This was a Jade Sword me and Pablo bought for the room, its nice....

So I think this whole teaching thing is truly beginning to hit my heart. I never thought I could care so much about making these kids masters of English. In all honesty, teaching is the greatest feeling in the entire world. I had multiple kids on Friday come up to me and give me a card and flowers and said "Happy Teacher's Day teacher! We really love that you are showing us how to talk like you!" and ran off... Absolutely amazing feeling.

The children are so smart, absolute sponges of knowledge and information; i teach them one thing, they mimic, then it is instilled in their brains immediately. I am very impressed with the retention level. I cannot express the feelings I have at the moment. Of course there is a side of me that misses my family, my friends and the overall American way of life; and then there is this other part of me that is overwhelmed with joy that I am able to experience this opportunity. So as I struggle with that paradox, we will see how it unfolds throughout this year.

I had a girlfriend back in the States, an enormous side of me misses her; but our paths are headed in two different directions... Besides the drastic levels of incompatibility.

Overall I would just say that Shanghai is amazing, and now that I am just embarking on being settled in my year long way of life, I am beginning to reflect more on who I am, and what happens when I leave in June. I want to go to Graduate School, but at the moment I haven't taken the GREs and I am slightly concerned about how I can take them here. I am looking at: University of Chicago International Relations MA, Duke, GW, Georgetown, Northwestern, American U, Yale(haha) and Maryland. If anyone has any advice, please do not hesitate to provide it.

On a more humorous note, Shanghai nightlife is absolutely hideous. Imagine the greatest clubs in the world, the greatest deals and the greatest decor...with no PEOPLE in them! Shanghai must hold the record for the most uninhabited nightclubs on a Saturday night!!!! We club hopped throughout Puxi for like 3 hours at night in cabs, every club was completely empty!... upsetting, we really need to get in the loop. I think we were just given bad information on the good areas to go.

All in all everything is going well, I am taking these days on one day at a time, keeping my head high and striving towards being a better teacher. Wish me luck.

Did I mention that my apartment is amazing?...

the living room


my bedroom


another shot of the living room