TESOL and Other Ponderings

So, as many of you already know (hopefully), I am starting out with teaching English for the first six weeks. I am doing this to fulfill my Practicum in order to earn my TESOL certificate by the time graduation rolls around. :D This is my first time teaching...ever. The first lesson I gave was nerve wracking, but I survived and have adjusted quite well. There are obvious areas of improvement, but overall, for a beginner, I believe I am doing well. My students seem to enjoy it and I thoroughly enjoy teaching. However, I am still unsure if I would want to do this full-time or not. Perhaps part-time teacher and part time...something else? haha I am trusting that God will put the pieces together over time.

Aside from teaching, I am getting to know a lot of the full time staff here fairly well. I am taking any opportunity I can to learn about life as a missionary from people on the field. It is a great opportunity for me, as well as my time at Simpson!

My old roommate, Becky, moved out and is now living with one of her friends. I now have a new roommate, Brooke, who is also a short-termer, doing sports ministry. However, Brooke is going through some hard times and is very homesick (to the point where she is already wanting to go home). Please keep her and her family in your prayers even though I do not feel it is my place to share the details.

One last update:
my placement for the outreaches during the last six weeks have been finalized! Fist I will be on a construction team helping to build a playground. Then, I will be on a trekking team that walks from village to village to help at various churches. Lastly, I will be on the river team, which sounds like a Moldovan version of Conquest. We, as a team, build a raft and float down the river for over a week. no showers. legit camping. I can't wait!

Hope everyone is having a blessed day and week! 
Thank you very much!
Mulţumesc foarte mult! 

My first week

Again, I would like to thank you all for your prayer and support during my time overseas. I can't believe that, starting tomorrow, it will have already been a week since I landed in the airport here. Since arriving I have already gone to a Moldovan wedding, I will post pictures on facebook as soon as i am able. The wedding was nice and a new experience for me. The drive there was about 2 hours long and I had some kids from an American missionary family constantly talking to me and wanting to sit on my lap. The church was very small and crowded. I do not know how many people were there, but I would guess a couple hundred, crammed into a room that was smaller than a living room. Yet, they probably would put more people in if they needed. I did not understand any of the preaching since it was all in Romanian, but I was able to understand most of it. The pastor talked for about an hour and then they blessed the couple. The pastor prayed as well as the mothers of the bride and groom. During the reception there was tons of food. I ate till I couldn't eat any more and then...MORE FOOD! haha. I tried as many things as I could even if I didn't know what it was. Good thing I don't have any allergies. The only thing I didn't like was chicken in a jello like substance. I'll try and find a picture or ask someone what it is called, but I don't think I will be cooking it anytime soon.

Other than that, so far I have been getting to know the people I am working with and getting adjusted to Moldova. Many of the people who work in the OM offices are native Moldovans, many of whom I am teaching English. However, other than the couple that I mentioned above I believe I am the only person from the states. Many are from other parts of Europe, Britain, Holland, Austria, Germany, etc. As such, I am getting a very interesting blend of cultures all at once.

Yesterday there was a nice thunderstorm followed by a power outage (naturally right when I started my lesson plans). The guys that live downstairs, Pavel and Andrei, came up and joined my roommates, Bekcy and Albina, and me and we watched Remember the Titans. Today, I was supposed to teach at 9 am, but the 2 students that were supposed to come didn't show, so it's been moved to 2. My supervisor seems to be very apologetic about it, but it doesn't bother me at all.

I'm finally here!

Yesterday I landed in Moldova around noon Moldova time and was quickly introduced to so many people here at the OM base that I still cannot remember all of their names. I was here for little less than three hours before I was invited to a wedding tomorrow. Everyone here seems very hospitable and welcoming. Naturally, being ten hours ahead I am undergoing jet lag, but it isn't as bad as I was expecting. I went into the city today with my roommate, Becky. Cisinau is a beautiful city and more like LA than I was expecting. Minus the fact that most people speak Romanian and proxemics tends to be a lot closer than I am used to, it is not much different. Claudia, my supervisor, has been very helpful so far in helping me adjust and prep for teaching. I am lucky to be working with her. I cannot wait to see what the rest of my time here will be like :D

A couple cultural differences that I have learned:

1. there is a "superstition" that if you keep a window open in a moving vehicle the wind will make you sick. Since there is no AC on the buses it makes it very warm during the summer.
2. Whistling indoors is said to summon evil spirits.

Thank you everyone for your continued prayer and support!
I guess that there is nothing left to say but "buna ziua" (good day)!