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Student Affairs Journal

WEEK 1

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2/27/17 MONDAY 
Today, I did not do much work with Student Affairs. I attended a meeting with them regarding the school website. The team discussed the layout and design of the website. I was not much help because most things were discussed in Chinese and the meeting documents were also in Chinese. The staff in Student Affairs was unable to switch my computer’s language from Chinese to English.


2/28/17 TUESDAY 
Every Tuesday at 2pm the Student Affairs Department has a meeting. This meeting is to discuss various things. From the meeting today, I learned that the Chinese Government limits the number of students the university is allowed to recruit and also how much the university can charge for tuition. 


3/1/17 WEDNESDAY 
Today, I was able to go with Michelle and set up my Chinese class. I will attend Chinese class every day from 8am to 10am. I was able to meet with my professor and get my required textbooks. In the afternoon, one of the MIS students was able to restore my computer and change the language to English. Also, I helped the girls cut out name tags for the evening Welcome Dinner for the Professors from RIT and from Lancaster University (LU). 


3/2/17 THURSDAY 
This morning we had a meeting regarding complaints from parents about students being too loud in the dormitory building late at night. The conclusion was to find the students who are misbehaving and give them a warning. If the warning is not enough, we will take action. 
In the afternoon, I met with the Captain and Co-Caption of the English Debate Club. These students practice and prepare for what is called the BP (British Parliament) Debate. I spent a long time with these students figuring out how I can help them. We decided to meet four times a week. During these meetings I will help the students improve their English speaking, writing, and debate skills. I can tell these students are very dedicated and well-behaved.

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3/3/17 FRIDAY 

This morning I gave the Student Affairs staff members their first English lesson. We began with introductions. As each person introduced themselves, I corrected their sentences. Next, each person was instructed to write down two things they did in the past using the following phrase to start: "When I was...." Each person picked one sentence and wrote it on the whiteboard. We corrected the sentences together. Then, we discussed the "Word of the Day." Today's word was "scared." We defined various synonyms for this word and each person said something that they are scared of. Finally, we picked out English names. 

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3/4/17 SATURDAY

The English Debate Club held their first practice today at 10am. The Vice President led the practice. Michelle and I watched the practice while taking notes on the students' performances. The debate topic was whether universities are liable for students committing suicide. The debate was very interesting and the students performed quite well. At the end of the debate, the Vice President, Michelle, and I gave the students feedback and tips. 

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WEEK 2

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3/6/17 MONDAY

English Class #2 for the Student Affairs Staff. Today, we learned about colors. We talked about the rainbow colors and more! I also handed out the spelling words for the week. We defined these spelling words together and on Friday, I will give them a spelling test on these words. Lastly, each member wrote a sentence on the whiteboard describing what they did over the weekend.

At 9pm, I attended the Student Union meeting. This group consists of about 15-20 students. During the meeting, several issues were discussed. After the meeting, a few students stayed and asked me to give them ideas of activities that the girls might like. Because girls in China do not typically enjoy sports and like to stay in their dorm rooms, it was difficult to find ideas that the girls would like to do.

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3/7/17 TUESDAY

This morning I had breakfast with 3 students in the British Parliament (BP) Debate Club. I will meet with these students every Tuesday morning for breakfast. We will discuss daily activities and many other random things. The goal of this breakfast gathering is to give the students more opportunities to practice speaking English. This also allows me to get to know the students more so that I can help give them advice/tips on their debating. 

This afternoon we had our weekly All-Hands Meeting. In this meeting we introduced two new colleagues and discussed various university issues such as the students' living situations and some advertising tasks. 

Tonight was my first meeting with the students who need extra help in English. I found this to be the most challenging of my tasks because these students are at varying levels of English. This group will require a lot of preparation.

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3/8/17 W(omen's)EDNESDAY!

In the morning, I taught the staff English. The topic was animals. I introduced many animals to the staff and then had each member tell the group what their favorite animal is and what color that animal is. We also picked out a name for a new employee. 

Today is Women's Day. To celebrate this, the women staff all got together to play some games. There were 4 games total and you were scored on each one. The first was a jump rope contest between two teams. Two men made the jump rope go around and us ladies had to run through. The next game was also a jump rope game, but for this game each player had to get as many jumps as possible on their own in a 50 second time period. There was also a basketball toss game and a potato sack race. Because it is Women's Day, the men were there not to participate, but to administer the games. 

After work, the Student Affairs Office went out to dinner in order to celebrate three new employees. The evening was filed with lots of toasts, food, and fun!

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3/9/17 THURSDAY

Today I mostly worked on preparing materials for the English classes and upcoming meetings. In the afternoon, Michelle, Jennifer, Bob, and I met with a director to discuss me teaching a group of Chinese students who, later on, will go to colleges in different countries. The details are still to be finalized. 

At 4pm I met with 4 students from the English Debate Club. We discussed an article that I sent them on Saturday. The article was about Donald Trump and the 90-Day ban on Muslims. We discussed this article for an hour and a half, which was much longer than expected. The conversation was very productive and informative. The students who participated said they really enjoyed the article and the discussion. I look forward to future meetings with this group!

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3/10/17 FRIDAY

This morning, Michelle and I had a meeting with Kathy (English Professor) and another RIT Employee to discuss the RIT VR 360 Project that will take place on our campus next week. Anna Dining from RIT will come to Weihai to take photos and videos of the students, the campus, and the surrounding areas. 

Later in the afternoon, I held a Study Hall for students in English classes. These students worked on their essays which are due at the beginning of Week 4.

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3/11/17 SATURDAY (Arbor Day)

In the morning, many students and staff went to plant trees for Arbor Day. One group went to a village and the other group went to a cemetery. At each location, the volunteers worked for about 3 hours.

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WEEK 3

 

3/13/17 MONDAY

This day was quite uneventful. The staff were all too busy to have English class. In the evening, another student and I went to the airport to pick up a guest from RIT NY.

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3/14/17 TUESDAY

A FULL DAY of VR 360 with Anna Dining. Today, an RIT Student, Anna Dining, came to shoot VR footage of our campus. The schedule for the day was packed full! We went to the seaside in the evening to capture some photos and to have dinner. 

At the end of the day, I held the study hall for the students in the English classes. The students' papers are due this weekend; so, they all worked very hard during this time.

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3/15/17 WEDNESDAY

This morning the staff had their first spelling test. After the test, the staff learned about office supplies and time perspectives. 

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3/16/17 THURSDAY

Today at 2 PM I gave a presentation to students who will study abroad (mostly to the US). I taught these students how to give a proper introduction. Then, I described to them what one of my school days is like. I have discovered that the Chinese students (most of them) are very shy. This sometimes makes it difficult to engage them in group activities.

At 4 PM, I met with the English Debate Club to discuss two articles on the LGBTQ. The first article I assigned to them was called "What is the LGBT?" and the second article was called "What does the Q stand for in LGBTQ?" Our discussion was very interesting and all of the students who participated were very interested in the topic. Starting next week, we will hold these meetings on Monday nights so that more people can come. I really enjoy these article discussions because it gives me a chance to learn more about the topics.

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3/17/17 FRIDAY

In the morning, the staff members were given a new list of spelling words. We briefly went over the words and definitions. Then, I played an English song for them. The song was "Don't Forget to Remember Me" by Carrie Underwood. The staff were given a piece of paper with the lyrics of the song. Some of the lyrics were missing; so, the staff had to listen to the song and fill in the missing words. Many of the staff liked this song a lot. Finally, each person gave a mini presentation stating what they hope to do, want to do, and will do this year. 

In the afternoon, I held a study hall for the students taking the English class. The students worked very hard on their essays (which are due on Monday 3/20).

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WEEK 4

 

3/20/17 MONDAY

This evening I met with the Debate Club to discuss an article on Poverty. We discussed how the poor in America and in China live. Many of the students believe that poverty will always be an issue. We also talked about religion and whether it is popular in China. These article discussions are very interesting as we all learn many things about different cultures and ideas.

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3/21/17 TUESDAY

This morning I had breakfast with two students from the English Debate Club. We discussed a little bit about American culture as well as future Debate Club Meetings. Tomorrow we will meet during the lunch break to have a mini debate. The goal of the mini debate is to get the students to think more critically during their debate.

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3/22/17 WEDNESDAY

This was a very fun day for the staff in English class. Everyone learned about body parts. Then, I taught the staff the "Head, shoulders, knees, and toes" song. This was a fun class. 

During the lunch break, I met with some students of the debate club. We had a "mini debate." The topic for this debate was "Teachers should be able to interact with students on social media (high school)." The mini debate was very effective in teaching the students to think more critically. 

Throughout the entire day, I reviewed four students' papers. These papers are due on Friday, so the students really appreciated my help. 

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3/23/17 THURSDAY

Today, I mostly studied Chinese. I have a test tomorrow and there are MANY vocabulary words and phrases I must remember.

In the morning I reviewed a paper with a student. I think the student learned a lot from this because I was able to give more explanations for why some sentences did not make sense or were not appropriate.

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3/24/17 FRIDAY

Today, I worked on designing a poster to advertise "English Corner" which I will start next week. "English Corner" will be on Tuesday and Wednesday nights for a half hour. During this time, those who attend the meeting will listen to English songs and try to fill in the missing words.

During the afternoon, I met with the students who are re-taking the English class. At this time, the students read the article for which they must write their next essay. In our next meeting, we will discuss the article.

In the evening, there was an award ceremony to recognize various students for their great videos. There were also many other performances including some guitar playing and singing. The students are VERY talented.

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3/26/17 SUNDAY

Tonight there was a dance party in the lounge room. I have noticed that the Chinese students do not usually mix /hangout with the International students as the only Chinese people who attended the dance party were the International students' teachers. There were snacks and drinks provided and all the students had a great time!

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WEEK 5

 

3/27/17 MONDAY

Throughout the work day, I mostly prepared various documents for future projects/tasks. 

In the evening, I met with the Debate Club to discuss an article. This article discussion led the group to many different topics. Because the club has a new leader, we set new meeting times and activities.

At 9 PM there was a Student Union Meeting. At this meeting, I discussed two events with students: a prom and a carnival. The meeting was very productive as we determined our next action items and set deadlines. 

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3/28/17 TUESDAY

This day, I worked on creating a PowerPoint presentation for Jennifer's class. I will give this presentation on Thursday, and I will talk about "What and How to Pack" when going abroad. I also prepared various documents for English Corner, which will be held tomorrow night at 9:15 PM. In the afternoon, I prepared an evaluation form for the staff to fill out. This form would assess the English classes. I want to know how they like the class and if there is anything I can do better. 

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3/29/17 WEDNESDAY

This morning I taught the staff about different kinds of clothing items. Then, I gave the staff a crossword puzzle and word search puzzle for different kinds of clothes. We also discussed their new vocabulary words. 

In the afternoon, I assisted Michelle in translating a document into English. Then, I finalized the English Corner materials and the PowerPoint for Jennifer's class. 

This evening was English Corner. It was a success! There were 19 student/staff participants, Chinese and Russian. Everyone said it was a lot of fun and very interesting. Hopefully more people will attend English Corner in the future!

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3/30/17 THURSDAY

Today I prepared for the staff's English lessons that will be tomorrow. In the afternoon, I talked with Jennifer's class about What and How to Pack for going abroad. We had fruit and various snacks/drinks together and discussed other topics after the presentation. 

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3/31/17 FRIDAY

This morning, I spent most of my time choosing songs for next week's English Corner. I have received positive feedback from many of the participants. Everyone asks if English Corner is only once a week. Depending on time, I may hold an English Corner two times a week.

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4/1/17 SATURDAY

Today, I had class and work. This day was considered a Monday as we do not have class on Monday or Tuesday next week. In the morning I played an April Fool's joke on the staff. Some of the staff provided feedback saying that the English lessons have been too easy. I picked 30 difficult vocabulary words and handed them to the staff during class. I told them they needed to search the definition of each word and write 2 sentences for each word. After about 10-15 minutes, I told the staff "April Fools!" We watched the first episode of "New Girl" for the remainder of class. They were all very thankful that they did not really have to do what I first assigned. In the afternoon, I gave the Debate Club the evening off. Many of the students planned to travel home for the break and would be unable to attend our meeting.

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WEEK 6

 

4/3/17 & 4/4/17 MONDAY & TUESDAY

Break - No school or work.

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4/5/17 WEDNESDAY

This morning the staff were too busy to have English class, so we will have class on Friday at 2pm. 

During the day, I worked on creating a flyer for an upcoming event: Spring Carnival! I had a meeting with the student in charge of organizing this event. We discussed some action items and set deadlines for completing various tasks. The remainder of the day, I prepared a song for English Corner. 

In the evening, we had English Corner. Tonight, not many students came. There was only 11 participants. I think the holiday break made it so that everyone was really busy. I hope it is not because people did not like the last English Corner time. Tonight's song was much more difficult than the last song. I think it was a little too hard for the students. Next time, I will choose a little easier of a song.

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4/6/17 THURSDAY

Today was not so busy. I mostly prepared various materials for the upcoming weeks. I also spent some time working on my MIS Capstone project.

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4/7/17 FRIDAY

Today, I taught English to the staff. I found some YouTube videos which I think are very useful for learning English. The videos play a short scene of popular movies. The scene is played once without subtitles, and then again with subtitles. Then, some key words are discussed and we watch the clip again. I plan to use these videos in future lessons. 

In the afternoon, I met with one student who is struggling in his English class. I spent almost two hours with him trying to help him understand various sections of his essay. Sometimes it is very difficult to explain things to students. I wish I knew mandarin fluently because it would make it much easier for both me and the students I am helping.

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WEEK 7

 

4/10/17 MONDAY

This morning, the staff were too busy to have English class. I have discovered that Mondays are VERY busy days for the staff. Today, during the break, there was a soccer game between the International students and the Chinese students. The International students crushed the Chinese students (9-0). The International student team consisted mostly of Kenya students who are VERY VERY good at socer. The Chinese team consisted of all freshman.

In the evening, I met with the Debate Club. We had a mini debate. The topic was "This house believes that home schooling is better than public schooling." This was challenging for the students; however, all of the students performed very well. 

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4/11/17 TUESDAY

Today, I met with students to discuss the Spring Carnival. We are off to a good start! We will handout sign up sheets in all classes to see how many students are interested in coming to the Carnival. We also invite the students to give us any game/activity ideas they have. The students who are working with me to organize this event are very bright and bring great ideas to our discussions. 

In the evening, I met with the students who require extra help in English. I helped explain what their next essay is about and what should be included in the essay. It is difficult to explain sometimes; however, a student who has great English skills was there to help me explain and translate. 

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4/12/17 WEDNESDAY

Today, I worked for a little while on my MIS capstone project. Then, I gave English lessons to the faculty. We listened to two different songs. One was quite easy and the other was very hard. Then, we watched a short clip from The Blind Side. The staff really enjoy listening to music and watching movie clips because it helps them practice their listening and comprehension skills. 

At night, I held English Corner. Only 6 students were able to come this time. Because midterms are coming up, I think many students preferred to study instead of coming to English Corner. We listened to "Where were you" by Alan Jackson. This was a great song to show how 9/11 affected America. 

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4/13/17 THURSDAY

This morning I made some updates to the Spring Carnival documents. Later in the day, I met with Elijah and Misty to go over our next action items. 

In the evening, Elijah and I visited the International Students' classrooms to tell them about the carnival and give them the sign-up sheet. We received great feedback from these students. It appears as though our carnival will be a hit!

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4/14/17 FRIDAY

Today, I worked a lot on the database for RIT. I talked with an RIT representative last night to clear up some things about what to include in the database. This was my main task of the day. I also planned a trip for the students and RIT staff to go to KunYu Mountain on Saturday. 

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WEEK 8

 

4/17/17 MONDAY

This week it seems as though the staff are extremely busy with recruiting activities and other student events such as sports activities. Also, there will be a big sports competition/performance on Sunday. Many students and staff have been practicing their performances every day for at least 1 or 2 hours. English class was cancelled due to everyone being so busy. I have much to complete this week before leaving for Anhui on Thursday. 

Today, I worked on gathering students to paint a cardboard box that we will use to collect plastic bottles. We will use the bottles to create a game for the Carnival. I also met with Elijah to go over all that we need to do for the upcoming weeks to prepare for the carnival. 

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4/18/17 TUESDAY

Today, I placed the cardboard box in the dorms and notified all students about this to encourage them to put their plastic bottles in the boxes. Also, I prepared many songs for upcoming English lessons and English Corner.

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4/19/17 WEDNESDAY

In the afternoon, I went to plant some trees on campus with many other students and faculty. The trees we planted were cheery trees and we planted them behind an academic building. 

Tonight there was a banquet to welcome new international teachers and bid farewell to those of us who will be leaving soon.  

I also had English Corner. There were about 14 students who participated. The song chosen was "Seventeen" by Alessia Cara. 

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4/20/17 THURSDAY - Leave for Anhui

This morning at 7:30am, 4 students, 1 teacher, and myself left for Anhui University in Anhui Province. 2 trains, 2 taxis, and 11 hours later, we arrived at our hotel. In the evening I worked on some Carnival activities. I sent a detailed list of action items for Elijah and Misty to complete over the weekend.

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4/21-23/17 FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY- In Anhui  Province with the Deabte Team

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WEEK 9

 

4/24/17 MONDAY - Return Trip from Anhui

Today, we left Anhui at 6:30 am. 2 trains, 2 taxis, and 12.5 hours later, we arrived back at campus. While on the train, I did as much work as possible without wifi. 

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4/25/17 TUESDAY

This morning I met with Lyndsey and Mery from RIT. We prepared for the connectivity event which would take place in the Activity Room at dorms. The activity took place at 10am and approximately 37 students participated. To learn more about the activity, read my blog post labeled "Juggling & Taichi."

I also created a small advertisement to send to the international students to ask them to join the Debate Club. After the Debate Competition, we proposed to President Bai that the club allow the international students to join. This would improve the students' English and debate skills. 

After the event for the students, we had lunch and returned to the office to discuss the event for the following evening. 

In the afternoon, I met with Elijah to talk about the Carnival. We chose which prizes to buy and finalized our budget and next steps. This took us about 2 hours. Then, after dinner, Misty and I visited the location in which the carnival will take place to see how much room there would be and how we could set up the room. Then, we visited three different shops to ask about providing food and drinks for the carnival. We visited the fruit store, Koca Tea shop, and the general shop above the cafeteria. All were happy to have the opportunity to provide food and also advertise their business :)

Finally, at 8:30PM I met with some girls on the cheerleading team. This team normally only performs dances; however, I taught them a simple stunt and cheer. We will perform the stunts to music, the cheer, and the dance tomorrow at the basketball game's halftime. 

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4/26/17 WEDNESDAY

This morning, Mery from RIT and I went into the RIT classrooms to promote the event tonight. I wore a tiger costume and did a cartwheel when entering the rooms. This really excited the students because they are not used to such things. We think we got them very interested in coming to the event. Also, Mery and I went to the supermarket to buy some supplies for tonight's event. 

In the afternoon, Mery and I visited two more classrooms to promote the event. Then, I organized the security guards to help us get the sweatshirts, tables, and other supplies to the basketball courts. I also organized a groupchat for the debate club including the international students interested in joining the club. 

In the evening, President Bai so kindly invited us to dinner at the hotel on campus. We had a lot of food and everyone enjoyed our time. Before the dinner I met with Lyndsey to discuss the possibility of me returning to the campus post-graduation.

At night, the real action started happening! I was the RIT Tiger mascot! The cheerleaders and I practiced a couple times and then performed during halftime. They were perfect! It was a really great and exciting event :) We also gave out sweatshirts and candy and helped students make stress balls.

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4/27/17 THURSDAY

This morning I worked on my capstone project as well as updating my blog because I have been so busy that my blog has been sadly neglected. Then, in the afternoon, I worked with Elijah and Mr. Zhu on the Carnival details. In the evening, Elijah and other students purchased the materials needed for the Carnival.

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4/28/17 FRIDAY

Today, Elijah and I received some sad news. Some of the international students will go on a trip the night of the Carnival. So, we decided to change the date of the Carnival to Thursday night. This is not ideal for what we planned; however, it is alright and we will make it work! I created tickets to print on colored paper and Elijah and I discussed various items regarding the Carnival planning. 

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WEEK 10

 

5/1/17 MONDAY - HOLIDAY

This past weekend was a 3-day weekend. The students have a 3-day break at the beginning of every month. 

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5/2/17 TUESDAY

This morning and this afternoon I focused on the Carnival. I caught up with Elijah and Misty to make sure all has been ordered and that all in charge of activties are set and ready to go. I created table labels and printed/cut all tickets for the games and food. 

In the afternoon I did some things for Manlu to help her get ready for her classes. Tonight I will go to dinner with my coworkers. 

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5/3/17 WEDNESDAY

This morning I attended Manlu's Database class. I helped her by drawing a seating chart for her three classes. Then, I worked in the office on things for the carnival. 

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5/4/17 THURSDAY

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5/5/17 FRIDAY - My Last Day

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