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Published: September 8th 2006
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China is Construction
You know you are in China when, the skyline is filled with construction Let's just put it out there. Say it like it is. School started, sometime in the past few days....I'm actually not a hundred percent when, because I obviously can't understand a syllable that is spoken beyond "Hello", so that has presented somewhat of a repetative obstacle. I recieved my schedule on Sunday and was given the gift of 28 different classes. Yep! I basically teach every student from grade 4 to grade 8. Each grade has anywhere from 4-8 different sections. That's a whole lot of English loving to spread around. I only teach 3 classes aday (except friday), but that is plenty! And I only see each student once every two weeks. At the rate I am going, which is each class had around 45-50 students, at the end of next week, Iwill have had around 1,400 students. So that saying "one student at a time" really doesn't apply here.
So here it is the good, the bad and the ugly. Dialogue on teaching English in China
Good *I love my sixth graders. They are smart enough to follow my silly commands, but young enough to think clapping hands is sooo fun
* I have successfully adapted a drinking
Mary, Eli and myself
I don't know where Mary is looking, maybe others are taking our pictures....we are americans! game into a chinese game....don't tell. I saw it on the Cosby show, where you have to clap your hands twice and then snap your fingures twice and as you snap your fingures you have to say something related to the topic.....like colors, you would have to say green, clap, clap, yellow (as you snap, snap). The kids just eat it up....They will be do well at an American University!
* Nap time - need I say more. The hours of 12-2:20 are designated nap time for the teachers.....you can sleep on your desk, in your car, on the ping pong table....anything is fair game. Hey, it's nap time!
Bad * My first class of teaching (or whatever we will call it) was yesterday. Fifth grade. Oh my goss, was I horrible. It didn't help that as soon as I walked in the door, the real teacher walked right back out. I honestly don't know how I made it through those 45 minutes. I don't remember what I even taught (stess induced amnesia). All I know is that nothing I had planned even made it out of my mouth because their level of english and my planning were in different hemispheres.
* Lunch time is always an adventure and I try to embrace the chineseness of it all. I put a little bit of this a little bit of that on my plate. I felt that same sense of thrillment today as I stepped up to the plate, so to say. I like a little protein in my diet and thought I had come upon some choice pieces of beef. I went in for a big scoop, but as that scoop came closer and closer to my plate, I began to hestitate and renig on my initial diagnosis....no...this couldn't be meat....or maybe it is meat, but just dog meat (a very common and real fear of mine) But at this point the scooper was too near my plate to deposit some of its contents (whatever that may be) back into orginial container. So I quickly, placed half of the scoops ingredients on the corner of my plate, making a mental note to avoid those later. Well, everything else got piled over the mystery meat and not until I ALMOST partook in a bite did I make the sound decision to forego such a taste. I gently placed it in on a side dish. But, I couldn't leave without knowing for sure what was being served in this fine cafeteria. So I asked my english speaking pal. Bella, what this mystery was..... and with her most eloquent english, she replied, "The blood of pigs" Luckily, I had heard of this phenomenon whilst in Beijing, but never believed it would happen to me! I am proud to say, I survived - as in did not eat- the pigs blood, which by some cooking miracle is congealled into a kind of dark jelly like substance. So, now, you too have been warned.
the ugly * Grade 8 stunk. In the real way (no deoderant) and in the way when you think something good will happen and it doesn't, actually the opposite. It is very hard for me to differtiate my level of teaching. I realized this when I taught in Chicago. Unfortunately, each day here will be a different grade level and sometime within each day will be a different grade level. Something to work on. Grade 8 did not like the clapping/ drinking game....if they only knew. and it was downhill after that.
* The lowlight of my teaching experience does not have comparsion. I know what you are thinking, what could be worse then pig's blood. How about being measured for your school uniform (which is bad enough....mom, can I get my diploma and show them I already did the school uniform) but even worse is to be measured in a room full of Chinese women. I am a head taller than most, and I wouldn't even go towards the other areas in which I possess more. My seamstress, oh he measured every corner of my body.....I began to think this uniform could be in fact a body suit, straight out of the early 90's. My only saving grace, was the metric system. Thank god I never learned to convert!
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Aunt Diana
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1st day teaching
Both you and your Mom could be writing books on all your day to day episodes!!!!! Love ya