I've realized something that probably everyone who knows me already knows: I am not a chatter. I love discussions, like "how can we reverse globål warming on a local level?", but just shooting the breeze I'm not good at. And it's not fun. I think I get this from my parents. When I went out to dinner with them, we talked about random things for a little while, but then there was a long, silent pause. Finally, my dad said, "So, what dya think's going to happen with the Middle East situation, then?" We are incapable of small talk, I guess. Which is what makes "TEAM BUILDING DAY" so hard for me. I usually just keep asking questions and let the other person just talk about themselves...and then try to shift conversation to current issues. Like, "Speaking of your vacation in Beijing, how is China going to cope with the growing automobile market without making concise driving regulations? And if every middle class Chinese person buys a car, how will they all fit?" I don't think my colleagues like my segues or topics. Oh well ;)

I'm so excited to be here, but I wish I could just focus on organzing my classroom. I LOVE organizing, making posters, and rearranging. Oops, it's almost 12 and I need to get to our next group activity!