busy busy week!

Hi! Well, I am learning what it feels like to work two jobs! My teaching has been going great at the university. I teach 4 classes on Monday and Friday, 3 classes on Tuesday-Thursday. My students are mostly great, but there's always some who would rather chat than listen to the teacher, which is expected. But I have been having fun getting to know them. I have run into my students in several places as well. I live in the same building with at least 2 of my students, 2 of them came to hang out at a church event, I ran into 3 students at the National Museum, and sat with one of my students on the bus while I was going to the park. It's a little unexpected for me since last term I hardly ever saw my students outside of class, but it's a nice change :D. One thing that helps is that I live a lot closer to the university. One of my students gave me a Thai snack today after class. Apparently that's not normal for students, which is good because it means she doesn't see me as high as other teachers. Sometimes the student-teacher relationship is hard to overcome. It has also been encouraging that some of my students from the past year are still coming up and talking to me. :D

Then, after work, I head over to the church to hang out with friends and help with events they have to reach out to students at the university. This past week we had a game night on Friday night which was a lot of fun :D. Two of my students came, which was really nice :D. I met those students at the English Camp too. It is nice to see the relationship develop. Their English is really good :D. In addition to my two students, every time I sat down, someone else would come up to me and want to practice their English. While I totally welcome people practicing their English with me, it is a tiring event. After 5 people, I need a break. However, from 6:30 to 10:45, there was no time for a break. We built a lot of relationships, played Uno, Phase 10, ping pong, or some other games, and enjoyed hanging out with people. My students had a good time and I hope they'll come to other events too.

On Saturday, we took some of the foreigners and some of the students from the game night to the Grand Palace and National Museum. It was a lot of fun, but also a long day of walking around in the sun. It was this day I ran into 3 of my students. They actually had smiles on their faces when they saw me and talked with me for several minutes as well as a few of the foreigners who came into their class one day. Normally foriegn teachers do not talk to their students outside of class, so my students were probably a little shocked, but I like talking with them.

After all this running around, it was nice to rest on Sunday. Spending time in the parks is my favorite way to escape.

Please pray for 2 events we're having this week. First, Tuesday night we're having a concert with my superstar friend. He's a Christian and closely affiliated with my church and he's giving a free concert to attract students. Also, one of the foreigners will be singing some songs as well. Pray this will be a good time. Also, this weekend we're having a retreat for students. It will be fun and a good time to share the gospel and build relationships.

May God bless you all as you go through this week with God leading you.