Brunch in Puxi

So on my way off campus yesterday, I ran into one of the visiting foreign teachers on her way out. I was able to offer her some assistance since she was trying to tell her friend how to tell a taxi driver how to get to the school. I ended up talking on the phone with the cab driver and he understood right away. Things like that make me feel good.

I met up with Lucy and we went to an "Element Fresh" in Puxi. I'd been to Element Fresh in Pudong, but not for breakfast yet. I had pancakes, bacon, and a fruit smoothie. All delicious! We chatted and caught up since we hadn't seen each other since the jazz festival. We also talked about getting together for Halloween.

After that we went to a French Expo a few blocks away. We walked up and down the row of booths, stopping to look a few times at things that looked interesting, but we didn't end up buying anything. After stopping for a quick bubble tea, we parted ways since I need to finish getting ready for classes today. I made a quick stop at a book store on my way back to the metro. Here is my bounty:
I bought a book on learning Chinese. It's higher level. Looked like a good mix of stuff I already know and stuff I still need to learn. I also bought the bright orange book on the right which is full of familiar fairy tales. I am trying to read "Snow White" at the moment. The first sentence, once I translated all of it, is lovely: "bright clean white snowflakes fluttered in the sky". It sounds better in Chinese though. Snowflakes are literally "snow flowers", and fluttered is a loose translation for 飞舞 , which means "fly, dance". Also pictured is some new sudoko, since I am ripping through the book I brought, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Chinese. I am setting my sights high!

Today I started teaching the middle ages. I found a way to make sure my students pay attention. I told them I would probably give them a quiz on it. I'll probably instead have them play a trivia game and count participation as a quiz grade, with an extra point or two for the team that wins.

I really wish I had some real costumes or armor or weapons to bring in and show them. *sigh*

I can't seem to keep myself from worrying too much. Are my students learning? Are they interested? Will I run out of stuff to talk about in class today? Am I grading fairly? Do they understand me? I feel more comfortable in front of a class now, but the more I do this, the more I find to worry about.

Bah. I need to work on stuff for class.

Love and hugs,
Steph