We went on a city tour today. QD was occupied by Germans for a period of time so the old part of the city has alot of German/European influence. It's pretty. There are the villas that the higher-ups lived in. They looked like they were beautiful in their time. Now, they are split up into one room apartments. They are run down and shabby. It's sad. Land is at a premium, so every square inch is covered. Balconies that were open, now have walls and are rented out. Parts that were one-story, now have a second story. The beautiful wood has been used for fire and warmth. It's different. I always loved looking at that one street in every town that had the nice houses, beautifully restored and maintained. These would be incredible, but they are now multi-family living areas; packed in like sardines.
There were two churches on our tour: The Lutheran one and the Catholic Church. They are beautiful examples of architecture. ((Pictures on Picasa & Facebook)) There were couples outside the Catholic one taking wedding pictures. They were all done up in their finery. It is a tradition here to have the wedding picture done 6 months before the wedding. Hm. So... and I guess another thing that has hit the wedding photo trends here is having pictures done with stuffed animals. Hm.
School is going well. We are talking about being kind 2nd graders. And kind and lovely 2nd graders respect one another and say nice things AND follow directions the first time. Want to guess what is going on in our classroom?! ;-) It's going well... and I really do love them. I'm learning to be in the moment and be more expressive of positive encouragement. I'm learning more and more about myself, I'm not very verbally expressive. I can talk, and tell stories, and go on and on, but to say something in that moment, not so much. BUT, the Father is helping me be encouraging and say words that will help my children do their best and tell them when they are doing a wonderful job. I have foil stars (they love stickers) and so whenever I catch them being good, they get a star. It's great, they love it, it's easy for me to do, and everyone wants a star, so once I pull them out *boom* good class. The other cool thing is that the school has "houses" (think Harry Potter), and we can award "house points" for the competition. It's sweet... so we're going to be giving points for every star they earn = extra incentive. ;-)
A teacher from school was telling a story from a local preschool. The kids were playing red light green light. When the teacher called green, they all ran. When the teacher called red, they slowed down (but did not stop) and started honking their horns. :-D
Beth give the Bird of Paradise bunny ears
me and Kayla... after a long day of shopping and out with friends... I bought fish!
WOO! on the city tour... some of the ladies on the journey around the city!
SPLASH!!! had big waves... until Beth pulled her camera out... go figure! ;-)
MOON! It's the Mid-Autumn Festival on Monday. There's a big long story behind it, but something about looking at the same moon brings us all closer together... aw, Hallmark moment.
