It’s the end of my first week here at Tanghu Elementary. As a girl from a small village in the United Kingdom, coming to such a big city and school has been a huge change. So far I've gotten lost, not been able to speak to anyone, and had the entire contents of the Pacific Ocean rained on my head. Needless 

to say I love it. Despite having more children than I have ever seen before in my life, Tanghu Elementary manages to maintain a community atmosphere. The staff could not have been more welcoming, and have somehow managed not to throw my computer (or myself) out of the window when trying to help me fix it. I'd like to thank my fellow English teachers for letting me sit in on their lessons this week, and for their most helpful advice on everything. I’d especially like to thank Jeff for his continued kindness in showing me around Shuangliu. The children all love practicing their English by coming and repeating ”hello” like parrots to me thousands of times a day, which never fails to bring a smile to my face. Seeing how polite and well behaved they are makes me think back to my own time at school, where I was more likely to be found turned around and talking than concentrating on my work. From my own experiences, I hope I can encourage the children I teach to do exactly the same-turn around and talk in English! I look forward to meeting all those I haven't had a chance to talk to get, and to working with the fantastic children and staff of Tanghu for an amazing year of learning. Best wishes!