First day of class!!!!

Hope you had a great 4th of July!!! Guess what I spent doing? Practicing the "Macarena". Yep. Last night, (the 5th for us), I stood in the middle of a circle of almost 200 Chinese teachers and led them in dancing the Macarena. Yay. So today was the first day of class!!!! It was so amazing! I have 16 students - all of whom I adore completely!!! 12 girls, 4 guys. They range between 25 and 43 years of age. One of the absolute coolest experiences in life is to name someone - I had the honor of giving English names to 13 of my students. My mother now has a namesake in China (I named one student May). It was such a busy day, but so amazing I can hardly wait for tomorrow (although I'm looking forward to sweet rest tonight). Just so you know, here's a little bit of what our day is like: 7:00 a.m. is breakfast (not really important in the scheme of things, but it's when the day starts). 8:00 a.m. is officially when class starts, but I have learned from today that I should arrive about 45 minutes to an hour early to get there before any of the students (they got there early this morning to clean the classroom and wash the chalkboard). We teach until 11:15 (with a 15 minute break in the middle). We break for lunch and rest and meet for class again at 3:00 pm. This class time goes anywhere from and hour and a half to two hours. Then, on some days we have evening events, and some days we have time to schedule meeting times with students. So I realized I have a couple class clowns. One of our class rules is that they must speak English only. So a few times today I would look over at these two men in my class and see one whispering to the other in Chinese, watching me to see if I saw. As soon as they saw me watching, they'd smile and jump back to being quiet. My class is so lively and they honestly want to be there. It's so different here. Every single one of them have so much respect for me as their teacher. Seriously, if I start to do anything (like yesterday I went to tape a class roster on the door), they jump up and insist on doing it for me. As soon as class got out today, several students began to sweep, clean desks, and wash the chalkboard. We had a great discussion this afternoon on the differences between American families and Chinese families. It was so great - it was great bonding time. After class, several students stayed behind to talk to me. We talked about the differences between English and Chinese - the languages and the writing. They speak very well, I think they just need to adjust to hearing my voice because they have a harder time on listening comprehension than on speaking. It's been an amazing day. I think though I need to wrap it up because I could seriously go on forever just about today. In other words, I'm warning you - if you are family or a close friend, be prepared. I already have 61 pictures from the past 6 days. Start practicing pretending to listen. ;) *Fun random fact of the day - Our washing machine sings the melody of "Jingle Bells" whenever you press the start button.* Please be remembering a few things with me: my throat is killing me. I have begun to feel so much better as far as my sinuses and congestion, but I am losing my voice more and more. Bummer thing: I can't sing. I had to lead "B-I-N-G-O" and "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" this morning in class and I think that was the rest my voice could take. Also, please please ask that I would be able to remember why I am here and not get too wrapped up in the curriculum. I am absolutely loving the teaching - but I want to do more and connect with my students outside of the classroom. Last, but most importantly, for my quiet time. It's hard to make that priority (not just in thought...thought's nice, but my actions are an outpouring of what's really important to me) in the midst of everything here. Here's a quote/thought to end with: "It takes the storm to prove the real shelter." (Today's Daily Bread)