Miss Kendra

"Miss Kendra! Miss Kendra!" My days are filled with this name reaching my ears. I teach 3 classes here at Berhan: Morning Kindergarten, Kindergarten Enrichment, and Basic Reading and Writing Enrichment.  My MK and KE classes are preschool age children and my reading and writing class are about kindergarten age. They are all so cute and so smart!  I used to think that I never wanted to teach because I didn't think I would be able to handle a class of young students, and didn't know if I would enjoy it.  I have proven myself wrong. So far I am loving teaching. You may wonder why I came to Taiwan to teach English if I didn't think I would particularly enjoy it or think I could do it, right?  Well, I thought I would give myself a challenge and broaden my capabilities.  I'm glad I did.  After my reading and writing class on Friday I was laying on my bed and I thought to myself, "I love teaching.  I could maybe continue this path and teach more in the future."  We'll see if I still have these same thoughts after the end of this semester though.
Sometimes I get frazzled when activities I planned on taking 20 minutes only took about 7, the class gets a little crazy and won't listen to me, a child can't understand English and starts crying... but it's all worth it.  By the end of the class I realize that I have been able to help these students learn something new, and they continue to teach me.  Best of all is when I find myself smiling from little things my students do or say.  When I'm surrounded by 3 or 4 kindergarteners at a time giving me a hug during one of our activities, when Jenny tells me she loves me, Bryson thinks it's so cool that we are wearing matching shirts (well they were both black anyways, but it was close enough for him...), and Katrina telling me "Miss Kendra is so so pretty!". And I've only had 3 days of teaching.  I'm looking forward to many more challenges and students putting a smile on my face.