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Published: September 1st 2009
Lotus Flower
There is a giant garden near my apartment - I use it as a shortcut to get to the main street. It's a nice escape from the noise, pollution, and traffic of the street.Hi friends - so sorry for the weird font and multiple notifications from the last entry. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again!
Well I haven't really done anything too exciting, but I thought it was time for an update. So here is a fun look into a day in the life of Amy in China.
Wake up. Immediately prepare for a day of continued battle against the mosquitoes. Care for the many existing bites, which keep popping up despite the unhealthy amount of repellent covering every square inch of my skin and the various contraptions in my room constantly omitting odors that will surely provide my future children with birth defects. "Benben wenzi" is probably the first phrase I learned after I got here (stupid mosquitoes!) Water pressure is a trickle on a good day, so after my lovely sponge bath I eat breakfast. Breakfast consists of anything I can buy that doesn't require me to read a label in order to identify it. Good thing the fruit here is delicious! I depart into the 100 degree 100 percent humidity outside. As I walk to school I mentally prepare myself for being hit by a bus/truck/car/electric bike, sometimes
Some kinders performing a song
Kids never cease to amaze me with how quickly they can learn new things. getting a little worked up and maybe even shed a few tears when I think about mom and dad hearing the news..."American girl forced to walk in middle of street due to ceaseless construction on sidewalks, tragically killed by bus..." There is literally construction going on everywhere, and forget about hard hats or pedestrian walkways, it's you vs. the heavy machinery and oncoming traffic. After a few near misses I safely arrived at school, covered in sweat and sending my thanks up to heaven.
I usually get to school an hour early as it is the only place I have internet access, but am done checking my email in 5 minutes. I wonder how I ever spent so many hours online back home, and then I remember facebook (RIP). It is frustrating not being able to keep in touch with my friends that way. (this is a hint that I love receiving emails !😊 Sometimes I have fun seeing what other websites I can and can't access (San Jose Mercury News is a no no, and I can't see my friends' blogs on tumblr or blogspot either).
Each day I teach 2 nursery lessons (age 2-3), 2 preschool
Me and Arielle
Some traditional Chinese neon lights are in the background. Notice our way cool matching t-shirts. lessons (age 3-4), and 2 kindergarten lessons(age 4-6), plus an English class for older kids (approximately a 1st grade level but aged 6-11) 3 times a week. While at one time I may have expected silly things to be found in a school like paper, books, curriculum, supplies in general, I have now realized that that type of thinking is ludicrous and enjoy using my imagination to make up games, and use recycled backsides of paper to make my own flashcards. Trying to figure out my drawings is probably more difficult for the kids than learning English. Just trying to keep all parts of their brain working hard! 😊
The kids of course are adorable. Their favorite game is to pretend to shoot me and/or kung fu me, and I have to pretend to die or they get mad. The younger the kids are the more difficult it is to do a lesson, but the great thing about children is that you really can communicate with them in any language. We just ended summer classes and began school year classes today, and some of the new kids are scared of me and need some time to get used to
dinner!
Some seasoned squid and skewered mystery meat. It was quite tasty! me. I look very strange to them! All the other "foreign teachers" at the school are from Taiwan, and I am the only one who speaks fluent English. It is very difficult to communicate with the other teachers, but I am learning (slowly!) I thought I would pick up Mandarin a bit more quickly, but it is difficult and I am finding myself unmotivated. My roommate Arielle has been helping me, she teaches at the school as well, speaks pretty good English and is just all-around awesome! I especially like her because she thinks I'm funny (especially when I exaggerate - like I say something taking a long time is taking "forever").
After school I spend my time planning the next day's lessons, attempting to cook (we don't have an oven and I may or may not know what I am buying at the grocery store, so it's always a fun adventure), reading, and not spending as much time practicing Chinese as I should be. I have a lot of alone time and not very many people to talk to. I'm not going to lie, this place is challenging me more than I thought it would. But I have
Tai Lake
China is into superlatives. Tai Lake is the second largest lake in China. Notice the barely distinguishable horizon line. Pollution in the evening time does not make for very pretty pictures. to remind myself that it's only been three weeks.
My schedule has been hectic at school and I've been working a solid 6 days a week, so not much time for sightseeing so far. I will probably not venture too far away until I am more confident with my Mandarin (so in about 10 years). Right now just going to the grocery store is enough excitement and confusion for me! I have been getting requests for my address, but unfortunately our landlord does not know where our mailbox key is. Supposedly we are getting a new one, but from what I've observed on how things run here that may or may not ever happen. But you are welcome to send me packages too big for the mail slot! 😊 I miss everyone lots - hope all is well back home!
xoxo Amy
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jenn
non-member comment
so...you're not allowed in the pool? unfort.