Chinese New Year, 18hrs of Phonics and a Girls night in

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18hrs of Phonics AHHHH!!!!!!

Well apart from covering the lessons I had a few weeks back I haven’t actually done any real work since arriving in Hangzhou, that was until I got a message from my centre manager saying that the other centre (the one thats actually in Hangzhou and not fake Hangzhou like us) needed someone to take a Level 2 winter camp phonics lessons. Now there has been numerous meetings and emails and chats in our staff room about the phonics winter camp but I took no mind to it at all because it was all sorted and arranged before I even arrived so I wasn’t involved with our centres. So the fact I was given the opportunity to get involved was a little daunting at first. I was asked on the Saturday when the camp was to start on Monday till Wednesday 0830-1630. No lesson plans, no resources, the kind of situation I love to be given.

Thankfully Alex at my centre had devised a timetable that matched up with the teachers guide given for all 3 sessions so it was pretty easy to create a workable lesson plan and try to come up with some activities for the kids to get involved with for 2 lots of 30minutes within the content. So I had planned to get all 3 lesson plans written and finished that weekend. But I ended up having my short weekend hours on Sunday extended to another 12hr shift because one of the other FT’s fainted during her lesson so I had to step in. So when on Monday I had half a lesson plan written and no idea what was going on EEEKKK.

So a side note, people are dropping like flies in our centre and many others because the Air Con/heating is all on one system. When you have 15 kids and 2 adults in a small space where the kids are wearing 7 layers it gets hot quickly. Now in the reception area we have the locals and the parents who complain its cold if its anything below 25. So as a result us FTs get overly warm classrooms with sick kids and not a lot we can do about it except open the doors and hope for some air movement.

Part of the deal about Xiaoshan lending me to Hangzhou/Wulin was that I would get paid overtime, lunch and travel expenses. Which at a time in the month where all my money had gone on getting the apartment and buying a few things to survive it in was extremely pleasing to my ears. It just meant getting up super early to trek across the river via taxi Binkang Lu Ditie zhan (Binkang road metro station) and making sure my arse was covered from loosing things with Wo yao Fapio (I want a receipt), metro and then a 10min walk using the bike road to the centre. The Wulin centre is a stand alone building (meaning its not inside a mall like many are, including Xiaoshan) and is huge compared to Xiaoshan. They have more classroom and trainers often share 2 or 3 to a room which works because of schedules. In Xiaoshan we have 3 spare classrooms and only 5 trainers so plenty of room. Any I keep getting side track, back to Phonics winter camp.

Winter camp is set up to help the students and phonics has been a massive push from the company this year. I had a level 2 class which I eventually found out of the 3 level 2 classes that were on I managed to get stuck with the lower ability students, which anyone could have easily guessed just by walking in and seeing a boy staring into space, and one poking me with a pencil. But still it was good fun and I challenge anyone to come up with 11 (thats how many students I had) different voices/ways of saying

Nala the lion, put ten little lemons in the net

as a tongue twister trying to get the Chinese students to say it as fast as they could. Needless to say that was the only one they and I actually managed to successfully master during those 3 days. And although I hadn’t really planned that much (or at all) I think they had as much fun as I did even if it was 18hrs of phonics. I loved coming up with little games and competitions for them to try and have some fun with and although at stages I was shouting inside my head ‘why don’t you understand’ it made me appreciate what I’m doing over here and love the job more. Its giving me the satisfaction of being a teacher that I haven’t really felt since leaving Langley. Although I had to laugh when I received my weekly job advert email from TES and saw that St Augustine’s were advertising again for a Full time geography teacher, seems like that new NQT who didn’t go to that school or doing teacher practice in that school didn’t work out for them. Right now I’m once again sticking my Middle Finger up at that place haha.

Western buffet yum yum yum

With working Monday 20^th, Tuesday 21^st and Wednesday 22^nd I had to change my days off to Thursday and Friday which meant I missed the Academic staff meeting at Xiaoshan on Monday and the centre meeting on Friday. But also meant I was only at work Saturday and Sunday before 2 weeks off for Spring festival, couldn’t have asked for a better deal. Monday’s seem to be our pub days (me and the other FT’s) but I only stayed for one coke as had to be up early, in that time I found out our centre manager had organised a team building dinner which was to include some members of HR for the Thursday 23^rd. This was problematic as 3 FT’s were on days off and the other 2 were working during the starting time. We had always asked for it to be on a Wednesday as that suited everyone in the centre. However it got sorted and everyone managed to make it. I’m so glad it happened I’m almost tearing up again at the thought.

The buffet dinner ticket cost 300RMB (about £35) and was at the Radisson Hotel. Marble staircases, a grand piano that played itself and the best food I have seen since moving here (it beats the food at the Oriental Pearl from Mae’s birthday) I wish I had brought some Tuppa wear because even though I tried I didn’t get to eat everything from the buffet, and it would have given me some food to eat for a few more days before pay day arrived. But still I think I counted me eating 2 starters (lettuce, cheese, bacon shavings, salad dressing), 3 main meal dishes filled with various things including proper chips, pizza, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, risotto, spag bol, cauliflower and cheese. And the piste da la resistance PUDDING 3 of the most amazing bowls of ice-cream I could ever dream off. Numerous coverings of Haribo like sweets (which I stashed away in a napkin and put in my bag, shhh) marshmallows dipped in the chocolate fountain and proper donuts. Yum Yum Yum. I would quite happily put aside 100rmb each month and live off 9rmb SWJ food to treat myself to that every 3months. And even better it was with friends and we all had a great time. I was so full by the end I slept so well that night too. The photos just don’t do the taste any justice. But I have also found out that I love pumpkin.

On Friday 24^th, my day off, Big Boss Gary came personally to the centre to hand over our Chinese New Year money envelopes, declared his disappointment in not being at the dinner the night before and said he’d treat us personally next time he came to visit and then flew back to wherever in the Disney World he lives. This is the second time I’ve missed him. Sometimes I feel like I might just be a figment of imagination to some people as I ghost like move from place to place. OMG!!!!! I nearly forgot to say that our envelopes weren’t just the normal red ones, but a gold envelope with C3PO embossed on the front and the back has written ‘may the force be with you’. I also remembered to pick up my free copy of Monsters University.

House party – Girls night in

House party – 29^th Jan

Spring festival has started which means lots of fire crackers at all hours of the day, bad pollution and 2 weeks off. So what better time to have a house party and a wonderful excuse to have everyone over. Everyone turned out to just be the girls. So out came the nail polish (2 weeks to wear some yay) board games and music. It was a great night and I felt really at home and at ease throughout. Well apart from yelling at the Pizza place for not acknowledging my apartments address and saying they didn’t deliver even though I told them I’ve seen their delivery boys delivering to other apartments in my complex. We eventually got our pizza. The plan is to have more get togethers to keep us sane.

I’m a little out of sorts sometimes being here because the other FT’s have a reason to stay in Hangzhou and have requested to transfer to the Hangzhou centre but I requested to move completely away. I’m however so grateful that I haven’t been shut out or excluded and when they talk of June its always with ‘you need to get a flight back for this’ ‘you should totally join us for this’ which makes me feel so warm and fussy inside haha. It’s like having a mini crazy America family.

The house party also came the same day as pay day. So on Friday 31^st I made my way to the supermarket to finally give myself a reason to turn the fridge on in my apartment. The first meal I made was Spag bol. Previously before pay day I was surviving on noodles – that I had to boil in my now very broken frying pan. Bananas and free milk from Starbucks where I was desperately trying to get on the internet most days. But what’s an adventure without sacrifice and hardship. February I have mostly budgeted out with picking up a new phone in Hong Kong and eating the food I’ve just brought with a rationed entry into Starbucks to have a wonderful treat of coffee and cheesecake.

Chinese

New Year

Most of the population of Hangzhou have left the city to go to see family so its actually the perfect time to visit the city. On Monday 27^th I went with Rebecca to collect my lunch refunds from the Wulin centre and used the money to have a Burger King. We walked around some of West Lake too. I’ve been chatting with a lot of expats that live in Hangzhou but it’s hard for me to meet up with other westerns as their main living space is quite far away for me to reach, including the westernised bars and restaurants. And when they are off and holding social events I’m always at work.

However I went and watched the Fireworks from West lakes famous ‘Broken bridge’ with Reddy who has been amazing and helpful in trying to sort out my laptop and keeping me fairly sane when I had some sad news about my mum the other week. Basically I’ve found and Indian replacement to Barnesy (Sorry Paul but you’re not right here and easy to contact currently lol) The Fireworks were beautiful and reminded me of times of lava spewing out from a volcano. For some reason the camera wasn’t playing nicely that night so the pictures aren’t great. So much noise these last couple of days I think it must be like what living in a war zone sounds like. I’m so glad it’s the year of the horse as literally everything has a horse somewhere on it. Currently I have a metro card, a star bucks card and a red envelope from H&M that all have Horses on them. Love it.



Until next time – Hong Kong holiday write up J

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Photos

The Gang
The Xiaoshan Centre crew

American??
Trust the Brit to get that card in a room full of Americans

Playing games
Looks pretty intense

My traits???
Think it must be a game of opposites

Hello Alex
Finding Alex's trait cards and thanking him for the wine

Hello James
Finding James Trait cards and posing. They all start with C for some reason

Chinese New Year
View From Westlake Broken Bridge

Fireworks
View From Westlake Broken Bridge

Fireworks
View From Westlake Broken Bridge