So
The short version:
After two weeks of
'grin and bear it' from the good Sophie and myself, we have been extracted from our school placement. The
straw that broke the camel's back was the fact that I had to go to hospital to
be treated for a severe reaction to a perturbing large amount of bed bug bites.
Quite frankly, I think they will need to join weightwatchers after the feast
they must have had. Ugggghh. Gross. We are now checked into a hotel and
awaiting news of our new placement!
The long version:
Hi there folks, its
been a while! There is a lot to tell y'all so I'll break it down:
Teaching
Teaching is fun.
Generally. Our job here is to teach oral English, and quite frankly when there
are a group of children sitting in your class who are used to memorisation and
repetition being the norm of their education, a game filled English class is a welcome
break. My job here (for a week at least) was to teach at a weekend school where
the children had been sent by their parents to ensure that they were truly
succeeding in mastering the English language. These classes were fun. Mostly.
The students got a kick out of an actually English English teacher running
their class, but the glow was tarnished slightly by the fact that were still in
school on a Sunday. The highlight of my few classes probably being showing a
child a flashcard for 'Gangam Style' during charades when clearly they were
expecting a variation on 'put on my
shoes'. For those of you reading who are unsure of what Gangam Style is- I have
provided a link below. I apologise in advance.
All this being said,
I taught Grade 7 at a local Middle School for one day and it was possibly the
most fun I have had since arriving in this country. In few of the classes that
I walked into, the students stopped what they were doing and just stared open
mouthed and (delightfully) in most cases, scrambled into their seats in
eagerness to find out just who on earth I was and where on earth I came from! I
introduced myself in most cases by simply pulling a huge Union flag from my
backpack!
Pictured: Claiming
the Great Wall for the Queen with said flag
And followed it up
with a short intro about England. Was expecting most of the answers I got
(Harry Potter! Big Ben! David Beckham - expected as his face is bizarrely on
all of their toothbrushes), but the kid that called out 'Agatha Christie! The
Deeee-tec-tive writer!' threw me slightly. They gaped (again) at my short clip
from the Olympics (Mr Bond and her Majesty at their finest).
Shortly after my
first class a gaggle (or rather a 'giggle') of girls came running up to me to
ask in hushed tones 'Lao shi, how tall are you?'. Following a metric-imperial
stalemate they rushed off to convert '5 foot 11' into something they could
understand. After clearly being stumped by my mumbled 'uuumm, I think one inch
is 2.5cm?' they accosted me again at lunchtime with a tape measure! I can now
confirm that I am, in fact, 180cm tall. Their request for pictures of my
siblings (all four of you giants) will sadly never come to fruition, but I was
buoyed by their enthusiasm. :)
Visiting Friends in
Xiaolan
So! Following the
first week of being thrown into teaching (e.g. Thursday afternoon: 'Oh, glad
you came in today, here is your schedule for this weekend and a stack of books-
you are teaching nine classes each '!), we decided to take a breather and head down
to the high-speed railway to escape to the country! Rocked up to the train
station
Pictured: slightly
mind bending reflective floor and ceiling combination
Where it appeared
that everyone and their mother was trying to get home after a weekend in the
city. Eventually got on a train after a fair amount of gesturing ('No, the
cheapest *points downwards* seat?') to speed away and spend a DEeeelightful
evening and day away.
Pictured: My state
of morning repose. My recumbent position had nothing to do with the fragility
with which I met daybreak.
PART 2: To be posted soon!
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