Video

Teaching... from michelle on Vimeo.

This is a little video about baking with my English classes and interviews with my students in my Bible class. Enjoy!

100% Orange Juice

Most of the time, I don't miss much from America. I'm not quite as a picky eater as I used to be and I've become pretty flexible. However, when I get sick with a cold or other bodily function mishap, I do miss home and my mom very much.

My mom, like any, treats me like her precious little baby and gives me anything I need. I remember there was even a time in college that she came to take care of me. And I love it just as much as she does. That's not possible now. So, I cling to other comforts, like orange juice. But most orange juice here is like Tang wanna-be. I really don't like it and avoid it.

Jessica found some new juice to try out. It was a package of orange, grape and apple juice. She said the apple was pretty good and I should try the orange. I was a little hesitant because it looked just like other orange juice. I cracked it open and took a small drink...and bliss... It was so delicious. It pretty much was just what I hoped.

i did it...

I may have crossed an invisible line. But I did it. I haucked a loogey. I am genuinely repulsed by this act. Inside, outside, male, female, discrete or not. I don't like it. I seem to have adapted well here. I still don't like it. But it makes sense. So, today as I was trying to wave a taxi down, I did it. Right there in the gutter. It seemed appropriate and it felt good.

And to top off my evening, my taxi driver was extra friendly. He kept saying my language is SO GOOD. Which, I have master the 6.5 phrases I am able to say. Typical questions about whether I'm a teacher and if I teach English. I asked about his wife and if he had kids. And his age of course. I was shocked to hear he was 50!He looked like he was in his late 30s. Then he started telling me my nose was big and that's how he knew I was American. Hahaha, what do you say to that? Thank you? You're right? You have a small nose? Then he commented on my language again. So, I told him he had good language too. Hahaha, he laughed and said his dialect is better than his standard. I believe it.

changes...

Today was a make up day. In Asia, they often have to make up days that they take off. I'm not sure why. I don't like it and most of my students don't either. Anyway, today, Saturday was a make up day. Apparantly, that was not the only thing to be aware of after the big holiday. The time when afternoon classes starts changes from 2.30 to 2...Hahahaha, but NO ONE told me! Hahahaha, so as I was walking to class at 2 I got a call from one of my students asking where I was. She explained the changed, I laughed and apologized. Oh Asia, how unexpected you can be sometimes...

coffee

Coffee. I love coffee. Actually, I have come to realize I LOVE hot drinks. But coffee is better than tea. So, I have kind of "searched" the city for a place to nickname The Java Cat or the Granada.

This place is more Granada than Java Cat...
It has an English translation of the menu. Which is great because I don't know how to order coffee stuff in language yet. I can say hot and cold. But the workers know a little English and are really kind. The real name is Coffee & Talkers. Not Coffee Talkers. At first, I thought the & was a little weird. But I get it now, it's coffee and talkers. Coffee and people who talk. A classic mocha is my all time favorite.

Oh, I should tell you why I love coffee shops. Not only do I love to drink hot drinks, but I love the atmosphere of coffee shops. So cozy, inviting and relaxing. I have many fond memories in coffee shops; conversations of catching up, meeting old friends and new, Christmas parties, serious conversations, early meetings, late meetings and just a quiet place to read, think or study. So, I miss friends and family, but I miss those comfortable, familiar places too. But now, I think I've found my Granada... :)

i thought it was lightning

Last night I was watching a little Bones (the TV show) during a rain storm. I heard this loud crack sound. I was freaked out for a little bit. I thought a tree outside had been hit. I checked, but it was too dark to see anything. I didn't think any more of it. The next day I needed to go buy some fruit. On my way back to my apartment, I noticed that the noise I heard was this...



My guess is someone was a little intoxicated and ran off the sidewalk. As the tow truck arrived, a crowd did too. The car was successfully removed.

tv debut

Here is the official TV footage of Jess and I's TV debut. The name of the show is Just Go!

Fastforward to minute 25.

Just Go!

Enjoy!