A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That

Hi everyone!

So I realize I haven't written a blog post in a little while. I have no excuse except that I have actually been pretty busy these last fews weeks. It is suddenly like winter came and along with the cold (I don't have a heater in my room--my fingers are cold while typing this) came all this work.

Shanghai International Beer Festival

Let me begin by saying that five people have quit the program. Two of them are flying back to the states tomorrow and three of them are finding different jobs in Shanghai. At first our program didn't know what to do with us, we were English teachers without any students. Since we were placed at a supplemental school that mostly focuses on SAT tutoring, they were trying to find us real classrooms where we could actually teach and not simply sit around all day and create practice PowerPoints. Even though they have justified reasons for quitting, this is a good time for me to reflex on why I came to China to begin with.  

First of all, I came to China because I had no idea what I wanted to do back home. I had applied to a few jobs that I never heard back from, and then I happened upon Ameson Year in China at my University Job Fair. I love to travel and discover new cultures, and that still rings true. Also, even though I have always said I have never wanted to be a teacher, I thought I would try my hand at teaching since I do love kids and it is a field open to English majors. Moreover, since this job is part time, I can have an internship at the same time and gain international work experience, all while trying to learn Chinese.

I am beginning to miss home a lot though, especially as it gets colder here and as more people are leaving the program. I miss my friends, family, California, mac and cheese, bacon, In N Out….
However, Sean is going to come visit me next month!!! I am so excited. He is going to stay for three weeks.

Mr.Pitt

Kids on Halloween

Meanwhile, I have been trying to do more work at City Weekend. I reviewed this bar for the magazine called Mr.Pitt which serves the best traditional cocktails, and I'm working on a video project about the smog in Shanghai. As for teaching, I have picked up seven more classes this week alone. I now teach at three different schools throughout the week. I mostly still teach 2nd graders (we taught them all about Halloween and the kids dressed up), but now on Saturday I teach little babies, like 4 to 6 year-olds!!! They are all so cute! One of the little girls cried this weekend when she lost one of the games we played. It broke my heart.

In other news, I went to the International Beer Festival here in Shanghai which was pretty cool and randomly ran into some City Weekend people. Also, we had our Dumpling Fest 2013 where my friend Taylor made us some amazing dumplings like the pizza bite dumpling, mexican bean burrito dumpling, and Nutella dumpling…one word: delicious. I tried to find the Propaganda Museum, but got lost….sort of ironic when I think about it.

Shanghai International Beer Festival

After a struggle to find blonde hair dye and peroxide, I finally dyed my hair by ordering some hair dye online and buying this stuff called "Double Oxygen Milk" at a store near work. The mixture turned purple before I put it on my head, but it worked in the end. Definitely glad I still have my hair. Another struggle came last weekend when my iPhone was stolen on the subway. Yep. I miss my phone. Luckily, I can still use my iPod to WeChat and play Candy Crush (I lost all my levels though--I am literally crushed).

But throughout all the madness, there is a silver lining--I took my GRE test this past weekend and did pretty good! It was stressful finding the school, but I was so relieved when it was all over. I have been studying for weeks now with my friend Brittany. We decided to reward ourselves and go out to lunch at this great Thai place we found! I, of course, got a Starbucks too (one with a red Christmas cup!). Now I just have a few essays to write for my applications and I'm good to go! I am applying to UC Berkeley, NYU, and Columbia University. Go big or go home!

From Dumpling Fest 2013!