A long time coming...

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So...I'll make this short and sweet, just like myself!
I don't have the time, effort, will-power, or energy to continually update this thing. However, with that said I am attaching a nice little email I wrote to my parents in leiu of my inability to actually speak to them on my father's brithday. No pictures...again I'm sorry and I really don't have anything super new to report. As usual, I hope this finds each and every one of you enjoying your lives and constantly trying to make it a little bit better everyday!

So,
I'm sorry we haven't talked to each other in a while, especially as
Dad's birthday has come and gone. Did you do something fun? I called
you guys each night, but you were probably out on the town or
something along those lines.
I finally got a scooter!! One of my friends over here had to
unexpectedly leave and he sold everything he owned within 2 days. I
got his scooter for about $150USD, which is an unheard of price!! So
now I'm quickly learning how to drive it and the small nuansces that
come with driving with the 1 million other scooters on the road. I can
honestly say it is extremely fun, much like that video game "Frogger".
Dodge the bus, zoom past the old lady on her bike, and slam on your
brakes to avoid the taxi stopped in the middle of the road! I will
drive it work from now on, and I just got a cool snazzy helmet! I'll
send you a picture when I have time.
School is just as busy and hectic as ever. With more pressure on us
foreign teachers to get results, the stress level is at an all-time
high. My biggest obstacle is with the "watermelon billingual class".
There are 12 kids who have been in my class for the past 6 months, and
their english is pretty good and they make decent progress (for being
4-5 years old!) The other 8 kids in the class have never-EVER had ANY
formal education and they cannot speak a single word of English!
Trying to teach them sentence patters like "That is a plane" is
incredibly hard, considering they don't even recognize their OWN
NAMES! So, I try and do some of the harder things for the more
experienced kids so they don't get bored (while the less experieced
kids get restless) and then do some very remedial things (while the
more experienced kids get restless). It usually ends up in chaos or
Teacher Ty constantly screaming at everyone! But I am surviving!!

I finally went out with all my teachers in the school to a salso
dancing night at a club called Barrio! We had a great time and will
make it a monthly thing.
And when I'm not trying to keep my sanity in the classroom I am trying
my best to study Chinese. Its slow, but slowly paying off.

Anyway, Happy Birthday dad, I miss you over here, and I hope
everything is working towards Moscow. I have a couple friends who have
expressed interest in a possible TRANS-SIBERIAN railway adventure from
Beijing to Moscow over Chinese New Year! Wouldn't that be a crazy
trip?? I'll keep you posted.

I miss you guys and love you very much.
Ty

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Comments

[Suzanne]

hello Ty
We have just returned to Cairo after spending the summer in Houston. It was great to see your parents. They are busy getting ready for their move. I hope all is going well with you and I enjoy reading your blog. all the best, Suzanne

[Karol Watson]

Try singing with your students
Hi, Ty! You sound very busy. When I am trying to teach my Hispanic students English, I let them listen to books on tape, you know with the turn the page signals. Also, they like singing little nursery rhymes with a picture to go along with the song (like "Mary Had a Little Lamb"). Scott is off at college now...We are saying good-bye to your parents tomorrow. Love, Mrs. Watson

[julie hansmann]

howdy
Ty, it was sure fun having you with us at Shasta, and learning all those new words, I had some TI candy left and have been making my friends eat them, very interesting they say. Hope all is going well and and I'll try and email you some Shasta picutures. Love, Aunt Julie

[Scott McCarter]

Enjoy your adventures
Ty - it is great to hear from you periodically and I really appreciate being on your distribution list. I just finished the Labor Day weekend and played in the Calcutta Volleyball tournament with Ron McElhany and a two others. We could have used you! Brian Lewis (ex-AVP player) played with three scrubs and still schooled all other teams. Getting ready to head to the River with Al LeGaye in a few weeks. Back to school for my kids in two days. Hailey is a junior this year and she made the JV Volleyball team so we are all excited. Volleyball is really on the rise at Laguna Beach HS so there are big expectations for the 2006 season. This Saturday is the 22nd annual Aquathon where we go from Emerald Bay to the Ritz Carlton in Monarch Beach. Go to Aquathon.com to check it out. Enjoy your continued adventures. Scott.