2/26/2016

Dear Mom and anyone else who may be reading this: I'm sorry it took me so long to write again. I've been dying to email you, so you know I'm okay, but we've had issues with our Wi-Fi. We figured out that we'd unplugged something that needed to stay plugged in, and since we've plugged it back in, it's been working okay. I started at Wuzhong Primary School. ("Woo-Jong") I wasn't sure how it would be, going to a school where I felt like the agency just put me so I'd have somewhere to go, but from the first moment, everyone has been so kind and friendly. You'd think I was the coolest person ever, the way the kids grin and wave as I pass. They stare at me in awe, as if I was a rock star or an angel or something. I love how all the little children say hello all the time. Sometimes they even come talk to me. Like, the other day, some girls came and knocked on the door of my office, but no one came in, so I went and opened the door to see who was there. I guess they were feeling shy, because they had gone and hidden in the next office. They told me their names, but I'm not good at remembering Chinese names. And, today, a girl (maybe one of the same ones) came and gave me a picture she had drawn. She drew me in a princess dress and wrote a note saying, "You very very beautiful. You very very lovely. You is good teacher." I haven't even started teaching yet, so I don't know what she's basing that off of, but it made my day. I'm scared I'm going to get a big head with all this attention. The little kids at Wuzhong aren't the only ones that like me. There are two young women at the school who are about my age, and we became fast friends. Their English names are Alisa and Yuki, and they are very nice. In China, when you make new friends, one of the first things they do is ask for your WeChat number. I had to tell them I don't have WeChat, because my phone broke before I could get one. Alisa said she had just bought a new phone and I could use her old one. So, now I have a phone! I tried to offer her some money, but she said to just return it before I go back to America. Once Alisa gave me the phone, she and Yuki helped me set up a WeChat account. I'm pretty sure WeChat works in America, so if you're interested in getting one, my WeChat ID is chelseywa23. (I'm not saying you should or that you have to, I'm just putting it out there. It's really more a thing in China.) I'm still figuring out where things are in my area in Suzhou. I knew how to find Chengxi Middle School, and then I had to change schools, so then I had to learn the way to school all over again, and I even got mixed up on the way to school this morning. But, I've got it down now. I can make it from our complex, Mei zhi Guo ("may jer gwah") to Wuzhong and back again. I'm excited (and nervous) to finally start teaching, on Monday. I get students years 1-5, which is ages 7-13, I think. It works differently in China. I've been telling all the Chinese teachers and students who can't pronounce "Wadsworth" that they can call me Miss Wa. I've read through all the text books that their Chinese English teachers teach out of, and I've come up with enough lesson plans to get me through Monday. I need to do more for the rest of the week, but tomorrow I will be busy, as I've been invited to go with the other teachers at Wuzhong to go hiking on a nearby mountain. (I'm excited for that!) Luckily, I never have any lessons before lunchtime, so I'll have plenty of time to prepare. How are things in Lincoln County? I think of you all the time. My friends love seeing the picture I have of you. How is morning scripture study? How far have you gotten by now? What are you doing for family home evening? And, do you have any ideas for fun, educational classroom activities? (I've got it for now, but I will take any help I can get.) I want you to know that there are several English girls who have learned about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because they came to China and met me. I love you. Good luck with everything. Love, Chelsey <3