Down by the river

So I spent this morning lounging around the apartment in my jams playing Angry Birds and scoping out Facebook. I decided I shouldn't spend the day being a lazy bum so I showered and blow dried my hair (quite impressive, huh?) and I got dressed and headed out to explore the city. I decided I wanted to go to the river to people watch and do a little gift shopping. I started walking the way Megan showed me the first time we went to the river. Remember, when Wuhan spiced things up a bit with a creeper stalker? So, anyways, I headed down the street and made it to my first landmark- a gas station. I had remembered that there was something important about this gas station. I thought I had turned by it but apparently I did not... I continued walking for what felt like an eternity and I did not come across the landmarks I was trained to look for- a movie theater, McDonalds, Snack Street. Instead, I just kept on walking. After a while of this I decided I was definitely lost. I called Megan to ask her where to go and she decided I was walking the right way (I didn't explain my exact location very well) so I kept going... I got to an area filled with overpasses and I knew I had not been there before. I decided to try to get a taxi. It took me another 15 minutes of standing in the 100 degree furnace of Wuhan before I finally got an empty cab. I called Candy to tell the taxi driver where I wanted to go (I have not learned how to say Snack Street or river). So thanks to her assistance I made it to Snack Street! I paid my driver and made a stop at a drink stand for a mango smoothie. I browsed many shops and bought a ton of presents! Here is my stash of items being mailed home soon:




















I then found my way to the river and enjoyed a few moments observing the people as they certainly observed me. I snapped a few photos and then walked back through Snack Street just to look. I wish I could send smells through my blog because the stench of parts of Snack Street are revolting. Unfortunately there is not an app for that yet...

Chuan (pronounced chwar)- meat on a stick

Hipstamatic photography app is the best!

 





I was pretty pissed when I was lost. I was hot and sweaty and feeling a bit dehydrated. I mumbled some curse words under my breathe every time an empty cab passed by me when my hand was obviously waving to say, "Stop! Pick me up! I'm dying here!" Thankfully I really don't have to watch my mouth as the majority of people have no clue what I am saying. Once I finally found where I wanted to be I was much happier. It was nice walking around and going through authentic Chinese shops. I bought a lot of jewelry today! My collection is growing:

The flower is a hair tie! How cute is that??

Well... I think I need to learn this, though I will probably not have to use it again seeing as I only have 10 more days in Wuhan:

Mandarin lesson:
Hé 河 (river) Měishí jiē 美食街 (food street)

English with Rompy

I taught Oral English for the second time yesterday. We had a birthday party for Rompy where we decorated the gym with balloons, "made" a cake, and sang Happy Birthday while dancing at our Bubble Dance Party. It could have quite possibly been the most fun I have ever had in a classroom before.

Oral English class at Romp N Roll Wuhan is usually filled with preview kids... meaning they have never been to Romp N Roll before. I thought this would pose to be a problem considering they may not behave and would not be able to follow along with the routine of the class. However, I am finding that the kids that come for English class are my favorite of all. The usually range in age from 3 to 5. There have been some older and some younger. Their parents seem to know a little more English than the majority of the parents who attend the other gym, art, and music classes. The kids themselves already know a little bit of English vocabulary and obtain simple skills like numbers, colors, and a few objects. One girl yesterday already knew the Happy Birthday song and 5 Little Monkeys perfectly. Many of the children yesterday new basic subtraction and were able to give me answers in English.

So class starts in Rompy's House where we welcome all of the kids and have them introduce themselves. Rompy asks each child, "What is your name?" and they respond, "My name is..." We read in our Oral English program book to see what kind of lesson we will be working on and then we go into the gym for an obstacle course and activity. Yesterday we went through one obstacle course so we could get to Rompy's house and then we went through the other obstacle course that we pretended was Rompy's house. In the second course the children used balloons (which was one of our vocabulary words) and paddles to decorate. We had some conversation as a class and went around to ask each person, "How old are you?" After gym we went to the music room to learn the Happy Birthday song and we reviewed some counting songs from last week. We also played a counting game to figure out how many children were in class. I was shocked by how well the children could count, add, and subtract in English and some were as young as three! I also liked that the children were really interacting with each other to play the game. In art we made birthday cakes (cake was another vocabulary word) and put enough candles on each cake to represent that child's age. We took our cakes and went to Rompy's birthday party in the gym where we threw balloons around and danced in bubbles.

I don't know how it would be possible to not love teaching. Watching a child learn something new maybe the most amazing thing in the world. To know that you gave the tiny human knowledge which they did not previously have is a feeling I cannot even explain. I have an assistant during class to translate for me but I told her I did not really want her to translate as much as she usually does. I love how even though we do not speak the same language, the children can still follow my direction and pick up on the objectives of the class. I think the best way for them to learn another language is through immersion. All of the translating is going to make it harder to learn to language. Because the parents stay in class with the kids it is important to have a translator. I also love having the extra help and another teacher to lean on during class.

I do not always feel like a teacher when I am working here... but I always leave feeling accomplished when I teach Oral English. Several parents even told my boss that I was a great teacher and they wanted to know more about me. This made me feel awesome! Before coming here I was always nervous when I had to deal with a parent... now that I work at Romp N Roll I am seeing how easy and comfortable it is to talk to parents. This will definitely come in handy when I get back to the states. I am truly seeing the full effects on children when their parents are made part of their learning. It is awesome to witness.

I am lucky to be here. I realize that now. I am one of a very limited amount of people who has the opportunity to live in another country and experience a life and culture different from my own. Not everyone gets to do this and I am grateful to be here. I know that I will be such a better teacher when I go home next year. I have been jealous and depressed and frustrated with not finding a job last year and not having a classroom of my own... but the thing is, I know I am way better off now than I ever would have been had I just started teaching in a classroom immediately. This experience is going to make me a stronger and more competent educator. To live in a world different than almost everything you know can do nothing but make you better. I am no longer worried about finding a job in the states. Any school will be lucky to have me and I know after working here that they will all see it that way.

By the way-- I am currently reading Water for Elephants and I would love for you all to read it with me and feel free to leave a review or discussion on my Beijing Book Club page. I have also selected (well, really Jessi selected) the next book that will be joining our club- The Help. So- go to the library and rent it, purchase it at Barnes & Noble, borrow it, or whatever you must do. I would love to have friends at home reading along with me!

And one more thing- Happy Birthday, AMERICA!!!! I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday! Enjoy the fireworks =) It is hard to believe that it was only a year ago that I sat on The Intrepid in NYC watching this fireworks show live:

Mandarin lesson:
Yīngwén 英文 (English) 

Hot. Freaking Hot.

Unbearably hot.

That is the moral of my story from today.

Apparently it was 35 degrees today (aka 95 F) which is not all that horribly hot. The problem lies within the air conditioning that your building can handle. Romp N Roll has decided that air conditioning is just not a high priority so basically it was 35 C inside the gym... all... day... long... I was literally pouring and dripping sweat. I was teaching class and sweat was dripping from my forehead and drenched through my shirt. My face feels like it was burned but I was not even in the sun. Every time I would go downstairs for some relief from the sweltering main floor I was reminded that the managers have decided to turn off the AC in the office because it was leaking three days ago. Yes, they had a repair man come to fix it. No, it has not been turned back on since.

After work I went to the market where I knew I could count on it to be frigid considering the hanging carcasses and fish head chopping stations. I basked in the glory of wonderful AC and even bought a tub of chocolate ice cream. When I made it home I immediately turned on my AC to an icy 17 degrees and laid out on my bed with nothing but my undergarments on and a pint of ice cream in hand. It was glorious.

If you are curious about the very odd lunch that my boss tried to feed me yesterday then check it out on my new tumblr page! I don't think the photo does enough justice to just how grossed out I was at the thought of eating the legs of this croaking animal. I was very careful with my meal today... being certain to ask the most important question, "What is this?"

Other than the sweating... I had a relatively good day at work. My classes went very well. I am comfortable teaching each class offered at the Wuhan center now. I feel myself not worrying about what part comes next and more worried about how much fun everyone is having. I do still occasionally peak at the lesson plans during independent play time for a little reassurance that I am on the right track or to make sure my timing is okay. But for the most part I feel very confident about my teaching style. The kids are starting to remember me now. Many of them run up to me every time they come in to say hello or show me a new toy. I am starting to realize that I will miss a lot of their sweet faces when I leave Wuhan soon. Next week is pretty much my last work week here. I will only work one day the week after next and on that day there are no classes. The time really did go by very quickly and for that I am thankful and a small amount of sad. Even though I did not make much of a connection with this city, I have definitely made a connection with Candy, my assistant. She is so wonderfully nice and very helpful. I am grateful to have her guidance in this unfamiliar place. I don't think it will be easy leaving here knowing that means I will probably never see her again.

Even though I will miss my sweet Miss Candy, I am pretty certain that I will love the new center Theresa and I will be working at in Wangjing. She sent me photos of our apartment and I am so excited to see the place in person. It is gorgeous! And HUGE! We may need to have a full time house keeper to make sure the place stays clean. Here is a sneak preview of the beautiful apartment that awaits me in just 12 short days:

Pretty nice, right? I am sure I will love it there. Theresa has also told me a little about the center and the owners. Everything sounds really great. It will be nice to be a part of something new and to be able to do it with my new friend, T! She has also informed me that there is a Wal Mart within walking distance to our apartment. I am happy about that find!

Mandarin lesson:
Rèdiǎn 热点 (hot)

A few new additions

I have put together a few new things for my blog.

One- I now have what I am calling a "supplemental blog." I created a tumblr. account so I could post quick blurbs, quotes, songs, pictures, or other tidbits about my time here in China. You may not totally capture the relevance of all of the information I post on my tumblr. page but basically I will be posting things without rhyme or reason. You can visit my tumblr. page by clicking right here--> TUMBLR! NO CHEESE IN CHINA! You may also notice that I put a link to the page on my sidebar so you can access it from my blog easily.

Two- I have decided to start a book club of sorts. Well, maybe it will progress into a book club. For now it is just me reading and deciding to share with you the book I am currently reading and summaries/brief reviews of the books I have read while overseas. You will see on my sidebar that I have a listing titled "Currently Reading" and a picture of the latest read. You can click on that picture (or on the label under the blog header titled "Beijing Book Club") and be taken to another page on my blog devoted to the books I am reading. Feel free to read along with me or just wait for me to finish and review the book to see if it is any good. I need to send a special thank you to Jessi for hooking me up with her Barnes and Noble account so I can now read all of the books she has downloaded on her Nook and any more that I choose to purchase myself.

Those are all of the additions for now. Who knows... maybe more will be coming to the blogosphere soon.

Mandarin lesson:
Shū zhōng 书中 (book)