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Published: September 11th 2008
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Lots o' Food
I don't know if you can see it or not, but that plate had yummy roasted birds parts....including the heads. That's 'Jenny' on the left and 'Rita' on the right. They are both English teachers. Well, it's official. I'm a teacher. I stay up late doing lesson plans. I worry about whether or not I'm doing a good job. And I want to throw the sixth graders out the window. But it's been a week since I've updated this blog, so perhaps I should start at the beginning.
Last Sunday we had our contract signing ceremony. There were many speeches, first in chinese then in english so it took for...ev...er. Then we had a big banquet which included a performance by some choir that I'm sure is famous here. They were phenomenal. Then we were all whisked away to our prospective schools. There is another teacher from my program at my school. Her name is Rosemary and she lives with her husband (who teaches at a local senior high) at their nearby apartment. I was introduced to my 'apartment' at the school. In the same hallway live all the guards and I think one other teacher. It's just a dorm room, but it's bigger than I expected. I've seen pictures of other dorm rooms and I thought I'd be getting a tiny bedroom just big enough for a twin bed and a small bathroom. But,
The pig
Awesome. That's all I have to say. in fact, I have a pretty big room. It's large enough for the two wardrobes, couch, coffee table, t.v., bookshelf, water cooler, double bed (a DOUBLE bed!), computer desk, and small refrigerator and there's still plenty of space. In addition, there is a small room with the washer, microwave, hotplate w/ wok, and rice cooker and off from that room is the bathroom. Bathrooms here are a little different. There is the usual sink and western style toilet (a sitter, not a squatter) but there is no shower stall or bathtub. There is simply a shower head sticking out of the wall next to the toilet. There is a shower curtain that goes across the room that separates the sink area from the toilet, but the water goes everywhere. After every shower I have to squeegee the floor or the water would never make its way to the drain. My mattress is hard a rock but I'll be getting a foam thingie this weekend.
Anyway, work started bright and early on Monday. I've been pleasantly surprised by many things at this school. First, it's one of the top three school in Shenzhen. It's a foreign language school and the students have to test into it, so they generally have better English skills. The classes are a lot smaller than I thought they would be. None of my classes is more than 36 or 38 and we were told during training to expect 50 to 60. I have four fourth grade classes and two sixth grade classes and I see each one twice a week. Plus Rosemary and I have three 'english squares' per week at which a whole grade gathers in the auditorium for English stories, songs, etc. The fourth graders are wonderful. The sixth graders are the exact opposite of wonderful. The fourth graders listen and do everything I tell them to and enjoy all the games. The sixth graders are apathetic and enjoy flipping the bird at each other everytime I turn around. *sigh* I haven't given up on them. I just need to figure out how to teach them. I'll work it out eventually. My contact teacher, 'Tina', is so helpful and attentive. And 'Charles', the vice principal, is so fantastic. I can tell he really loves the kids and really gets a kick out of assisting some of my classes. As a primary teacher, I'm supposed to have a chinese teacher 'assistant' in case the students don't understand what I'm teaching. Charles 'assists' some of my fourth grade classes. Unfortunately, the teachers have decided I don't need help with the evil sixth grade hooligans and have left me alone with the creatures.
Wednesday was 'Teacher's Day' and is a pretty big deal. We had our celebration on Monday night. Li yuan (my school) has three seperate campuses (South Campus for high school, North Campus for middle school, and Li Yuan Foreign Language School for primary where I teach). All 200 or so teachers met at a fancy restaurant for a banquet. The Chinese love their banquets. There were more speeches, this time without the english translation. It went faster, but I couldn't understand any of it. I just clapped when everyone else clapped. There were many toasts, which I've come to realize is just an excuse to drink too much. There were many many red faces by the end of the night. The food was amazing. The first coarse was a roast suckling pig. They came out one by one led by two girls carrying big red lanterns and were paraded around the dining room before being placed on our tables. Rosemary and I laughed hysterically. We couldn't help it for each pig had cherry tomato eyes that were flashing! After I regained my composure I was told how to each it. There were also small pancakes and sweet sauce. Really, the only thing you each off the pig is the crispy fat and skin. Mmmmm....crispy fat and skin....ahhhhh......Oh, what was I saying? Right! So you're supposed to take a small pancake, dip the crispy goodness in the sweet sauce then fold it into the pancake and crunch it down. So so yummy. Everything else was good too. Well, except for the pig's feet. Yes, I tried it. No, I will never eat it again. The next day included yet another trip to the police station. This time it was the local station to register as a resident. If I'm lucky, I'll have my residence card and multiple entry visa within a few weeks and I'll no longer be trapped in China. I can't wait to visit Hong Kong.
I have a three day weekend coming up (for Mid Autumn Festival) and I'm hoping to get some pictures taken of the school and the surrounding area.
Love you all!
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trish
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yum
I have to admit, most of that sounds gross and your friends at the table seem not nearly as amused by the display as you do.