Illegal visitor

...that's me right now.

I have not taught any classes (at the school) since October 29th and continue to wait until the school gets my work visa in order. My tourist visa expired several days ago and the school was unable to get an extension for that. So, since I don't actually have a work visa at the moment that means I have no valid visa at all which means that I am an illegal visitor.

The local police is aware of it all and currently has my passport. I have passed several police officers on my way to the market these days and none of them have stopped or even approached me - though they do stare. They are definitely giving me (or the SCHOOL!) a break...which I am thankful for. Hopefully this will all be cleared up by next week so that I can start teaching again. I love the messages I get on my phone from my students though "I am sorry that you no longer teach us. We miss you!" and "I wish you could come back as soon as possible. We are all waiting for you!". Oh the love...

Even though I have not taught for a week and a half I did decide to sing 2 songs (Lean On Me and Life Means So Much) in the school's talent show last week with a bunch of my students. I can't say I've always wished I could sing in front of 3000+ people (mostly students) but think it would have been an embarrassment for the school if I had decided to skip out on that...and I am not here to embarrass the leaders of the school so I decided to suck it up and just sing. I am not sure how it sounded but some students ran up on the stage while I was singing and handed me flowers and there was a ridiculously loud applause afterwards both times so at least the crowd seemed satisfied. I am glad it is done and over with but did have some fun with it as well.

Since the she show I have been bogged down with a pretty nasty cold. The fact that I have not been allowed to teach has been a blessing. Finally today I am starting to feel a bit better.

In my free time I continue to bake, cook, go for walks, meet with students, read, and watch a borrowed movie every now and then. Two night ago I was also able to teach some other friends (who work at the community center) Life Means So Much...it was a fun little English class we had. Perhaps I should start working on making some lesson plans again because I have a feeling my little holiday will soon be over.

I am still alive and fairly well and thankful I did not have to go to Hong Kong to get this visa issue fixed up!

Thanks to all who have sent me emails lately...it's super encouraging reading those each time! I love to hear from you!

Ps. The Jack O' Lantern has officially rotted and will not be used for teaching purposes.