Dear Praying Friends,
The troops are weary, but God
is faithful. This week was a blast! The children were very obedient and sweet, making
them easier and encouraging to teach. Thank you Lord! This week, we split
floors, so I only taught one of the two classes. It was really nice. I feel
like I know the kids better. (On top of their good English and my Chinglish.)
School is out, but that means
zilch here. Summer camp is basically the same as any other week- classes every
forty minutes, long days, hard chairs. I think I would have died as a fourth
grader if I went to summer camp like this! However, that’s normal for
Taiwanese. They learn full time, just in different locations when school is
out. Being American though, we try to make class as FUN as possible. They have
enough of thinking classes. Let’s play a game!
One class this week had come
before, which is a first for the institute. When the bus arrived, they
excitedly RAN off the bus to give us high fives and hugs. At first, the
teachers wondered what to teach them, but they didn’t remember much and could
be taught the same information again.
The other class, a mix of three
separate classes, is the class I taught. Their English level was amazing!
Often, we would ask for a translator, but the kids would translate the sentence
without the aid of a translator. Because it is summer camp, two siblings, a
third grader and a fifth grader, tagged along this week. (Usually, we only have
fourth grade.) No worries though! They did well staying with the class. All the
children were well behaved; they knew how to have fun, and then how to quickly
get under control.
A couple of kids became my
shadows, following me around everywhere. It made me double check to make sure I
always did things that showed good character and not just acting out of bad habits.
A good pressure to have, and a great reminder that I’m always being watched.
I often get a kick out of the written
English posted everywhere here, because it doesn’t make sense or its worded
funny. At the train station, there is a sign for the “KISS AND RIDE,” which we
would generally say “DROP OFF/PICK UP.” So, when one of the kids brought in a
bag with English that made sense, albeit still a little funny, I had to take a
picture.
Please pray for the children
next week. It is unusually hot in Taiwan this year, being in the 90’s (F), with
high humidity. There is no AC anywhere in our building, and so the heat makes
it difficult for the children to sleep, which of course, affects their
behavior. Also, we English teachers haven’t slept either. We are running on
adrenaline, and that’s running out. Pray for cooler weather, and that we will
be able to sleep in spite of the heat.
By God’s Grace,
Barbara 蘇以樂
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