Summer Camp Begins!

So on Monday my morning class started again—summer camp—and I was oh-so-happy. I missed those kids so much!

Five of my seven kids are back—just Enoch and Jasmine aren’t here. I have four additional kids: a girl—Sara—and a boy—Boris—from the other English class at the school and two boys—Samuel and Joy—who were not in the English program but in the class next door, so we at least look familiar to each other. So there are nine kids.

It’s a little tricky because I already have a strong rapport with my five from before and the other four are a little scared of me, particularly Samuel and Joy, who are not used to hearing and speaking English so much. But it’s Friday now and the new four are warming up and I’m trying to give them as much encouragement as I can.

On Tuesday we had a fieldtrip to the sculpture park (Mike and I went there a what seems like bajillion years ago...or just October). I was anxious about it because it was really hot and I imagined us playing running games and dying of heat exhaustion. But luckily we just blew some bubbles under a bridge and then played with some dirt under the trees, so we were often in the shade.



This picture of Sara (right) and Nico didn't come out great, but here she is. When she isn't smiling she looks very intense and serious, but she has a great giggle.
This is Samuel. He's a little freaked out about speaking English...whenever I ask him a question, he says, "No!" But he's a real sweet kid, and I love his teeth.
This is Joy. He has the cutest smile when he laughs.

This is Boris--he's half Swiss, half Thai. He's making a silly face here, but he's adorable. We pronounce his name "Bo-hee" because that's a Chinese-speaking person's way of saying his name in French. The kid speaks French with his father and has picked up some Mandarin and some English at school. He loves kissing, especially the girls. Right now he's in love with Emily. She holds out her hand and he kisses it. He kisses me too, and he likes to use as much spit as possible...


And guess who I saw today at my morning school??? My old adorable nemesis...

MIA!!!

I heard "Laoshiii!" and I turned, and there she was! And she was in the room right next door! We were both very excited to see each other and she gave me a hug. We can't have a "So how are you? What have you been up to?" kind of conversation, so instead she pointed to my clothes and started reciting colors. "Blue! Purple!" I love that girl. I miss her and her shenanigans. I guess she's there for a summer camp of some sort. Yay!

Oh yeah, and I had Shao Hua for a few days. She recently got surgery to remove the giant disgusting blob that was protruding from her abdomen. She's a normal dog again! Well, as normal as she can be.
Before:
After:


So that was my exciting week. I'm glad to be back with my little guys. :)