During our 3 month stint here in China I like to say that Mallory and I have become quite the locals here in the area around her school. The guards all know us, the hotel lady, and even the shop owners right outside the gates. A little shop we visit nearly daily is owned by a little lady we like to call “Thelma.” She just laughs and says hello every time we stop by. Two shops down is the “tong shui” place. It’s a little place to get nice, cool fruity dessert type things. And then at the end out on the street is a man who makes these great little burrito things. It’s like pancake batter smeared on a griddle. An egg is cracked on it and smeared over the pancake/crepe thing. Then some seasonings and veggies are thrown on, followed by some brown sauce and some crunchy little tortilla chip things. This is all rolled up and put in a bag ready for enjoyment for only 2.5 yuan. A great deal!!
Well last night Mallory and I went out for a burrito and we realized our true VIP status among the local shop owners. The burrito man is only out for business in the evenings and it seems to be quite a popular treat among the students as there is always quite a crowd standing around waiting to get one. But on this particular occasion, Mallory and I strolled up and the VIP treatment began. First, we could tell we were getting something special because as he was making the burrito he began to put cucumbers on it. This is something special that typically isn’t on the burritos. We make a special request for it. So we just walk up and the fact that all the people are out there waiting is nothing at all, we are moved straight to the front of the line. We get our burritos made especially to our likings and we get them fast! Then, we asked the man how much we owed him and he began rambling in Chinese and waving his arms! He would not accept our money! So not only did we get excellent service but we got it for free! How’s that for treatment? J I must say, we are going to be a bit sad to leave all this behind us! I have a feeling this red carpet treatment isn’t something we should get used to!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The GRAND finale!
What a fun last week of school....
Monday:
I spoke at the morning assembly to give my thanks to both the students and the teachers. I wanted to thank them for the opportunity and also for the warm welcome that I have recieved. I will truly miss both the kids and the teachers!!
Tuesday:
Dr. Chan (big head hancho principle like guy who only comes once a month) came today. He lives in Australia so he isn't here much. He's probably one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet though. He's chinese but has lived in Australia so long that he has an Australian accent! He's hilarious too! He wrote me a letter giving me thanks and telling me that Kama's doors are always open to me if I ever come back to China.
Wednesday:
We had a nice, cool windy day today. So in the evening during the dinner break me and some of the form 5 girls went outside to fly kites. We did that for a while, then sat and watched a soccer game between the international section and the korean section! That was fun! Then the girls and I went to the canteen for dinner. It was so fun to just get to hang out and talk with them. They are such fun girls and they have so many questions! I was also really impressed with their english! They were asking me all about america, my family, my friends, my town, and even just my opinion on things that are happening in the world. It was so great! Then during the evening study session they came to the office and wanted to see pictures from america and they wanted to listen to english/american music. Oh and it was so sad, they were telling me how much they will miss me. They said, "teacher, really everyone in our class loves you so much and we hate to see you go!!"
Thursday:
I was "invited" today to the party that I wasnt supposed to know about yet. The form 5 kids made me this awesome invitation saying "Miss Jessica, You are warmly welcome to our class on Friday at 11:45am for a special party!!" They were so excited about it too!!
During the dinner break I played in a volleyball game: International section vs. Korean Section. It was a close game, but the International section won!!
And then during the night study classes the International section had a singing contest and I was invited to be a judge for it. The students who entered could only sing in English. It turned out pretty well. We had a lot of glitches with the sound system but it still went well. The students who performed all did fantastic!
As it turned out the winners were:
1st place = two 11th grade students - Vanessa and Dean singing "Way back into love."
2nd place = two 11th grade students - Marissa and Eric singing "Yesterday once more."
3rd place = two 9th grade students - Lynn and Phoebe singing "I'm with you."
Friday:
Monday:
I spoke at the morning assembly to give my thanks to both the students and the teachers. I wanted to thank them for the opportunity and also for the warm welcome that I have recieved. I will truly miss both the kids and the teachers!!
Tuesday:
Dr. Chan (big head hancho principle like guy who only comes once a month) came today. He lives in Australia so he isn't here much. He's probably one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet though. He's chinese but has lived in Australia so long that he has an Australian accent! He's hilarious too! He wrote me a letter giving me thanks and telling me that Kama's doors are always open to me if I ever come back to China.
Wednesday:
We had a nice, cool windy day today. So in the evening during the dinner break me and some of the form 5 girls went outside to fly kites. We did that for a while, then sat and watched a soccer game between the international section and the korean section! That was fun! Then the girls and I went to the canteen for dinner. It was so fun to just get to hang out and talk with them. They are such fun girls and they have so many questions! I was also really impressed with their english! They were asking me all about america, my family, my friends, my town, and even just my opinion on things that are happening in the world. It was so great! Then during the evening study session they came to the office and wanted to see pictures from america and they wanted to listen to english/american music. Oh and it was so sad, they were telling me how much they will miss me. They said, "teacher, really everyone in our class loves you so much and we hate to see you go!!"
Thursday:
I was "invited" today to the party that I wasnt supposed to know about yet. The form 5 kids made me this awesome invitation saying "Miss Jessica, You are warmly welcome to our class on Friday at 11:45am for a special party!!" They were so excited about it too!!
During the dinner break I played in a volleyball game: International section vs. Korean Section. It was a close game, but the International section won!!
And then during the night study classes the International section had a singing contest and I was invited to be a judge for it. The students who entered could only sing in English. It turned out pretty well. We had a lot of glitches with the sound system but it still went well. The students who performed all did fantastic!
As it turned out the winners were:
1st place = two 11th grade students - Vanessa and Dean singing "Way back into love."
2nd place = two 11th grade students - Marissa and Eric singing "Yesterday once more."
3rd place = two 9th grade students - Lynn and Phoebe singing "I'm with you."
Friday:
And now friday, my last day of student teaching, my last day in Dongguan, my last day at Kama. It was such a great day. Everyone has known that this would be my last day so today in all my classes the students all were sure to tell me they would miss me and such. And I made sure to get pictures of all my classes. So the classes in general were fun.
Then during lunch I went to my party that the Form 5 kids were throwing for me. The party started at 11:45, so me and some of the other teachers walked down to the Form 5 classroom. They were all there, plus the form 3 kids and the form 1 kids! They had big tables up in the middle of the room with all kinds of food and drinks. They had drawn a big sign on one of the chalk boards for me. And they had a whole program worked out. Mr Goh said some words and then the form 5 class had a song to sing to me. They sang me an English song, "Goodbye my friend." It was amazing!!! I won't lie, I nearly cried!! Then at the end of the song one of them ran to the back room and came out with a big bouquet of flowers! They told me that they all had a special meaning. There were blue flowers meaning "dont forget me," roses mean "we love you," daisies are "always remember," and lilies are "good luck." Then they had me go up front to say a few words. So I thanked them for the wonderful party and told them how much I would miss them all! Then they brought me out a gift. They had made me two photo albums so that I "never forget them!" They are awesome. Then Madame Gao, the principle of the international section came and presented me with a gift from Kama. It is a crystal plaque with the school emblem and seal. It is really nice!
Then we all just hung out and ate lunch! They even went out and got pizza for the party! Those kids are wonderful!! I'm going to miss them so much!
Finally, later in the evening I went out to dinner with all the Intenational section teachers. We got so spend time together for one last time and we had a really good time. I am also going to miss the teachers as well! They have all been so wonderful!
Tomorrow (saturday) I will leave Kama International School. They have arranged a car to pick me up at 9am to take me back to Guangzhou to Mallory's school. I will get to hang out there for a bit, then our adventure to Xi'an and Beijing will begin. Then it is back to America!!
So in conclusion, its a bittersweet ending. I am glad to be able to say that I am finished with student teaching and I will soon be returning to America. But at the same time I am so sad to go. I have loved being in China and I will miss my students SO much. This has been such an amazing experience and I could not have asked for a better end to it!!
Also: I have uploaded a ton of pictures from my last week (mostly from my last day) to my flickr site! Check them out! <-- follow this link!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
I survived Neoguri
Almost forgot... Saturday was kind of a dreary day anyway, but by evening a typhoon had made landfall in the Guangdong province! We were on our way home from dinner with Sharon after our presentation and I have never seen such hard rain. It was crazy! We were in a taxi on the way home and the streets were just flooding. It was raining so hard and so fast that the water just had no where to go. And it was so windy! So windy that it broke my umbrella actually!! There were people out trying to take cover in shops and under small street stands and with cardboard over their heads to keep them dry. People were all trying to get taxis or get on buses. They were all just rushing around trying to get out of the rain and wind!
But by the morning it had calmed down and the rain was moving on inland. When we were walked to the bus stop for church in the morning there were people out sweeping up leaves and trash from where they had been blown everywhere. They were also cleaning up a big tree limb that fell on the campus.
Here's a few articles I found online about it:
Typhoon kills 18 in China
Aug 20, 2007 04:30 AM
BEIJING– A typhoon that killed 18 people in China had weakened to a tropical storm as it headed inland, where mines were ordered to close and over a million people had sought safety.
Tropical Storm Sepat, which had made landfall as a typhoon in China yesterday bringing torrential rain and powerful winds, had also damaged houses, ruined crops and cut power supply lines in eastern and southern China, Xinhua news agency said.
Eleven people were killed in Zhejiang by a tornado that spun off the typhoon and wrecked houses. In Fujian province to the south, two people were killed and one was missing in a landslide.
In the southern province of Guangdong, floods spawned by the storm had killed at least five, with eight missing.
Earlier, the storm killed at least one in Taiwan and three in the Philippines.
Sepat was expected to hit Hubei Province in central China from today until Wednesday.
Typhoon Neoguri kills 3 in China
Published: April 21, 2008 at 12:52 AM
BEIJING, April 21 (UPI) -- Typhoon Neoguri, the first such storm to hit China this year, has killed at least three people in south Guangdong province, officials said.Two of the victims died in a mud flow in Shenzen City Sunday, and the third died in Zhuhai city after being struck by an aluminum sheet blown off a stadium roof by strong winds, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.The typhoon hit south China Saturday with heavy rains and strong winds.Shantou city was pounded by heavy rains for more than 10 hours Sunday.In Yangjiang city, where Neoguri landed, the storm affected about 274,000 people and flooded thousands of acres of farm land.
18 missing as Typhoon Neoguri hits Chinese island
GUANGZHOU, China - Tropical storm Neoguri brushed over China's southern Hainan island on Saturday, leaving 18 fishermen missing and stranding thousands of travelers, state-run media reported.Apr 20, 2008 - 9:55:18 AM
But by the morning it had calmed down and the rain was moving on inland. When we were walked to the bus stop for church in the morning there were people out sweeping up leaves and trash from where they had been blown everywhere. They were also cleaning up a big tree limb that fell on the campus.
Here's a few articles I found online about it:
Typhoon kills 18 in China
Aug 20, 2007 04:30 AM
BEIJING– A typhoon that killed 18 people in China had weakened to a tropical storm as it headed inland, where mines were ordered to close and over a million people had sought safety.
Tropical Storm Sepat, which had made landfall as a typhoon in China yesterday bringing torrential rain and powerful winds, had also damaged houses, ruined crops and cut power supply lines in eastern and southern China, Xinhua news agency said.
Eleven people were killed in Zhejiang by a tornado that spun off the typhoon and wrecked houses. In Fujian province to the south, two people were killed and one was missing in a landslide.
In the southern province of Guangdong, floods spawned by the storm had killed at least five, with eight missing.
Earlier, the storm killed at least one in Taiwan and three in the Philippines.
Sepat was expected to hit Hubei Province in central China from today until Wednesday.
Typhoon Neoguri kills 3 in China
Published: April 21, 2008 at 12:52 AM
BEIJING, April 21 (UPI) -- Typhoon Neoguri, the first such storm to hit China this year, has killed at least three people in south Guangdong province, officials said.Two of the victims died in a mud flow in Shenzen City Sunday, and the third died in Zhuhai city after being struck by an aluminum sheet blown off a stadium roof by strong winds, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.The typhoon hit south China Saturday with heavy rains and strong winds.Shantou city was pounded by heavy rains for more than 10 hours Sunday.In Yangjiang city, where Neoguri landed, the storm affected about 274,000 people and flooded thousands of acres of farm land.
18 missing as Typhoon Neoguri hits Chinese island
GUANGZHOU, China - Tropical storm Neoguri brushed over China's southern Hainan island on Saturday, leaving 18 fishermen missing and stranding thousands of travelers, state-run media reported.Apr 20, 2008 - 9:55:18 AM
Thursday, April 17, 2008
The end is near!
Well... I can now count the number of remaining school days on one hand. You always here the saying "time flies" but I've never known it could be so true. Time really has flown here in China.
Things are going great! I'm staying super busy as usual. Between teaching during the week and travelling to Mallory's in Guangzhou on the weekends there isn't much time for writing.
Recently Mallory and I were asked by Prof. Qiang (the lady who heads the English Immersion Program in China) to give a presentation for a group of primary school english teachers. We were to present methods for teaching english to children. (Reminder: I am not an English teacher and neither of us are primary school teachers!) So Mallory and I prepared a powerpoint (or PPT as the chinese all call it) and some props and gave a 1 hour presentation to this group of teachers, principles, and school supervisors. We didn't know it when we first began but it was apparently a pretty big deal. There were some pretty important school officials there for it. But we did well. We went through the presentation, had some Q&A time, then of course some pictures. Then as it turns out, some men who are in charge of a middle school in GZ were so impressed with our presentation that they wanted us to present to their school's staff as well. But with time constraints we just aren't going to be able to do it. What an honor though that they even asked!
In other news, teaching is going well. I love that I can see improvement in my classes with each week. I really am truly impressed by these students. At the beginning there were some students who just made me dread going to class, and now to see those very students working, trying, and succeeding is amazing. I know its a feeling that most teachers hope for during their careers and I have seen it just in the short 10 weeks that I have been here.
I have also begun to realize how much I am going to miss these kids. The 11th (a group of 10) and 12th (a group of 3 boys) grade in particular! I have got to know them all and its going to be so hard to leave knowing that I will probably never see these people again. That is rough. I've been having so much fun with them lately too. They are really coming out of their shells and opening up to me and its great. Last week there was a school wide talent show and one of the 11th grade girls performed. So the rest of the class and me all went to support her! We went for the rehersal and the big show! It was so fun! Then this week there is going to be a singing competition in the International Section. But in this one students must sing only English songs. So any extra time in school is spent singing and practicing. And its so funny, they will stop mid song to ask pronunciation of words. But I'm really looking forward to the actual performances. There are some pretty good ones!
Also, the 11th graders are all pulling together and are throwing me a "surprise" going away party! (they don't know that I know!) I think that is so awesome that these kids are doing that for me. They are getting all of the grades that I teach involved and are going to "surprise" me Friday afternoon. They even are making me a scrapbook filled with all kinds of things from my time here! I was just floored by this! I couldn't believe it! It's so funny too. Like I said, they don't know that I know, so they think they are all being sneaky and they ask me completely random questions during class trying to figure things out for this party. Then they will talk to each other in Chinese about it! I just couldn't be more excited though. It's going to be such a great time!
I am just really, really going to miss them though. I will be sad to leave. But in nearly every class I teach they have already asked for my email address and have sent a paper around the class for all of them to write theirs down for me. They all are so excited and say that they want to keep in contact with me! So I definitely plan to!
Oh, then friday night (after the student's party) the teacher's are having a little going away party for me too. I think that we are all going to go out to dinner! So that will be fun!! Between singing competitions and parties this last week is really going to fly by!
Then, just another small sidenote-- today was another roller blading day! Too funny! I think I made a kid fall too. I think he was just so surprised to see me! HAHA. And earlier this week they had a kite-flying day! There were about 100 primary school kids out on the football field running around with these tiny brightly colored kites! So cute!! Almost as fun as roller blade day!
Things are going great! I'm staying super busy as usual. Between teaching during the week and travelling to Mallory's in Guangzhou on the weekends there isn't much time for writing.
Recently Mallory and I were asked by Prof. Qiang (the lady who heads the English Immersion Program in China) to give a presentation for a group of primary school english teachers. We were to present methods for teaching english to children. (Reminder: I am not an English teacher and neither of us are primary school teachers!) So Mallory and I prepared a powerpoint (or PPT as the chinese all call it) and some props and gave a 1 hour presentation to this group of teachers, principles, and school supervisors. We didn't know it when we first began but it was apparently a pretty big deal. There were some pretty important school officials there for it. But we did well. We went through the presentation, had some Q&A time, then of course some pictures. Then as it turns out, some men who are in charge of a middle school in GZ were so impressed with our presentation that they wanted us to present to their school's staff as well. But with time constraints we just aren't going to be able to do it. What an honor though that they even asked!
In other news, teaching is going well. I love that I can see improvement in my classes with each week. I really am truly impressed by these students. At the beginning there were some students who just made me dread going to class, and now to see those very students working, trying, and succeeding is amazing. I know its a feeling that most teachers hope for during their careers and I have seen it just in the short 10 weeks that I have been here.
I have also begun to realize how much I am going to miss these kids. The 11th (a group of 10) and 12th (a group of 3 boys) grade in particular! I have got to know them all and its going to be so hard to leave knowing that I will probably never see these people again. That is rough. I've been having so much fun with them lately too. They are really coming out of their shells and opening up to me and its great. Last week there was a school wide talent show and one of the 11th grade girls performed. So the rest of the class and me all went to support her! We went for the rehersal and the big show! It was so fun! Then this week there is going to be a singing competition in the International Section. But in this one students must sing only English songs. So any extra time in school is spent singing and practicing. And its so funny, they will stop mid song to ask pronunciation of words. But I'm really looking forward to the actual performances. There are some pretty good ones!
Also, the 11th graders are all pulling together and are throwing me a "surprise" going away party! (they don't know that I know!) I think that is so awesome that these kids are doing that for me. They are getting all of the grades that I teach involved and are going to "surprise" me Friday afternoon. They even are making me a scrapbook filled with all kinds of things from my time here! I was just floored by this! I couldn't believe it! It's so funny too. Like I said, they don't know that I know, so they think they are all being sneaky and they ask me completely random questions during class trying to figure things out for this party. Then they will talk to each other in Chinese about it! I just couldn't be more excited though. It's going to be such a great time!
I am just really, really going to miss them though. I will be sad to leave. But in nearly every class I teach they have already asked for my email address and have sent a paper around the class for all of them to write theirs down for me. They all are so excited and say that they want to keep in contact with me! So I definitely plan to!
Oh, then friday night (after the student's party) the teacher's are having a little going away party for me too. I think that we are all going to go out to dinner! So that will be fun!! Between singing competitions and parties this last week is really going to fly by!
Then, just another small sidenote-- today was another roller blading day! Too funny! I think I made a kid fall too. I think he was just so surprised to see me! HAHA. And earlier this week they had a kite-flying day! There were about 100 primary school kids out on the football field running around with these tiny brightly colored kites! So cute!! Almost as fun as roller blade day!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Weekend in Shanghai!!
What a great weekend! This past friday was a national holiday in China, QingMing (the tomb sweeping festival) so there was no school on friday. So with the long weekend, Mallory and I set out for Shanghai. We flew up there and met up with our friend Andrew (a friend who helped us out by showing us around Guangzhou during our first 2 weeks) who goes to college in Shanghai. He and his roommate Jack led us around Shanghai for the weekend. Here is a little rundown of our weekend:
Friday
- Went to Cheng Huang Miao - old temples that have been revamped/rebuilt and turned into a shopping center.
- Went to Nan Jing Lu - a pedestrian street that is lined with shops and stores.
- Saw the Wai Tan (The Bund) and took a river cruise on the Huang Pu River at night to see Shanghai at night! Very awesome!
Saturday
- Went to the Shanghai City Museum - Saw the history of shanghai from it's earliest days until now. There was also a South American art exhibit there plus a Rembrandt exhibt there as well.
- Went to the People's Square - big shopping and tourist center.
- Went to Xu Jia Hui - a part of town where we relaxed at starbucks for a while.
- Went SKIING!! We went to an indoor ski slope!! That was so much fun!
Sunday
- Went up into the Oriental Pearl Tower - We were up about 260+ meters overlooking Shanghai and The Bund. It was a bit foggy but still an amazing view!
Then Sunday at 3:45 we flew back! The weekend went WAY too fast! We loved it in Shanghai and didn't want to leave. It is such a beautiful city and the weather was great! It is still a little cool there and its not humid at all compared to Guangzhou. So it was great! But it was a bit bittersweet because we are afraid that may be the last time we get to see our friend Andrew! :(
Anyway, I have posted pictues on my flickr site. So rather than me rambling on about all the things we did, just go check those out! :)
Click --> HERE!!! for my pictures!
Friday, March 21, 2008
My daily entertainment....
...chinese primary school PE class! It has got to be not only the funniest thing I've ever seen, but the cutest too!
There is not an indoor gymnasium here at my school. So for PE they do various outdoor activities. Sometimes they play basketball, sometimes soccer, sometimes track/field stuff. Well sometimes they do little aerobic exercises for PE. So when they do that it's usually in the school building. The building is 4 stories high, with an open center with a big court yard/square in the center. So from the 4th floor I can see down to the open courtyard. Well yesterday they were in the courtyard for PE. So picture this... about 75 little chinese 6 year olds all in a line. They do some little aerobics, then they end their class with a performance in song and dance of "head, shoulders, knees, and toes..." It was the cutest thing ever!!
Then today, on my way to lunch, there is another open courtyard near the cafeteria. Well I was walking through it like I usually do, when all the sudden here come the 75 chinese 6 year olds all on roller blades!! It was like a little miniature roller derby! There were kids flying every direction you could imagine. They had on every kind of padding you could imagine - everything from helmets, knee and elbow pads, to shin gaurds, and wrist gaurds - and its a good thing to because they were wiping out all over the place. So funny!!
There is not an indoor gymnasium here at my school. So for PE they do various outdoor activities. Sometimes they play basketball, sometimes soccer, sometimes track/field stuff. Well sometimes they do little aerobic exercises for PE. So when they do that it's usually in the school building. The building is 4 stories high, with an open center with a big court yard/square in the center. So from the 4th floor I can see down to the open courtyard. Well yesterday they were in the courtyard for PE. So picture this... about 75 little chinese 6 year olds all in a line. They do some little aerobics, then they end their class with a performance in song and dance of "head, shoulders, knees, and toes..." It was the cutest thing ever!!
Then today, on my way to lunch, there is another open courtyard near the cafeteria. Well I was walking through it like I usually do, when all the sudden here come the 75 chinese 6 year olds all on roller blades!! It was like a little miniature roller derby! There were kids flying every direction you could imagine. They had on every kind of padding you could imagine - everything from helmets, knee and elbow pads, to shin gaurds, and wrist gaurds - and its a good thing to because they were wiping out all over the place. So funny!!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Whew... What a week!
Well this past week has been quite a week… that is for sure.
To begin we were visited by DanDan last week. She flew into Guangzhou on Wednesday and began working on Thursday. She was out to Chashan to my school to observe me teach on Thursday afternoon. Along with her she brought Mallory, Han (one of our friends from the first 2 weeks; also a PhD student at SCNU), and Liu Zhe (another student at SCNU) who will be out to observe me in the future as part of her research for her school work. It was so nice to see some familiar faces!
So these four, plus my teacher and supervisor at my school, all sat in to observe me. The lesson went well. They sat in on my 11th grade math class which is always a really great group anyway. It’s a small class, only about 9, in which they are preparing to take the British O-Levels Exam. On this particular day we were studying trigonometry. So for the class activity we used hypsometers and we went outside to use angles and trig to measure the height of the school building. It started to rain on us, but we got it all worked out and it went well.
After the teacher we had a meeting to discuss my progress and my teaching in general. Then the school administration treated us to a big dinner in town, which was quite an experience in itself. This restaurant was huge! Plus, to pick dinner you got to walk around and look at various tanks to see what little critters you wanted for dinner! So we were strolling through looking and there was quite a selection. There was a multitude of fish, some frogs, turtles, stingrays, snakes, eels, clams, shrimp, lobster, crabs, oysters, many other things which I had no clue as to what it was, and even a duck swimming around in a little pool! Then there were big barrels of rice and noodles and various vegetables as well as big pictures of all sorts of other dishes up on the walls. An interesting way to make dinner selections to say the least.
After dinner DanDan was able to steal me away from my school that night (getting me out of teaching on Friday) so I could go into Guangzhou and go see Mallory teach the following day. So DanDan, Mallory, Han, Liu, and myself took off for the train station after dinner to head for Guangzhou.
The next day I went to Mallory’s school to sit with all of her school faculty and DanDan to observe her lesson. Afterwards we had a meeting and then we were again treated to a huge, fancy meal. Little did we know these were only the beginning of our many meetings and huge, fancy meals during the weekend. We decided that they roll out the red carpet when DanDan is in town!
So for the rest of the day Friday, all day Saturday and Sunday morning we accompanied DanDan to various schools, meetings, and meals. It made for some long days but we sure had fun. Mallory and I even ended up staying with DanDan in her rather fancy hotel for most of the weekend! Also, Mallory and I even got several job offers to come back and teach in China throughout the weekend!
But now things have started to settle down, but only a little. I got back to my school on Sunday evening and began preparing lessons. First thing Monday morning my teaching schedule was changed AGAIN. So that was hectic trying to prepare for classes at the last minute.
Then, today some good news: I got a washing machine! This is the first time I’ve been able to wash my clothes in an actual washing machine since I’ve been here in China! Before that it’s been good ol’ hand-washing! Ha ha! So, needless to say, that was exciting. There was a minor incident which involved my door getting broken during the process of hooking up the washer, but all is well now and I have already washed my clothes!
So now, with clean clothes and a somewhat new teaching schedule, this week is almost done! The time sure is going by fast!
Also, I added some new pictures to my flickr site of my teaching, my students, and my school.
Click Here to see my pics!
or go to this site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23953328@N03
To begin we were visited by DanDan last week. She flew into Guangzhou on Wednesday and began working on Thursday. She was out to Chashan to my school to observe me teach on Thursday afternoon. Along with her she brought Mallory, Han (one of our friends from the first 2 weeks; also a PhD student at SCNU), and Liu Zhe (another student at SCNU) who will be out to observe me in the future as part of her research for her school work. It was so nice to see some familiar faces!
So these four, plus my teacher and supervisor at my school, all sat in to observe me. The lesson went well. They sat in on my 11th grade math class which is always a really great group anyway. It’s a small class, only about 9, in which they are preparing to take the British O-Levels Exam. On this particular day we were studying trigonometry. So for the class activity we used hypsometers and we went outside to use angles and trig to measure the height of the school building. It started to rain on us, but we got it all worked out and it went well.
After the teacher we had a meeting to discuss my progress and my teaching in general. Then the school administration treated us to a big dinner in town, which was quite an experience in itself. This restaurant was huge! Plus, to pick dinner you got to walk around and look at various tanks to see what little critters you wanted for dinner! So we were strolling through looking and there was quite a selection. There was a multitude of fish, some frogs, turtles, stingrays, snakes, eels, clams, shrimp, lobster, crabs, oysters, many other things which I had no clue as to what it was, and even a duck swimming around in a little pool! Then there were big barrels of rice and noodles and various vegetables as well as big pictures of all sorts of other dishes up on the walls. An interesting way to make dinner selections to say the least.
After dinner DanDan was able to steal me away from my school that night (getting me out of teaching on Friday) so I could go into Guangzhou and go see Mallory teach the following day. So DanDan, Mallory, Han, Liu, and myself took off for the train station after dinner to head for Guangzhou.
The next day I went to Mallory’s school to sit with all of her school faculty and DanDan to observe her lesson. Afterwards we had a meeting and then we were again treated to a huge, fancy meal. Little did we know these were only the beginning of our many meetings and huge, fancy meals during the weekend. We decided that they roll out the red carpet when DanDan is in town!
So for the rest of the day Friday, all day Saturday and Sunday morning we accompanied DanDan to various schools, meetings, and meals. It made for some long days but we sure had fun. Mallory and I even ended up staying with DanDan in her rather fancy hotel for most of the weekend! Also, Mallory and I even got several job offers to come back and teach in China throughout the weekend!
But now things have started to settle down, but only a little. I got back to my school on Sunday evening and began preparing lessons. First thing Monday morning my teaching schedule was changed AGAIN. So that was hectic trying to prepare for classes at the last minute.
Then, today some good news: I got a washing machine! This is the first time I’ve been able to wash my clothes in an actual washing machine since I’ve been here in China! Before that it’s been good ol’ hand-washing! Ha ha! So, needless to say, that was exciting. There was a minor incident which involved my door getting broken during the process of hooking up the washer, but all is well now and I have already washed my clothes!
So now, with clean clothes and a somewhat new teaching schedule, this week is almost done! The time sure is going by fast!
Also, I added some new pictures to my flickr site of my teaching, my students, and my school.
Click Here to see my pics!
or go to this site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23953328@N03
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Finally... some time to write
Wow, let’s see… where to start. I honestly don’t even remember what my last blog included, and since I can’t even see it I guess I will just start with a little recap. The first 12 days were fantastic. We got to meet so many new people and make some really great friends. All of the people who were assigned the task of being one of our guides were great. So helpful, so friendly, and just so pleased to be spending time with us. It was really nice. Plus we got to see a lot of really different and amazing places.
We conquered the coldest winter Guangzhou has seen in 50 years, without heat mind you, and even with no electric for one day and night. We ate a variety of foods. Some of which burned like none other and some which were still looking at us when they were being served. We learned to make Chinese dumplings and we learned a lot about luck, fortune and tradition. We fought our way through the chaotic super-markets, the always busy subways, and the buses which nearly caused dislocated joints due to crazy traffic and crazy drivers. And we even eventually got to the point where we could do it on our own! So the first 12 days were definitely packed full of a variety of experiences, all of which seem so great looking back.
But now, we are all off on our own separate ways. I traveled just outside of Guangzhou to Chashan, Dongguan. Mallory stayed put there in Guangzhou, and the boys headed up north to Xi’an.
I have nearly finished my 3rd week here at HS Kama International School and what an experience it has been. When I began here originally I was scheduled for 22 classes per week taught in the International Department. By the 2nd week I was up to 27 classes per week, 3 of those being 2 ½ hour long night classes, and expanding out into the Korean Department. Also, might I add that 17 of my classes were English classes… too bad I teach math! But now, by the 3rd week, it is all finally straightened out and begun to settle down. I’m down to 20 regularly scheduled classes per week, 10 math and 10 English, plus 2 morning reading sessions. Much better! I have 7th and 11th grade math and 9th and 12th grade English. Like I said I’m in the International Department, but don’t let that fool you. Nearly all of my students are still Chinese. This only means that a vast amount of the curriculum is supposed to be taught in English. Well don’t let that fool you either, because it’s not! So, most of my students have an English language vocabulary probably at least 3-4 grade levels lower than they are. This, as you can imagine, makes teaching them difficult topics such as solving systems of quadratic equations quite a challenge. I won’t lie, it is hard. But so far I am enjoying it. I really like my classes and my students. Chinese students by nature are very quiet and soft spoken, so when a 6’2” foreigner, such as myself, comes in speaking to them in English, they were probably a little taken aback. But now by the middle of the third week I am getting to know them. They are becoming much more comfortable with me. At first they were so afraid to speak up in class, especially in English. But now I find them to be very responsive in class and very talkative outside of class. They always come up to me chatting and asking questions, or at the very least telling me hello and asking about my day. They are really starting to grow on me, they are a really great group of kids for the most part. Even a lot of the kids I don’t teach are all so friendly and generally excited to see me. In fact, just today I got attacked by a mob of 7 year olds on my way back from dinner! They all wanted to say hello and either shake my hand or give me a high five. I was impressed by their English too. A lot of them were saying hello (which I’m used to, nearly everyone knows the word hello), but then they started asking me “how are you?” or “how is your day?” and one even asked where I was from. I told him I was from America and he said, “well, welcome to China!” It was so cute! And they are the tiniest little kids I’ve ever seen and they are just amazed by me: the incredibly tall American.
The overall experience here at the school though is without doubt a good one. My cooperating teachers and other co-workers are great. Some of their English is kind of weak, and there are a handful who don’t even speak English, but nonetheless they are all great. Everyone is so helpful and so friendly. They are always very eager to help me with anything. I have definitely made some great friends here with my fellow teachers. There is one other teacher, the science teacher who is from the Philippines. She and I are the only ones in the entire school who don’t speak Chinese, so obviously she and I have become good friends. We often times just sit back and relax because many times meetings and assemblies are done all in Chinese, so we don’t have a clue what is going on. Then I spend a fair amount of time with my cooperating teacher for my 7th grade class. Her English is a little weak, but she’s just super nice. And so funny! I think even funnier because she tries to make jokes in English and it sometimes doesn’t work out so well! I also have become good friends with a lady named Elaine. She is a secretary, but is the one who first picked me up and brought me to the school. She has been most helpful in seeing that I have all of my necessities. She took me to the super-market and sort of showed me the ropes when I first got here. Plus if it wasn’t for her I still wouldn’t have internet or any appliances in my room! Then there are my two immediate supervisors, the head of the math department and the head of the international department. They are a couple of older guys, both from Malaysia. And I tell you what, these are probably the nicest guys anyone will ever meet. They both speak great English (actually they each speak about 8 languages) and they are set on seeing to it that I enjoy my time here at Kama. They have taken me to dinner at least once a week since I’ve been here, and this weekend they are planning on taking me to a park in the city. They tell me that “the food here isn’t that great and there isn’t much around… so we think we should at least take you for a good meal every once in a while and take you to see something interesting while you’re here.”
Also, speaking of the weekends, I have actually been traveling back to Guangzhou on the weekends. And they have been fabulous. First of all, I travel all by myself to Guangzhou. I take a 20 minute bus ride from my school to the Shilong Railway Station. I then purchase a train ticket and take a 200 km/hour train 25 minutes to the Guangzhou East Railway Station. From there I have the option of navigating through the subway system (which is actually quite easy) or taking a bus into town. I must admit I was quite impressed with myself that I can travel through China on my own. But anyway, the weekends are great. I go in and stay with Mallory from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. We do all kinds of things. We usually visit Starbucks at least a few times. Nothing like coffee and free wireless internet! Then we will usually go to the supermarket to shop for the “staples” that we might need for the week. We also go shopping out in the city too. Last weekend we stumbled across some designer purses! We bought them too, but only after bargaining in Chinese with the seller. We were quite impressed with ourselves on that feat too. We have went to Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, and even Chinese restaurants where we ordered and did it all by ourselves, without the help of a Chinese guide. We also have been taken out for meals quite a bit by friends in the city or by her teachers and professors. Then last weekend we even got to go to CHURCH. Who would have thought that would ever happen in China. It was really cool too. It was the Guangzhou International Christian Fellowship. It is approved by the government (not an underground church) but in order to be approved everyone in attendance must have their passports to prove that they are indeed a foreign citizen. The Chinese locals are not allowed to attend Christian services. So it was pretty cool, about 500 foreigners attending church in a hotel banquet hall in China. Very cool actually! There were people from the USA, Canada, Africa, South American, England (all over Europe actually), and I’m sure many more. We even met a girl from Columbus, Ohio. So it was just a really awesome experience. Mallory and I are really looking forward to being here for Easter! How many people can say that they have been to an Easter Church service in China?
So needless to say, Mallory and I definitely have fun on our weekends. We plan them out and spend them to their fullest! Plus with this warm weather even if we don’t have anything to do, it’s nice just to sit out in the sun! I know you are all jealous since it’s cold/snowy/icy back home!
So overall things are going great! In terms of teaching things are settling down and I’m getting into a groove here. The weekends are packed full and are so much fun. And I even got a package from home this weekend which was so nice! I am now stocked up on coffee, sugar, hand sanitizer, and other goodies from mom! Plus I am expecting 2 more packages from back home any day now so it’s going to be like Christmas here for me!!
Well, until I get some more free time to update again, I hope life is treating you all well back in the states.
Also, just to let you know, I have a flickr site set up where I have posted pictures. So you can get to the site by going to this web address: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23953328@N03/
We conquered the coldest winter Guangzhou has seen in 50 years, without heat mind you, and even with no electric for one day and night. We ate a variety of foods. Some of which burned like none other and some which were still looking at us when they were being served. We learned to make Chinese dumplings and we learned a lot about luck, fortune and tradition. We fought our way through the chaotic super-markets, the always busy subways, and the buses which nearly caused dislocated joints due to crazy traffic and crazy drivers. And we even eventually got to the point where we could do it on our own! So the first 12 days were definitely packed full of a variety of experiences, all of which seem so great looking back.
But now, we are all off on our own separate ways. I traveled just outside of Guangzhou to Chashan, Dongguan. Mallory stayed put there in Guangzhou, and the boys headed up north to Xi’an.
I have nearly finished my 3rd week here at HS Kama International School and what an experience it has been. When I began here originally I was scheduled for 22 classes per week taught in the International Department. By the 2nd week I was up to 27 classes per week, 3 of those being 2 ½ hour long night classes, and expanding out into the Korean Department. Also, might I add that 17 of my classes were English classes… too bad I teach math! But now, by the 3rd week, it is all finally straightened out and begun to settle down. I’m down to 20 regularly scheduled classes per week, 10 math and 10 English, plus 2 morning reading sessions. Much better! I have 7th and 11th grade math and 9th and 12th grade English. Like I said I’m in the International Department, but don’t let that fool you. Nearly all of my students are still Chinese. This only means that a vast amount of the curriculum is supposed to be taught in English. Well don’t let that fool you either, because it’s not! So, most of my students have an English language vocabulary probably at least 3-4 grade levels lower than they are. This, as you can imagine, makes teaching them difficult topics such as solving systems of quadratic equations quite a challenge. I won’t lie, it is hard. But so far I am enjoying it. I really like my classes and my students. Chinese students by nature are very quiet and soft spoken, so when a 6’2” foreigner, such as myself, comes in speaking to them in English, they were probably a little taken aback. But now by the middle of the third week I am getting to know them. They are becoming much more comfortable with me. At first they were so afraid to speak up in class, especially in English. But now I find them to be very responsive in class and very talkative outside of class. They always come up to me chatting and asking questions, or at the very least telling me hello and asking about my day. They are really starting to grow on me, they are a really great group of kids for the most part. Even a lot of the kids I don’t teach are all so friendly and generally excited to see me. In fact, just today I got attacked by a mob of 7 year olds on my way back from dinner! They all wanted to say hello and either shake my hand or give me a high five. I was impressed by their English too. A lot of them were saying hello (which I’m used to, nearly everyone knows the word hello), but then they started asking me “how are you?” or “how is your day?” and one even asked where I was from. I told him I was from America and he said, “well, welcome to China!” It was so cute! And they are the tiniest little kids I’ve ever seen and they are just amazed by me: the incredibly tall American.
The overall experience here at the school though is without doubt a good one. My cooperating teachers and other co-workers are great. Some of their English is kind of weak, and there are a handful who don’t even speak English, but nonetheless they are all great. Everyone is so helpful and so friendly. They are always very eager to help me with anything. I have definitely made some great friends here with my fellow teachers. There is one other teacher, the science teacher who is from the Philippines. She and I are the only ones in the entire school who don’t speak Chinese, so obviously she and I have become good friends. We often times just sit back and relax because many times meetings and assemblies are done all in Chinese, so we don’t have a clue what is going on. Then I spend a fair amount of time with my cooperating teacher for my 7th grade class. Her English is a little weak, but she’s just super nice. And so funny! I think even funnier because she tries to make jokes in English and it sometimes doesn’t work out so well! I also have become good friends with a lady named Elaine. She is a secretary, but is the one who first picked me up and brought me to the school. She has been most helpful in seeing that I have all of my necessities. She took me to the super-market and sort of showed me the ropes when I first got here. Plus if it wasn’t for her I still wouldn’t have internet or any appliances in my room! Then there are my two immediate supervisors, the head of the math department and the head of the international department. They are a couple of older guys, both from Malaysia. And I tell you what, these are probably the nicest guys anyone will ever meet. They both speak great English (actually they each speak about 8 languages) and they are set on seeing to it that I enjoy my time here at Kama. They have taken me to dinner at least once a week since I’ve been here, and this weekend they are planning on taking me to a park in the city. They tell me that “the food here isn’t that great and there isn’t much around… so we think we should at least take you for a good meal every once in a while and take you to see something interesting while you’re here.”
Also, speaking of the weekends, I have actually been traveling back to Guangzhou on the weekends. And they have been fabulous. First of all, I travel all by myself to Guangzhou. I take a 20 minute bus ride from my school to the Shilong Railway Station. I then purchase a train ticket and take a 200 km/hour train 25 minutes to the Guangzhou East Railway Station. From there I have the option of navigating through the subway system (which is actually quite easy) or taking a bus into town. I must admit I was quite impressed with myself that I can travel through China on my own. But anyway, the weekends are great. I go in and stay with Mallory from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. We do all kinds of things. We usually visit Starbucks at least a few times. Nothing like coffee and free wireless internet! Then we will usually go to the supermarket to shop for the “staples” that we might need for the week. We also go shopping out in the city too. Last weekend we stumbled across some designer purses! We bought them too, but only after bargaining in Chinese with the seller. We were quite impressed with ourselves on that feat too. We have went to Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, and even Chinese restaurants where we ordered and did it all by ourselves, without the help of a Chinese guide. We also have been taken out for meals quite a bit by friends in the city or by her teachers and professors. Then last weekend we even got to go to CHURCH. Who would have thought that would ever happen in China. It was really cool too. It was the Guangzhou International Christian Fellowship. It is approved by the government (not an underground church) but in order to be approved everyone in attendance must have their passports to prove that they are indeed a foreign citizen. The Chinese locals are not allowed to attend Christian services. So it was pretty cool, about 500 foreigners attending church in a hotel banquet hall in China. Very cool actually! There were people from the USA, Canada, Africa, South American, England (all over Europe actually), and I’m sure many more. We even met a girl from Columbus, Ohio. So it was just a really awesome experience. Mallory and I are really looking forward to being here for Easter! How many people can say that they have been to an Easter Church service in China?
So needless to say, Mallory and I definitely have fun on our weekends. We plan them out and spend them to their fullest! Plus with this warm weather even if we don’t have anything to do, it’s nice just to sit out in the sun! I know you are all jealous since it’s cold/snowy/icy back home!
So overall things are going great! In terms of teaching things are settling down and I’m getting into a groove here. The weekends are packed full and are so much fun. And I even got a package from home this weekend which was so nice! I am now stocked up on coffee, sugar, hand sanitizer, and other goodies from mom! Plus I am expecting 2 more packages from back home any day now so it’s going to be like Christmas here for me!!
Well, until I get some more free time to update again, I hope life is treating you all well back in the states.
Also, just to let you know, I have a flickr site set up where I have posted pictures. So you can get to the site by going to this web address: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23953328@N03/
Monday, February 18, 2008
An update at last!
Hello all! I hope that this blog finds everyone well. I have been here in China for about 15 days now. We spent nearly 2 weeks in Guangzhou traveling and sight seeing but now we are finally all off in our own directions, at our schools, teaching.
I will say that these have certainly been an interesting few weeks. I could write on here for days and still not talk about everything that I want to.
For starters, I bet you didn't know that this is the coldest winter that Guangzhou has seen in nearly 50 years! And to top it off, nearly every building in Guangzhou does not have any form of heat.
And the food, I bet you didn't know that boiled chicken feet are some what of a local delicacy. And it is a privelidge and honor to be the one who gets to eat the head of the chicken that is cooked for dinner. It means that you want to be a leader.
When we first arrived here in Guangzhou it was the peak holiday season, everyone was preparing for the Chinese New Year. We were able to spend the day of New Years Eve visiting the flower market. It was beautiful. There were so many wonderful, interesting types of flowers (most of which we learned had a special meaning or representation). We then were invited to spend the eveing with our host and guide, Wenge, her sister in-law, and her niece (whose english name is Mary). We learned that it is a Chinese tradition to make and eat dumplings on New Years Eve. The dumplings are supposed to be lucky and the more you eat the more money and prosperity will come your way in the upcoming year. Another host/guide of ours, SuYuan (english name: Andrew. Plus we also gave him the nickname of "trouble-maker") ate about 40, while I don't think any of us even topped 10. Needless to say, he is going to have a good and prosperous year!
After that we spent our days visiting famous sites in the city and travelling to other nearby cities to see the sites. We ate so many unique foods and saw some really fascinating places and people. And everywhere we went we were turning heads. People had never seen anything like the 4 of us come strolling through town.
While we stayed in Guangzhou we lived in apartments on the campus of Mallory's school, it was a language and arts college. Mallory and I shared a room, and the 2 boys shared a room. They were a bit rough compared to what we are used to. There was 2 (very hard) beds complete with mosquito nets, a bathroom a western style toilet, a hot shower (even though the hot water didnt last long, a kitchen with a refridgerator, a stove (that didnt work), and a microwave. There was also a TV and a washing machine, neither of which worked. It was very cold, a little dirty, and you could tell that someone else lived there and were probably just home for the holiday break. But nonetheless, we got used to it and actually got quite comfortable there in our little apartments. Mallory and I had a nice routine worked out and we had everything in the exact places we needed them. So we adjusted and things were good.
The actual city of Guangzhou is bigger than anything I have ever seen. We lived right down town so there were many place to go that were well within walking distance. But it was most convenient to take the public buses and the metro system. It turns out that the metro system is VERY nice and actually very easy to navigate through. So with our many guides (who varied daily and included: Wenge, Andrew, Han, Mary, Even, Zhu, Sharon, and a few others who we only saw once) we set out into the city everyday. We ate at all sorts of different restaurants, saw many different places, many different people, went to many parks, went to the supermarket (which is a nightmare by the way), and went shopping. We had a lot of fun for those 2 weeks. Everyone who spent time with us was so nice and so helpful. We have certainly made a good many new friends from this already. But after 2 weeks of non-stop traveling and touring we were all exhausted and I think we were all pretty much ready to head to our schools to start our work. It was definitely sad though to think that we would be starting over again, this time by ourselves. But I have it worked out to where I can go into the city most weekends to spend a few days with Mallory and Wenge.
So now, I am here at my School (Kama Internation School) and I have just completed my first day of teaching. I was a bit overwhelmed and very nervous at first, but after the day is over I really did enjoy it. All of my students are great. They are all very bright students, they are just a little shy and are very hesitant to speak out in english. But that is what I am supposed to work on with them while I am here. I teach 7th grade math, 11th grade math, 9th grade english speaking, and 12th grade english speaking. I REALLY enjoy the two older groups. They are must more comfortable and more confident in themselves so they are more eager to speak in english. It is so fun. They have so many questions and just want to spend time talking to me, about anything. The younger groups are good too, but they are just so hesitant to speak. They are still very unsure of their abilities and don't want to embarass themselves. So I think it is going to be a lot of fun, and a great challenge, to open these kids up and get them speaking more. But I really enjoyed teaching all of my classes today. So now I am just busy, busy, busy with lesson plans and preparations. I only had the book for 1 of my 4 classes prior to arriving at the school. And I only recieve one classes materials yesterday, and the 2 english classes I only recieved the materials today. So that was a bit stressful. I kind of got thrown in head first and I had to just go with what I had. But it went well. Also, a few people from the administration here at the school took me out to dinner last night so that was fun. We actually went to a "western" restaurant and had steaks that we got to eat with forks!
But anyway, I think that just about covers things for now. I will try to post again soon, and I hope to upload some pictures. There are some many things that I have seen and done that I want to share!
I will say that these have certainly been an interesting few weeks. I could write on here for days and still not talk about everything that I want to.
For starters, I bet you didn't know that this is the coldest winter that Guangzhou has seen in nearly 50 years! And to top it off, nearly every building in Guangzhou does not have any form of heat.
And the food, I bet you didn't know that boiled chicken feet are some what of a local delicacy. And it is a privelidge and honor to be the one who gets to eat the head of the chicken that is cooked for dinner. It means that you want to be a leader.
When we first arrived here in Guangzhou it was the peak holiday season, everyone was preparing for the Chinese New Year. We were able to spend the day of New Years Eve visiting the flower market. It was beautiful. There were so many wonderful, interesting types of flowers (most of which we learned had a special meaning or representation). We then were invited to spend the eveing with our host and guide, Wenge, her sister in-law, and her niece (whose english name is Mary). We learned that it is a Chinese tradition to make and eat dumplings on New Years Eve. The dumplings are supposed to be lucky and the more you eat the more money and prosperity will come your way in the upcoming year. Another host/guide of ours, SuYuan (english name: Andrew. Plus we also gave him the nickname of "trouble-maker") ate about 40, while I don't think any of us even topped 10. Needless to say, he is going to have a good and prosperous year!
After that we spent our days visiting famous sites in the city and travelling to other nearby cities to see the sites. We ate so many unique foods and saw some really fascinating places and people. And everywhere we went we were turning heads. People had never seen anything like the 4 of us come strolling through town.
While we stayed in Guangzhou we lived in apartments on the campus of Mallory's school, it was a language and arts college. Mallory and I shared a room, and the 2 boys shared a room. They were a bit rough compared to what we are used to. There was 2 (very hard) beds complete with mosquito nets, a bathroom a western style toilet, a hot shower (even though the hot water didnt last long, a kitchen with a refridgerator, a stove (that didnt work), and a microwave. There was also a TV and a washing machine, neither of which worked. It was very cold, a little dirty, and you could tell that someone else lived there and were probably just home for the holiday break. But nonetheless, we got used to it and actually got quite comfortable there in our little apartments. Mallory and I had a nice routine worked out and we had everything in the exact places we needed them. So we adjusted and things were good.
The actual city of Guangzhou is bigger than anything I have ever seen. We lived right down town so there were many place to go that were well within walking distance. But it was most convenient to take the public buses and the metro system. It turns out that the metro system is VERY nice and actually very easy to navigate through. So with our many guides (who varied daily and included: Wenge, Andrew, Han, Mary, Even, Zhu, Sharon, and a few others who we only saw once) we set out into the city everyday. We ate at all sorts of different restaurants, saw many different places, many different people, went to many parks, went to the supermarket (which is a nightmare by the way), and went shopping. We had a lot of fun for those 2 weeks. Everyone who spent time with us was so nice and so helpful. We have certainly made a good many new friends from this already. But after 2 weeks of non-stop traveling and touring we were all exhausted and I think we were all pretty much ready to head to our schools to start our work. It was definitely sad though to think that we would be starting over again, this time by ourselves. But I have it worked out to where I can go into the city most weekends to spend a few days with Mallory and Wenge.
So now, I am here at my School (Kama Internation School) and I have just completed my first day of teaching. I was a bit overwhelmed and very nervous at first, but after the day is over I really did enjoy it. All of my students are great. They are all very bright students, they are just a little shy and are very hesitant to speak out in english. But that is what I am supposed to work on with them while I am here. I teach 7th grade math, 11th grade math, 9th grade english speaking, and 12th grade english speaking. I REALLY enjoy the two older groups. They are must more comfortable and more confident in themselves so they are more eager to speak in english. It is so fun. They have so many questions and just want to spend time talking to me, about anything. The younger groups are good too, but they are just so hesitant to speak. They are still very unsure of their abilities and don't want to embarass themselves. So I think it is going to be a lot of fun, and a great challenge, to open these kids up and get them speaking more. But I really enjoyed teaching all of my classes today. So now I am just busy, busy, busy with lesson plans and preparations. I only had the book for 1 of my 4 classes prior to arriving at the school. And I only recieve one classes materials yesterday, and the 2 english classes I only recieved the materials today. So that was a bit stressful. I kind of got thrown in head first and I had to just go with what I had. But it went well. Also, a few people from the administration here at the school took me out to dinner last night so that was fun. We actually went to a "western" restaurant and had steaks that we got to eat with forks!
But anyway, I think that just about covers things for now. I will try to post again soon, and I hope to upload some pictures. There are some many things that I have seen and done that I want to share!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Travelers
Here is the gang who will be travelling abroad!! Mallory and I will be spending our time in Guangzhou and the guys will be heading up to Xi'an for their teaching placements. Even though we are paired up in our cities we are still a good bit away from each other. Mallory and I are going to be about an hour and a half apart from each other even though we are in the same city! But with a population of 12,000,000 in Guangzhou what can you expect?!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Welcome!
Hello everyone! My name is Jessica Driapsa. I am a senior at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio. I am an education major, planning to teach math in grades 7-12. On February 4th, 2008 I will be leaving the states and travelling to Guangzhou, China where I will be staying for three months to complete my student teaching. I am going to be teaching 8th and 9th grade math at HS Kama International School. You can visit the schools website at www.hskama.com. It is an interesting site, but unfortunately its all in chinese! I was able to find some great pictures of the campus on there though.
I have set up this blog so I can easily document my travels and my experiences while I am in China. I hope to update quite frequently and I hope to be able to upload a lot of pictures too! So keep checking back for updates!!
>>13 days until we depart!<<
I have set up this blog so I can easily document my travels and my experiences while I am in China. I hope to update quite frequently and I hope to be able to upload a lot of pictures too! So keep checking back for updates!!
>>13 days until we depart!<<
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
