Mon/Tues
These were the GEOs last 2 days in Hong Kong so we helped out with a 2 day program right here at the primary school we are staying in. It is so nice to be able to wake up, roll out of bed, and walk down stairs and be right at our destination. I was in the music room teaching songs about David and Goliath. It was really fun. We were working with 3rd or 4th grade students which I think is my favorite age group that we've worked with thus far. I like them because they aren't afraid to talk to you for the most part and their English level is very impressive for their age which definitely says a lot about this particular primary school and its teachers and what an awesome job they are doing.
Monday night we got to travel into mainland China, just for fun. We went to a giant mall to practice our bartering skills. I think I did alright, I bought a watch for $80HK (about $10US) but she started out at $350HK and I got her down to 80 so I'd call that a success. I also bought a beautiful oil painting of downtown Hong Kong for $40HK (or $5US) and I can't remember what that painting started at, but it was higher than $150HK. I really enjoyed bartering. For dinner that night we went to a real Chinese buffet. It is my favorite meal I have eaten this trip. The buffet was never ending, I don't think I ever saw all the food. I just kept getting side tracked by the chocolate fountain.
Wed-Fri
This was our first real challenge. Without the GEOs we had to come up with all our lesson plans and everything on our own. I miss our 3 GEOs so much! Each of these 3 days we had to commute over to a secondary school on Hong Kong island (an hour and a half commute both ways) and we ran a camp for middle school students to get them excited about attending that particular school. The camp was on the fruits of the spirit, but I'm pretty sure we were the ones getting to really understand the meaning of the fruits, especially PATIENCE and SELF CONTROL. Wednesday was such a frustrating and discouraging day because we showed up with our detailed lesson plans and positive mental attitudes only to find out that there was a communication block and just about everything we had planned wouldn't work. I was leading the drama room, along with Luke, and I think we really had to adapt and be okay with throwing out our well-planned out lessons and just being flexible. Wednesday night was definitely a low point but we bounced back and the rest of the week was great. It was still very challenging because we were dealing with middle schoolers with an extremely low English level, who were very shy, and didn't really seem to want anything to do with us, but I think overall we did our best and hopefully the school saw a boost in their enrollment.
This weekend is going to be awesomely relaxing because we have nothing at all to do (except some planning). We will just be hanging out and enjoying some nice rain from the TYPHOON! Don't worry it's not a real typhoon anymore.
As promised, here are some pictures!
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