Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
China's Best Dance Crew
I returned from possibly the best night of my life! Last week, one of my students, Winter, invited me to come see him dance any night. I waited until I was paid so I could make sure I had cab fare. Tonight, after my class ended at 6pm, Emily and I met up with Winter and two of Emily's students, Joy and Eric. The students made us sit down as they paid for and brought the food over! I was only happy when they agreed I would pay next time.
After dinner, Winter brought us to where his crew meets and showed us a few dance moves. I could do a few haha but not all. Slowly a crowd started to gather. All of sudden a ton of dancers showed up and I learned they are all part of the Friday Crew. They meet Monday through Friday and tonight they all sat in a large circle. Emily and I (later Kim came and joined in) were invited to sit in the circle too. A big speaker is brought out, hip-hop music is played, and a water bottle is spun in the middle of the group. Whoever the water bottle points at, has to get in the middle of the circle and dance. Winter danced a few times - he's a b-boy...meaning he can break dance! I am teaching the most amazing students ever. A few of the other dancers were poppers, which is sooo cool to watch. Yes, the bottle did land on Emily so the two of us did a little dance and ran back to our seats. Yes, Kim also danced with the two of us and we did a mini-wave between the three of us. Yes, I will have to dance next time I go but it's worth it!!!
I can not forget to mention Huajian. He deserves his own paragraph. While dancing with Winter, a man, probably in his 30s, showed up and came over to us. Huajian presented himself as a former breakdancer, current magician. He did a few magic tricks for us involving cigarettes disappearing from his hand and appearing on his ear. Later, he taught us a visual trick that makes it look like your thumb is poking through your ear. He then revealed that he had finished 10 large beers before showing up. So back to the circle of dancers. When Winter was not sitting next to me, Huajian made sure he could talk to me. He was not only a breakdancer but taught a lot of the current dancers (like he's the 4th generation teacher of Winter...if that makes sense). Eventually, Huajian even did some breakdancing himself!! In the process, he tossed us his shoes and jacket so he could breakdance in a button down shirt, pants, and long socks. I can not forget to mention his large glasses that I wanted to steal. He attempted to show me how to "pop" with my arm and told me to practice 3000 times a day. Yeah, okay.
The thing that may stick with me is once again everyone's kindness. Winter paid for my meal and bought 5 of us water. During the dance circle, one of the dancers we hadn't even met brought Emily, Kim, and I juice. The rest of the "crowd" (meaning not us or the dance crew) could not sit in the circle like we were but comprised a large audience around the dance circle. We were treated as respected guests and it felt amazing. I wish I could have told the whole crew how much it meant to me!
After dinner, Winter brought us to where his crew meets and showed us a few dance moves. I could do a few haha but not all. Slowly a crowd started to gather. All of sudden a ton of dancers showed up and I learned they are all part of the Friday Crew. They meet Monday through Friday and tonight they all sat in a large circle. Emily and I (later Kim came and joined in) were invited to sit in the circle too. A big speaker is brought out, hip-hop music is played, and a water bottle is spun in the middle of the group. Whoever the water bottle points at, has to get in the middle of the circle and dance. Winter danced a few times - he's a b-boy...meaning he can break dance! I am teaching the most amazing students ever. A few of the other dancers were poppers, which is sooo cool to watch. Yes, the bottle did land on Emily so the two of us did a little dance and ran back to our seats. Yes, Kim also danced with the two of us and we did a mini-wave between the three of us. Yes, I will have to dance next time I go but it's worth it!!!
I can not forget to mention Huajian. He deserves his own paragraph. While dancing with Winter, a man, probably in his 30s, showed up and came over to us. Huajian presented himself as a former breakdancer, current magician. He did a few magic tricks for us involving cigarettes disappearing from his hand and appearing on his ear. Later, he taught us a visual trick that makes it look like your thumb is poking through your ear. He then revealed that he had finished 10 large beers before showing up. So back to the circle of dancers. When Winter was not sitting next to me, Huajian made sure he could talk to me. He was not only a breakdancer but taught a lot of the current dancers (like he's the 4th generation teacher of Winter...if that makes sense). Eventually, Huajian even did some breakdancing himself!! In the process, he tossed us his shoes and jacket so he could breakdance in a button down shirt, pants, and long socks. I can not forget to mention his large glasses that I wanted to steal. He attempted to show me how to "pop" with my arm and told me to practice 3000 times a day. Yeah, okay.
The thing that may stick with me is once again everyone's kindness. Winter paid for my meal and bought 5 of us water. During the dance circle, one of the dancers we hadn't even met brought Emily, Kim, and I juice. The rest of the "crowd" (meaning not us or the dance crew) could not sit in the circle like we were but comprised a large audience around the dance circle. We were treated as respected guests and it felt amazing. I wish I could have told the whole crew how much it meant to me!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Garden of Eden
This week the MCLA Crew ventured into a Lotus Garden. For only 20 yuan, we were granted permission to enjoy the garden/park until 5:30pm. I did not know how big it was! The lotuses themselves are humongous; the many buildings are ancient and beautiful. We had fun taking pictures and enjoying the scenery. I actually saw a Chinese person doing Tai Chi in a Chinese park!!! (See Mom? I AM in China!) Kim pushed Emily and I to talk to three elderly men as a way to practice our Chinese. They were aaamazing! I wish I had taken a picture. However, Emily and I saw one of them the next day when we were right down the street! Who knew in a country of 604 bajillion people we would randomly see someone twice.
If you want to see pictures of this trip and of everything China, go to www.photobucket.com/daynewahl. The pictures are in the album called...China.
Yesterday marked the beginning of an amazing string of days...I can already tell. Us new teachers received our first pay yesterday. We then learned of Beyonce's concert in Beijing in late October (guess who will be the only tall, white American man dancing to Single Ladies live in Beijing?). Today, I am going shopping and hope to get a tennis racket! Tonight, I am having dinner with my student, Winter, and then he is going to teach me dance moves! He is a b-boy so maybe I will learn to pop (not breakdance...that would be breakbones for me). And tomorrow, Emily, Kim, and I are off to Beijing!!!
In other news, my Spoken English for Sophomore classes are doing Speed Dating this week. Thanks for the idea Mom! For real.
Also, I miss and love everyone! (including my cousin Amanda :-P)
If you want to see pictures of this trip and of everything China, go to www.photobucket.com/daynewahl. The pictures are in the album called...China.
Yesterday marked the beginning of an amazing string of days...I can already tell. Us new teachers received our first pay yesterday. We then learned of Beyonce's concert in Beijing in late October (guess who will be the only tall, white American man dancing to Single Ladies live in Beijing?). Today, I am going shopping and hope to get a tennis racket! Tonight, I am having dinner with my student, Winter, and then he is going to teach me dance moves! He is a b-boy so maybe I will learn to pop (not breakdance...that would be breakbones for me). And tomorrow, Emily, Kim, and I are off to Beijing!!!
In other news, my Spoken English for Sophomore classes are doing Speed Dating this week. Thanks for the idea Mom! For real.
Also, I miss and love everyone! (including my cousin Amanda :-P)
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Nothing but Love
I have felt nothing but love from every Chinese person I have met during my wild experiences. One night, after dinner, Kim, Emily and I walked by a park with not only a jungle gym for children but workout equipment for adults. I enjoyed standing on these swinging metal rods that allowed me to swing forward and back or stretch my legs (one leg forward as the other went back). A woman was on another one of the same machines right across from me and smiled, asked where I was from and laughed when seemed to be enjoying swinging back and forth as much as a little kid would. Another woman, accompanied by her young daughter, said in perfect English to me, "Welcome to China!" Why haven't I seen parks like this in Delmar, NY?
We stumbled upon another great experience one night last week, again while walking back to the campus after eating dinner, when we saw a large group of elderly people dancing in a park. It looked as if one of them was leading the group but they all seemed to know what dance moves to do as the beats and rhythms of the music changed. Of course, we had to join in and attempt to keep up with the elderly Chinese men and women. What we didn't expect was the crowd watching us that slowly formed during each song. The crowed LOVED our props: when a new song started and all the old people suddenly were dancing with fans, we used folders I just bought at the store; when an even newer song started and all the old people were dancing with ribbons and scarves, I used Emily's new purchased long johns. One woman in the crowd had an infectious laugh...so obviously I had my picture taken with her before we left for the night!
Those two park experiences were slightly different than my first two times at English Corner. English Corner is a gathering of people speaking English in one area of the campus on Tuesday and Friday nights. A few of the veteran foreign teachers had warned us that they didn't plan on returning to English Corner this year. I kept thinking, "What's the harm in talking to people for a little bit?" Oh, I learned. Emily and I went to our first English Corner and were greeted by an English teacher. He said it was an honor to have foreigners at English Corner...then proceeded to ask me questions about Obama's health care plan and the financial crisis. This teacher, asking tough questions and not letting students get a word in, diverted the students away from me and towards Emily. She ended up talking to a few non-English majors who wanted to be her BEST FRIEND. Meanwhile, the teacher took a pause and I stole this opportunity to talk to a student standing next to me. This led to me talking to a few other students and all of them were amazing. Peter is a senior History major and spoke English pretty well. Alex is a senior Psychology major and knew a lot about American television. Last but not least, Liu Yang was shy to speak any English with me at first, attempting to tell me he didn't speak English (but he said that in English). After I asked him a few questions, the four of us had a good conversation going. I received their information and plan on meeting up with them again another time. But here's the thing I still can't really believe actually happened: I became friends with a Chinese soldier. Liu Yang told me he did not go to Hebei Unverisity but enjoyed coming to English Corner sometimes. He did not attend college because he was a soldier for many years and now works as a driver for his boss (not sure exactly what that entails still). I must not forget to mention one girl, originally talking with Emily, joined our conversation and scared me a little with how loud and forward she was. The few people who seemed a little too crazy to meet us Americans freaked us out a little but the fun students and new soldier friend (still can't believe that...) made it a worthwhile experience.
After attending English Corner on Tuesday, I was not sure if I would go again anytime soon. However, Emily and I went again Friday night! I am hoping to eventually find a tutor out of the awesome group of people I have met there. They could teach me Chinese for an hour and I could teach them English for an hour. Before English Corner, I really only knew my students and did not want to have my student be my tutor. My second time at English Corner, I met a potential tutor...but she does not need much help in English haha. Vicky, a new girl at English Corner on Friday night, speaks English very well and I just want to be best friends with her! Now I am going to stalk HER and not vice versa hahaha. When I buy a tennis racket, we are going to play together on the courts near my apartment because we are both bad! So English Corner was less intense the second time. The crazy girl from the first time even showed up in a calm disposition. I am still not sure how often I will continue to go but it has been a good place to meet friends.
It is a new experience to have a nation of over 1 billion people be so interested in me! Everyone is friendly, wants to practice English with me, and likes meeting me. I truly have felt nothing but love from the people of China!
We stumbled upon another great experience one night last week, again while walking back to the campus after eating dinner, when we saw a large group of elderly people dancing in a park. It looked as if one of them was leading the group but they all seemed to know what dance moves to do as the beats and rhythms of the music changed. Of course, we had to join in and attempt to keep up with the elderly Chinese men and women. What we didn't expect was the crowd watching us that slowly formed during each song. The crowed LOVED our props: when a new song started and all the old people suddenly were dancing with fans, we used folders I just bought at the store; when an even newer song started and all the old people were dancing with ribbons and scarves, I used Emily's new purchased long johns. One woman in the crowd had an infectious laugh...so obviously I had my picture taken with her before we left for the night!
Those two park experiences were slightly different than my first two times at English Corner. English Corner is a gathering of people speaking English in one area of the campus on Tuesday and Friday nights. A few of the veteran foreign teachers had warned us that they didn't plan on returning to English Corner this year. I kept thinking, "What's the harm in talking to people for a little bit?" Oh, I learned. Emily and I went to our first English Corner and were greeted by an English teacher. He said it was an honor to have foreigners at English Corner...then proceeded to ask me questions about Obama's health care plan and the financial crisis. This teacher, asking tough questions and not letting students get a word in, diverted the students away from me and towards Emily. She ended up talking to a few non-English majors who wanted to be her BEST FRIEND. Meanwhile, the teacher took a pause and I stole this opportunity to talk to a student standing next to me. This led to me talking to a few other students and all of them were amazing. Peter is a senior History major and spoke English pretty well. Alex is a senior Psychology major and knew a lot about American television. Last but not least, Liu Yang was shy to speak any English with me at first, attempting to tell me he didn't speak English (but he said that in English). After I asked him a few questions, the four of us had a good conversation going. I received their information and plan on meeting up with them again another time. But here's the thing I still can't really believe actually happened: I became friends with a Chinese soldier. Liu Yang told me he did not go to Hebei Unverisity but enjoyed coming to English Corner sometimes. He did not attend college because he was a soldier for many years and now works as a driver for his boss (not sure exactly what that entails still). I must not forget to mention one girl, originally talking with Emily, joined our conversation and scared me a little with how loud and forward she was. The few people who seemed a little too crazy to meet us Americans freaked us out a little but the fun students and new soldier friend (still can't believe that...) made it a worthwhile experience.
After attending English Corner on Tuesday, I was not sure if I would go again anytime soon. However, Emily and I went again Friday night! I am hoping to eventually find a tutor out of the awesome group of people I have met there. They could teach me Chinese for an hour and I could teach them English for an hour. Before English Corner, I really only knew my students and did not want to have my student be my tutor. My second time at English Corner, I met a potential tutor...but she does not need much help in English haha. Vicky, a new girl at English Corner on Friday night, speaks English very well and I just want to be best friends with her! Now I am going to stalk HER and not vice versa hahaha. When I buy a tennis racket, we are going to play together on the courts near my apartment because we are both bad! So English Corner was less intense the second time. The crazy girl from the first time even showed up in a calm disposition. I am still not sure how often I will continue to go but it has been a good place to meet friends.
It is a new experience to have a nation of over 1 billion people be so interested in me! Everyone is friendly, wants to practice English with me, and likes meeting me. I truly have felt nothing but love from the people of China!
Friday, September 11, 2009
The International Life
It is Saturday morning here in Baoding, China as I write this. For those of you on the American eastern shore, it is still Friday night. (It's like I'm in the future and can tell you how the next 12 hours will go!)
A week ago, I finished my first full week of teaching here in China. So, to celebrate, Kim, Emily and I went to a dance club last Friday night! Haha. Keep in mind I've been to some in Ecuador and Spain. Deep Club in Baoding, China was one of the weirdest experiences of my life! Being white is certainly an oddity around here and garners many stares...the way this translates to the dance floor is fantastically hilarious. When Kim, Emily, and I danced, there was sometimes a circle formed around us (with people yelling us on) while other times any random, corny dance move we did was copied by half of the Chinese people standing around us. At one point, we danced putting one hand in the air then the other and repeated - this was copied by other people! It's not a good dance move but I guess anything we did was cool that night hahaha. It was such a weird and hilarious experience.
I can not forget to mention that Kim's friend Henry brought us to the club (and I think he is well known there because he gave me a ticket in and I paid 0yuan). Henry is from Nigeria and a cool guy. Who knew I would meet someone from Nigeria while teaching in China? In fact, the title of this blog, "The International Life", is inspired by the fact I've met people from all over the world while living here.
While last Friday night was eventful, Saturday was another experience. A lot of the foreign teachers went out to eat dinner together. There ended up being so many of us we had the biggest table in the restaurant and didn't all fit. The food tasted delicious but the company was even greater! There were plenty of Americans, some I had known before and some I met that night. Also at the dinner were a funny, cute couple (she's from Baoding, he's from the UK), an older teacher from France, two teachers from Japan, and Mao and his cousin (their family is from Indonesia but Mao was born in Madagascar and raised in France). Who thought we would get this group together in China?
I met more people in class this week...
My second week of teaching was busier: I taught my 4 classes of Spoken English for Sophomores and 2 classes of Writing for Juniors while being given a 7th class to teach freshmen Art majors with poor English skills. I also joined in one of the Chinese classes on Wednesday, my day off from teaching. There are many foreign students here taking lessons in Chinese 2 classes a day, 5 days a week. As a foreign teacher, I am allowed to go to any class I can. I attended a listening class and we learned about tones in the Chinese language. The other students included: 1 American, 1 Russian, 1 Japanese, 1 Canadian, 2 Mongolians, and 2 Koreans. During the break and after class I learned some names: Dae Hee, Ju Mi, Ted, and Yu Ka. They all seem nice and I am a little jealous I can not attend as many Chinese classes as them! I am excited to at least get some classes under my belt and make friends from even more countries though.
This weekend may be a little quieter but I am hoping to have enough money to travel to Beijing next weekend. Now, time to be a teacher and get some lesson planning done.
A week ago, I finished my first full week of teaching here in China. So, to celebrate, Kim, Emily and I went to a dance club last Friday night! Haha. Keep in mind I've been to some in Ecuador and Spain. Deep Club in Baoding, China was one of the weirdest experiences of my life! Being white is certainly an oddity around here and garners many stares...the way this translates to the dance floor is fantastically hilarious. When Kim, Emily, and I danced, there was sometimes a circle formed around us (with people yelling us on) while other times any random, corny dance move we did was copied by half of the Chinese people standing around us. At one point, we danced putting one hand in the air then the other and repeated - this was copied by other people! It's not a good dance move but I guess anything we did was cool that night hahaha. It was such a weird and hilarious experience.
I can not forget to mention that Kim's friend Henry brought us to the club (and I think he is well known there because he gave me a ticket in and I paid 0yuan). Henry is from Nigeria and a cool guy. Who knew I would meet someone from Nigeria while teaching in China? In fact, the title of this blog, "The International Life", is inspired by the fact I've met people from all over the world while living here.
While last Friday night was eventful, Saturday was another experience. A lot of the foreign teachers went out to eat dinner together. There ended up being so many of us we had the biggest table in the restaurant and didn't all fit. The food tasted delicious but the company was even greater! There were plenty of Americans, some I had known before and some I met that night. Also at the dinner were a funny, cute couple (she's from Baoding, he's from the UK), an older teacher from France, two teachers from Japan, and Mao and his cousin (their family is from Indonesia but Mao was born in Madagascar and raised in France). Who thought we would get this group together in China?
I met more people in class this week...
My second week of teaching was busier: I taught my 4 classes of Spoken English for Sophomores and 2 classes of Writing for Juniors while being given a 7th class to teach freshmen Art majors with poor English skills. I also joined in one of the Chinese classes on Wednesday, my day off from teaching. There are many foreign students here taking lessons in Chinese 2 classes a day, 5 days a week. As a foreign teacher, I am allowed to go to any class I can. I attended a listening class and we learned about tones in the Chinese language. The other students included: 1 American, 1 Russian, 1 Japanese, 1 Canadian, 2 Mongolians, and 2 Koreans. During the break and after class I learned some names: Dae Hee, Ju Mi, Ted, and Yu Ka. They all seem nice and I am a little jealous I can not attend as many Chinese classes as them! I am excited to at least get some classes under my belt and make friends from even more countries though.
This weekend may be a little quieter but I am hoping to have enough money to travel to Beijing next weekend. Now, time to be a teacher and get some lesson planning done.
I'm a teacher?! in China?!
I thought my first few days in China before Kim came were exciting but these past few days have been even more eventful! Kim showed up Saturday afternoon and the rest of the day felt a hurricane of meeting people and seeing things. I met two students from Russia, a few students from Korea, a teacher from Japan, and a teacher from France. Crazy! We had a going away dinner for Yusi (her friend that helped us out the first few days) then went to Charlie's Bar after. Actually, Charlie and his wife came to dinner too and Charlie gave Emily and I our Chinese names! He gave us his family name Gao (which also happens to be Kim's and Yusi's family names). Emily is Gao Li which means Beautiful, and I am Gao Shan which means Tall Mountain. I felt special to be given a Chinese name so quickly! That night we also went to a karaoke bar with Yusi's friends - we had our own room and sang and danced to English and Chinese music until I literally fell asleep.
We were also given our class schedules. I have 6 classes - 4 are Spoken English for Sophomores and 2 are Written English for Juniors. To be honest I can't remember right now what I did on Sunday because my classes were so eventful! Classes here are 45 minutes/10 minute break/45 minutes and only once a week. Monday I have Spoken 8:00-9:40 and 10:10-11:50. Tuesday I have Spoken 8:00-9:40. Wednesday I have Written 8:00-9:40. Thursday I have Spoken 4:20-6:00. Friday I have Written 8:00-9:40.
Emily's classes start next week because the freshmen are in military training until then. So, I will be teaching from weeks 1 until 17 and she has classes weeks 2 until 18. Kim and Emily teach at the Foreign College, and I teach at the Industrial and Commercial College. They are both on the New Campus near each other. The differences are Foreign College has classes with about 20 students and are in Buildings B; I&C College has classes with about 40 students and are in Buildings A. Kim does not have classes Monday but both Kim and Emily came on the bus with me to the new campus to check out their college and check up on me during my breaks.
My first class at 8:00 started off on a good note when I walked in and said GOOD MORNING! and everyone in the class shouted GOOD MORNING! back to me. My first class has 38 students and only 3 are boys. Apparently, here in China, most English are girls and my classes sure reflect that so far! My lesson plan for the first week is the same for each class. I introduce myself then give them a notecard. I have them put what section class they are in, their Chinese & English names, what city they are from, their birthday, and e-mail addresses. (btw, I am very proud of my new teacher e-mail address: YoTeachWahl@yahoo.com...like YO! Teach from Funny People hahaha) Then I split the class into pairs where they interview each other and use that information to present each other to the rest of the class. This is where my first class got interesting. I asked everyone to stand up and everyone looked around or confused. I asked again and one girl started to stand up but sat back down when no one else stood up. I asked again and again and finally everyone stood up. Also...asking them to find a partner with the same color shirt was a bad idea so I just gave them a number and they found the person with the same number and sat down with them. I had to ask pairs to present each other but about half way through, they would start getting up on their own. They were all hilarious too! One girl showed off her new hair cut and said she thought it suited her well. One girl presented a boy as "one of the few boys and very handsome!" The students new to the major even said they hoped everyone could be friendly and help them!
By the way, Katie Dubendorf (from MCLA Admissions) told me students would pick normal English names or very funky ones like Cloud. I am proud to say I will be teaching Susan, Anita, Hector, Shimmer, Season, Ice, Winter, Spring, Autumn, Summer, Zelda, Rainbow, Shaka, and Apple.
After interviews, they wrote on a piece of paper what they have learned in their English classes and what they want to learn this year. The first class has that for homework but so far the other two did that in class. Every class for homework has to bring in an American slang word or phrase! I can't wait to see what they find.
My second class was similar to the first but this morning (Tuesday morning for me right now!) was very interesting. My sheet says the class is in 308 and I went in and didn't see many people but said GOOD MORNING! They all looked confused and one girl said, "sorry sir, this is not a class." (when classrooms aren't being used, people study in them). I then had to call Tim, the teacher from Virginia, to guide me to where our bosses office is. I found my boss, Nick, and he realized the room is actually 408 so we ran over and I arrived 25 minutes late! However, they clapped when I entered!!! I love them! Haha. I went on with the lesson plan and we got through everything except for the second half of the presentations. This class has 34 people and FIVE boys. That's a lot! Haha. Their English names are: Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Season. One of them even asked to take a picture with me after class! Aren't my students the best?!
I haven't really relaxed since I ran around then taught so maybe I should do that now...
We were also given our class schedules. I have 6 classes - 4 are Spoken English for Sophomores and 2 are Written English for Juniors. To be honest I can't remember right now what I did on Sunday because my classes were so eventful! Classes here are 45 minutes/10 minute break/45 minutes and only once a week. Monday I have Spoken 8:00-9:40 and 10:10-11:50. Tuesday I have Spoken 8:00-9:40. Wednesday I have Written 8:00-9:40. Thursday I have Spoken 4:20-6:00. Friday I have Written 8:00-9:40.
Emily's classes start next week because the freshmen are in military training until then. So, I will be teaching from weeks 1 until 17 and she has classes weeks 2 until 18. Kim and Emily teach at the Foreign College, and I teach at the Industrial and Commercial College. They are both on the New Campus near each other. The differences are Foreign College has classes with about 20 students and are in Buildings B; I&C College has classes with about 40 students and are in Buildings A. Kim does not have classes Monday but both Kim and Emily came on the bus with me to the new campus to check out their college and check up on me during my breaks.
My first class at 8:00 started off on a good note when I walked in and said GOOD MORNING! and everyone in the class shouted GOOD MORNING! back to me. My first class has 38 students and only 3 are boys. Apparently, here in China, most English are girls and my classes sure reflect that so far! My lesson plan for the first week is the same for each class. I introduce myself then give them a notecard. I have them put what section class they are in, their Chinese & English names, what city they are from, their birthday, and e-mail addresses. (btw, I am very proud of my new teacher e-mail address: YoTeachWahl@yahoo.com...like YO! Teach from Funny People hahaha) Then I split the class into pairs where they interview each other and use that information to present each other to the rest of the class. This is where my first class got interesting. I asked everyone to stand up and everyone looked around or confused. I asked again and one girl started to stand up but sat back down when no one else stood up. I asked again and again and finally everyone stood up. Also...asking them to find a partner with the same color shirt was a bad idea so I just gave them a number and they found the person with the same number and sat down with them. I had to ask pairs to present each other but about half way through, they would start getting up on their own. They were all hilarious too! One girl showed off her new hair cut and said she thought it suited her well. One girl presented a boy as "one of the few boys and very handsome!" The students new to the major even said they hoped everyone could be friendly and help them!
By the way, Katie Dubendorf (from MCLA Admissions) told me students would pick normal English names or very funky ones like Cloud. I am proud to say I will be teaching Susan, Anita, Hector, Shimmer, Season, Ice, Winter, Spring, Autumn, Summer, Zelda, Rainbow, Shaka, and Apple.
After interviews, they wrote on a piece of paper what they have learned in their English classes and what they want to learn this year. The first class has that for homework but so far the other two did that in class. Every class for homework has to bring in an American slang word or phrase! I can't wait to see what they find.
My second class was similar to the first but this morning (Tuesday morning for me right now!) was very interesting. My sheet says the class is in 308 and I went in and didn't see many people but said GOOD MORNING! They all looked confused and one girl said, "sorry sir, this is not a class." (when classrooms aren't being used, people study in them). I then had to call Tim, the teacher from Virginia, to guide me to where our bosses office is. I found my boss, Nick, and he realized the room is actually 408 so we ran over and I arrived 25 minutes late! However, they clapped when I entered!!! I love them! Haha. I went on with the lesson plan and we got through everything except for the second half of the presentations. This class has 34 people and FIVE boys. That's a lot! Haha. Their English names are: Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Season. One of them even asked to take a picture with me after class! Aren't my students the best?!
I haven't really relaxed since I ran around then taught so maybe I should do that now...
First few days in China
Tuesday (our first full day in China):
We woke up around 9am - called my parents and checked e-mail (and figured out multiple websites are banned). Emily and I attempted to go to the cafetaria in the building across from us but it looked like they were in a meeting so instead we took a short walk. We got back to my room around 12:30 and needed a nap (jet lagged kicked our butts...) and we would be awake by 4pm to meet up with Kim's Yusi...however we napped for 4 hours and had to call him up to tell him what happened.
Emily and I ended up hanging out with Yusi for about 6 hours. We helped me purchase my Chinese cellphone, brought us to a grocery store, brought us to a restaurant, and showed us Kim's favorite bar. Together, Emily and I spent $20 at the grocery and we bought jam, bread, blueberry flavored Lay's chips, Bimbo bread, milk flavored Cheetos balls, apples ($2 for 4), bananas ($0.25 for 4), water, and other things I can't think of right now. Chips here have the weirdest flavors - blueberry, prawn, roasted chicken. For dinner we ate at the Golden Dumpling and ate...you guessed it...dumplings!! Three types: beef/onion, carrot/egg, egg. They were all REALLY GOOD!!!
Talking to Yusi was almost more excited than going out and seeing the city of Baoding. He had some insightful things to say like, "the Chinese government tries to turn smart people into fools and sometimes succeeds." We learned that every student goes through military training (I can sometimes hear them practicing and yelling from my window). Popular American music here includes The Beatles, and other happy sounding tunes about pain and love. Asian Idol actually could not be shown during primetime on TV because it promotes democracy so in China they only show it later at night.
Wednesday (China's Valentine's Day):
Jet lag still had an upper hand on us so we woke up late and then skyped people. Today was not smoggy or foggy and was actually beautiful. We were worried it would always be smoggy (like you see on TV) but it was just the weather for one day. Another good note is there is a large park right near our apartment complex. It's beautiful and I think I might have to go there to read sometimes.
Wednesday was a slower day in general. For most of our meals, we had dumplings that were left over. Actually, we put them in paper cups and heated them up in a microwave. Emily and I feel like a newly married couple struggling to survive in their new apartment in a big city. We did take a walk and purchased water, iced tea, ice cream, and magazines on our own. Emily bought Cosmo but it has an Asian model and its in Chinese - it's interesting to see the ads though. In the US, people buy tanning lotion and try to be as tan as possible. In China, people buy whitening lotion and try to be as white as possible. I guess what's beautiful is all cultural... I bought an "Overseas English" magazine that is in both English and Chinese. I love it! It has some English phrases and how to use them in conversation but it just sounds funny when you read them outloud. I may have to bring it into my classes and buy every new issue.
Thursday:
Web cam chatting on skype worked! (seems my webcam has worked almost every other time I've attempted to use it though). Video chatted with Marcelle and my Dad this morning. Then we got a skype call from Kim - she is in Russia for a wedding and will be in China Saturday night. She is super excited and so are we - she's like our big sister who helped us get ready to come!
We found where the two bikes that Kim gave us the keys for were located and rode around a little. When I buy my own, it's going to have to fit me better haha. This time when we went into the cafetaria there was not a meeting going. Trying to get food was interesting as the workers do not speak English and Emily and I do not speak Chinese. We pointed at food and pictures and they served us. They were friendly and one worker tried to show us how to properly hold the chopsticks. While there, we saw the school worker who picked us up at the airport show up with another American girl. Her name is Brittaney, she's from California, and she's actually studying abroad at Hebei University.
After, we met up with Yusi again. This time to take pictures of old people in this "park" where old people play cards and some hackey sack type game (looked like hackey sack but they were using a weight with feathers attached - there were some sprightly old people!). Next, we were introduced to The Honey Pool - a cute place with ice shakes and cheesecakes. I LOVE IT THERE! For dinner, we actually ate Korean food...the sauce was spicy but the beef and veggies were very delicious. On the way back to the apartments we met Cameron - a Chinese-American teacher from California who taught here last year and is returning just like Kim is.
Friday:
Emily and I were pooped from a busy day so we called family and friends in the morning and had leftovers for lunch. We found a store on campus called Yesbuy - it has a lot of random stuff kind of like Wal-Mart so we purchased more groceries and washclothes. Next, Emily brought her bike to get a wheel fixed. Then...we went back to Yesbuy later on. However, we also took a lot of pictures in the park right next door to us. The lizard my mom put in my suitcase was featured in many photos haha.
For dinner we ate in the cafe again but this time attempted to read the chinese words for the food. The workers were nice and helped correct our pronounciation. We took a lot of food for leftovers and on the way into our apartment met three more American teachers: Tim (from Virginia), Amelia (from North Carolina), and Carrie (from Virginia).
That's what I've been up to this first few days in China!
We woke up around 9am - called my parents and checked e-mail (and figured out multiple websites are banned). Emily and I attempted to go to the cafetaria in the building across from us but it looked like they were in a meeting so instead we took a short walk. We got back to my room around 12:30 and needed a nap (jet lagged kicked our butts...) and we would be awake by 4pm to meet up with Kim's Yusi...however we napped for 4 hours and had to call him up to tell him what happened.
Emily and I ended up hanging out with Yusi for about 6 hours. We helped me purchase my Chinese cellphone, brought us to a grocery store, brought us to a restaurant, and showed us Kim's favorite bar. Together, Emily and I spent $20 at the grocery and we bought jam, bread, blueberry flavored Lay's chips, Bimbo bread, milk flavored Cheetos balls, apples ($2 for 4), bananas ($0.25 for 4), water, and other things I can't think of right now. Chips here have the weirdest flavors - blueberry, prawn, roasted chicken. For dinner we ate at the Golden Dumpling and ate...you guessed it...dumplings!! Three types: beef/onion, carrot/egg, egg. They were all REALLY GOOD!!!
Talking to Yusi was almost more excited than going out and seeing the city of Baoding. He had some insightful things to say like, "the Chinese government tries to turn smart people into fools and sometimes succeeds." We learned that every student goes through military training (I can sometimes hear them practicing and yelling from my window). Popular American music here includes The Beatles, and other happy sounding tunes about pain and love. Asian Idol actually could not be shown during primetime on TV because it promotes democracy so in China they only show it later at night.
Wednesday (China's Valentine's Day):
Jet lag still had an upper hand on us so we woke up late and then skyped people. Today was not smoggy or foggy and was actually beautiful. We were worried it would always be smoggy (like you see on TV) but it was just the weather for one day. Another good note is there is a large park right near our apartment complex. It's beautiful and I think I might have to go there to read sometimes.
Wednesday was a slower day in general. For most of our meals, we had dumplings that were left over. Actually, we put them in paper cups and heated them up in a microwave. Emily and I feel like a newly married couple struggling to survive in their new apartment in a big city. We did take a walk and purchased water, iced tea, ice cream, and magazines on our own. Emily bought Cosmo but it has an Asian model and its in Chinese - it's interesting to see the ads though. In the US, people buy tanning lotion and try to be as tan as possible. In China, people buy whitening lotion and try to be as white as possible. I guess what's beautiful is all cultural... I bought an "Overseas English" magazine that is in both English and Chinese. I love it! It has some English phrases and how to use them in conversation but it just sounds funny when you read them outloud. I may have to bring it into my classes and buy every new issue.
Thursday:
Web cam chatting on skype worked! (seems my webcam has worked almost every other time I've attempted to use it though). Video chatted with Marcelle and my Dad this morning. Then we got a skype call from Kim - she is in Russia for a wedding and will be in China Saturday night. She is super excited and so are we - she's like our big sister who helped us get ready to come!
We found where the two bikes that Kim gave us the keys for were located and rode around a little. When I buy my own, it's going to have to fit me better haha. This time when we went into the cafetaria there was not a meeting going. Trying to get food was interesting as the workers do not speak English and Emily and I do not speak Chinese. We pointed at food and pictures and they served us. They were friendly and one worker tried to show us how to properly hold the chopsticks. While there, we saw the school worker who picked us up at the airport show up with another American girl. Her name is Brittaney, she's from California, and she's actually studying abroad at Hebei University.
After, we met up with Yusi again. This time to take pictures of old people in this "park" where old people play cards and some hackey sack type game (looked like hackey sack but they were using a weight with feathers attached - there were some sprightly old people!). Next, we were introduced to The Honey Pool - a cute place with ice shakes and cheesecakes. I LOVE IT THERE! For dinner, we actually ate Korean food...the sauce was spicy but the beef and veggies were very delicious. On the way back to the apartments we met Cameron - a Chinese-American teacher from California who taught here last year and is returning just like Kim is.
Friday:
Emily and I were pooped from a busy day so we called family and friends in the morning and had leftovers for lunch. We found a store on campus called Yesbuy - it has a lot of random stuff kind of like Wal-Mart so we purchased more groceries and washclothes. Next, Emily brought her bike to get a wheel fixed. Then...we went back to Yesbuy later on. However, we also took a lot of pictures in the park right next door to us. The lizard my mom put in my suitcase was featured in many photos haha.
For dinner we ate in the cafe again but this time attempted to read the chinese words for the food. The workers were nice and helped correct our pronounciation. We took a lot of food for leftovers and on the way into our apartment met three more American teachers: Tim (from Virginia), Amelia (from North Carolina), and Carrie (from Virginia).
That's what I've been up to this first few days in China!
In China!
I could not access Blogger here in China so that last post was a "test" through the blog e-mailing system...but that failed too. So, thank you brother for posting it! However, I just found a way to get my posts up here ;-)
I am going to post a couple of large e-mails I had sent out in the meantime...
I made it to China with ease. Emily and I were told we were "having too much fun" by the TSA guy so we went through those weird air detector things in Albany before the metal detectors. I went through it last time too. In Toronto, the customs asked Emily a few questions but nothing exciting. The customs in China was actually much easier to get through than I expected - there were just a few stops: one took a form, one stamped the passport, one took another form. The first two flights were fast and the long one was fun because we each had a video screen on the seat in front of us to play with. It had TV show episodes and movies to watch. Emily and I watched Adventureland together, then I watched Anvil!: The Story of Anvil, and we started 17 Again but didn't finish before we landed. We were given many meals and drinks as well!! We were picked up by a driver and a worker from the school in a normal sized car so Emily and I ended up squeezing in the backseat with a few of our bags. The ride was about 2.5 hours.
We are in our apartments now - each has a bathroom (a toilet and a "shower"...you can kind of just stand next to the toilet and get water on you hahaha), a walkway from the bathroom with a table & small washer & sink, and the kitchen has a minifridge microwave & cabinets. The big rooms come equipped with a TV (some weird drinking game then karaoke were both on earlier), two phones (i think one might work for international and one for the school but not sure yet), a PC (that's what I am using right now!), a bed, a nightstand and two chairs.
I already knew twitter and facebook were blocked but sadly it looks like blogger is as well. This means I will not be able to write in my blog for now. I may keep trying or look for an alternative but as of now e-mailing me is the best way to contact me. I do not know how to get the internet on my laptop to work and the computer in my room is in Chinese (but the internet can be used in English!). Surprisingly I am not THAT tired right now (it is a 12 hour difference so I am writing this at around 9:40pm my time, 9:40am your time) because I slept in the car from the airport and on the planes. I AM a little hungry but my parents made sure I had plenty of snacks in my backpack!
Tomorrow Emily and I should be meeting up with one of Kim's friends who will show us the cellphone store. Kim's room is 401 and diagonal from Emily's. Kim will be back from Russia on the 29th. Emily is in room 405 and I am in 305 - so directly one floor apart.
That's all for now. I haven't even started to unpack but I will probably have a snack, shower, watch a DVD and sleep.
I am going to post a couple of large e-mails I had sent out in the meantime...
I made it to China with ease. Emily and I were told we were "having too much fun" by the TSA guy so we went through those weird air detector things in Albany before the metal detectors. I went through it last time too. In Toronto, the customs asked Emily a few questions but nothing exciting. The customs in China was actually much easier to get through than I expected - there were just a few stops: one took a form, one stamped the passport, one took another form. The first two flights were fast and the long one was fun because we each had a video screen on the seat in front of us to play with. It had TV show episodes and movies to watch. Emily and I watched Adventureland together, then I watched Anvil!: The Story of Anvil, and we started 17 Again but didn't finish before we landed. We were given many meals and drinks as well!! We were picked up by a driver and a worker from the school in a normal sized car so Emily and I ended up squeezing in the backseat with a few of our bags. The ride was about 2.5 hours.
We are in our apartments now - each has a bathroom (a toilet and a "shower"...you can kind of just stand next to the toilet and get water on you hahaha), a walkway from the bathroom with a table & small washer & sink, and the kitchen has a minifridge microwave & cabinets. The big rooms come equipped with a TV (some weird drinking game then karaoke were both on earlier), two phones (i think one might work for international and one for the school but not sure yet), a PC (that's what I am using right now!), a bed, a nightstand and two chairs.
I already knew twitter and facebook were blocked but sadly it looks like blogger is as well. This means I will not be able to write in my blog for now. I may keep trying or look for an alternative but as of now e-mailing me is the best way to contact me. I do not know how to get the internet on my laptop to work and the computer in my room is in Chinese (but the internet can be used in English!). Surprisingly I am not THAT tired right now (it is a 12 hour difference so I am writing this at around 9:40pm my time, 9:40am your time) because I slept in the car from the airport and on the planes. I AM a little hungry but my parents made sure I had plenty of snacks in my backpack!
Tomorrow Emily and I should be meeting up with one of Kim's friends who will show us the cellphone store. Kim's room is 401 and diagonal from Emily's. Kim will be back from Russia on the 29th. Emily is in room 405 and I am in 305 - so directly one floor apart.
That's all for now. I haven't even started to unpack but I will probably have a snack, shower, watch a DVD and sleep.
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