Survival of the fittest.

Of course, the first day I'm supposed to be in the classroom, I'm not. A "death bed" bug bit me like nobody's business and caused me to be invalid on Tuesday. I felt terrible (mentally and physically)... what a way to make a first impression on your supervisor, huh? Well, my friends, if there's one profession that is very understanding of illness, it's the teaching profession. If you're sick, don't come 10 miles within a flock of children. If you do, you will witness a domino effect of coughs, runny noses, and disappearing tissues. And since I don't get sick very often, it hit me hard. I'm still hit pretty hard with this cold (which is only exacerbated by this insane freezing weather), but I wanted to write down some things before I forgot... because after this, I am crashing.

The first day back was so great (despite my feeling like ultimate crud)... the kids were very welcoming with laughs, smiles, and leg hugs. A kept turning around in her seat and then called out, "You're pretty, Miss Chelsea!!" Of course, my ears are deaf with congestion and typical malfunction and didn't hear this. "What??" "I said you're preeeeeeetty, Miss Chelsea." Apparently, you're pretty if you keep your hair down for warmth and don't wear your glasses because when you're sick, clear objects bother you. :P It was cute nonetheless. She and I bond over pandas. :) Which reminds me I need to get my panda photos developed to show her...

Anyhoo, we went on a field trip today to the Chinese Cultural Center... and that was just way too cool. Kids learned how to count in Chinese (Mandarin), write some characters, make Chinese lanterns with red envelopes, make dumplings, use an abacus, play mah-jong, and watch traditional dancing. I'm beat, but it was pretty neat. Great experience for the kids. I had hoped to get more photos of the activities, but sadly, didn't remember until later. We came back to the school and wrote about it... and kind of had a low key day.

An awesome moment today was that I met some of the parents... and they were like "OH! You're THE Miss Chelsea." Yeah, I smiled pretty wide. I felt special... and yeah, it was an awesome feeling being acknowledged. S's Mom was super nice (the kind of mom I want to be) and gosh, if I had had time, I felt I probably woulda spilled my life story to her! She was really encouraging about my wanting to get the kids more aware of the community around them and getting them involved with service. Sooo... that may be my inquiry project (which I found out today that is my grad program's requirement, not the state's) instead of higher-performing kids, especially since my CT suggested I do that one anyway.

So, I'm alive and kicking so far. About to finish my first week... I'm plum tired! I'm SO glad I don't have to take any real classes this semester. It's totally worth the extra year and tuition.

My new supervisor is really awesome, too, by the way. She knows her stuff and gets down to organized business. I love it! This'll be a good semester.

I'm just hoping that this sickness kicks the bucket asap.

- Miss Chelsea :)