Back in Wuhan

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I’m not going into school today. Last time I was sick I was having trouble talking, and I could work with that. This time I’m having trouble breathing, and that’s a bit harder to work through. We’re permitted five unexcused absences per semester (this counts as unexcused, unless I go to the hospital), and several other teachers have taken one already. That doesn’t change the fact that I feel horrible about not coming in. I’m new enough at this job that my coworkers and boss don’t know that it takes a lot for me to call in absent. I’d like to think that I’ve been considered reliable (at least as far as showing up goes) at jobs I’ve had in the past, and I want it to be the same with this one. At any rate, I’d rather not get the kids sick.

Onto updates:

I returned from Shanghai on Saturday, and it was a great trip that I really ought to write an entry about. I also spent a day in Zhouzhuang, a city that has been called the “Venice of China”. I did an insane amount of shopping, but still managed to save about half of my paycheck (that’s including travel/hostel expenses, and a reasonable amount of money set aside for living for the rest of the month.

On Sunday I went to see the Yellow Crane Tower, which is the only famous sight in Wuhan. As much as I loved my Shanghai trip, most of the things I saw there were either typical city attractions, or nice but a little tourist trap-ish. The Yellow Crane Tower is the most breathtaking thing I’ve seen so far in China. It was well worth the price of admission, and I fully plan to go again.

I’ve started teaching a kindergarten class in the afternoons. The kids in one of my classes are around five years old, and presumably entering first grade next year. My other kindergarten class is populated by little tottleing three year olds. They’re adorable. Admittedly there are a couple who cry every time I so much as look at them, but the rest are happy and much more easily amused than my older kids.

Next week should be an interesting one at school, because we’re expected to do our “show lessons”. That means that one of the principals at the school is going to sit in on one of our lessons and evaluate our teaching style. Just a bit intimidating.

I took the bus by myself for the first time yesterday. Hurrah for independence and freedom from expensive cab fares.

Otherwise, this week has been crazy and stressful. On Monday I was given 180 workbooks and 180 tests to correct. According to our contracts we’re permitted one week to complete anything we’re given to correct. However, the students and our Chinese co teachers are annoyed when things aren’t corrected the next day, and get progressively more annoyed every day that things aren’t finished. My activities this week (outside of class) have consisted solely of correcting, eating, sleeping, and coughing, but the correcting still isn’t completed. I wish I’d taken some more workbooks home yesterday, but my goal for the night was to finish correcting the tests. I’m going to have my work cut out for me finishing the workbooks tomorrow.

The funny thing is with tests and workbooks and the like, it’s always feast or famine. Once I complete these I’ll have a few days with nothing to correct and more free time than I know what to do with.

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