I’m not quite sure where the month of November went…I’m
finding it very hard to believe that we are already into December! It certainly
doesn’t feel like it. Of course I have realized yet again how utterly terrible
I am at this blogging business, as I seem to have skipped over the entire Month
of N…oops. For this reason I offer a glimpse into my past month with the highlights!
November was a great month that was packed full of goodness.
Life is still great here in China! Although, the weather has taken a turn to
‘winter’ and it’s been raining for a couple of weeks we are still managing to
keep our spirits up and have fun.
The rain will not rain on our parade! Although Lulu’s are
being extra appreciated…
We must also be realistic; life is not perfect although
sometimes it can come pretty darn close. There is still that little thing that
we call work - It kind of gets in the way of life Monday – Friday from 8am-4pm
(and some evenings and week-ends). Don’t get me wrong; I love my job and the
kids! The grade 2’s are keeping me very busy but each day I see some form of
progress, which is very exciting!! Dealing with different languages, cultures
and personalities is a difficult yet rewarding task, who knew? The rough days that I leave questioning
my judgment of why I became a teacher in the first place pass and the great
moments make everything worth it. On a side note: I’m ready for
Christmas J
Outside of school we continue to Live the Dream. China is
such fun!
Here. We. Go. A
rundown of the November HighlightsJ
ISNS Talent Show – Skipped
The day of the Talent Show was an interesting one…I had 4
kids go home on account of throwing up (2 made it to the bathroom) and 1 kid
(in Emma’s class) soiled himself (he may be in Em’s class but she came running
as her stomach couldn’t handle the mess…and it was a mess). Needless to say it
was a bit of a rough day on the old stomach and I needed a few hours to
recuperate after school. I wasn’t feeling up to repeating an appearance at the
Talent Show (most of us weren’t) so we sat in Patrick’s room, had a drink and
slowly relaxed after a long week. The plan had been to go out but after the day
I had had I planned on socializing then hitting the sack. Instead, I rallied
and Krista and I ended up finishing up the ‘roofie punch’ and having our own
party in Patrick’s room (while everyone else had already gone out). This punch
had been created with all of the watermelon juice from our Watermelon Carving
Contests that we had at school a few days earlier (for Halloween…they don’t
have pumpkin carving here…). We danced the night away to a great live band at The
Terrace. Thank goodness I was able to rally, we had such a great night! This is
an example of yet another evening that I planned to be chill but ended up
dancing in Shekou…oops!
Acamis Volleyball Tournament
I helped Katrina coach the girl’s High School Volleyball
team and it just so happened that our school got to host the Big Acamis
Tournament this year, how sweet!! It lasted 3 days and it was a blast!! Being
apart of this tournament made me wish that I were back in High School playing.
Of course this tournament was a little (or a lot) more upscale that the
tournaments that I have attended. Michael outdid himself as the Athletic
Director and had a wonderful tournament planned! We had a wonderful coaches
evening at Aulon (all you can eat and drink) as well as a team dinner with more
food than you could shake a stick at! Our girls, who had never touched a
volleyball before this year lost every game BUT won their last match of the
tournament. Everyone went wild!! There were tears, hugs, and lots of pictures
taken. This was one of those moments that I will never forget, man were Katrina
and I proud!!
One week-end, while Patrick and Joel were off coaching
somewhere in China with the PingPong team a few of us decided to host our own
BeerPong tournament. Headbands were mandatory as they were our ‘uniforms’. We
played at the boys’ (Michael and Josh’s) place and my word did we have
fun!!
Kitchen Parties
The 3rd floor saw a lot of action from all of us
through the month of November . Not only with holiday events (Halloween) and
special occasions but also with traditional Maritime Kitchen Parties!! You know
how we Canadians love the kitchen.
Dinner Parties
Emma, Kelly, Krista, Patrick and I have been having dinner
parties at Josh and Michael’s place (which began in November) and my word it’s
wonderful. Having a home cooked meal makes such a difference in our lives!
These boys have a full kitchen (this means they have a sink, a fridge and a
true stove) and it is such a treat!! We’ve been taking turns cooking the meals,
who knows what will be made next.
Epic Medieval Party!
To say good-bye to November and Hello to December we had our
much anticipated Medieval Themed Party. It was Incredible!! If you didn’t know
better you would have thought you were in a scene from A Knight’s Tale –
Patrick outdid himself again!! All we did was help put up the decorations that
he had his students make for us. Haha This was a party that I will never
forget! Who is lucky enough to go to an all you can eat/drink Medieval Party
where they have wooden tables and stools, a pig-roast, a foe-fire-place and
flags and drapes hanging from the ceiling? It was Wild! 
Needless to say, November was a wonderful month!!
