I will be leaving on Friday, January 1st to travel the world. This means I will not be able to post for close to two months. Do not be alarmed! I will be sure to update you all on my travels when I return at the end of February.
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and enjoy your new year!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Reasons I Love Living Abroad
Some people may wonder why I wanted to come to
I love spending a significant amount of time in a city because you can really get a feel for the culture and lifestyles.
I love going out to eat and trying delicious new foods.
I love the feeling of accomplishment when I figure out how to do something by myself like order food or take the bus.
I love hanging out with my students.
I love being made to feel welcome into a foreign country.
I love learning about Chinese traditions and holidays.
I love the ease of traveling to new places.
I love being able to have real conversations with people who’s primary language is not English.
Friday, December 18, 2009
The worst part of my job.
The semester ended this week. Finals are completed. Grades are submitted. My last class is finished. I thought I was done being a teacher for two months. I was wrong. I thought the worst part of my job was having to figure out how to grade 230 students. I was wrong. The worst part of my job is facing students who are upset about their grades.
I submitted my grades Wednesday afternoon which means my students were able to see their grades Wednesday afternoon. I got a frantic message from one of my students that night. How could he have failed my class? What did he do wrong? This can't be right. Can I change his grade?
Thursday, another student had his classmate ask me why he failed. Using his classmate as a translator, I explained to him why he failed my class. He didn't seem too upset. Later that day, I walked out of my last class feeling a sense of freedom, until I saw the student that was messaging me the night before. So I explained to him, once again, through a translator, that he failed both of his tests and I would not change his grade.
Thursday night rolls around, a call from a third student that wants to meet with me. I tell him I'm busy and he can call me tomorrow. I know that I failed this student and I know exactly why he wants to meet with me. Friday morning, this student decides to call me non-stop and show up at my apartment unannounced. Needless to say, I avoided him all morning but finally made an appointment with him later that afternoon. I brought another teacher to back me up. This student was clearly upset and brought with him a friend to translate to me that he could not possibly fail this class and I needed to change his grade. The excuses and stories just kept coming from this student. I stood my ground though and I did not change his grade.
Later on Friday, I received yet another message from the first student. He met with a counselor and no one can believe that he got this grade and I have until tomorrow to change his grade. Not gonna happen. At first I felt sympathy for the student. Now I'm just annoyed.
I do understand that failing a class is not acceptable for them. In China, their test scores and grades are extremely important. But, there is one common theme for all three of these students...none of them could speak to me in English! They all had to use translators to speak to me! The class they failed...Oral English. I've learned to point this out to them to try to prove my point. It's not fun having to fail students but it's less fun having to argue with them about it.
I submitted my grades Wednesday afternoon which means my students were able to see their grades Wednesday afternoon. I got a frantic message from one of my students that night. How could he have failed my class? What did he do wrong? This can't be right. Can I change his grade?
Thursday, another student had his classmate ask me why he failed. Using his classmate as a translator, I explained to him why he failed my class. He didn't seem too upset. Later that day, I walked out of my last class feeling a sense of freedom, until I saw the student that was messaging me the night before. So I explained to him, once again, through a translator, that he failed both of his tests and I would not change his grade.
Thursday night rolls around, a call from a third student that wants to meet with me. I tell him I'm busy and he can call me tomorrow. I know that I failed this student and I know exactly why he wants to meet with me. Friday morning, this student decides to call me non-stop and show up at my apartment unannounced. Needless to say, I avoided him all morning but finally made an appointment with him later that afternoon. I brought another teacher to back me up. This student was clearly upset and brought with him a friend to translate to me that he could not possibly fail this class and I needed to change his grade. The excuses and stories just kept coming from this student. I stood my ground though and I did not change his grade.
Later on Friday, I received yet another message from the first student. He met with a counselor and no one can believe that he got this grade and I have until tomorrow to change his grade. Not gonna happen. At first I felt sympathy for the student. Now I'm just annoyed.
I do understand that failing a class is not acceptable for them. In China, their test scores and grades are extremely important. But, there is one common theme for all three of these students...none of them could speak to me in English! They all had to use translators to speak to me! The class they failed...Oral English. I've learned to point this out to them to try to prove my point. It's not fun having to fail students but it's less fun having to argue with them about it.
An'Yang
A couple weeks ago I went on a trip to An'Yang with the school. We visited the site of an ancient civilization where human and animal sacrifices were buried. It is also where many tortoise shells were discovered. These shells were used to predict the future for this ancient civilization. They would write things on the shells, heat them, and depending on how and where cracks would form on the shell, it would depict the future. For example, weather, marriage, and hunting were predicted by the tortoise shells.
We also went to a city called Linzhou. It is the site of the Red Flag Canal. This canal was built in ten years, beginning in 1954. It is a canal that was made entirely by man power without any modern equipment. The city of Linzhou suffered for many years without any access to water and finally decided to build a canal. If stretched out the canal would run almost the entire length of China, from Harbin in the North to Guangzhou in the South. They farmers in the city put everything on hold to build the canal, they worked night and day, and many people died while building. It is a fascinating story and a beautiful place to see. Unfortunately, I was sick the whole time so I couldn't enjoy the weekend as much as I would have liked.
A group of Chinese tourists who insisted on having our group taking pictures with them.
Claudia and me by the canal.
On one side of the bridge you are in Henan Province, on the other side you are in Hubei Province. Some of our group trying to stretch from one province to another. The only problem is you were only allowed to have 10 people on the bridge at a time.
We also went to a city called Linzhou. It is the site of the Red Flag Canal. This canal was built in ten years, beginning in 1954. It is a canal that was made entirely by man power without any modern equipment. The city of Linzhou suffered for many years without any access to water and finally decided to build a canal. If stretched out the canal would run almost the entire length of China, from Harbin in the North to Guangzhou in the South. They farmers in the city put everything on hold to build the canal, they worked night and day, and many people died while building. It is a fascinating story and a beautiful place to see. Unfortunately, I was sick the whole time so I couldn't enjoy the weekend as much as I would have liked.
A group of Chinese tourists who insisted on having our group taking pictures with them.
Claudia and me by the canal.
On one side of the bridge you are in Henan Province, on the other side you are in Hubei Province. Some of our group trying to stretch from one province to another. The only problem is you were only allowed to have 10 people on the bridge at a time.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Season of Giving
It's been a while since I've posted anything but I've been really busy lately. Classes are ending tomorrow! Which means last week was finals week and grades were due this week. We did have to teach one more lesson after finals but I got to teach my students about Christmas. Even though I've been so busy, these last couple of weeks have been the best weeks I've had since I've been here.
Last week began with one of my classes giving me flowers and a Christmas card that they all signed. After that, the gifts just kept coming. A student brought me a popular snack from his hometown, another student brought me a huge bag of oranges and apples. It is a tradition in China to give an apple to someone for Christmas because the character for peace is similar to the one for apple. So I've been getting a lot of apples from my students. Two other boys who aren't even my students brought me a huge bunch of bananas, a couple maps of China, and a calligraphy painting. My students are some of the most giving people I've met and they are definitely celebrating the season of giving.
Last Friday, our building started decorating for Christmas. There was a competition between our building and the other foreign teacher building for best Christmas decor. We didn't win but we definitely had fun decorating. I even had some of my students help out and make some snowflakes. Our theme was the "12 Days of Christmas" so we did win for the best music, best cow, and best incorporation of Chinese decor as you can see in the pictures. I'm getting to know the people in my building a lot better and they're awesome. We have dinner parties and movie nights and we'll celebrate Christmas together this year.
On Saturday, one of my favorite students, Grace, invited me over to her dorm. Her and her 7, yes, 7, roommates had fruit and cake and drinks for me and we hung out for a while in their dorm. Eight girls have to share 4 small desks, one bathroom with one shower and one eastern toilet (that is very similar to a public bathroom in China which is not a good thing). They keep all of their things in big cupboards in the hallway and they sleep in a back room with bunk beds. Later that day we went to a movie the students were showing on campus. We watched New Moon or as the movie said, Luna Nueva. It apparently isn't illegal to watch bootleg copies of movies here. Then we went to eat dumplings after the movie. It was a great day with my students. They are so much fun.
The next day I had more students come over. The two boys that brought me fruit and maps took me out to lunch. We had peanuts, spicy chicken, spicy tofu (which was amazing), and they ordered each of us a HUGE bowl of noodles. It was so much food but so delicious.
Sunday night was the formal Christmas banquet for the foreign faculty. It was not the best food but we had some great entertainment by some of the foreign teachers.
This week I've received more Christmas cards than I have in my life. I had my students make Christmas cards in class this week and many of them have decided to give the cards to me. Some of them are very kind, some of them are little weird, some are funny. Here are some of my favorites...
"Like baby happy everyday"
"Earn much money! Marry a good handsome man."
"I like your source."
"I wish you more young more beautiful."
"Keep your children's heart like the snowman small."
"Let my best wishes into a sear fall on your pillow! Hope teacher always happy no worries!"
An angry snowman that says, "I'm single."
To top off my week of receiving so many gifts, one of my students gave me the strangest "gift" I have ever received. In class, I had my students choose a tradition they would like if they celebrated Christmas. One student volunteered to stand up and share his tradition. He said, "I would have a big meal and I would have a turkey, like this..." He unzipped his backpack and pulled out a whole, cooked chicken and gave it to me. What do you do with a whole chicken with the legs still attached?! Give it to someone else and let them figure it out.
Last week began with one of my classes giving me flowers and a Christmas card that they all signed. After that, the gifts just kept coming. A student brought me a popular snack from his hometown, another student brought me a huge bag of oranges and apples. It is a tradition in China to give an apple to someone for Christmas because the character for peace is similar to the one for apple. So I've been getting a lot of apples from my students. Two other boys who aren't even my students brought me a huge bunch of bananas, a couple maps of China, and a calligraphy painting. My students are some of the most giving people I've met and they are definitely celebrating the season of giving.
Last Friday, our building started decorating for Christmas. There was a competition between our building and the other foreign teacher building for best Christmas decor. We didn't win but we definitely had fun decorating. I even had some of my students help out and make some snowflakes. Our theme was the "12 Days of Christmas" so we did win for the best music, best cow, and best incorporation of Chinese decor as you can see in the pictures. I'm getting to know the people in my building a lot better and they're awesome. We have dinner parties and movie nights and we'll celebrate Christmas together this year.
On Saturday, one of my favorite students, Grace, invited me over to her dorm. Her and her 7, yes, 7, roommates had fruit and cake and drinks for me and we hung out for a while in their dorm. Eight girls have to share 4 small desks, one bathroom with one shower and one eastern toilet (that is very similar to a public bathroom in China which is not a good thing). They keep all of their things in big cupboards in the hallway and they sleep in a back room with bunk beds. Later that day we went to a movie the students were showing on campus. We watched New Moon or as the movie said, Luna Nueva. It apparently isn't illegal to watch bootleg copies of movies here. Then we went to eat dumplings after the movie. It was a great day with my students. They are so much fun.
The next day I had more students come over. The two boys that brought me fruit and maps took me out to lunch. We had peanuts, spicy chicken, spicy tofu (which was amazing), and they ordered each of us a HUGE bowl of noodles. It was so much food but so delicious.
Sunday night was the formal Christmas banquet for the foreign faculty. It was not the best food but we had some great entertainment by some of the foreign teachers.
This week I've received more Christmas cards than I have in my life. I had my students make Christmas cards in class this week and many of them have decided to give the cards to me. Some of them are very kind, some of them are little weird, some are funny. Here are some of my favorites..."Like baby happy everyday"
"Earn much money! Marry a good handsome man."
"I like your source."
"I wish you more young more beautiful."
"Keep your children's heart like the snowman small."
"Let my best wishes into a sear fall on your pillow! Hope teacher always happy no worries!"
An angry snowman that says, "I'm single."
To top off my week of receiving so many gifts, one of my students gave me the strangest "gift" I have ever received. In class, I had my students choose a tradition they would like if they celebrated Christmas. One student volunteered to stand up and share his tradition. He said, "I would have a big meal and I would have a turkey, like this..." He unzipped his backpack and pulled out a whole, cooked chicken and gave it to me. What do you do with a whole chicken with the legs still attached?! Give it to someone else and let them figure it out.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Holiday Plans
It's hard to believe that my first semester in China is coming to an end. It went by so fast! There are only two more weeks of classes until I have over two months off. Here are my holiday plans:
December:
Enjoy Christmas and New Year's with other foreign teachers/friends.
Watch Christmas movies, drink hot chocolate, and have Christmas parties with my students.
Try not to think too much about not being home for Christmas for the first time in my life.
January:
Begin backpacking in Southeast Asia.
Plans are to go to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos for a month!
Hoping to visit the Central Highlands in Vietnam, Killing Fields in Cambodia, and hopefully ride an elephant at some point!
February:
Work at a "Crazy English" camp in Guangzhou (Southern China).
Celebrate Chinese New Year Feb. 14-16.
Visit a friend in Hong Kong.
While in Hong Kong, stock up on American made products that I'm missing!
Then back to school on March 1st. I'm sure I'll be ready to get back to some kind of normalcy after all of that traveling but it'll be hard to teach again after having so much time off. I'm hoping March will go by quickly though. I turn 26 that month :( and Sean is coming to visit on April 1st for two full weeks :).
December:
Enjoy Christmas and New Year's with other foreign teachers/friends.
Watch Christmas movies, drink hot chocolate, and have Christmas parties with my students.
Try not to think too much about not being home for Christmas for the first time in my life.
January:
Begin backpacking in Southeast Asia.
Plans are to go to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos for a month!
Hoping to visit the Central Highlands in Vietnam, Killing Fields in Cambodia, and hopefully ride an elephant at some point!
February:
Work at a "Crazy English" camp in Guangzhou (Southern China).
Celebrate Chinese New Year Feb. 14-16.
Visit a friend in Hong Kong.
While in Hong Kong, stock up on American made products that I'm missing!
Then back to school on March 1st. I'm sure I'll be ready to get back to some kind of normalcy after all of that traveling but it'll be hard to teach again after having so much time off. I'm hoping March will go by quickly though. I turn 26 that month :( and Sean is coming to visit on April 1st for two full weeks :).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)