I didn't forget about you!

Sorry it's been a couple of weeks since my last update- but things have been so busy here!  So much has happened, but I only have time/energy to share a few experiences:

Last weekend, my roomie and I took a senior student off campus to hang out.  I can't tell you much about her, but we had such a great time together!  We took her to lunch then went to Yingtze Park, which is this incredibly beautiful lake and landscape with an amusement park!  It was so much fun just walking around with her, taking pictures, riding rides, and talking about all kinds of interesting topics!  Then we went to KTV, which is basically karaoke on steroids without an audience.  She is such an amazing person and I can't wait to get to know her more this year!  Here's a picture of us at Yingtze Park:

On Thursday, the Foreign Affairs Official, the President of our school, and several other big-wigs took all of the foreign English teachers out to a dinner banquet; in addition to the 7 of our team, there's also an older gentleman from Ireland and a middle-aged man from Iowa that work here.  The dinner had 24 different courses, and of course we had to try them all.  Oh man- that was such a huge challenge for me since there were so many weird things!  But I actually tried every single dish, and even liked most of them!  I even tried this super strange wasabi-gelatin thing, a pig's ear mushroom thing, and fish!  My teammates were really proud of me ;-)  There were tons of toasts and lots of awkward conversations, but it really was a fun new experience and a great "welcome" to our school! 

On Friday, I gave my students an introduction card to fill out as a way of quizzing their comprehension on the material I'd been teaching and also to find out a bit more about them.  They had to write their name, where they live, how old they are, something they like, and what activity they can do.  Most of the cards were pretty generic, but some of them are hysterical!  This is the best one:

"I like: iPhone 4" (he's 11 and speaks minimal English,
yet he somehow knows and appreciates the iPhone).
Also- apparently he can fly like an angel.

In each of my classes I have this reward system, where students are rewarded by rows.  Every day, each row starts off with 3 magnets and if they misbehave I take away a magnet; the rows that still have all 3 magnets at the end of class get a sticker on the reward chart.  At the end of the month, the rows with the most stickers get to select something from the prize box.  Here's a little peek into the differences of behavior between a couple of my classes:

The class on the left: each row has received stickers for all 7 classes!
The class on the right: none of the rows have received stickers for all classes and the red row only has 1 sticker!

Now it's time for another Chinglish picture!!!

"The Wild Germ Hates Soup with Crisp Skin"- menu from a Western-style restaurant

And finally... You know you're meant for China when: you automatically greet mothers by saying, "Your baby is so fat!" <<<(extreme compliment here)

Celebrations and Lady Gaga shoes!

Saturday was Teacher's Day, so we had a ceremony with hundreds of teachers... that was entirely in Chinese.  Being the foreign teachers, we were sat on a stage and stared at for a couple of hours.  I now understand why some of my lower-level students are always distracted- it's close to impossible to sit and listen to a foreign language that you can only understand maybe 1% of for an extended period of time; I totally became that student- texting, playing with the tablecloth, whispering to my seatmates, singing songs in my head... I don't think I'll be reprimanding those students anymore!  Thankfully, I was in the back row, so no one could see me ;-)

This weekend I went shopping with 2 Chinese English teachers (one of whom is my co-operating teacher/translator).  I was so excited to spend a couple of hours hanging out with these ladies, but everything is different in China, so what I expected to be a short shopping trip turned into an EIGHT HOUR shopping marathon!  I think I'm shopped-out for the next year!  But it was actually really amazing spending so much time with them and getting to know them; they said that we're now "good sister friends"!  I was even given some opportunities to share about my beliefs :-D  They taught me so much about Chinese culture and relationships- relationships here are so much different than in the States!  Anywho- I want to give you a little glimpse of Chinese taste in shoes, because I'm pretty sure this is where Lady Gaga must shop:

                                   My "Lady Gaga" shoes!                        

Sunday was our first time to Foreign Fellowship, which is now our home fellowship for this year.  There were maybe 40-50 foreigners there, from: US, Canada, Korea, Germany, Scotland, and Australia (in writing this, my spellcheck just informed me that I've been spelling Australia wrong my entire life (Austrailia)!)!  Fellowship was so great- I've really missed it!  After fellowship, we went to a pizza place that sells foreign foods, and we bought CHEESE and BUTTER!!! Such extravagance.  Also, I attempted to purchase 2 cookies from a street vendor, but somehow ended up with around 4 dozen mediocre cookies and I'm still not sure what went wrong... yay language barrier!

Today is Mid-Autumn Festival in China! It's similar to Thanksgiving, except that it's about moon worship and people eat an unbelievable amount of mooncakes and apples. We get 1.5 days off work, though, so I'm a fan!

New addition to blog posts:
"You know you're meant for China when": while eating at a restaurant a cockroach crawls up the wall next to you, you look at it, it looks at you, you briefly consider attacking it, then simply continue eating.

Smell and Smilence

Can I just say that teaching is pretty much the greatest thing ever??  Obviously, this week of teaching is going WAY better than my 1st day.  Each of my classes this week have been incredible!  Most of my classes have never had a foreign teacher before, and 1 class literally cheered when I walked in!  Most of the students crowd around the stage (we teach on stages which is kinda intimidating, and I think I'm not supposed to get off the stage but I do anyways so I can interact with the kids) and ask me all kinds of questions about myself, my family, America, etc; some ask in English and some ask in Chinese- they're always so impressed when I reply in Chinese (even if it sounds horrible)!

My absolute favorite part of teaching so far is naming the students!  Only a few have English names, so I get to name most of the 36 students in each class, and it's so much fun!  They have to be easy names, 1 or 2 syllables, with no l's, r's, th's, w's or v's (depending on placement).  So I've been naming all of my students after my family, friends, and supporters!  The kids love it because I tell them who each name represents, and they feel so special.  I've also named some after the Good Book: Joy, Hope, Adam, Eden, Luke, John, etc.  A few of them already have English names, and these are a few of my favorites: Smell, Coli (as in E. Coli), Bubba, Cocoa, Fox, and Mauck (how cool is it that one of my students was already named my last name?! She pronounces hers Mach, though).  I've also met a student named "Smilence", it's a combination of Smile and Silence.

On another note- I had my very 1st cry-fest since coming to China.  Over the weekend I decorated the walls in my room with all the encouraging letters, cards, and pictures from my supporters, friends, and family.  I sobbed while decorating as I read each one.  You're all so amazing, and I can't possibly begin to explain how much those cards and letters mean to me!  They are now my constant reminder of the support and love I have from back home.  (If you'd like to be on my wall- feel free to write me ;-) )

And I do believe it's about time for another Chinglish example (there are so many good ones to choose from):

"You and Me Baby,if I say me to only love you. Do you can believe?"

Last thing, but I know it's going to be the best part for many of you!  This weekend, some of my teammates had the opportunity to read/study the Good Book with a brand new sister and a seeker :-D He is SOOO good!!!

First day fail

Friday was my first day of teaching!  I found out on Thursday that I'm teaching 4th grade and have 8 sections, which is about 300 students.  I was told that since I'm teaching 4th grade my students would've already studied English for a couple of years.  So I put together this awesome introductory lesson plan, created all of my materials, and was so incredibly excited to teach my 1st class!  Then I walked into my classroom on Friday. 

My Chinese co-operating teacher was nowhere to be found (they help translate and handle discipline in the traditional Chinese way)  The Chinese homeroom teacher was there, but she didn't speak any English whatsoever; she started trying to tell me something that seemed kind of important, but because of the language barrier we were completely unable to communicate.  I had no idea what she was saying, and when the bell sounded I began to teach... blank stares and confused looks from everyone, including the teacher: none of them spoke any English at all.  So since my entire lesson was dependent on my students already having basic English knowledge, and my translator wasn't there, the whole thing turned into an awkward charade-type lesson that was rather painful. 

Here's the funny part: when I got back to the office I found out that I actually wasn't supposed to teach that class and the homeroom teacher was trying to tell me I wasn't supposed to be there... so... that was a bit of a fail (at least it was a really funny one).  BUT my 2nd class on Friday was awesome!  The students were so great and really enjoyed my lesson, and they could actually speak English (whoop-whoop)! 

Tomorrow starts my first full week of teaching, so hopefully all of the other classes will be as great as my 2nd class was!  I can't wait to meet the rest of my students- I already love them!!!