Wo shi laoshi!

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I taught my first classes today. There was some confusion, (I only recieved my schedule yesterday) but now everything is sorted out. Friday is my "hard" day, with three groups of students to teach. Each group is stuck with my for about an hour and a half.

My first class begins at 8 AM. There were 19 students, all freshmen who are majoring in English Education. I introduced myself, telling them my name, my place of birth, my major in university, and my reason for teaching English. They seemed very pleased when they heard that, for many years, it has been a dream of mine to teach in a university. Very few had English names, so I was able to assign them myself if they did not have a preference. After having each student introduce him or herself, I had them tell me their native region, their age, their major, and why they want to learn English.

Groundrules were layed down-
1) Be respectful
2) Participate
3) Don't speak Chinese
and, most importantly (written in red chalk!)
4) Have fun

For the second activity, students had to practice interviewing each other regarding favorite sports, foods, movies, music, and personal heroes. For the heroes, there were a few more who answered "Kobe Bryant" than named "Chairman Mao".

The second class began at 10, and was much like the first. However, my 2PM class is composed entirely of "Economic/Business English" majors! Hao ba! They will get special instructions on economic and business terms, and perhaps a lecture comparing the Chinese and American economies.

All in all it has been a wonderful day. It feels great to finally get in front of a class and hear the sound of my own voice. Hopefully the students enjoy it half as much as I do.

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