light that had just turned red. Two mistakes equaling the car hitting my scooter, but not our bodies, sending my scooter flying. Heidi and I kinda just hit the pavement, having the scooter knocked out from under us. At least that's what I figure happen. Seriously, I never saw the car coming. Heidi said, "Anna, a car's coming and it's not slowing down, I think it's going to hit us." However, I thought she was referring to a car coming toward us from across the street that was going to turn (and looked as though it was going to turn right through our lane) so I put on the breaks a little as I was going through the intersection, but the car that hit us came flying in on the left. All I remember is hearing this awful crashing noise and then hitting the road on my left side and thinking, "Heidi meant a different car." I then also thought, "Thank you, God for this helmet." Then I looked up a little and saw my scooter a good distance from me and though, "Oh my. I've just been in an accident." It was awful.

Okay, this happen around 9:30 and Heidi and I didn't end up getting home until after midnight. I could type a while about more details but will sum it up with saying a few more points: Again, PRAISE GOD no one was seriously hurt. The guy in the car that hit us was in a hurry to get away. It was weird. He left right as the police were coming. Heidi got his license plate, however, and the police contacted him and just yesterday he came to see us at school and apologize. We're going to sign a paper next week saying that we officially "forgive" each other legally and will each pay for our own vehicle's repairs. There's a longer story here, which if you're curious, ask me about it via email or this summer. I got checked out at the ER that night. A Taiwanese friend came to help with the police report and to give Heidi and I a ride back.

My scooter is not yet fixed... but the good news is I heard that it can be. Thankfully, a friend is lending me her scooter while I am without mine.

In other news, Heidi and I signed for an apartment also about two weeks ago. (We were out looking at furniture for the apartment when we were in the accident.) The apartment is cool... and I trust it will be a blessing. But it's been a big stress on me in the meantime. I want to be all moved in before the summer.... we're getting there. I love living on campus here at CMS, but we're getting some new teachers and rooms are filling up on campus, so it was suggested that I look off campus. Thankfully, Heidi agreed to be my roommate. This will help cut the cost for me, and help me not feel completely alone.

School is spinning out of control to a big end.... or so it feels. I realized today we only have a week and a half left. How will everything get done?! I don't know. But it will. God is good.

There's a HUGE dog that likes to lumber around outside the local "Family Mart" convenience store. I may try to find a picture of a similar dog to post on here. Seriously, in the land of medium sized strays and tiny little yappy dog pets, this dog is a bit alarming. And I can't figure out why it likes Family Mart.

Here we go. This is what it looks like... only not this well groomed:


I would like to post more actual pictures of what's going on here, but my computer is kind of full and doesn't like me putting new pictures onto it... I'll have to think about what I'm going to do about that this summer. Hmm.

The rainy season is upon us. Don't leave home without an umbrella and a raincoat. Seriously. But it's also meant that when it's in between rains, the air is rather clean and clear and the mountains have been OUTRAGEOUSLY beautiful. I'm obsessed with mountains. And just think - they're there all year, but we hardly get to see them. I'm really thankful for these times when the air clears and we can see them. They're breathtaking.

The kindergarten students continue to be my great joy. They're amazing. I love them and will miss them tremendously. They're the coolest classes of kids ever. All semester, they've been practicing for this BIG end of the year dance production. It will be something. I don't know if I can explain to you how much choreography these 3-5 year olds actually learn. It's outrageous. I'm looking forward to seeing the whole program next week, Saturday, before I'm scheduled to fly to the States that Sunday!

Emotionally and mentally, you probably don't want to hear about it, but I have been STRESSED and DRAINED. I pray that God will bless this summer as a time of restoration, refueling and refreshing and helping me see where I have been wrong or making poor decisions and give me insight on how to be an effective and encouraging team member, friend, coworker, and sister in Christ... and how to rest in the grace of my Creator and Savior.

Here ends my blog.

The Lord Jesus Christ be with you and bless you and give you His peace!