The Week in Review

This was a weird week. It wasn't the normal school schedule, so it seemed like such a strange week. Here's a little bit of what we did:

*Monday--Monday was a regular day at work. For FHE, we went out to dinner at Jessica's Cafe. It's this sandwich shop here in Clifford. We really like it. They speak English and make really yummy sandwiches on baguettes. They also have really good quiche, cheesecake, and muffins. Afterwards, we went and played at the park nearby. Jason had the great idea that I take Tuesday off work so that we could go to the amusement park nearby--Chimelong Paradise. We have been wanting to go and I have been a bit burned out at work lately, so it was a great idea.

*Tuesday--such a fun day! When Haley woke up I told her that I wasn't going to work and she got so excited. Then when I woke Britton up, I told him that instead of school we were going to have a fun family play day. The look on his face was priceless--he was so happy. We took our Aiee with us which was such a good idea (thanks Mel and Shane for the idea). That way we were able to have fun and play with the kids, but Jason and I were able to go on the big rides together. It was great. Also, when the kids were worn out and wanting to go home around 3:00, we sent them home on a taxi with Aiee and we got to stay for a few more hours. I won't go into any more details because I'm planning on doing another post just about Chimelong, but it was such a fun day. I'm glad Jason talked me into taking a day off.

*Wednesday--all the students went on a field trip, but the Western teachers didn't have to go with, so we got the day to prep. It was nice. I was behind on grading things and putting them in the computer. Plus I had to prepare for Parent/Teacher conferences. It was nice to not have to teach classes. Wednesday was Jonas's birthday, so we got to go to his party that evening. It was a lot of fun. It was a "family" party so our family was there, along with 2 other families who are their best friends here. We had dinner and a pinata and ate brownies and ice cream. Melanie always throws such good parties. I'm glad we got to celebrate with them.

*Thursday--it was a regular day at work. It felt weird though because I hadn't seen my students since Monday. In the evening, I went to Bridge Club. It was really fun. I love playing cards and bridge is such a complicated, strategic game. I'm still just learning, but it's getting really fun. We have a group that plays once a week.

*Friday--we had parent/teacher conferences so I didn't have to go into work until 2:00. I spent the morning playing with Haley and running errands. Haley was so thrilled that I got to stay home with her again. Britton had school, though. I took Haley on a bike ride to the store, then we went to the little play room in the clubhouse here. Parent conferences went well. It was interesting to have to have a translator to communicate with the parents. Ivy, my TA, was my translator. I actually really enjoyed the conferences much more than I anticipated. I had an appointment scheduled pretty much every 15 minutes and then I had an hour break for dinner.

*Saturday--I had to work in the morning to finish up parent conferences. We had them from 8:30-11:30. Jason took Britton to his soccer games, and Aiee stayed home with Haley. It was nice having her there on a Saturday because it also meant that I came home to lunch already made--how nice. Britton went to Jonas's "friend" birthday party in the afternoon. Jason ended up having to go with him because he's afraid to go places without us--what a strange kid. I had a "girl party" with Haley. We didn't do anything special really, but just calling it a party makes her happy. :)

It was such a good week--I got to spend much more time with my family than usual--especially with Haley. But, it was a strange week at work. I didn't teach much, in fact, I didn't even see my 7D or 8C classes at all because of missing Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. It'll be hard to get back into the swing of things tomorrow. Tomorrow I have my formal observation and evaluation. The director of the school, the secondary asst. principal, and my team leader are all coming to observe one of my classes. I'm glad they're all coming at once instead of each individually, but it's a bit more pressure. I'm not too nervous, but a little. They are coming for my very best class, so that is good. And all the students are doing presentations so that takes a lot of pressure off of me and it should be fun and interesting, but at the same time, I don't really have much control over the quality of their presentations. I think it will all go really well though. I prepped my students last Thursday so they know all the visitors will be there and they are all prepared. It should be good, but I'll still feel better once it's over.