CHANGE IS INEVITABLE

Now what, you ask? Come find out!

VIPKids
With things being a bit squeaky-tight, it was time for me to look for a job. This wasn't as easy as you might think. We only have two cars: Ken takes the Honda to OKC for his work and Jonathan coordinates van use with me. Either he drives or I take him. What if we had conflicting schedules?

Also, there's Analiese. I didn't want a job that kept her at home alone a lot. She's doing much better with keeping up on her school work, but what if I wasn't there? Would things get done? Plus, Momma worries about her baby's safety. Then, there's her activities and meetings with her EPIC teacher and her occasional work. So, what do we do?

I'd heard a lot online and through FB friends about VIPKids. It's based out of China and it connects North American teachers (for the accent) with Chinese children to learn English! The requirements were that you had a Bachelor's degree (any subject) and some experience with children. Which I do! I did some research, decided it was legitimate, and decided it was worth applying for.

I had an online interview with a gentleman from China (!) Wednesday morning. He talked with me for a few minutes and then I presented a pre-prepared lesson to him, with him acting as a child. Afterwards, he gave me some feedback.

And...he hired me! Usually, you hear back with an email, but he hired me on the spot! On top of that, he gave me a higher pay rate than I expected. The starting pay is anywhere between $14-22 an hour. I'd hoped for a little more than the minimum, since I've had lots of teaching (albeit nonprofessional/ public school) experience, including online. But I don't have a teacher certification and I'm not ESL (English as a Second Language) certified. I had explained all of the experience I had, including my online experience, but also said I understood how ESL worked, having been in bilingual elementary classes for a couple of years as a child and having had to learn another language for my mission. I must have impressed him, because, while not the highest amount was offered, it was almost there! Ken was suitably impressed.

The next step is my certification with VIPKids. This is where I am trained to teach the way they want it (Example: They are VERY picky about correct phonetic pronunciation from the start) and to set up my classroom and my tech needs. Since it's going all the way to China (!), I have to have a strong internet connection and headphones with a microphone. My "classroom" has to have good lighting and needs to be in a quiet place.

My "classroom" in it's early stages...

Thursday I had a coaching session with a group of other potential teachers online. This was with a gal from the US. They want teachers who have a US or Canada accent (two of the teachers were from Canada!), so they are picky about accents, too. It was a fun session, practicing the lessons and learning to be physical (They call it TPR - Total Physical Response). We gave ideas for rewards systems (very important to the kids) and shared feedback with one another. And, yes, it's supposed to be fun. Chinese kids are pressured to do a lot of studying. We are encouraged to be as energetic and fun as possible so they want to be with us and enjoy learning English.

I'm in the process of creating my "classroom," which is basically the wall behind me. It needs to feel colorful and creative and encourage learning. Dollar Tree is becoming my go-to place for teacher supplies.

Next week I will try to pass off my certification for them on Tuesday. I have to pass one to be able to start teaching (well, before teaching I have a background check, paperwork, and a contract to sign). They have several levels, depending on the child's age and ability. I'm starting at the very beginning.

Yes, I'm a contractor so, yes, I have to pay the taxes. My mentor (yes, I have one) recommends just saving 15% of your income each month to go toward taxes. Yes, I have to work around Beijing time, but it's not as hard as you think. I work the hours I can (as many or few as I want, though they give you incentives for working more) and, yes, families have to sign up for me. After all the paperwork stuff, I'll have to focus on preparing an introductory video for families in China (!) to see and decide if they want me.

So I was busy this week, and will be next week. Of course, this is all on top of the holiday season now in full swing.

The Downside of the Festival of Lights
This weekend was Stake Conference. I really wanted to go Saturday to the evening adult session. It was being broadcast to our location (and other farther buildings) since the Stake is spread far and wide. I'd been working hard all day Saturday with absolutely everything (domestic and non) and looked forward to sitting down for a bit and being fed spiritually.

I left my house with ten minutes to spare for the meeting. It shouldn't have been a problem. That's about the time it takes. But I didn't take into account the Festival of Lights on a weekend.

I drove through the USAO campus to get to the main street at one end of town toward the Church. The traffic was backed up on that street for EIGHT BLOCKS before turning right on the road that leads to the park and - SIGH - the Church. What was I going to do?

Was there a back way in? I turned early onto another road to see if it would cut over onto the road the Church is on (think: main road, right on road to park, right on road to Church). Nope. Anything I got close to was too close to the park and blocked off. I also got consistently and fervently lost. I have no internal GPS and the one on my phone was not helping.

So I tried to go around, past the turn to the park and right onto the other main road (the two intersect at Walgreens) to get around there. I knew Ken had taken me down there some time and would bring me up the park road further and have me turn left at the Church. But, it is also a wooded road and, in the dark, I couldn't find it.

I was so frustrated. By then, it was twenty past the hour. I went home, got in my jammies, worked on some other Seminary stuff and then vegged in front of the TV. Disgusted with myself. And the crowds... you should have seen the mobs swarming all over the park and the stuffed parking lots. I dread the Branch Christmas dinner/party next Saturday and the youth activity the Saturday after. Ken has shown me another way in, but seriously! It could make a Grinch out of me!

PH - Reno, Nevada
I'm starting to get older here, so I have more memories of these times than of the past.

My parents liked Reno very well. They made good friends there and had a nice ward. It was a busy area, though not nearly as developed as it is now. I do remember some of the stores having slot machines in them and Mom & Dad would sometimes drive to Vegas to see shows. We're not gamblers; we like to keep our hard-earned money.

The school there was interesting in that they had some classes for deaf children there. They taught us a little sign language, though I don't remember any except the "Clean Up" Song (Think Barney the Purple Dinosaur though MUCH before his time!).

We got snow there, too, which was a fun adventure for us. Dad once came in the house in the morning with something in his hand. Could we guess what it was? I thought it was a foil-wrapped carrot. No, it was an icicle! I'd never seen one. At school, they had the classes compete to do snow sculptures. The winter I was there our class won because my teacher had the bright idea of mixing poster paint and water and using spray bottles to color our snow-dinosaur. That was fun.

I remember a little about the friends I made there. One was Shelly, a daughter of friends of my parents in the ward. We went to school together along with another girl we befriended named Lisa. Niles would tease me about them and call us all Michelly-Lisa. To this day, I don't like the nickname of Shelly. That was my friend's name, not mine! I was Michele. Still am, even though I have siblings (and now their children - thanks guys) who will call me Shelly. And they know better!

PIC

Pom flopped - a very contented bunny!