holiday

I'm going to Guilin and Yangshuo on the Li River for holiday in Guangxi Province, the province just west of Guangdong, where I am. There are maybe 8 of us going together, but a good number of people from my program are going there too, I think. It's a really popular place for chinese and foreign tourists, very beautiful in the nature sense. Should be pretty crowded but should be a good time.

National Day and Mid-Autumn

National Day holiday is coming up. I have to teach on Saturday. It's a Thursday schedule. And then I get a week of vacation. Then I have to teach the next sunday, which will be a Friday schedule. How they determine these things I have no clue. I learn things about 20 minutes beforehand, like English Corner this week will be for the 4th graders, who will meet their Hong Kong Australian School penpals next month, and need to practice meet and greet skills. I get a one-week holiday, but because of a snag in our visa processing, many of us will not know until saturday night whether we have a visa to leave the mainland. Well, I know for a fact that my district, Luohu, will not be getting our visas in time. But we will get a receipt saying our passports are in processing, and an ID paper with our pictures and stuff saying that we work for the education bureau, and these, along with a copy of our passports, should allow us to leave shenzhen and take a train and stay at a hotel or hostel somewhere in china. (not including hong kong). so holiday begins 48 hours from now and have no clue what I'm doing yet because we haven't been able to make plans.

Finally went to the public security bureau with the rest of the Luohu teachers who haven't gone through the interviewing process yet for our visas. We're doing it later than the other districts because Luohu is being unusually strict this year, and this is why they're sure I'm not getting my passport back in time. The question inevitably came up: "But you look Chinese!" First question of the day. "yes, my family is chinese." "Where is your hometown?" "umm, my parents are from taishan." "oh, then you speak bakwah?" "um, siu siu" (a little)" and then in cantonese: "so if I speak the rest of the interview in cantonese, you will understand?" In english: "hah! um, not really." "okay, english." and then the normal stuff about my education and experience and if I think I'll be a good teacher. Then he asked a couple questions to Chris, the Scotsman, and it was much less extensive.

It's mid-autumn festival next week as well, and the Chinese are going mooncake crazy. They're sold everywhere. I got a tin of them from one of my teachers, and another from one of my students. Another one of my students gave me a single one. It's fun.

complete metamorphosis

In response to recent comments, yes, my kids call me Ms. Jen. I had the kids in Beijing call me Ms. Fong, and was ready to do that here, except that Anne's last name is Feng. And it sounds the same. So I didn't want to be Ms. Fong #2. I contemplated other names, and decided to have it be very casual. Maybe they understand that Jen is my first name, and maybe not. I have a friend who went by Chairman Bailey in Beijing, but I just don't think I can pull that off.

The kids love it when I say or repeat words in Chinese. I have learned "be quiet!" "an jing!" and they are so surprised when I break it out. I have also learned Complete Metamorphosis. "wanquan biantai" Impressive, eh? biantai (I think that's the spelling) also means to have a sex change. So whenever we say it in class, the kids always start giggling. it's pretty funny.

Yesterday we had another English teacher's meeting which I had to go to. And once again I didn't understand anything. But they were apparently talking about last semester's test scores and how to improve them. Afterwards, we went out to dinner at the restaurant near my school which I have now been to 3 times with people from school. I love these school group dinners. They are so good. I ate so much.

I finally got my school uniform for flag raising. It isn't like a real uniform. It's actually just sports clothes. Which is completely fine with me. I just got myself a nice pair of navy warmups and a short sleeved, collared polo like sports shirt. Cute.

Dinner with my student went well. Her dad didn't actually end up cooking dinner. Instead, they figured I would want to eat western food, in case I missed it at home. They took me to a hotel restaurant and insisted on a steak. It was quite expensive and I was reluctant, but they kept pressing. So I got an 88 kuai New Zealand Sirloin (11 dollars). Remember, my chinese dinners average maybe 15 kuai. Maybe 25-30 for big group dinners with program people. So this was pretty pricey. It was really good though. I hung out with my student, Nancy, and she showed me her awards and stuff. She won a trophy for an english competition last year: Best 5th grader in English in Shenzhen. Crazy. And she's really good at piano and really smart. Impressive. She wants to eventually go to university in Hong Kong where they have a program where you spend 2 years in HK, 1 at Oxford, and 1 at Harvard. Really impressive and ambitious.

good kids today

I think wednesdays are one of my favorite days, because I only have one class that starts at 11:00 and then I get the afternoon off for chinese class. Today's the first day of chinese class and I'm annoyed because most of my beijing friends are together in another of the beginning chinese classes and I'm alone in the boring people class. not fair. But anyway. Wednesdays I have just my 5th graders, class 3. I really like both of my 5th grade classes, they're really fun and well behaved. Well, maybe they're always well behaved because Anne always shows up with me. But I like teaching with Anne there and the kids are really responsive. Today I accidentally walked into 5th grade, class 4, and plugged in my usb key to set up my powerpoint. Then one kid in the front leaned over and said, "uh... Ms. Jen. I think you...come to the wrong class. No science now." And then I realized that I was supposed to be teaching 5(3). So I laughed, gathered my stuff, said "oops, I came to the wrong class! Bye!" And they all laughed and said "Bye Ms. Jen!"

signing my life away

Chinese people really don't tell you about things until the last minute. Sometimes it's frustrating, but mostly it's just funny that it's so uncoordinated. Today I had class 2nd and 3rd period from 9:20 to 10:55. Then my contact teacher came up to me and said that all the english teachers were having a meeting during 4th period. And I was like, "oh. uh, right now?" and she was like, "no, when the bell rings." haha. I didn't have class, so whatever, but she was like, "yes, all of the english teachers must go." so I went and of course it was all in chinese and I didn't understand a word of the goals for this semester or anything about the kids from Hong Kong Australian School coming to visit for penpals or anything of whatever else they were talking about. Except that my teacher said "Jennifer, the English corner that you began to teach yesterday...That is your duty." and then it resumed in chinese. And then some guys were doing a demonstration of some english learning website which I also could not understand, so I just sat watching the little cartoons say basic english sentences. And then Anne passed me the paper she was taking notes from, and she told me to sign it to signify that I have heard/read the contents. And so I did. And I very well could have been promising the school that I'll work full time for them for no extra wages. And no one would ever tell me. The meeting ran quite long, about 45 minutes into lunch. and when the teachers got too antsy, we all ended the meeting and ran down to eat.

I am still at school today until at least 2pm because that's when I'm getting my school uniform to wear for flag raising on monday mornings. On monday mornings when I'm feeling up to waking up in time to get to school before 8, that is.

more rain

yesterday it poured for almost 24 hours straight and it was pretty cool. flooded slippery marble/tile sidewalks and water streaming down bus windows like we were under a waterfall or something. It's monsoon season still. I missed the prime months of july and august here in shenzhen, but there's a typhoon close by and thus the non stop rain and cool weather. This is apparently a very weak storm too, say some of the teachers at my school. I like the rain a lot. And it's been actually cold. I've gotten to wear real full-length pants and light sweaters. this morning I wore some pants and a sweater though, and it was kind of hot. I was sad. But now it's overcast again. Yay. I hope it stays like this for a little while.

So in science class, each grade's normal english teacher sits in during class with me to keep the kids under control and to help translate the more difficult words (which sometimes end up being most of them). Chinese teachers really lay down the law here. if kids act up, they will start yelling and screaming and it's kind of scary. and then they'll hand the microphone back to me and say, "ok, you can go ahead." and I will be like, "umm. ok. thanks..." But on tuesday, my sixth grade teacher didn't come to class with me and the kids were so bad. they weren't so much yelling and running around. they were actually sort of quiet. they just weren't paying any attention. I had to get angry and stand in front for a minute silently before they behaved for a minute. and then they went back to being "naughty." they really only understand the word naughty. very british. anyway. today my 4th grade teacher came in a little late and before she walked in, all the kids were really rowdy too. geez. I seriously cannot control these kids. and I don't want to yell at them like the chinese teachers do. and even if I did, it wouldn't be as effective because some of them wouldn't understand exactly what I was saying. I hate kids sometimes. haha. No, I love them. but not when they don't listen.

They love the foreign teacher outside of class, even if they disrespect him/her in class. this happens to everyone. my best 6th grader is super sweet and has really good english. but even she wasn't paying attention when Ms. Li wasn't around. then after class she came up and asked when I was free to come over to her house for dinner. She asked me last week, but I was a little reluctant and made sure she asked her parents first. They tell us that we shouldn't turn down nice invites from chinese people. so tonight I'm going home with her to have a nice dinner with my student's family. I shall let you know how that goes.

Teacher's Day

Sunday was Teacher's Day here in China. One of my kids from Beijing sent me an e-card last week and it made me miss my old class. A lot of schools had celebrations on Friday. My school had some kind of Sports Day, which I couldn't attend because I had a meeting for my program. Well, actually, I could've attended if I hurried home after the meeting, but I decided to stick around and talk with the program people I hadn't seen in a little while. Besides, I thought the sports day was going to be teachers and kids participating. The teachers were on teams according to the grades they teach, but I got placed on the 2nd grade team. There was going to be a race for which team could finish all of the games first. There was basketball dribbling, a feathered hackey sack, and something else they couldn't really explain to me in english. Then Friday morning, I found out that the students were going home early and only teachers were playing the games. I found this somewhat strange, so I didn't mind skipping out. Except that it probably would've been fun, and I would've gotten to bond with the other teachers more. But it's okay. I "talk" to the other teachers at school too. so anyway, after sports day, we had a party, which I came back in time for. We went to a hotel near our school and did a bunch of karaoke and dancing. They made me karaoke in english for everyone. The song selection was limited to about 15 english songs, about half of which I didn't know. So I chose Pretty Woman. and it was embarrasing, but fun. I enjoyed myself. Then we had this huge banquet dinner at the hotel. We were waiting for another group to finish, and it turns out it was another school (which was very likely since everyone was celebrating Teacher's Day). We saw Anne's sister in law, who I met at her parents' house that one time. I think I wrote about that. Her sister in law told me that my American friends were inside. It was Alex and Tiff, who teach at Shenzhen Foreign Language School. So I went in and said hi, then we went on to eat a bomb dinner. It was sooooo good. There was a bunch of stuff, but I remember clearly this shrimp with noodles underneath that tasted just like some really good shrimp pasta. mmm. pasta. And there was some really good beef. And I don't really remember anything else clearly, but I took a picture and will post it soon.

Speaking of pictures...I finally put some up on my flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sillylittlesloth
I posted them last night and it looks like there are already some random people who have viewed them. Weird.

Teacher's Day was cool. I got some flowers from some kids and a card from one. It was nice. Oh, but then I went home that night and went to take a shower and saw a huge gross cockroach in my bathroom! I officially have the worst apartment of everyone now. I was taking solace in the fact that I at least didn't have bugs, but now I can no longer do that. I freaked out for a long time and ran away and sat in my living room for a while. then thought to try to pick it up with my dustpan. when it moved, I ran away again. then I got my mop. and when I went to look for it, it had disappeared. so I took a paranoid shower, and have been paranoid ever since. Haven't seen anything yet, but I bought some Raid and finally bought some bleach, so when I get a free moment, I'll do some good cleaning.

Oh, yes, just now, I went out for lunch with the second grade teachers because I think they won 2nd place in the sports day thing. I really like some of the teachers here, they're super nice. Just sucks that we can't really understand each other. I'm supposed to teach them english and they're supposed to teach me chinese. Really good lunch too. I usually hate eggplant. Maybe my tastebuds are evolving, but every time I've had eggplant here, I've loved it. We had the best eggplant dish ever. I think it had some meat stuffed inside, but not sure. And there were these mini omelette-type things with meat in them that were super good too.

Okay, gotta get ready for my last classes of the day!

wo ting bu dong

"I don't understand" is my key phrase. How sad. For my kids too. How sad. I have about 5-12 good students in each class who understand english pretty well and who can comprehend the science that I'm trying to teach them in english. I feel bad because it's always the same 5 kids who answer my questions. But I can't really turn them down because I want to encourage participation without being mean and calling on kids who have no clue what I'm saying. Then I have the bulk of the class who will do the physical commands I ask them to, such as "raise your hand if..." and "insects have heads and thoraxes. Touch your head. Good. touch your thorax." this is of course after I've taught them our analogous structures. But then there are the good 10-15 kids in each class who will not do anything. I don't know if they just don't want to do it or if they just don't understand me, but I have a pretty strong feeling it's because they have absolutely no clue what I'm saying. It's really frustrating, especially when I have to keep moving on because they have to learn these chapeters for a test later on.

After school today, all the english teachers in my office left like they sometimes do, but my contact teacher, Anne, didn't tell me anything. So I continued to do my own thing. went over some lessons and took notes on the day. and wasted time online since this is the only place I have internet really right now. And then some students came in looking for Ms. Hong for homework help and I told them I didn't know where she was. and then one of the staff ladies came in and told me a bunch of stuff in chinese that I couldn't understand. But I did make out that all the teachers were on the third floor. and then I finally realized she was saying the word for "meeting". and I was like am I supposed to be there? and she kept saying stuff. and then she told the kids somehting and they took my notebook and waved me along to follow them to the third floor where I walked into the meeting, sort of embarrased-like. I found Anne and whispered to her if I was supposed to be there. she said she didn't tell me because she didn't think I needed to come. I didn't think so either since it was all in chinese and I didn't understand a thing. so she said I could leave. so I did. and then I came back to my office and the kids were like Why don't you go to the meeting. and I was like, "I don't have to because wo bu dong." and they were like "ohhhh." and the staff lady came later and same conversation happened. and now it's 5:45 and I'm going home.

rain

I love when it rains here. It just cools everything down so much. It's monsoon season, but I don't know for how much longer. It rained just about the whole day yesterday, and today stayed a very agreeable temperature. It's strange to walk around at night, though, and be weirded out because it feels so cold.

One day last week we went to the brewery/beer garden of Shenzhen's local beer, Kingway, with some teacher's from Scottish Chris' school. (Kingway is pretty popular, of course, and they sponsor the local soccer team. I went to see them play my first week here. they are called the Shenzhen Kingway. haha.) they were all cool, but sometime later in the night, one of the teachers called me a gui lao, the term for foreigner, or white person. I, not used to this kind of treatment, scoffed in shock. He then suggested that I was a banana. haha. so they use this term in china too?

I tried to keep this post short and sweet for you, vicki. good enough?

relaxation in the land of collective hard work

I forgot to write about massage. In Beijing, I got my first taste of super cheap massage. You just go into a hair salon, which are everywhere and all seem to be massage parlors as well. There was one right across the little street from our hotel in Beijing and Grace and I went on our last day there, right before leaving for the train station for our 32 hour marathon. We asked for the 10 kuai (a little over a dollar) hair wash. It began with us sitting in salon seats while some ladies soaped up our hair with shampoo and a little bit of water from a pitcher. this resulted in a thick lather. while washing, they also gave a very nice scalp massage. Next, down to the rinsing station, very comfortable. Then hair wrapped up in a towel and back to the chair. What came next was a very very good neck, shoulder, back, arms, hands, and temple massage. So relaxing. Total time was about 45 minutes. For one dollar! We went once while here in Shenzhen. This place was a little more expensive (18 kuai, a little over $2) but was done completely lying down on leather bed things with our heads on a leather headrest over sinks built into the beds. And the massage this time was full body--same as before, but including legs and a face wash. It'll be a good thing to have when teaching starts getting stressful.

Naps. I generally do not like to take naps, but it seems like everyone else in every other country loves them. The lunch break here is about 2.5 hours, from 12-2:30. Maybe about half of the kids eat lunch at school, and half live close enough to go home for lunch. the teachers and a few teachers' kids eat in the cafeteria. the students who stay at school are brought the same food as the teachers after they pile into a few classrooms on the ground floor. After they eat, the students play on the playground for about 30 minutes until a bell rings. Then most of them go to a large auditorium (I think it's an auditorium) or to another room I haven't seen on the 4th floor and take a nap. Many teachers also take a nap for an hour or so after lunch, in special designated dorm style rooms with 6 bunk beds each. Anne, my contact teacher, showed me her room because I asked if I could see it. Nicely air conditioned (much cooler than my room in my apartment), each teacher is assigned their own bed. I think. Nobody has said anything to me about it. It's probably a mix of me being a new and foreign teacher, and me living 4 minutes away right around the block from the school entrance. I'm a little jealous that I don't get my own bed at school, but I guess I probably wouldn't use it ever.

random notes

Happy Labor Day to you all back home. I hope you guys used my blood drive ticket to the state fair well.

The crocodile hunter died! crazy!

As per my mom's request, lunch today at the school canteen was my favorite tomato/egg dish, some mabo tofu stuff, some chinese greens, some chinese style celery, some duck, and the everyday rice and soup. not bad at all.

At my school, the bell to start and end class periods and stuff is a short musical kiddie rendition of what in America would be "In a cavern, in a canyon, excavating for a mine, dwelt a miner, forty-niner, and his daughter Clementine. oh my darlin, oh my darlin, oh my darlin clementine, you were lost and gone forever, dreadful sorry, Clementine". It's pretty funny.
Yesterday after school ended, they played some Kenny G over the loudspeaker too. that was weird. we'll see what happens today.

Classes are going well enough. This being the first week, however, I am only doing my introduction and rules lessons. So it's been fun and easy. Yesterday though, I had a class of 5th graders who didn't really understand me after I repeated 5 times for them to get out a piece of paper. I stood up there and pulled out my own paper and waved it around for them, and they still didn't get it until their english teacher (my contact teacher anne) told them what to do in chinese. How am I ever going to teach them science in english if they don't understand what "please take out a piece of paper" means? Today is going better. 4th grade, class #3 did well, and grade 5, class 4 did very well. this afternoon I have class 4(4) and 6(4). Sixth graders should be fine and we'll see about the other 4th graders. I really would like to learn all of these kids' names by the end of the semester. But there are about 360 of them! My 17 kids in Beijing, with all the close interaction we had, took me a week to learn their names well.

I HATE my apartment

and my cheap school ain't so great either. One day last week I had no water for almost a whole day. Then that got fixed and so I didn't complain. Then, this whole weekend I had no electricity. Apparently they are doing some sort of construction or building fixing-upping, and nobody bothered to tell me anything. I've been staying with other people. I texted my contact teacher angrily, telling her that my apartment sucks and I have no power, that one day last week I had no water, I still have no curtains or sink, and that my air conditioner sucks. These are all things that are in my contract. It's not like I'm being demanding here. She texts back the next morning (I texted her quite late), saying that she is sorry and that she will have Mr. Lee, the maintenance guy (who for some reason has a key to my apartment, but I'm letting this slide for now since I still want my repairs done), go and take care of it. This was sunday morning. I didn't go home that night, but I walked back to my place this morning before school and there was STILL no power or water, even though the lights in the stairwell were working and the little electricity meters for ALL the other apartments were turning. And I still have no curtains. They told me they would get me curtains the first day I moved in, which was 2 weeks ago. My school will not buy me anything not specifically stated in the contract's "fully furnished" "minimum standard" for living. I am seriously going to start complaining that I am not paying for a dishrack and bathroom fan and all the other little things that are going to stay in the apartment for the next teacher's minimum standard necessities. I was really going to let it go, but I cannot stand this place.

One of the other English teachers asked me last Friday where I live, and when I told her that I live in the school apartment building behind school, she was like, "oh. the conditions are very poor, aren't they?" and I said yes, they are. and she asked if I liked it there. and I didn't say "no" directly because I didn't want to offend anyone, but I kind of shrugged and said not really. she said she used to live on the first floor, and that the fourth floor was probably a lot better, which I'm sure it is, but still. She also told me to talk to the American people in charge of me, and that maybe they would rent me a flat elsewhere. I laughed and said no, they will not do that. She then proceeded to tell me how last year's teacher, Tony, who lived on the crappy first floor, was moved by the people in charge of him, to the very nice, new, tall apartment building right across the driveway from my crappy place. The same apartment building that I walk by all the time and think to myself how I wished I lived there. I then found out that Tony was not in my program, and that he came to China through his university, and when they saw his conditions, they paid for him to live elsewhere. There is absolutely no chance of that happening for me. Why did I have to get stuck with one of the new partner schools to my program, and the one that doesn't care about the living standards of its foreign teacher?!?

first commie ceremony

Friday was the first day of school but I didn't have to actually teach. I introduced myself to a few classes and spent the rest of the morning in the office, then had lunch and left for the afternoon since I am not allowed to be scheduled classes wednesday and friday afternoons because that's when I'll be having chinese class. I arrived at school at around 7:45 to eat breakfast which was some normal chinese food, and to be present for the beginning of school flag-raising ceremony. I think this is going to happen every monday morning but I don't know if I have to be there every time. anyway, it began with the teachers and students walking out to the playground at about 8:00. actually, the students marched. with swinging arms and a sort of half high-step. it was pretty funny. there was some chinesey propaganda-y music playing. then someone in the administration said a bunch of stuff I couldn't understand, and then a little girl said a bunch of stuff. then a few kids came marching out with the chinese flag and handed it to 2 girls waiting by the flagpole. they ceremoniously attached the flag to the rope and pulled it up. I don't remember clearly, but I sort of remember kids saluting the flag hitler style. or maybe I'm just making that up. next, the national anthem played, and people sang along. then some more talking. my teacher told me a few days earlier that all of the teachers would have to donate some money for the people in our province affected by the recent typhoon flooding, but by the time the ceremony came, I had forgotten all about it and hadn't brought anything out to the playground with me. She said it was okay, since I was a foreign teacher. so she handed me one of her 100 yuan bills to put into the big clear plastic box so I wouldn't have to be embarrased. It was this big deal, with all of the teachers walking up to the stage and very visibly putting their money in the box. very much for the people. then the little girl said some more stuff, and the headmaster said a bunch of stuff, and then everyone went back to their classes.

oh, by the way. here in china, the kids have their own classrooms, like in elementary school, but the teachers move around. in primary school, my kids will have their main chinese teacher, and then set periods each day where the english, science, math, and art teachers come in. it's kind of weird.