Angeline and Elizabeth

Today's blog is dedicated to my lovely housemates, Beth and Angie.

As many readers know, I had some serious incompatibility issues with my last Berkeley housemate.  After all the drama I experienced with her, I was a little anxious about moving in with two complete strangers.  Luckily the folks on the ELC search committee did an excellent job of finding me two very kind, funny, hard-working, and lovely people to work and live with and for that I am most grateful. 

Here are a few things I really like about each of them, just so my readers can get to know them better.

I'll start with Beth, since I met her first.  Beth is very easy-going and down-to-earth.  She is good with plants and she sweeps the floor when she's tense, so our apartment is always looking nice thanks to her efforts.  She really likes the outdoors, so I often enjoy going on walks with her.  She's also a good companion for adventures, because she doesn't get uptight when things go wrong. When I arrived in Macau, it was late in the evening and she was already in bed when I got in.  So the next morning, we got up, introduced ourselves and headed across the street to McDonald's for our first meal together.  We've been going every Sunday morning since then and usually spend the time talking about our families, the challenges of teaching, our beliefs, life in China, and any number of other interesting topics.  Always an enjoyable way to process the week and get ready for another one.  Thanks Beth!

Angie is always joking and almost always laughing or smiling.  She loves to stir things up and gives you a hard time every chance she gets, but can also be incredibly considerate when you least expect it.  She is very interested in race, culture and diversity, and did her previous teaching work at a high school in the L.A. ghetto.  I have a lot of respect for her dedication and we've had some great discussions on these difficult topics.  She likes to sing and play guitar and is very talented, so I get to enjoy the benefit of listening to her practice on a regular basis.  Although I tease her about being so much younger than I am (8 years?) she's really fun and I feel more energized after I hang out with her, which helps me to be more productive in my work.  Thanks Angie!

Both these ladies came into this year with more teaching experience than me, and so they've both been a great help in giving me ideas for lessons and boosting my confidence when I get freaked out.  It's been a great first three months together and I'm looking forward to some more fun time in December.  I just found a place that will rent me a scooter, so adventures are in order.

This photo was taken by our fellow teacher, Chris.