This week my roommate was very ill. She started feeling sick on Sunday when she came down with a sore throat. On Monday she didn't go to school because she had completely lost her voice and was starting to feel nauseous. I didn't see her at all until Tuesday afternoon and that was just in passing as she was going back to bed. On Wednesday when I came home she was watching a movie in the living room and laying on the floor. She was sweating and shivering at the same time. Later the director of the school came by and said she should probably go to the hospital. When we moved her to the ground floor, I was on one side of my roommate and the director was on the other. She needed so much physical support because she was so weak.
At the hospital, they put my roommate in a wheelchair since she was shaking so badly. It turned out she had a 102 degree fever and some sort of an infection. We were there for a total of three and a half hours. When we came home she was even able to walk by herself. She took the rest of the week off so she could heal completely before returning on Monday. I am lucky enough to not have gotten sick! I would not mind if I didn't get sick at all while I'm here.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Getting a Chinese Visa
For Spring Break, my cooperating teacher invited me to go with her to Shanghai! I was all over that idea, however, I needed a Chinese visa in order to go. Today one of the male student teachers and I went to the Chinese Government office in Macau. When I finally got my visa, I had gone back and forth to the visa office on three separate occasions because they needed more documentation.
On Tuesday, we left after our morning classes and took the shuttle to one of the hotels that put us within walking distance to the visa office. When we got to the visa office, we had to fill out a form but when we went to the teller at the counter, we were told we needed more information explaining where we would be going, a letter saying where were currently living, and our flight itinerary. Disappointed, we left and tried to find a taco stand that he had eaten at before with no luck =[ However, we did find a nice Portuguese restaurant. I had lobster and shrimp bisque, seafood pasta with squid, octopus, calamari, shrimp, and mussels. It was really good. I didn't care for the squid though, a little too tough for me. At least I tried it!
When we got back to the school one of the Chinese teachers gave me a stamp with my Chinese name inscribed into it: Er mei lin. It means beautiful flower and precious stone. I use this to stamp the students' handbooks after then turn them in with their parent signature in the morning.
The second time we went back was Wednesday morning with a letter from the school explaining that we are student teachers and will be entering mainland China for our spring break and then returning to Macau. They still didn't let us get our visa. Since I'm going to Shanghai, they wanted to know how I'm getting there, where I'm staying, and how long I'm going to be there. When we left the visa office we tried to find the taco stand again and had success! Unfortunately, it was closed until about an hour later. We decided it would be fun to have lunch at the top of the Macau Tower because there is a buffet for fairly cheap. When we got the tower, we found out that like the taco stand, the buffet wouldn't open until after we needed to be at school. So, we ended up eating at a small cafe on another floor in the tower. The Macau Tower is the tallest building that you can jump off of, its about 100 feet taller than the Space Needle. One of the male student teachers bungee jumped off of it the first week he was here! I'm pretty sure I won't be doing that. After lunch, we took the city bus back to school except the bus went on a very long route and we ended up going to the end of the cycle and had to get on another bus. I used the time on the bus to rest and take a little nap.
When we got back to school, I talked to my cooperating teacher about what I still need before they can give me a visa. Since it takes about 4 days to process visas she said I should go back that day so I would have it in time for spring break. After getting the rest of the paperwork I needed, I got a cab and went back for the third time to the visa office. Since the others had changed their mind about going to mainland china, I went by myself which was fun. When I was at the visa office, I was talking to the lady at the counter for about a half an hour. She seemed reluctant to give me a visa but finally did thank goodness!
On my way home, I tried to walk to the post office to pick up a package but got a little turned around and ended up getting a cab to drive me there. As it turned out I wasn't nearly as far away as I thought I was. When I got to the post office, it turned out the package that I got a notice for was the one I already picked up. Oh well. At least I got some exercise!
It was such an ordeal trying to get my visa but I was finally able to go pick it up on Monday which was earlier than I had anticipated.
On Tuesday, we left after our morning classes and took the shuttle to one of the hotels that put us within walking distance to the visa office. When we got to the visa office, we had to fill out a form but when we went to the teller at the counter, we were told we needed more information explaining where we would be going, a letter saying where were currently living, and our flight itinerary. Disappointed, we left and tried to find a taco stand that he had eaten at before with no luck =[ However, we did find a nice Portuguese restaurant. I had lobster and shrimp bisque, seafood pasta with squid, octopus, calamari, shrimp, and mussels. It was really good. I didn't care for the squid though, a little too tough for me. At least I tried it!
When we got back to the school one of the Chinese teachers gave me a stamp with my Chinese name inscribed into it: Er mei lin. It means beautiful flower and precious stone. I use this to stamp the students' handbooks after then turn them in with their parent signature in the morning.
The second time we went back was Wednesday morning with a letter from the school explaining that we are student teachers and will be entering mainland China for our spring break and then returning to Macau. They still didn't let us get our visa. Since I'm going to Shanghai, they wanted to know how I'm getting there, where I'm staying, and how long I'm going to be there. When we left the visa office we tried to find the taco stand again and had success! Unfortunately, it was closed until about an hour later. We decided it would be fun to have lunch at the top of the Macau Tower because there is a buffet for fairly cheap. When we got the tower, we found out that like the taco stand, the buffet wouldn't open until after we needed to be at school. So, we ended up eating at a small cafe on another floor in the tower. The Macau Tower is the tallest building that you can jump off of, its about 100 feet taller than the Space Needle. One of the male student teachers bungee jumped off of it the first week he was here! I'm pretty sure I won't be doing that. After lunch, we took the city bus back to school except the bus went on a very long route and we ended up going to the end of the cycle and had to get on another bus. I used the time on the bus to rest and take a little nap.
When we got back to school, I talked to my cooperating teacher about what I still need before they can give me a visa. Since it takes about 4 days to process visas she said I should go back that day so I would have it in time for spring break. After getting the rest of the paperwork I needed, I got a cab and went back for the third time to the visa office. Since the others had changed their mind about going to mainland china, I went by myself which was fun. When I was at the visa office, I was talking to the lady at the counter for about a half an hour. She seemed reluctant to give me a visa but finally did thank goodness!
On my way home, I tried to walk to the post office to pick up a package but got a little turned around and ended up getting a cab to drive me there. As it turned out I wasn't nearly as far away as I thought I was. When I got to the post office, it turned out the package that I got a notice for was the one I already picked up. Oh well. At least I got some exercise!
It was such an ordeal trying to get my visa but I was finally able to go pick it up on Monday which was earlier than I had anticipated.
Monday, April 16, 2012
My Worst Day Here Yet..
Monday March 26, 2012
We all have bad things that happen, today just happened to be one of those days when everything kept spiraling downwards.
It all started with my travler's checks. When I was getting ready to go, my parents bought my some travler's checks to cash once I arrive and got settled thinking it would be easy to cash them since any bank should accept them. Not so. It is nearly impossible to cash them! The casinos will but they give you Hong Kong dollars instead of MOP. Anyway, I was in contact with the principals daughter who is a diretor at one of the casinos and is helping us sort our finicial issues out. She advised me to take my checks to the bank across the street and I shouldn't have any trouble. At lunch I went to the bank and they told me to sign all three lines on my checks so I did and then the teller examined them and decided that they couldn't cash them because I signed on all three lines. Um, what? Didn't you just tell me to do exactly that? The manager came out and told me they had to contact another department and determine if anyone in their bank would be able to cash my checks and that I should come back at 3:30pm. Ok, fine. While I was back at school I had another problem: my thumbdrive crashed.
Now, those of you who know me know that I have the worst luck with technology. I'm not really sure how I manage this, but I do. About a half hour before I was told I was going to be teaching a class alone and had to prepare something, my thumbdrive crashed. When I plugged it in it was imply not being read by the computer yet it still showed that there was some data taking up space. Since I didn't have time to try and figure it out, I just came up with something and emailed it to myself to use in class. Still, not what I was hoping would happen during my student teaching experience.
After school, I went back to the bank to find out that they indeed cannot cash my checks because I signed on all three lines. You can imagine I was furious since I was directly told to sign on all three lines. I tried to take them to the bank across the street but they wouldn't cash them either. How weird it is that cashing travler's checks is this difficult?
Finally time to go home! Such a long day. As I'm walking upstairs after getting groceries, I realized I left my keys in my apartment. Instead of knocking super loud on the door, I wanted to ask the manager if he had a spare I could use since I knew my roommate was sick and still in bed. Well when I went down the tweleve floors to the main desk and asked conveyed the message I was locked out, he proceeded to call a locksmith instead of give my a key. When I realized what he was doing I told him I would just go up and try to knock on the door again-I didn't want to have to pay to get into my apartment! Thankfully at that time the two male student teachers came down stairs and I told them what was going on and they said they'd go upstairs and bang on the door while I kept talking to the manager. I was trying to get him to understand that my roommate was sleeping and I will go knock loudly, he did not need to call a locksmith but he did not understand. When I was about to give up, a resident who spoke both English and Catonese came by and translated for me but said that he called the locksmith and he's already on his way. She said it would be fine and I shouldn't worry about it since the two male student teachers were able to get my roommate to open the door. Relieved I went upstairs, but accidentally went fourteen floors more than I needed to, and proceeded to but this day behind me. By the time I had finally started to relax, someone banged on my door. I thought it was just the two guys, but it was the locksmith demanding to be paid since he drove all the way here. I was furious! I fought him for a while saying I don't owe you anything, I'm in my apartment, you didn't help me, I don't need to pay you, but he was stil demanding $200 MOP. He would not leave! I was starting to get scared because he was getting close to the door and no one else was around. I finally agreed but told him I was only going to pay him $100 MOP. He didn't like it but he accepted it.
What a long day!! Good thing that's over with. Always something to learn from.
We all have bad things that happen, today just happened to be one of those days when everything kept spiraling downwards.
It all started with my travler's checks. When I was getting ready to go, my parents bought my some travler's checks to cash once I arrive and got settled thinking it would be easy to cash them since any bank should accept them. Not so. It is nearly impossible to cash them! The casinos will but they give you Hong Kong dollars instead of MOP. Anyway, I was in contact with the principals daughter who is a diretor at one of the casinos and is helping us sort our finicial issues out. She advised me to take my checks to the bank across the street and I shouldn't have any trouble. At lunch I went to the bank and they told me to sign all three lines on my checks so I did and then the teller examined them and decided that they couldn't cash them because I signed on all three lines. Um, what? Didn't you just tell me to do exactly that? The manager came out and told me they had to contact another department and determine if anyone in their bank would be able to cash my checks and that I should come back at 3:30pm. Ok, fine. While I was back at school I had another problem: my thumbdrive crashed.
Now, those of you who know me know that I have the worst luck with technology. I'm not really sure how I manage this, but I do. About a half hour before I was told I was going to be teaching a class alone and had to prepare something, my thumbdrive crashed. When I plugged it in it was imply not being read by the computer yet it still showed that there was some data taking up space. Since I didn't have time to try and figure it out, I just came up with something and emailed it to myself to use in class. Still, not what I was hoping would happen during my student teaching experience.
After school, I went back to the bank to find out that they indeed cannot cash my checks because I signed on all three lines. You can imagine I was furious since I was directly told to sign on all three lines. I tried to take them to the bank across the street but they wouldn't cash them either. How weird it is that cashing travler's checks is this difficult?
Finally time to go home! Such a long day. As I'm walking upstairs after getting groceries, I realized I left my keys in my apartment. Instead of knocking super loud on the door, I wanted to ask the manager if he had a spare I could use since I knew my roommate was sick and still in bed. Well when I went down the tweleve floors to the main desk and asked conveyed the message I was locked out, he proceeded to call a locksmith instead of give my a key. When I realized what he was doing I told him I would just go up and try to knock on the door again-I didn't want to have to pay to get into my apartment! Thankfully at that time the two male student teachers came down stairs and I told them what was going on and they said they'd go upstairs and bang on the door while I kept talking to the manager. I was trying to get him to understand that my roommate was sleeping and I will go knock loudly, he did not need to call a locksmith but he did not understand. When I was about to give up, a resident who spoke both English and Catonese came by and translated for me but said that he called the locksmith and he's already on his way. She said it would be fine and I shouldn't worry about it since the two male student teachers were able to get my roommate to open the door. Relieved I went upstairs, but accidentally went fourteen floors more than I needed to, and proceeded to but this day behind me. By the time I had finally started to relax, someone banged on my door. I thought it was just the two guys, but it was the locksmith demanding to be paid since he drove all the way here. I was furious! I fought him for a while saying I don't owe you anything, I'm in my apartment, you didn't help me, I don't need to pay you, but he was stil demanding $200 MOP. He would not leave! I was starting to get scared because he was getting close to the door and no one else was around. I finally agreed but told him I was only going to pay him $100 MOP. He didn't like it but he accepted it.
What a long day!! Good thing that's over with. Always something to learn from.
The Ripple Effect
Monday March 28, 2012
Don't be fooled by the title; this isn't a lesson in science. This is a story of how my roommate staying home because she was very ill effected my students (strange huh). On Sunday my roommate was not feeling good and deicded to see how she was feeling on Monday to see if she would be able to make it to school or not. On Monday morning she had no voice and felt like she'd been hit by a bus. I guess you can conclude she did not go to school that day. Normally that has not been a problem since she was out sick on antiboitics once before and it was fine. Today was a little different though.
In the afternoon my students have English Games with one of the other English teacher and myself. Since my roommate was sick my co-teacher had to go teach her class by himself and I had to teach my class alone. I only found out about this twenty minutes before I was supposed to teach too. So, insanely stressed, I had to figure out something to teach. I was thinking I would do somthing with the "uck" word family since they were reading a story called The Ten Little Ducks. In the time I had, I was able to create a simple powerpoint and worksheet so I thought I'd be fine. Unfortunately, my class had other plans. Getting my kids to settle down in the afternoon is nearly impossible. I believe this is because they get no recess and any breaks they have are inside the classroom so they have no mental differentiation of where they can be rowdy and where they must be calm. Anyway, I could not get them to calm down. I tried awarding check marks to students who were paying attention, removing check marks from those who were being disruptive, putting students on the wall who were't listening, and having students who were saying "be quiet!" talk into the microphone to tell their peers to settle down. Nothing worked. I finally decided to proceed with my lesson weather they were going to listen or not. I was beyond frustrated. Nothing that I tried was successful.I tried to push through as best I could and had those who were listening talk into the microphone, only problem was the disruptive students were not listening.
I know this is a learning experience and I won't have all the answers now, but it's so frustrating when that happens day after day. It makes me feel like a faliure.
Don't be fooled by the title; this isn't a lesson in science. This is a story of how my roommate staying home because she was very ill effected my students (strange huh). On Sunday my roommate was not feeling good and deicded to see how she was feeling on Monday to see if she would be able to make it to school or not. On Monday morning she had no voice and felt like she'd been hit by a bus. I guess you can conclude she did not go to school that day. Normally that has not been a problem since she was out sick on antiboitics once before and it was fine. Today was a little different though.
In the afternoon my students have English Games with one of the other English teacher and myself. Since my roommate was sick my co-teacher had to go teach her class by himself and I had to teach my class alone. I only found out about this twenty minutes before I was supposed to teach too. So, insanely stressed, I had to figure out something to teach. I was thinking I would do somthing with the "uck" word family since they were reading a story called The Ten Little Ducks. In the time I had, I was able to create a simple powerpoint and worksheet so I thought I'd be fine. Unfortunately, my class had other plans. Getting my kids to settle down in the afternoon is nearly impossible. I believe this is because they get no recess and any breaks they have are inside the classroom so they have no mental differentiation of where they can be rowdy and where they must be calm. Anyway, I could not get them to calm down. I tried awarding check marks to students who were paying attention, removing check marks from those who were being disruptive, putting students on the wall who were't listening, and having students who were saying "be quiet!" talk into the microphone to tell their peers to settle down. Nothing worked. I finally decided to proceed with my lesson weather they were going to listen or not. I was beyond frustrated. Nothing that I tried was successful.I tried to push through as best I could and had those who were listening talk into the microphone, only problem was the disruptive students were not listening.
I know this is a learning experience and I won't have all the answers now, but it's so frustrating when that happens day after day. It makes me feel like a faliure.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Panda Park & Macau Sites with the Kindergartners
While I'm doing my student teaching I have gotten opportunities to go on field trips with the kindergartners which was so much fun. The first field trip I went on was to the Taipa Panda Park which only opened last year. This was so much fun! The pandas were absolutely adorable. In addition to pandas, there were also Ostriches, Monkeys, and different types of exotic birds. This field trip was during the morning so the kindergartners could come back to school and have time for their lunch and nap before their afternoon lessons.
The second field trip I got to help supervise was a week later with a different kindergarten class. On this field trip, we went into Macau and visited the Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral. I'm glad I had a chance to visit the Ruins before the field trip so that I already had a chance to read about the history and really explore it. When I went with the kindergartners, we went through the site very quickly just to look at it and take pictures. After going to the cathedral, we went up to the Macau Fort which had a lot of really old cannons and overlooked the city. It was really beautiful. On our way back to school, we stopped by a part of Macau that was near the water and gave the students a chance to use the bathroom before getting back on the bus. I loved being a part of the kindergartners field trip. I think they are so precious! When we got back to school, they were so exhausted from all the walking. We were gone for about an hour and a half which is a long time for three year olds! I have no doubt they all took a really good nap that afternoon.
The second field trip I got to help supervise was a week later with a different kindergarten class. On this field trip, we went into Macau and visited the Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral. I'm glad I had a chance to visit the Ruins before the field trip so that I already had a chance to read about the history and really explore it. When I went with the kindergartners, we went through the site very quickly just to look at it and take pictures. After going to the cathedral, we went up to the Macau Fort which had a lot of really old cannons and overlooked the city. It was really beautiful. On our way back to school, we stopped by a part of Macau that was near the water and gave the students a chance to use the bathroom before getting back on the bus. I loved being a part of the kindergartners field trip. I think they are so precious! When we got back to school, they were so exhausted from all the walking. We were gone for about an hour and a half which is a long time for three year olds! I have no doubt they all took a really good nap that afternoon.
Last "Important" Lesson
Hello all,
I've decided to change the way I'm doing my blog. I'm sorry if that throws you off but I can't keep up with updating it everyday like I thought I would be able to. From now on I am going to write my updates on events that happen while I am over here.
Tuesday March 20, 2012
In this lesson I focused on teaching how to complete the worksheet I had created. At the beginning of the lesson, I reviewed what "important" was and asked volunteers to tell me something that was important to them. After we reviewed what "important" means, I brought my Important Poster out and had the students read it with me. I used the poster as guided practice so the students would be able to do the worksheet during independent practice. During this lesson, what went well included giving my students an opportunity to discuss what was important to them, writing various fruits on the board, introducing the Important Poster, calling on students to share ideas for what should go on the poster, and having the students do a rough draft of their worksheet. What did not go well included giving students a chance to draft their ideas before copying them on the final draft, and not giving students enough ideas of different vocabulary words to use on their sheet. Next time I teach this I will let students to actually come up to the board and write their suggestions on the Important Poster instead of just writing what they tell me, I will write all the fruit I can think of on a poster beforehand to save time, I will ask students what their fruit can be: can it taste good, can it smell good, is it big or small, it is smooth, it is sweet, it is sour, it is juicy, is it slimy?
After teaching this lesson, I decided I wasn't going to do my TPA on this learning segment because I wanted to focus on something that would have a deeper impact on the students.
I've decided to change the way I'm doing my blog. I'm sorry if that throws you off but I can't keep up with updating it everyday like I thought I would be able to. From now on I am going to write my updates on events that happen while I am over here.
Tuesday March 20, 2012
In this lesson I focused on teaching how to complete the worksheet I had created. At the beginning of the lesson, I reviewed what "important" was and asked volunteers to tell me something that was important to them. After we reviewed what "important" means, I brought my Important Poster out and had the students read it with me. I used the poster as guided practice so the students would be able to do the worksheet during independent practice. During this lesson, what went well included giving my students an opportunity to discuss what was important to them, writing various fruits on the board, introducing the Important Poster, calling on students to share ideas for what should go on the poster, and having the students do a rough draft of their worksheet. What did not go well included giving students a chance to draft their ideas before copying them on the final draft, and not giving students enough ideas of different vocabulary words to use on their sheet. Next time I teach this I will let students to actually come up to the board and write their suggestions on the Important Poster instead of just writing what they tell me, I will write all the fruit I can think of on a poster beforehand to save time, I will ask students what their fruit can be: can it taste good, can it smell good, is it big or small, it is smooth, it is sweet, it is sour, it is juicy, is it slimy?
After teaching this lesson, I decided I wasn't going to do my TPA on this learning segment because I wanted to focus on something that would have a deeper impact on the students.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Day 29
To end a nice relaxing weekend, I went and explored Macau with the male student teachers and a fellow teacher from the school. It was nice because it was really sunny and hot out. This was the first time I wore shorts since I have been here, it was so nice!
To get to Macau, we took the casino shuttle across one of the bridges to one of the many casinos and then walked to the square which was about a 20 minute walk- not that bad. When we got to the square we met up with the teacher from our school and started to make our way to the ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral. On our way, we stopped at a local Thai restaurant and it was SO good (however, I was really hungry which is the best appetizer for any meal).
After lunch we continued to make our way up to the ruins of St. Paul. On our way, I noticed there was a free wine tasting and asked the guys if they wanted to go in with me. They did but I was the only one who tried some wine. It was an Italian red wine, very good. I took some notes for my wine journal which I left at home unfortunately. When we got to the top, one of the student teachers went up to the lookout with me and the two teachers below took our picture. It was really cool! Behind the ruins, there were more parts we were able to explore that had beautiful paintings and ceremonial pieces.We spent some time taking in the culture there and then went over to one of the cemeteries. Since I have never been a fan of cemeteries, I was a little freaked out to spend too much time there. While we were in there, I got bit by a few mosquitoes which was really annoying!
After we left the cemetery we went to one of the parks which was so beautiful. There was a really lovely fountain in the middle of the park and there were plenty of plants and flowers. As I was walking around the park, I noticed there was a local band playing with a singer. I listened to them for a little bit and then moved on. This park had a pathway that went up and around the corner to another part of the park. This was set with different raised stone platforms where people could play Chinese dominoes, dance, play their instruments, or read the paper. The way everything is set up is so delicate and particular. Everything has its place. Its extremely peaceful. When we left the park we walked around some more and decided to head to an art gallery which had some really intricate pieces of art. Outside of the gallery was another cemetery that we checked out for a little bit before making our way back down the ruins of St. Paul's. We were planning to go to Fisherman's Wharf but there wasn't enough time since one of the student teachers wanted to go to church at 6 and it was already 5. To make everything easier we just all went to church with him. It was a Portuguese Catholic church in English which was nice. Since I don't belong to any religion, I just sat politely and listened but did not directly participate in the activities such as bowing, praying, going to the alter, and giving change. However, it was a nice ceremony and a very lovely church. The teacher who was with us from the school was explaining that when he was younger he came over from the Philippines on a mission trip and lived in the houses next to this particular church for two months while he was studying to become a pastor and then after some time changed his views drastically and now identifies as an agnostic. I thought his process through finding what he is comfortable with was very interesting. The ceremony lasted about an hour and a half. I think this was called Laten Mass since it's during lent.
When the service was over, we were all so exhausted we decided to go home and get ready for school the next day.
I'm really glad I was able to explore Macau and really see where I am living. It is SO crowded! This is the most densely populated area in the entire world! I had such a great time exploring the city.
To get to Macau, we took the casino shuttle across one of the bridges to one of the many casinos and then walked to the square which was about a 20 minute walk- not that bad. When we got to the square we met up with the teacher from our school and started to make our way to the ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral. On our way, we stopped at a local Thai restaurant and it was SO good (however, I was really hungry which is the best appetizer for any meal).
After lunch we continued to make our way up to the ruins of St. Paul. On our way, I noticed there was a free wine tasting and asked the guys if they wanted to go in with me. They did but I was the only one who tried some wine. It was an Italian red wine, very good. I took some notes for my wine journal which I left at home unfortunately. When we got to the top, one of the student teachers went up to the lookout with me and the two teachers below took our picture. It was really cool! Behind the ruins, there were more parts we were able to explore that had beautiful paintings and ceremonial pieces.We spent some time taking in the culture there and then went over to one of the cemeteries. Since I have never been a fan of cemeteries, I was a little freaked out to spend too much time there. While we were in there, I got bit by a few mosquitoes which was really annoying!
After we left the cemetery we went to one of the parks which was so beautiful. There was a really lovely fountain in the middle of the park and there were plenty of plants and flowers. As I was walking around the park, I noticed there was a local band playing with a singer. I listened to them for a little bit and then moved on. This park had a pathway that went up and around the corner to another part of the park. This was set with different raised stone platforms where people could play Chinese dominoes, dance, play their instruments, or read the paper. The way everything is set up is so delicate and particular. Everything has its place. Its extremely peaceful. When we left the park we walked around some more and decided to head to an art gallery which had some really intricate pieces of art. Outside of the gallery was another cemetery that we checked out for a little bit before making our way back down the ruins of St. Paul's. We were planning to go to Fisherman's Wharf but there wasn't enough time since one of the student teachers wanted to go to church at 6 and it was already 5. To make everything easier we just all went to church with him. It was a Portuguese Catholic church in English which was nice. Since I don't belong to any religion, I just sat politely and listened but did not directly participate in the activities such as bowing, praying, going to the alter, and giving change. However, it was a nice ceremony and a very lovely church. The teacher who was with us from the school was explaining that when he was younger he came over from the Philippines on a mission trip and lived in the houses next to this particular church for two months while he was studying to become a pastor and then after some time changed his views drastically and now identifies as an agnostic. I thought his process through finding what he is comfortable with was very interesting. The ceremony lasted about an hour and a half. I think this was called Laten Mass since it's during lent.
When the service was over, we were all so exhausted we decided to go home and get ready for school the next day.
I'm really glad I was able to explore Macau and really see where I am living. It is SO crowded! This is the most densely populated area in the entire world! I had such a great time exploring the city.
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