March 4, 2018

Ash: This weekend was district conference.  We are a 2 hr bus ride away from Shenzhen which is where church is.  We had to give a final count of how many people from our group were going for sure so they could arrange a bus with the right amount of seats and last minute the 2 girls that didn't want to go decided they did want to.  So we were 2 seats short in the bus and of course me and my buddy had to sit squished between the seats on the hard floor for 2 hours.  Those girls should have sat on the floor.  The conference was a Saturday and Sunday deal so we stayed in a hotel nearby.  It cost us each $13.  We all had to share a double bed except for 1 bed had 3 girls.  The beds are literally a board.  Church is in a big house in a super nice neighborhood.  They fed us pizza when we got there Saturday and then a chicken sandwich after the meeting which was pretty dang good.  The pizza was nasty!  Made it super nice that they provided the bus and food for this trip, made our $13 even better.  Saturday they talked a lot about standing up for our faith.  And Sunday they talked about eternal families.  We had a general authority from Hong Kong in our meetings, bro and sis Funk.  They were very nice just very talkative.  Saturday night me and a few girls went out and explored a little corner called sea world.  Super cute place.  After Sunday's meeting we headed back home to plan our lessons for the first day of school tomorrow!  Mine are pretty bad but I keep telling myself we only teach 2 hrs a day and they're only 3 yrs old.  I'm anxious to meet the kids and nervous about teaching.
Oh we also got the most delicious Muslim noodles for lunch and dinner.

Nonny: Ash these photos are awesome!  That's pretty frustrating about the crowded bus/bed, but the food looks yummy.  If you ever get the chance to go to Window of the World in Shenzhen, go!  We went there with uncle Ryan and it's awesome.  Miniature replicas of famous places around the world...it was pretty incredible.  Google it.
Aunt Jodi: What great experiences these are for you Bina.  Even the frustrating stuff is good learning.  I taught the 3yr olds at church last year and the 4yr olds this year.  They all have the attention span of a gnat.  I imagine 3-4 yr olds are similar in China and US.  Use a lot of inflection in your voice, and facial expressions to keep their attention.
Ash: It's really frustrating to me that some of these girls have to get their way with a lot of things.  I'm looking at it as a way to teach me patience I guess.  I'll definitely have to see if there are some girls that would want to see Window of the World it sounds pretty amazing!  That's what I worry about is their attention span.  The parents want to see progress and 3/4 year olds just want to play.  It'll be tough but I'm excited to start!
Aunt Jodi: But even when they're playing you can be teaching and then it's fun to learn  We color pictures and teach while they color  You could color pictures and have the say the things they're coloring.  Teach through songs/music too.  Our kids love playing red light/green light.
Aunt Jodi: Those other girls sound like they definitely will help you learn patience  Hopefully they learn a thing or two about being considerate of others.
Ash: Yeah, they're having us talk about the features of everything we use and do.  Most the girls are cool and I get along with them fine but there are just a few that act a bit stuck up.  It's alright, I keep telling myself it's only 4 months.
Nonny: Really good suggestions from Aunt Jodi.  Just make learning fun...when you're having a little fun with them they will learn.  Even with the ladies we taught cooking to in Mexico would be ore interested in what we were teaching if it was a little fun.
Ash:  We're doing activities with them but talking about every little thing.  I just don't want them to get bored of something and want to mess around.
Aunt Jodi: That's when the inflection in your voice gets their attention back.  If you say something really excited they're going to see what's exciting.
Nonny: If you sens that they are getting bored with something, change the activity.  All of a sudden start marching around the room naming the objects in the room...window, desk, floor, hands that clap, feet that March, etc.
Ash: Good suggestions.  I guess I'll have to see how tomorrow goes.
Aunt Jodi: You'll have fun but that age kid sure takes a lot of energy from you.
Ash: I'll send pics of my kids soon so you guys can see