So it turns out that we will be staying in the on campus dorms for our time in Shanghai. But these aren't just on campus, they are right next to the school! I forgot that high school campuses are not usually as large as college campuses. I'm living on the second floor with Abby while everyone else is on their third floor or in the boys' dorm. There are some Yew Wah students here for their finals, but they seem to be moving out soon. Their rooms are so full, I don't know how they are going to get all their stuff moved in time.
My legs are a little tired from all the walking a few of us (Audrey, Martin, Ben, and I) took, but I'm not quiet ready for bed yet. It is still a bit too early and my mind is too active. Here's what happened yesterday: The kids that went to the bank came back and only 1 out of 3 were successful. The rest of the morning was spent taxiing over to the new school, moving in, taking a tour, and having lunch at the cafeteria. Looking around at the school made me wish I could be back in high school, too! They get to do so much and are getting so many opportunities that I began to wonder what I would be like as a student here. It has made me want to focus more and really take advantage of my resources. It as also made me want to work at an international school, but that would be a little later in life.
After lunch, we had a meeting with the staff, who seemed very enthusiastic about having us around, but slightly worried about our ability to perform proper skits. Um...okay, wow. Thanks for all the confidence. But at least now we know what to worry about to impress them. This is also when we met Marcus, a 27-year old from California who will be rounding our numbers out to 10 and be with us for the rest of the summer. I was also told that I would be teaching Econ, Math, and Global Perspectives. Luckily, I'm with some competent kids and the teacher said that the students just need to know how to think and solve problems in English.We'll see how well this all goes on Monday, but if we stick to the lesson plan, I should not have to worry about finishing up the material.
For dinner the first night, Jeff the principal took us to a very Western Chinese restaurant where the staff wore Western Chinese costumes and all the food was spicy. Media ordered wa~~y too much food, so we took it home to Ben, who was more interest in sleep than food at the time. On the way back, we also we to Carrefour (a French department store that is common here), but I was holding back on buying a towel before I look around a bit.
Today was more meetings, planning, and work, but we were treated to dinner again. Peter took us out to the Shanghai Brewery to talk and drink with the school's teachers. Peter is really cool (Taiwan born, but New York raised, in China for the last 6 years, and a soon-to-be-dad!!) and I hope that we can see him more. I spoke mostly with the other Witt kids since they were on my end of the table, but the teachers gave us great recommendations for traveling.
Everyone here is getting ready for the Dragon Boat festival, which is exciting, but I'm still having a hard time getting internet, facebook, or my blog, which is frustrating! I hope that I can log on later :(
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