Surprise!

There were a lot of things about being a teacher that I didn't expect.

On Tuesday, I suddenly had a lot of messages on qq.

"Happy Teachers' Day," said my student Tmac.  One of the girls who I studied with sent me a similar message with a picture of a rose.  Chelsea, who I haven't heard from in ages, sent this:  "Hello, hannh, today is teachers' day.  Good luck to you." My student Emma sent me an e-card.

I felt a little overwhelmed.

Sometimes I miss them a lot.  Mostly though, I'm grateful to still be involved in parts of their lives, that so many of them are willing to take the time and effort to stay in touch and let me know what's happening with them.

Tmac... in our non "Titanic" pose picture.  Trust me.  It's better this way.  ^_^

Six weeks later...

I wouldn't say I'm in culture shock about coming back to America.

However, there are a few things that still throw me for a loop.

1. Toilet paper goes where?  (I don't know why, but it does.)
2. Water from the tap is potable? (Although now I'm living with uber-chlorinated water, so that isn't so much of an issue.)
3. Everything. Is. So. Far. Away.  (Okay, so maybe that is more shock of living off campus.)
4. There is so much space between things.  Aisles in the grocery store, houses, etc.
5. Riding the bus cost $2.25, not 18 cents.
6. I don't see any Asians.  Or hear any Chinese.
7. There's no one around to speak Chinglish with me.
8. Time zones.  My gracious.  It was simple in China: if I was talking to students or teammates, they were the same.  If I was talking to someone in America, they were most likely about 12 hours off.  But now I barely know which country I'm in, some students are in America, and some of my American friends are in America and some are in China.  Confusion....

In other news, I finally wrote my last newsletter today, and it should be in the mail soon, thanks to the phenomenal Comm Department.  :D