Sank You, Teecha

I am feeling really good about teaching lately.  So many of my students have been going out of their way to tell me that I am a good teacher and they like me.  I would be satisfied with teaching as it is but now that I know that my students get a lot from my energy and enthusiasm.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are definitely my favorite days because I get citizenship and talk time.  I think part of it is the subject matter that I am teaching.  Laura and Alex have been teaching Vocational ESL classes for 8 hours a day the past 2 weeks.  I don't think I could get so pumped about that.  It is so endearing when they try to thank me.  Also, I think my name has been changed to "Teecha."  The "r" sound is really hard for speakers of Asian languages so it gets dropped a lot.  Asian culture is so welcoming and open to someone who is willing to make the effort.  Today, we had a new volunteer and we went out to dim sum after class.  He's a cutie from Hong Kong.  We had some pretty solid food and part of Chinese culture dictates that you have to make sure everyone gets enough to eat which usually means putting food on other people's plates.  My usual translator for class never eats that much so we kept piling food on her plate.  Once we had gotten our fill, the new volunteer stole the bill!  That is so typical Chinese except usually there is a fight for the bill and he stole it and went to pay before we could even try to take it.  I have had two of my students pass their exams so far but I had very little to do with their success.  I have two students that come in every week and do a mock interview/tutoring session.  Their interview is next month.  When they pass, I will feel really great because I had a large part in their preparation.