more than turkey day

Right now I'm laying on the couch in my livingroom. (which is more like outdoor wooden furniture with the thin tie on cushions) I'm listening to an amazing R&B artist- John Legend. Rachel is on the phone calling our teammates for spices because she's making stuffing for our Fellowship's Thanksgiving tomorrow. Our apartment smells like toast (for the stuffing), and the pumpkin spice candle I have lit. The weather has changed really quickly. A week ago I wore a short sleeves in the classroom and today I wore my winter coat all day, indoor and outdoor. The classrooms have no heating, so I 'm learning to never stand still. Right now, I should be working on my lesson plan for next week, but updating this blog sounded more fun.

Yesterday, we hosted a Thanksgiving feast at our apartment for about 20 of our US friends. There was football on TV (a recorded 2005 Texas A&M vs. Sooners game), live football on the school soccer field, a turkey (one of two in the city!), card games, and definitely a family atmosphere. Everyone in attendance were fellow English teachers that I've known since Day 1 in Los Angeles, except for a great family from another city that joined in. This family had two children, and they were given so much love and attention by the group of 24 year olds. The parents were such a blessing to be around, and added a breath of fresh air to our group.

I taught my students all about the Thanksgiving holiday and the lesson went very well. Until Wednesday afternoon, when I was in the classroom and was just getting started. I took roll and was moving a chair off the platform that I teach from. As I slid the chair off the platform, I straightened out from my bent position and came up on the sharp point of a rod-iron television case. I thought, "Ah, it's just going to be a painful bump". But I touched my head and my fingers were bloody. My students gasped, I made a face, and we all didn't move for about a minute. I tried to downplay the pain, but the blood wouldn't stop and I knew I needed to do something. I walked into the hallway and called Dan, the leader of my campus. I explained that I had hit the top of my head and was bleeding and he ran over to my teaching building. Needless to say the school cancelled that class. I learned a couple of things from that incident. Apparently, fruit is given to the hurting in China for their health. I had a steady stream of students stopping by for a couple hours dropping off apples, bananas, and oranges. There's no way Rachel and I will be able to make a dent in this fruit. Secondly, I learned that my students and the school officials are not afraid to touch blood. Little napkins covered in my blood were touched without hesitation. At one point I was sitting in the school office, with a wad of napkins on my head and about 8 teachers crowded around looking at me. It was awkward. All day today students would say something to the effect of, "Hello Miss Allison. How was your holiday? And what about your head?" News about the foreign teacher spreads quickly here.

My mom's surgery went well. She's was recovering at home after she snuck out of the hospital during a false hospital alarm. I'm pretty sure that right now she's in Hawaii, on beach, with her arm in a sling. Seriously.

My relationships with students are great! I'm having opportunities to study together, opening up before my eyes. Today I spent about 5 minutes in awe about how He works. Truly a moment of, "I'm not worthy!"