Author: chadwickbaldwin

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About chadwickbaldwin

A Canadian teacher in China

Day 8: Canada.

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We have just finished our first week in Canada, and it has been very relaxing.

Not a day-by-day like last time, but: Since arriving at Grandma’s home, we have been to the Harbor Quay multiple times. We went to Sproat Lake with my brothers and family. We also got some banking done.

Harbor Quay is a park just off of downtown that has a playground for the kids. It is right next to the straight between Vancouver Island and the Mainland.  So you are looking out over the water from there.

On weekends, there is a “Farmer’s Market ” that sells mostly crafts and jewelry at the Quay. There are also some great Fish & Chip shops, ice cream shops and souvenir shops there.

A short walk from the park, near the harbor itself is a lighthouse you can go in.

I met my younger brother and had a great time talking with him. Then, the next day, he joined us and my older brother to Sproat Lake.

Sproat Lake has a rocky beach, which sucked because no one in my family brought sandals or water socks. But we got to see petraglyphs, and my daughter swam while we snacked and caught up.

Day 3: Canada

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Today has been good, but the last 2 days were an adventure.

On July 1st, we boarded our flight to Incheon, South Korea. But before we could do that, the ticketing agent had difficulty with giving my wife a ticket. She had an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization ) instead of a standard VISA).

She had to go off with a supervisor and fill out papers manually for them to figure out how to use their computers…

The short flight was fine after that, but when we arrived in Incheon, we had less than an hour to go through security again and board the new plane. We  were rushed and ended near the tail of the line.

Due to this, our carry-on luggage had to be placed in overhead bins half the plane away. This meant no travel neck pillows. There was a lot of turbulence,  and the meals included soup…

I didn’t get any on me, which was great.

The shuttle bus to the airport was very handy, but I had forgotten how fast Canadian drivers are in comparison to Beijing.

June 2nd, we discovered a problem with my bank card, which made breakfast difficult. We ended up paying with our Philippine card because even the Chinese card didn’t work there.

So, first day awakening in Canada, we had to go to the bank. Apparently, because I had been out of the country for so long, my account was marked as deposit only. We got that fixed, or we wouldn’t go anywhere.

The ferry over to the island was relaxing. Our first Uber ride to the ferry was great.

During the ferry ride, I downloaded the app for the taxi company in Nanaimo. I reserved a 6 seater van for taking us to my mother’s home, 2 hours away. They sent a regular car.

So after discussing with the driver,  our situation, they canceled our reservation because apparently they only had 1 van, and it was unavailable..

Just after that driver left, another company’s van pulled up, and the man was very helpful.

Along all of this, the 3 ladies (my wife and daughters ) had been either suffering from or recovering from motion sickness.

Anyway, we are safe and happy in Port Alberni Canada.

Stay tuned for more of our trip.

Distractions needed…

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I have been busy distracting myself. Today’s panic attack made me realize this.

This year of work, has been a hard year for the whole school. For months, it felt like a doom cloud was cast over everyone. Morale tanked, in the staff and many students, solutions that were implemented to mitigate this made things worse for a while, and it wasn’t until about a month ago that I, personally started to feel a bit of positivity.

I have been having a hard time focusing on what should be focused on lately. I have a few days left to get report cards finished, and I have not been able to focus on those. I find myself trying to steady my mind everyday and get work done, but some days I just stare at the computer screen with my headphones on for hours. I haven’t even been able to focus much on D&D, which is my usual distraction.

During class time I try to focus on helping the children and explaining things, but as soon as their individual work begins, every sound or action grabs my attention, and tears me away from what I need to be doing.

Last week I had my formal observations, which I felt was terrible. I was trying to help the kids, and focus on the students I was conferring with, but the rest of the class must have picked up on my lack of focus, because as soon as the principal was there, they couldn’t focus. I had students dancing, making airplanes, playing with the class calendar, every action except what they were supposed to be doing, working on their fairy tale story that they are authoring.

Today during lunch, I had a full on panic attack. I was watching the cafeteria, as was my duty, but suddenly my heart began racing a mile a minute, my legs grew weak, and I had to sit down. I couldn’t breathe. I had to close my eyes and focus on breathing for a good 5 minutes.

…and then an hour after lunch, I had my meeting with the principal about my observed class. He was reassuring that I was doing everything I was supposed to do, and to not let it bother me, but I still just felt terrible.

I need this upcoming holiday.