Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Japan! 

A few months ago, when I realized that our Christmas break would only be 2 weeks, I told myself that it would be really hard to only be home for 10 days, and spend all that money and time in the air.  I knew that I had a friend from college that is now working in Japan, so I e-mailed her and asked if I could visit her for the holidays.  She said "of course", and the planning began!  Now, fastforward several months, and I'm enjoying sitting in her living room, on a heated carpet, enjoying a very lazy Christmas day. 

I knew that spending Christmas away from home would be hard, but I never realized how hard it would be.  We went to a Christmas Eve candlelight service last night, and it was really difficult on my emotions.  We were handed candles, and sang several familiar songs (in Japanese).  Just the tunes were enough to make the waterworks begin.  I had to excuse myself and gather my emotions before I was able to go back in.  I didn't realize that something as simple as singing Christmas songs by candlelight on Christmas eve would evoke such an emotional response.  As a result, I am really wrestling with myself on what to do next year.  It would be easier on my wallet to stay near Asia, but it would be better on my emotions to go back home...at least I have time to think about it!!

Christmas has been really laid back, and enjoyable.  The friend that I'm staying with made cinnamon rolls for breakfast (my family's tradition).  As they were cooking, I was watching an early Christmas present from my family--the DVD of 9 Lessons and Carols from Kings College in Cambridge, England.  The smell of baking cinnamon combined with the sound from the DVD sent my mind racing back to being in my living room, which started another case of mini-waterworks.  Thankfully, it was short, and I was able to regain my composure. 

I am very thankful for the modern invention of Skype!  It makes being away from home at this time of the year a little more bearable.  While actually being in my living room would be the best option, I'd settle for a date via skype.  I get to look forward to a date tonight with my family while we open Christmas presents.  Yay!!

Tomorrow my friend and I are touring the nearby city of Kyoto.  I'm looking forward to being able to sight-see here, and also picking up souviners. 

When I get back, I get just under a day to relax, and then I head back out on another adventure--a few of us are going to the same area of China that I went to when I first came here!!  I am so psyched!!  I can't believe that after 8 years, I get to go back and visit it!  I wonder how much things have changed since 2004...guess I get to see :) 

I will try to post another entry when I get back from the trips, and include pictures.  More pictures will also be posted on my FB page, once I take enough for an album. 

I hope that all of you have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!! 

Thailand

We're back from Thailand!!

I really have to get better at updating this...I get so busy with school and other things that I forget to make new entries! 

Thailand was a blast!  It was very fun being able to go to another country, and not have to pay for the plane ticket. The trip to the airport and through customs went without any problems.  However, when we landed in Hong Kong...that's when the fun times commenced.  When we landed, we realized that our flight was going to start boarding in 20 minutes.  (If you've ever been to Hong Kong airport, you understand our panic.  HK airport is quite large.)  That meant we had 20 minutes to get off the plane, through the airport, and to the gate.  Simple, right??  Wrong.  Once we managed to get off the plane, we found that we had to go through customs AGAIN.  So...stand in line, look anxiously at watch, stand, check time...AUGH!  Finally, some of us started getting through.  I got through first with another teacher, and the two of us took off.  We were both assuming that the gate would be close.  Wrong again.  We had to go up 2 sets of escalators, on a tram-type thing, on multiple moving sidewalks...and we were still nowhere close.  (The two of us were going somewhere between a very fast walk and a jog.)  When we finally reached the area where the signs said our gate should be, we discovered we had to wait for a shuttle to take us there.  Our gate was actually in a separate smaller building.  So...wait, wait, get anxious, wait, wait, Shuttle's here!!  The two of us got on the shuttle, and managed to get to where our gate was.  Imagine our panic when the sign said "Final Call".  There were 14 people in our group...and only 2 were actually at the gate.  Thankfully, the people at the counter knew a small amount of English, and we were able to communicate that we had 12 more people coming.  More of our group started coming, and we boarded.  Once we were actually on the plane, we realized that 3 members of our group were still not on the plane...A few minutes later, however, they all got on.  Yay!! 

The conference itself was really good.  Great seminars, good food, reconnect with friends, meet new people, etc.  The city we were in has a night market that sell tons of Thai souviners.  A lot of us would finish seminars at the conference, change into nicer clothing, and then ride over to the night market.  Such a fun atmosphere!  Challenge--a lot of the vendors speak English, so you have to be careful with what you say.  I got a lot of fun stuff, some to be used as gifts, and some for me :) 

On my last night in Thailand, I went up to the pool with two of the teachers from my school.  The pool was on the roof of the hotel, completely open to the sky.  It was so awesome!!  And partway through our time there, we started seeing these lights in the sky.  A lady was there with us that teaches at a school in Thailand, and told us that the following weekend was some special holiday for the Thai people, and that this weekend was a pre-celebration.  They were lighting lots of little balloon/candle-y things and sending them off into the air.  It was really pretty!  I started wishing that I had my camera.  If you've seen the movie Tangled, imagine the light scene in there, but with a lot less of the lantern things. 

Our trip back was a lot less adventurous.  We left Thailand and flew to HK, and got to spend the night in HK.  It was a hassle checking into the hotel, but we managed.  Aggravating thing about the hotel though--we weren't told until AFTER we had started eating that breakfast wasn't included with our booking...so we had to pay extra.  Grr....oh well. 

Flight from HK to Shanghai was mainly eventless.  I sat beside a really fun woman from England that told me several stories.  She travels a lot for her job, and had lots of interesting experiences.  One that I would not want to live through--she was flying from LA to London.  A few minutes after take off, one of the 4 engines exploded (her words).  The pilot turned the engine off.  She thought they would turn back to LA, but they kept flying to England.  At one point, the pilot tried to turn the engine on again, and flames shot out of the back of the engine.  They were supposed to fly into London, but when they got close to England, the pilot came on and told everyone that they were going to divert to Manchester.  She didn't think anything of it until the next day.  At her dentist's appointment, she was telling this story, and she found out that they had to divert to Manchester because the plane ran out of fuel.....glad I wasn't on that flight!!

We have a few weeks left of school, and then we'll be on a break again.  In less than 3 weeks, I will be in Japan!  I get to add a new country to my list :)  Can't wait to catch up with my friend again! 

I posted pictures from my Thailand trip on my FB account.  Hope you enjoy them!!

Hopefully, I will soon get better at updating this on a more regular basis...

Time flies!!

In 2 1/2 weeks, I'll be in Thailand!  I will finally get a stamp in my passport that is not Chinese or American!  (I'm counting Hong Kong as Chinese since I believe it is technically a part of China.)  Our school is sending several teachers to Thailand over Thanksgiving weekend for a conference, and I am one of those teachers!  I not only get to go to Thailand, but I get to spend time with friends that I haven't seen in 2 years.  Can't wait!!

It's crazy how time can get away from you.  It seems like just a few days ago I was typing the post about Fall Holiday...and here I am one month later.  Why is it that time flies so fast the older you get? 

This past week we had parent teacher conferences.  Our school is in the final phase of the accreditation process this year, and we have already had several days off to work on stuff for this.  Therefore, instead of conferences being manditory and on half days, they were optional and after school.  I guess it was a good thing, because then I didn't have as many conferences.  Instead of 14, I only had 7.  Then, that 7 turned to 6 when one of the families decided to stay longer in Korea, and cancelled their appointment.  It's still a strange experience having conferences through translators.  I've gotten a little more used to it after also doing it last year, but there are times it's still strange and awkward, especially when you have to tell the parent something about their child, and another party finds out about it since they have to translate.  However, overall, the conferences went really well.  Positive side to one of them:  I asked the mother if she had any questions for me.  She replied, "No.  I know your reputation, so I'm not worried about my son."  That surprised me, and confused me at the same time.  I have a reputation??  What are people saying about me?  What is it that I'm doing right that makes this mom not worry about her son in my class??  At least I seem to have a good reputation instead of a bad one!

Fall Break

I can’t believe that it’s been a month since I last posted something.  In the last month, I have gotten 2 new students:  1 that is Chinese by nationality, but was born in Australia and has AMAZING English and 1 from Korea.  My class now is twice the size it was this time last year.  It’s interesting how when I’m here, I view a class of 14 as “oh my gosh so big!”  However, teachers in the states would LOVE to have a Kindergarten class of only 14.  I think more stress is added since there are so many different English levels in one class:  varying from 3 that are fluent, to 1 that understands no English, and everything in between.  In the midst of al of the stress and confusion that comes from teaching so many different levels, there are bright moments, such as what happened on Friday.  One of my lowest students has been receiving after school tutoring from another teacher.  During class, the kids were working on a color, cut, paste activity.  After they finish something, they raise their hand and wait for me or my co-teacher to call on them.  This student raised his hand, and when I called on him, he responded, "Teacher, I want scissors."  I had never heard a full English sentence come out of his mouth in the entire time he has been in my class.  He got quite embarasse when I gave him a hug in front of all of his classmates.  Can there be more moments like this??

Right now, we are on Fall Vacation.  Here are some pictures from my vacation so far.   For the first few days, we went to Hangzhou to visit a friend of my roomie.  Yesterday, I went on a trip to a nearby town that a family of one of my students arranged. 

 Trip #1--HangZhou

Love the architecture here!! 





I finally got to eat at Dicos, a restaurant I have heard a lot about from my dad :)  Awesome food!!







Buses here were SUPER crowded since
it was a holiday weekend.



Building where we were renting
bikes for ride around the lake.





There was beautiful scenery where
we were biking.



Benefit of bike riding:  you can go places in a
traffic jam that cars can't go.



I didn't even plan on getting this shot,
but I love the rays of sun. 



Trip #2--JiangYin

There were staircases everywhere,
and they led to a variety of places.



Some of the staircases led to old
bomb shelters, like this one.

Starting down the stairs to
go to lunch.

Just a few of the intricate lunch displays.



Display of vegetables.





View from above of a building we saw
earlier.  This is also a fountain.



Two of several buildings with
animals on top.  This one--turtles.





Unique fountain in the lobby of a hotel
we were allowed to visit. 














Tomorrow I get to go on another trip, so I'll try to post pictures from there in a few days.  I apologize about the spacing of the pictures...apparently this space doesn't like to do what I want it to do. 
If you have a facebook account, there are more pictures from both trips on there. 

In other news, my roomie and I have a new edition to our family.  I would like you all to meet Xiong Mao (Panda.) 


Thankfully, she's not making me sneeze
as much as I had feared.



One of her calmer moments.  Usually,
she's dashing around the apartment,
chasing her tail, or chewing on her leg. 
Strange kitty!!



Little things in life

I love the little moments in life that make you smile.  They can turn a bad day good in a split second. 

I went out to dinner with a friend, and then continued on to the grocery store.  While in line, I had fun talking to the fammily in front of me.  There was a grandma (who had a whopping 3 teeth on her upper set) and her granddaughter, who was about 8-10.  After a rocky start (couldn't understand her) we finaly began communicating.  We managed to understand each other when we talked about the heat.  She asked me if I was hot, and when I replied I was, she told me I should eat a popsicle.  She then proceede to comment on my shirt color, hair length, and the fact that my nose was really red.  (I have had a cold since Monday, I look like Rudolph.)  I had to smile when the two of them left.  Such a short conversation made my day!  I wish there could be more moments like that.  They're really fun :) 

I'm not a newbie anymore!!

It's amazing how time flies as you get older!  I am still finding it hard to believe that I have started my 2nd year of teaching.  I have a new group of kids, new challenges to face, and new things that are already exciting me! 

I have a class of 12 students, with 7 different passport countries.  2 of my students have very high English levels, 2 have no English (except for a smattering of random words), 1 has slightly higher than no English, and the rest of the students are evenly grouped in the middle.  This is making teaching quite interesting, especially since I don’t speak either of the languages that they speak.  One of my 2 lowest is trying his hardest to learn English words, and doing fairly well!  My other lowest student is practically refusing to practice his English.  He is relying quite heavily on the fact that he speaks the same language as my co-teacher, so he doesn’t want to practice English.  Any suggestions on what to do? 

Some high notes of the year so far:

                My Japanese girl started the year painfully shy, and wouldn’t use English except when asked simple questions (like what is this color?)  However, she is getting more used to our class, and is using her English more every day! 

                One of my Korean boys came in knowing no English.  In the span of just 2 ½ weeks, he is learning quite a lot of words J  Yesterday at lunch, he was making me giggle when he looked at me with a serious face, and just started saying, “Yummy!  Yummy! Yummy!” 

                Two of my boys are commonly ones that cause a lot of trouble.  However, one o f them was on his best behavior ever today!  I have sticker charts where the students have to get 5 stickers for following directions, listening to the teacher, using English, etc.  When they complete a sticker chart, they can get a prize from the treasure box.  One of the two troublesome students was the first one in my class to finish the sticker chart!!  I was very impressed with him! 

Hopefully, I can add more highlights to my list…sooner rather than later. 

Highlight unrelated to school year—I officially get to fly to Japan during some of Christmas break!! 

 

School begins again...

This is officially the last free day of the summer.  Hard to believe!!  Tomorrow begins teacher work week/training week/back to work week. 
I have had quite an enjoyable summer, full of relaxing, learning more Chinese, hanging out with friends, meeting new staff, and more.  I still find it hard to believe a year has passed!!  Before I know it, I'll be packing and getting ready to go home for summer off!   
On a really happy high note:  I have officially purchased my tickets for Japan over Christmas Break!!  I get to spend 3 whole days and parts of 2 other days with my friend that I haven't seen since graduation!!  I'm really looking forward to this trip!  I get to go to two different countries in two months!!  Thailand in November and Japan in December!!  Yay!!

Summer's almost over :(

Staff have begun to return to Wuxi, which marks the beginning of the end of the summer.  New staff are also arriving, bringing nice fresh faces to our school!  Two girls have gotten here already, and we're expecting another family tomorrow.  It's fun meeting all of these new people, and welcoming them into our family. 

I can't believe that this will be my 2nd year teaching, (unless you count the year of subbing...)  The number of students in my class keeps changing, but it should be somewhere around 9-11, with the probability of growing as the year progresses.  When school begins again, I'll have to train a whole new set of students.  Dad--I am beginning to understand what you meant when it was hard to train a new set of students each year.  I'm sure I'll understand even more once the year actually begins.  There must be a special place in the heart of a teacher for their very first class.  I can't believe that when the students come back on Aug. 13th, that the students I had last year won't be mine any more.  I'll see them in the halls, but they aren't in my class any more...that will be a hard adjustment.  However, I am looking forward to my new class!  There are challenges that will come with this new group (including three boys that I know will prove QUITE challenging, since all three have difficulties sitting still, following directions, and more...)  Two of them were here last year, so maybe since we already know each other, that might be able to help things along...(That's me being optimistic...) 

A couple things I'm really looking forward to during the first semester: 
     Fall Holiday:  We actually get a whole week off in October for the Chinese celebration of Fall Festival.  Last year we had our conference during that week, so it wasn't really time off...This year our conference is later, so we get the whole week to ourselves!
     Thailand:  The conference I mentioned above is in November this year, and we get to go to Thailand!  I have done so much traveling this past year, and I know I'm not close to being done.  Yay for another stamp in my passport!!
    Japan:  I have a friend that recently moved to Japan to teach for 2 years.  We were talking a vew days ago, and we're hoping to work our schedules in such a way that I might be able to visit her over Christmas break in December :)  If this works out, yet another stamp for the passport!  I think I'll have to get more pages added to my passport when I go home next summer.  If I don't, I'll run out of space very soon with the different visas and stamps that will be put in there. 

Over the next 7-8 days, the rest of the staff will be trickling back!  It will be nice to have everyone back again.  Our apartment complex seems a lot quieter with a lot of the staff gone.  I'm ready to see everyone again!! 

Can't wait to see what Dad has in store for everyone over the next school year! 

xin de wen shi fei chang nan 新的文是非常难 (New Languages are really hard)

Learning a new language is HARD.  I had forgotten how difficult it is.  I took Spanish in High School, but that was easier for some reason.  Chinese, however, is difficult.  There are tons of ways of saying the same thing, dpending on what situation you are in, or just many different versions of the word. 
For example: 
*zhishi (只是), buguo (不过), danshi （但是), and keshi (可是) all mean “but.”  *You can say “hen ri,” “tai ri se," or "ri se le", and all of those mean "Really hot."

Then, you get into the territory of measure words.  I really am struggling with those.  In English, when counting something, we say the number, and then the noun.  In Chinese, they say the number, a measure word, and then the noun.  There are over 100 measure words...ugh...and I have only learned about 10, which I still have an awful time remembering which one I use when.  (If you want the huge list, go here:  Measure words.) 

To name a few: 
*bao--when counting packets, packages, or bundles of things (sweets, cigarettes, sugar, cookies, etc.)
*ben--for "volumes", bound print (books, magazines, dictionaries, notepads, textbooks, etc.)
*ce--volumes of books (not to be confused with one book from the above measure word.)
*da--sackfuls, pouchfuls, bagfuls, pocketfuls (sugar, flour, rice, etc.)
*fang--square things (ink stones, bacon)
*ge--individual things, people; this can also be used if you don't know the appropriate measure word, so I use this A LOT!!  (appropriate usages:  person, family members, students, questions, nation, etc.)

I could go on, and on, but I won't.  I would have to say that so far, this is the hardest part of Chinese...I am doing my best, being a good student and doing my homework, but it's hard!!  Is there any way I could get a copy of the Intersect in my head so that I could speak Chinese fluently??  (For those that don't get the reference--it's from the TV show Chuck.) 

Off to be good and attempt to study Chinese...wonder how much will stick??

One Year Later

This time last year, I was in New York for orientation before flying out to China.  It's hard to believe that so much has happened in one year! 
Last year, I would still have doubts that I would be able to be a good teacher, actually teach my students things, make a difference, etc.  One year later, and I know that I do have what it takes to teach, I can teach my students the material, and I don't have to listen to memories from college. 
Last year, I was nervous about moving half way around the world, to a different country, where I don't speak the language, and preparing to work with people I had never met before.  One year later, I'm loving life, can make my way around the city (even without knowing a ton of the language), and I LOVE my co-workers!  We're like one gigantic family transported to the middle of China :) 
Last year, I had been on 6 planes my entire life (2 of those were when I was in elementary school, 2 in April of 2011, and 2 in June of 2011.)  One year later, I have been on 20 (Counting the previous 6), and will be going on more in November when we fly to Thailand, and who knows how many more after that.
Last year, I was the new staff member, being introduced to a brand new city, new stores, new modes of transportation.  One year later, and I am now the returning staff, and will get to introduce the new staff members to our city. 
Last year, I was living at home with my family.  One year later, I have a roommate and we live very happily in an apartment in a entertaining neighborhood.
Last year, I was getting ready to move to a new city (and country), and wondering what it would be like to finally have a classroom of my own.  One year later, I absolutely LOVE my job (even though there are many stressful days mixed in, but that's life), and don't have any plans in the near future of leaving. 
Last year, I was very bad with directions.  One year later, and I can navigate my way through a foreign country, and even understand subway maps (if you know me well, you know how big of an accomplishment that is for me).  If only I could understand road maps as well as subway maps....

Looking back at all of these accomplishments, it makes me wonder what all will happen in this upcoming year.  I started the school year last year with 6 students, then went to 7, back to 6, up to 10, then 11, then 12, and ended the year with 11. I know my class this upcoming year will either be 12 or 13 for starters.  The cap for Kindergarten is 16, so I don't think I'll be growing as much as I did this past year.  It will also be a very international class:  Hong Kong, New Zealand (Chinese heritage, but holds a New Zealand passport somehow), Phillipines, Pakistan, Korea, one girl that is half Chinese, half Spanish and I'm not sure what her passport country is, and maybe more.  This will certainly be a very interesting year!!  I'm looking forward to all of the new experiences as well as the challenges :) 

Time Flies!

I am very sorry for not making a new post for a while.  Life has been getting really busy here, especially now that it is getting close to the end of the school year.

                It’s hard to believe that I have been living in China for almost a year.  There are times that it seems like just yesterday that I received the news that I had been accepted, and that I had a job here…packing everything up into 3 suitcases…going to the airport and saying goodbye to everyone…and now I’m almost done with my first year of teaching.  Where has all of the time gone? 

                This past year has been a year of growth, and learning.  Learning more about myself as a person and a teacher…growing in my teaching abilities…growing closer to Dad…learning that I do know what I am doing…learning what it feels like when your boss commends you on what a good job you are doing in your classroom…growing in my confidence of abilities…and learning what has and has not worked so that I can make my classroom next year much better. 

                My students do something that amazes me every single day.  Whether it is speaking a sentence using their growing English vocabulary…remembering something we taught them to figure out something they’re not sure of…recalling information that was taught months ago and answering problems correctly…telling me, “Teacher, I know how to do it…” when I try to help them…and so much more shows me that they have been paying attention, and that what I have been doing has indeed made an impact on their young lives.  Yes, there are hard days…days when I would love to pull my hair out, or eat way too much ice cream because it has been stressful, hard, aggravating, full of mistakes (made by students and/or teacher), or a combination of all of these.  However, it’s through days like these that we grow.  If life were full of perfect days, we wouldn’t learn from our mistakes, and realize what does and doesn’t work.  Sometimes, these hard days can not only be beneficial for the teacher, but can also be used to help the students learn and realize their mistakes.  There have certainly been a fair share of those types of those days this year!  However, there have been more of the happy days, where students show how much they can learn and pay attention that make the hard days seem less and less awful.

                In these remaining 13 ½ days of school, there is a crazy amount of stuff that has to be done…we have Transition Day on the 24^th (when the Kindergarteners get to experience a bit of 1^st grade); Field Day on the 25^th; an open house on June 2^nd; Kindergarten graduation on June 6^th; last day of school June 7^th; report cards need to be finished and printed; need to still teach the kids so many different things; and who knows what else might come up?  I know that when I get stressed thinking about everything that still needs to be done…just focus on the happy moments of the school year, and keep shooting up arrows to Dad!  He surely is an Awesome Dad!!

Spring Break 2012—Huangshan, China

So...I planned on posting this earlier, but I kept forgetting...

For Spring Break this year, I actually went to 2 different places.  On Sunday, a small group of us went to Shanghai for some swing dancing.  That was SOOOO much fun!! 

Then, on Wednesday evening, a different group of us took a night train headed for HuangShan (Yellow Mountains).  Being on a night train was a unique experience because there were no doors on our little compartments, so you either changed in the bathroom (not a smart idea since there was a squatie on the floor), under your covers, or slept in whatever you were wearing.  I ended up doing the third option. 

When we finally arrived, we ended up splitting into 2 groups--one group wanted to hike all the way from the bottom to the top of the mountain.  The other group took a cable car half way, and hiked the rest.  I chose the latter of the 2 options. 

View from the cable car

After we got off of the cable car, we had a lot of hiking to do.  And I mean A LOT.  It wasn't easy trails where all you do is walk on paths.  There were stairs...stairs...and more stairs!! 

These things are EVERYWHERE!!

Some of the stairs were easy because there would be about 3 of them, and then straight walking, 3 and then straight, etc.  Other times, it was very difficult becasue the stairs were continuous (like in the above picture) and some were at very steep angles.  One set of stairs we had to go up was so steep, you couldn't stand straight up.  You literally had to crawl up the stairs on your hands and knees. 

By the time we got to our hotel, I no longer had legs.  I had cooked spaghetti noodles attached to my hips.  But I was very pleased with myself that I had made it to the top w/o giving up!! 

The next morning we began the hike down the mountain.  We got up early so that we could see the sunrise.  I wasn't too keen on the idea because I was exhausted.  However, once we were at the place everyone had recommended, I was quite glad that I had gotten up early.  I really enjoyed seeing creation and everything that Dad had made.  It was breathtaking, and when the rays of the sun peeked over the horizon, I was overcome at the beauty of everything.  We really do have an awesome Dad!!

Shot I got of the sunrise.

For the next few hours, we continued to hike down the mountain, and down, and down...more and more stairs!!  I will say, going down stairs is waaaaaay more enjoyable (and easier) than going up. 



Shot on the way down.  The Yellow Mountains are famous in Chinese paintings.



Another picture from the trip down the mountain.



We made it to the cable car, and finished the rest of our journey.  However, there were still several hours until we had to catch the bus to the trainstation, so we toured the area at the base of the mountain.  We found a really fun ancient street that kind of reminded me of where I had been in China before.  There were little shops everywhere, and the majority of them were selling calligraphy stuff, chop blocks, and other odds and ends. 



This is a picture from the ancient street.



On the train ride back, all 5 of us were actually on the very top bunk...and there were 3 bunks in each stack.  I could not sit straight up in bed, which made things quite interesting.  However, thankfully, I was able to sleep.  We got to the trainstation here in Wuxi at 5 a.m., got a cab, and were back in our apts by 6 a.m.  Since it was a Saturday morning and I didn't have to be anywhere, I dumped my stuff on the floor, changed into PJs, and collapsed into bed. 

Spring Break was exhausting, but also tons of fun, and so many good memories!  However, I don't think I'll be going back to HuangShan for a while...Maybe they can put escalators in! 

Spirit Week 2012

Spirit week 2012 was full of fun outfits, lots of laughs, friendly competition, and much more.  As promised, here are pictures!



Monday:  PJ and Crazy Hair Day. 



Tuesday:  Twin Day







Wednesday:  Fashion Fail Day



Thursday:  Superhero or Cartoon Character Day.  A friend dressed up like Elastigirl from "The Incredibles."







We were watching the staff vs. students soccer game.  Not sure why they were hugging, but it was cute!

Friday was Fake-an-Injury Day, but I didn’t get any pictures from then. 

Over Spring Break, I got to go to Shanghai and Huang Shan (Yellow Mountains).  I will post more about that later, pictures included.  Enjoy these pictures! 





Kindergarten Gems

            “Teacher, this dirty!”  Those 3 words may seem like something very little, but to me, they made my day. 

            In January, I got three new students, and all of them had very low English.  One of them had practically no English.  So, in order to communicate with them, my co-teacher and I have had to rely on 3 of our 5 year olds to help translate.  In March, I got another new student, who also had very little English.  My first reaction at seeing how low they were, was to wonder how on earth I was supposed to teach them anything when I couldn’t even speak their language.  However, I began thinking of a student I got last year.  He came on the 2^nd or 3^rd week of school, and the extent of his English vocabulary was the numbers 1-10, yes, no, home, and “batrum.”  I remembered being worried about the same thing—how am I supposed to teach him??  However, he is now one of the 3 that my co-teacher and I are relying on for translating.  He soaked up the English language at an incredibly fast pace!  He came the last week of August, and by November, he was speaking almost full sentences, and able to communicate much easier.  As each month passes, he becomes more and more skilled at the English language.  Whenever I think of that story, I remain optimistic about my 4 new Koreans, that they will also get to that point.

            The other day, we were cleaning up after an art project, and one of my new Koreans came over to me, and got my attention.  He looked me straight in the eyes, and said in clear English, “Teacher, this dirty!”  I was so surprised that he had spoken in a full sentence!  Until then, he would usually only say one word, which was good.  However, this was his first full sentence!  I grabbed him up in such a big hug, elated that he was also learning! 

            Another one of my students has no problem communicating and understanding English, but he STRUGGLES with academic stuff.  For the longest time, he could not recognize the numbers 1-10.  He could only add 0+0, 0+1, 1+1, and sometimes 2+0.  The English alphabet was also quite difficult for him.  However, it’s like something clicked in his brain over the past week or 2.  He has been learning quite fast, and doing amazingly well!!  The other day, my co-teacher called me over to where she was working with the lower Math group.  She had written “4+4” on the board, and asked our student what the answer was.  Before this, he would just give you a blank stare, as if he had no clue what you wanted.  But instead of staring, he looked at his fingers, got four on one hand, four on the other hand, and proceeded to count up.  He got to 8, looked up at her, and with a huge smile on his face, replied , “8!”  Once again, I embraced the child in a hug.  I find myself doing that whenever one of them does something very very well!!  (That’s one thing about teaching over here that’s nice—you don’t have to worry about staying a good distance away from the kids for fear of being accused of doing something naughty to them.)

            Whenever I get frustrated or upset and wonder, “Why don’t they understand this?  It’s so easy!”  I have to remind myself of those little gems from our year so far.  There are several more I could put in here, but then this post would turn into a book….It’s these little gems that get me through the hard times.  I can’t wait to find more of them!  They’re so fun!

            I made a mistake on the other post…this upcoming week is actually Spirit Week.  Not last week.  I will be taking pics daily, and posting on here for you to enjoy J  Tomorrow’s theme—Pajama and Crazy Hair Day!!  I get to wear PJs to school, and not get in trouble!!!!!!
            Tuesday:  Twin (or triplet, or quadruplet…etc.) Day
            Wednesday:  Fashion Fail Day (Mismatch clothing)
            Thursday:  Cartoon or Superhero Day
            Friday:  Fake-an-Injury Day

This will make for a fun week in pictures post!  Until next time J

March Madness

“Iiiiiitttttt’s….supercalifragilisticexbealidocious….”  The other night, several of us were walking from our apartment to another one for a movie night.  On the way, we decided to have some fun, and started belting out songs from Mary Poppins.  Here in China, there are security guards placed in random spots.  As we walked by one, we continued to belt out the lyrics, not really caring who was nearby.  The guard, however, did something that we didn’t expect:  he cocked his head at 3 Americans singing loudly, and then smiled, and began clapping.  “Hen hao!  Hen hao!” (Very good!  Very good!)  He kept saying, while clapping his hands and smiling.  We were quite shocked, but we smiled, and continued singing.  Just goes to show, you never know what to expect when you live in China.  It might be things that you see the nationals doing, or changes you see in yourself (such as walking down the street, singing Disney songs quite loudly, not caring what other people think of you.) 

I am slowly getting more adjusted to having 2 vastly different ability groups in my classroom—higher English, and lower English.  In Math, I’m used to planning for 2 groups, which isn’t actually as hard as I thought…My only struggle—one of my newest kids doesn’t seem to want to learn English.  Even when we use the most basic words, he still just points.  He won’t even copy us…he just points…How can we get this kid to use English?

Next week is Spirit Week.  Each day will have a different theme.  Monday:  PJ/Crazy hair day.  Tuesday:  Twin Day.  Wednesday:  Fashion Fail.  Thursday:  Cartoon/Superhero Day.  Friday:  Fake an Injury Day.  I’m assuming that “Fashion Fail” is basically mismatched stuff…we will get more details this week.  I will try to take pics, and post some on here, for laughs J 

Look for more next weekend, when it will be full of pictures of the hilariousness of Spirit Week!!  J  Should be great!

"We're Gonna Craaaaaaaassssssshhhhhh!!!!!" (Relived)

One of my many memories from my 2 previous trips to China is actually one that would have made my mom nervous, had she been nearby when it happened…

Our group went to a nearby village for dinner.  To get there, we rode tandem bikes.  Mom and Christina were on one, and I was with dad on the other.  On the way back, the sun was setting, and dad and I wanted to have some fun.  We saw a really big hill coming up.  We rode up to the top of the hill, and stopped at the top…planned our descent, pedaled as hard as we could for about 10 seconds, and then took our feet off of the pedals.

We ROCKETED down the hill…dad trying to dodge out of the way of cars as we went.  We had so much fun shouting “We’re gonna craaaaassssshhhh!!!”  all the way down the hill.  There were countless cars on the side of the road, and one opened its door right before we passed.  When we reached the bottom of the hill, we couldn’t stop giggling J

Last night, I relived that experience…but unlike the experience 7 years ago, this one wasn’t planned.

A few of us went out to dinner at a really nice restaurant yesterday just for fun.  It had been raining quite a lot all day, but had thankfully stopped by the time we left the restaurant to go home.  We managed to grab a taxi, and headed for home.  However, a typically routine taxi ride soon turned into something quite different…

We were on a bridge, and it soon became quite apparent that our cabbie wanted to get home…he went from going at a normal pace, to almost rocketing down the road, in no time.  There were no other cars on the road, thankfully…I’m pretty sure that if our cab had wings, we would have left the road, and started flying over Wuxi.  I’m not exactly sure how fast we were going, because I’m having trouble converting from km/h to mph…doesn’t make sense…but it was scary fast.  Our speed was made even scarier by the fact that the roads were wet from a full day of rain…I was gripping the door handle very tightly, really Hoping that we would stay on the road. 

Thankfully, all four tires stayed on the road, and we got back to our apartment safe and sound!  We then dove into the massive amounts of chocolate that I had received from my kids as presents for part of Teacher Appreciation Day(s).  Nothing like chocolate to help calm your nerves down after a nerve-wracking taxi ride!!  Maybe I should keep a stash of chocolate here in the apartment, just in case something happens again...