Back At It

Well, it's back to teaching. This is the first week of classes. I was not ready to begin. I was already used to sleeping in til 10 and still had vacation on the brain. Here are my thoughts of the first day of class that I wrote while the internet wasn't working:

I woke up before the alarm, which probably means I was feeling anxiety. I actually slept last night, which made me think that maybe I wasn’t really stressed out. But the stomach ache I had was another indicator that I really was. I can never trust my mind. I knew I wasn’t very excited to be there, and I knew I wasn’t prepared. The classrooms are much larger, which makes the classes seem bigger because the students are more spread out. The classrooms echo, and there is construction outside. I can barely hear myself, I’m guessing they have a hard time hearing me too. I came prepared to show pictures of my trip to Yunnan with computer. So when I saw there was no computer, I had to totally wing it. I was very unprepared, and it’s hard for me to think of things off the top of my head like that. So the first class bombed. The second class went a little better, and by the third class I’d gotten kinda figured out what I wanted to say and how many things I could say before time ran out. Plus the last class was class 27, which makes all the difference, as they actually really want to listen to what I have to say.

So, the first day back was a little rough. The second day I missed the school bus and had to take a taxi to school, just making it in time. Maybe you're wondering about the switch in campuses. Well, the school is expanding at a fast rate. It is the one of if not THE best school in Zhanjiang. So they began building this new campus so they can have more room for growth. Last semester they began using it for the first time with only the 11th grade and half of 10th. So Brenda was teaching the 10th grade at the new campus and I was teaching the remainder of 10th at the old campus. But this semester they've moved the rest of 10th over there. The new campus is still under construction, so they are moving a little at a time. It sounds weird, but we're in China. They have a totally different idea of what makes sense. Last semester Brenda taught 12 classes, and I taught 16. This semester they've given her 2 of my classes. So now we both have 14, which makes my work load lighter, but I am really going to miss my students! It's really sad for me! I was able to sit in on the first time that Brenda taught my class 14. I'm sure they'll forget about me real soon. Brenda is a lot of fun.

Well, it's now Wednesday and things are starting to pick up and I'm getting more of a feel for my new surroundings. Today's classes were so much fun. I didn't do much, just talked about the Spring Festival, told them about my trip to Yunnan, how Hmong celebrate the New Year festival, and about Valentine's. I made a couple pink and red heart valentines and gave them away as prizes for the winners of a little game we played.

Last Friday I went with Arthur and Mr. Chen to the Golden Splendid. I'm not really sure who Mr. Chen is. He is some Chinese businessman who speaks English and likes to hang out with foreigners. I just tagged along for the show. I'm not too experienced with clubs, but this place was pretty decent. It reminded me of Chanhassen dinner theater. Every Friday they have a show, like singing and dancing. It's very common in China. It was very cool. The dancers were so good, the costumes were fantastic, and they even sang some English songs. I felt like I was at a concert. We all sat at tables, with nice comfy chairs, and ate nice foods like squid, fried milk, spicy cucumbers, and french fries.

Tomorrow I teach only one class... at 7:45am. I'm sure as soon as I get home I will go back to bed!!

The school is still searching for new teachers, even for this semester. So if anyone out there is interested in spending the next four months in China getting paid to be cool, then let me know and I can hook you up!