"I Don't Think I Can Do This."

As this year of teaching in China began, I had many moments when I thought "I don’t think I can do this." There were many miscommunications with my Chinese co-teachers due to the language barrier that caused us to hit walls in building relationship, disciplining my students was challenging because of the differences in Eastern and Western education, and I was adjusting to the slower pace of life here, everything from having to travel at least an hour to get anywhere in Beijing, to having to make things from scratch if you want a Western meal, to not having very much technology in the classroom, meaning I had to make everything by hand.

However, the Father has given me the strength to pour into the lives of my co-teachers, the perseverance and wisdom to reach my students, and He's grown my love for Chinese people and culture. As my team and I have reached the finish line of our year here, my feelings have been ones of not wanting to leave. My team leader recently took a video of my Chinese co-teacher and I sharing what it has been like to work together this year. As tears filled my eyes before we began, I again said, from a whole new prospective, "I don’t think I can do this." It is difficult to leave people you love, not knowing if and when you will see them not just on this earth, but in our eternal home. I believe He will continue to move and work in their lives and even though it is totally not about me, I am sad I won't be here to experience that!

I have already have had my last class with one class today and I will have three more tomorrow. In my class today we took a class picture, watched a picture slideshow of all the things we've done together this semester, and I gave them a picture of me with a letter on the back. One-by-one the flood gates opened and it was an emotional day for all of us. At the end of class, they all ran to give lots of hugs and kisses and they wanted my autograph on the back of the picture I had given them. I will miss each sweet face and will cherish the memories and things I've learned from them in my first year of teaching.

I also had the students fill out information cards, including writing one of their favorite memories with me. It is always funny to see what students will write, especially EFL students. Here are some of my favorites:

"I like singing songs and watching Ms. Katie dance."
"I like her golden hair and green eyes."
"Ms. Katie go and I very sad."
"My favorite memory of Ms. Katie is help me to clean blackboard."
"You can play game in our every lesson."
"I love you because you are very beautiful."
"I like you because you love everyone in our class."

This year has been nothing less than one of great significance and I truly have discovered that teaching is my passion and what I was made for. I know He is calling me to the next task a little closer to home, in fact in the same school district I grew up in, as a third grade teacher at a school that is primarily Hispanic. I know I will enjoy working with these students and teachers and I look forward to meeting them.

I'm thankful for every step of the journey and many times this year I have reflected on this hymn. I believe I’ve shared it in a newsletter, but it brings me hope as even though there are feelings of pain and loss right now, our communion with the Father never changes wherever we are:

"If the path I travel
Lead me to the cross;
If the way Thou choosest
Lead to pain and loss;
Let the compensation
Daily, hourly, be
Shadowless communion,
Blessed Lord, with Thee."

Thanks for reading and being a part of the journey this year! Zai Jian!

A Time and a Season

With just one month of teaching and living in China to go, it is definitely the best and the worst season. I know "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens," and I have truly been in the midst of living out the rest of this passage:

"a time to plant and a time to uproot": I feel settled and fully engaged in life in China, but soon it will be time to leave. I am excited to see family and friends and know the time of transition is a part of the process that will continue to grow and shape me as this year has.

"a time to weep and a time to laugh": It is a grieving process to leave students, teachers, teammates, the beauty of this culture, but yet embracing the moments with hugs from students, having Chinglish conversations with my roommate as we try to use what we've learned this year, and seeing a man walk his dog by grabbing it's front paw, while the dog hops along on it's hind legs- there is truly never a dull moment here!

"a time to mourn and a time to dance": As I realize how much I love my students, it is difficult to think I will not be here to watch them to continue to grow and be able to see the men and women they become. I am learning this is the special gift of a teacher, to share life with many. We continue to have dance practices for our upcoming Children's Day performance. The foreign and Chinese English teachers will be performing a hip-hop routine for the whole school on my birthday- I will get to have all my students yelling my name as they will be so excited to see me on stage!

"a time to search and a time to give up": While things are busily wrapping up here, I have been applying to teaching jobs back in the States, patiently waiting for postings and responses from principals. I've done the work I can at this point and now need to continue trusting He will provide the perfect opportunity at just the right time!

"a time to keep and a time to throw away": I've collected many things to bring back home that will remind me of my time in China, but as it becomes time to pack, there are many things I will need to leave behind- why did I bring so many clothes!?

"a time to be silent and a time to speak": As my Chinese co-teachers continue to deal with life issues and ask me questions about the Hope I have, I want to be a good listener, but also speak with urgency to share the One I turn to as they ask provoking questions.

I'm continually thankful for the gift of this year and want to invest well in these last few weeks, while beginning the process of having healthy goodbyes. I look forward to sharing more personal stories, pictures, and videos with you all and catching up your lives as well!

Performance Mode

This semester has been flying by and I can’t believe midterms have come and gone. It’s so encouraging to see progress- nearly all of my students, even the lower-level English students, improved on their midterm exam from the last test we took! Their behavior has also improved in the last couple of weeks, so 8 weeks to go and we are in a wonderful place. In addition to my own classes, recently the school has been ramping up recruitment for next year, so there are many kindergartens from different places in Beijing that come to have a “field trip” with their parents to see what our school has to offer. I have now probably taught at least 300 Chinese children “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” over the past few weeks in these open classes. I co-teach the lesson with a Chinese-English teacher and often feel like a prop as the parents are flashing their cameras at me, the foreign teacher, but it’s part of teaching in China!

This week, as we approached the celebration of Easter, my teammates and I had an Easter lunch for our Chinese co-teachers, complete with an Easter Egg hunt. We placed a piece of candy and a sentence from the Easter story in each egg. Before we enjoyed our spaghetti and meatball lunch, not exactly traditional I know, but easy and well-liked by Chinese people, we had the teachers read their sentences in chronological order so we could explain why we celebrate this holiday and the reason for our Hope. What an opportunity and delight to share this story with them and my students!

One interesting problem I have run into this past week was that we got a new student from Japan. Apparently he was born in America, so everyone expects he can speak English, but he moved to Japan when he was two and just moved to China. His parents are Chinese, but yet the student can’t speak Chinese or English, just Japanese, so we have no current way to communicate with him. The little that I’ve been able to understand about his situation is that he may have been displaced from Japan from the earthquake. My heart has gone out to him as he may have experienced some trauma and he has gone through this week without being able to express himself. The only thing he has been able or willing to tell me is his name. I think something from his story is missing and hopefully the Chinese teachers got to talk to his parents when they came to pick him up on Friday. My next approach to teaching him might just have to be through drawing pictures.

Many end of the year activities are going on such as a field trip, Sport’s Day, and Children’s Day. This week we will be going to a forest park somewhere in Beijing and I look forward to taking lots of pictures and hanging out with my students. I’m sure a picnic will happen just like last semester’s field trip with packaged chicken drumsticks, seaweed, and other foreign foods- at least this time I will be prepared! Sport’s day is kind of the equivalent of field day in America, except Chinese people really love to perform, more than showing their strength through sports, so each class is a different country and will be performing an aerobic style dance to music of that country. I have seen some of the classes practicing, including the 2nd graders dancing to a mega mix of Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack music and Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” and my 4th graders dancing to Justin Beiber’s “Baby.” All I can say is there are going to be a lot of cute Chinese children shaking their booties- I will be sure to catch it all on video! Children’s Day is highly celebrated here on June 1st and there will be another round of performances, including a hip hop routine put on by the foreign and Chinese English teachers. I really appreciate the value of performing in Chinese culture, as I get to relive my dance company days. I have to say this performance is going to be a little bit cooler than last semester’s High School Musical performance of “We’re All in This Together.” We have already begun dance rehearsals and in fact I felt like one of my students this past Friday as I went from teaching open classes, to dance rehearsal, to Chinese lessons, and then to Tai Chi lessons. The Kung Fu teacher at our school offered to teach Tai Chi to the foreign teachers so I learned the first few steps in this first lesson- it was a little more difficult than I expected and his advice was to “relax and try to feel the essence of Tai Chi.”

I think this season has definitely been my favorite from my year here so far, as I am thoroughly enjoying these beautiful spring days, deepening relationships, and really feeling a part of the school!

Beijing in Bloom

Spring has arrived in Beijing and I am thoroughly enjoying the warmer weather and beautiful cherry blossoms blooming across the city. I continue to be amazed at how hard the students work here at our school, even at the primary level. There are things about their work ethic that are admirable, but when I ask my students "what did you do this weekend?" and all they can say is "I did my homework and played computer games," I just want to take them outside to enjoy the weather and focus on something else besides school. If only I could have class outside! I can't believe I only have one more unit to teach before my year of living in China is up- we have a lot to do before then, including midterm and final exams, but some fun things like a field trip and a Children's Day performance and day of fun as this is a big holiday in China.
I am sure more unexpected things will happen as well, such as this past week when I got asked to teach "open classes" with one of the Chinese english teachers. As the school is recruiting new students, they allow kindergartners and their parents from different parts of the city to come for visits so they can experience classes and life at our school. I was told I would be teaching these classes the night before the lessons would take place, but last minute decisions no longer phase me after living here for 9 months! We taught "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" along with other body parts in fast-paced 25-minute lessons to about 120 kindergartners in the past two days. The parents and grandparents were in the classroom as well, snapping pictures the whole time, so I am sure I will be in some of these families photo albums for years to come!
Next week I get to teach about Easter! We will be following up from our Christmas lesson and look more at His life and the hope he has given us. I am excited for this opportunity, especially for one of my students that I just found out has a parent that is very sick. He is one of my higher level students and I just started a written conversation journal with him. I hope to be able to encourage him through this.
One funny story from this week was that I found out I've been saying something wrong in Chinese this whole year. To ask someone for help, you should say "Ni kiye ban wo ma?" and I often have my students help me set things up when I arrive to the classroom so I will ask them in Chinese. However, I've been pronouncing it "Ni kiye bao wo ma?" which means "Can I hold/hug you?" Of course they are so adorable and I love giving them hugs anyways, but my students have been gracious with me in my language learning endeavor. They get very excited whenever I speak Chinese in class and I love to shock and awe them with the little Chinese I know. Zai jian goodbye)!

Funny Student Stories

1: My opening routine this semester is to have a question of the day that we discuss by thinking about the answer, pairing with a partner, and then sharing with the class (think, pair, share!). It’s been a great way to get them thinking and speaking in English from the beginning of class. On my Mondays my question is usually, “what did you do this weekend?” and most students reply “I did my homework”, “I played computer games”, “I went to the park.” This particular Monday my new student, who is a lovely girl from Thailand that has a very high level of English, said “I went to a coffee shop and I drank coffee.” What a sophisticated weekend this little 4th grader had!
2: Another one of my higher level students that I teach also use to be in my activity class last semester(a special class I co-teach with a couple of my teammates once a week that has an English focus but we can basically do whatever we want. This semester we are doing a “through the decades” theme which has been a lot of fun! We teach a song and dance from the time period and talk about some of the major events and inventions during that particular decade…I’m in charge of the dance each week so we’ve done The Charleston and swing dance for the 1920’s and 1930’s!). This particular student is one that always makes me laugh and we can actually have a full English conversation, however he is not in my activity class this semester. I saw him in the hallway the day after our first activity class of the semester and said “Why are you not in my activity class anymore!? I will miss getting to talk with you.” Very sincerely he replies in his cute Chinese-English accent “Ms. Katie, I know, I know. I am sorry I have signed up for a different class and I cannot be in two places at once, you see. You teach me for regular English class this afternoon though, thank you very much!” And off he went down the hallway as I am laughing to myself.
3: Our office shares a wall with the 6th grade boys bathroom and one day we were all focused on lesson planning and such so it was pretty quiet until we hear a 6th grade boy belting out “We are the world, we are the children” opera style. People of all ages in this country just love Michael Jackson!
4: Another funny but mischievous story is of a student in my class who drew on my pants. I am laughing right now because it’s so ridiculous! I was leaning down to help her with an assignment and I sort of felt something on the back of my leg and she smiled a little smirk at me, but I didn’t really think anything about it as I was trying to get to the other 32 students in the class to help them too. When I got home from school I noticed the big black pen line down my khaki pants and immediately knew who the perpetrator was. I put the pants in a bag to bring as evidence to confront her with the next day. I found her between classes and pulled her aside in the hallway and asked her if she had drawn on the pants. I had a note prepared for her to copy that my roommate helped me compose (we were laughing the whole time as we wrote it) that said something along the lines of “Ms. Katie, I am sorry I wrote on your pants. I know it is difficult to get pen out of clothing. I was not being respectful when I made the choice to do that and I will not do it again.” She denied her actions, but then I started singing the “Honesty Song” we have been learning, as honesty is our character focus this month. I asked her “Are you being honest and telling the truth?” She continued to say she didn’t do it, so I figured if anything I scared her a little bit and got the chance to share with her a little more about the importance of honesty.
Even though they can be troublesome at times, I am incredibly thankful for my student’s laughter, hugs, and the joy they bring to my life. I will miss their cute Chinese faces and the funny way some things translate when they speak. I don’t want to take for granted this precious time I have left with them this semester!

A Snowy Start

Time flies when you are having fun! During my month of off school, I was keeping busy by traveling around Beijing and Hong Kong and attending our organizations annual conference in Thailand to gear up for another semester of teaching! My parents were able to come and visit me during this time and I was so thankful they made the trip to see me. Although the students had already gone home for the holiday prior to their arrival, it was great for my family to tour the school, and to meet my teammates and fellow Chinese teachers. They got to see a glimpse of my life here and experience Chinese culture!
This past Sunday night came with sounds of rolling suitcases and parents dropping off their children to begin a new semester. Thus far, things are going very smoothly…a little too smoothly. I was expecting my students to have a hard time transitioning back to speaking English since the majority of them don’t speak it at home, but they have jumped right back into the language. I was only away from China for a couple of weeks, and it was hard for me to come back and begin speaking Mandarin again, so I have been very impressed with them. From my teams experience last semester, our school often likes to change the schedule, often times at the last minute, but we have only had a couple of changes this week so we have been pleasantly surprised! It has definitely been great reconnecting with our Chinese co-teachers and students and I am excited to continue investing and building wonderful memories this semester!
One thing that challenged me from our conference was that “students do not see all the preparation you put into a lesson, they only see you for the class period you are teaching, so what are you putting more energy into?” Last semester I think I was doing great with the planning of every detail and being over prepared, but by the time the class period came to teach the lesson, I was exhausted. My goal this semester is to be more balanced in this and to be more conscious of my energy level and enthusiasm during my classes. I have already learned from last semester that I really don’t enjoy teaching EFL as much as content subjects to elementary students in the States, so this makes this goal more difficult, but I know this is what He has given me to do in this season, and I want to do it well. I want to be more balanced in life in general as well. I am seeing how being a first year teacher can be all-consuming if you choose for it to be, but already this week I am doing better- I have not brought anything home with me from my office to work on after school. (Ok, one class of grading but that is all!) Honestly, I feel a little lazy, but I know I will be a better teacher if I am balanced.
Our first weekend back into the semester has been one of much needed rest as I’m still adjusting, getting the swing of things. On Saturday morning I awoke to snow- it may not stick around for too long but I’m enjoying the beautiful view out my window!

Xin Nian Kaui Le

I hope everyone is having a great 2011 so far! As many of you are coming off of holiday breaks, I am just about to begin mine. This is our last week of school until February 21st. I gave my final exams (oral, listening, and written) last week and whipped through the grading of 136 exams and calculating final grades so most of my work for the semester is done and yes, it is a good feeling. Although we are still “teaching” this week I expect to have some of my classes taken from me as the students are busy preparing for finals in other subjects. I am planning for whatever lessons I do get to teach this week to be a fun time of reflection for my students and me. I have put together a slideshow of pictures from this semester and I want them to reflect on the things they learned in our class, what they have liked about it, and what they want to learn about next semester. I will also be giving out awards to the students who got a 100% on the final exam and an A in my class which hopefully will serve as a reward for these students and as motivation for the others who did not do so well.
Looking back over the semester, I know I have grown an immeasurable amount as a teacher and a person. The first couple of months were not easy and I often questioned if I could really handle the differences in educational systems and cultures. Now, not a day goes by that I don’t give him thanks for this amazing opportunity to be living, working, and serving in another country. I know it is not something to take for granted that I get to be surrounded by some the most beautiful children in the world (troublesome at times, yes) and do my best to live out each day focused on how I can pour into their lives and the lives of my co-teachers. I am sure next semester will have challenges, but overall it is going to be so nice to come back from the break knowing my students, knowing the curriculum, and having a better understanding of how the school runs and how to communicate most effectively with Chinese co-teachers. I anticipate that having a stronger grip on the teaching side of things will allow me to be even more focused on relationships and I look forward to seeing his faithfulness continuing as he has already opened many doors. One fun goal I have for next semester is to get more involved in the dance department and maybe assist in some dance classes that my 4th grade girls attend. I’m not going to lie, as “the foreigners” we already get a lot of attention and our High School Musical performance, “We’re All in This Together” that we did for the school last week pretty much made me feel like a pop star! I miss dancing so it will be a way for me to live out that passion and spend more time with my students.
There are a lot of exciting things going on during the break and it will be nice to take a mental break, but I will definitely miss not seeing my students for over a month, so I will be spending as much time as I can getting extra hugs and time with them this week. My parents will be arriving on January 21st and we will spend 10 days in Beijing and then 5 days in Hong Kong for Chinese New Year! I can’t wait to see my family and for them to experience China. I am also excited to get to see how the biggest Chinese holiday is celebrated, especially since it will be the year of the rabbit and I am a rabbit according to the Chinese calendar. My parents and I will depart each other in Hong Kong, as they will head back to The States and I, along with 700 other teachers from my organization, will be travelling to Thailand for a mid-year conference. I can’t wait for the warmth and nature of Thailand (city life in Beijing is fun, but I haven’t seen much green or trees in several months now) fellowship, and time of refreshment!

Tis the Season

Merry Christmas to all from China! The last couple of weeks have been the busiest of the semester so I really have not had time to think too much about the fact that this will be my first Christmas away from home. I am also very thankful because my parents will be coming to visit me in just a few weeks! China has definitely taken in the commercial side of Christmas. Our school decorated the hallways with Christmas trees way overdone (let's just say too much tinsel and plastic ornaments can be tacky). We even had a life-size singing and dancing Santa Claus in the courtyard. We were able to teach the reason of the season and share the nativity story with our classes. For some students, it may have been the first time they have heard His name which is an awesome thing to get to be a part of!
Last night we had an English performance of songs, dances, and skits that we have been working very hard on for the past couple of weeks. I have learned that Chinese people are very serious when it comes to performing and they work very hard to make a great show. Acts included Justin Beiber's "Baby", Backstreet Boy's "As Long as You Love Me", and a scene performed from Kung Fu Panda. I will have videos to share when I return to the States if anyone is interested! I was in two of the acts with my 4th graders as a narrator for a scene from the story "Ali Baba" that they have been reading in class, and a song I had taught them this semester "The Respect Song." The Grand Finale was a dance performed by the Chinese English teachers and the foreign teachers, "We're All in this Together" from High School Musical. It was a fun day of helping the students get all done up (they even put stage make up on boys here- it's quite funny) and performing with them.
Today my teammates and I went caroling to our students in the cafeteria, singing "Jingle Bells," "Joy to the World," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." It was awesome to see the smiles and joy on our students faces and to hear them join in singing with us. We will be spending Christmas Eve tonight with one of our Chinese co-teachers and here daughter and I am planning to make Chicken Parmesan :) Tomorrow we will be together as a team at our team leaders apartment, joining with their family's tradition of having a taco lunch, playing games, and watching Christmas movies!

"Very beautiful! Very beautiful indeed!"

Even though Christmas is not celebrated as prominently here, our team is still feeling the holiday rush as there are many end of the semester activities going on. Next week, we will have the opening ceremonies of the first annual English Festival that will last about a week at our school. The students will get to display some of their English writings, art work, and the festival will end with a performance of English songs. The school has asked me and my teammates to be a part of this performance by dancing to "We're All in This Together" from High School Musical. We have two weeks to learn the dance and have rehearsals with the Chinese teachers so we can perform it together! I know the students are going to love it and I will probably feel like a rockstar for a night.
I will be teaching my lessons about Christmas next week. It will be a time we can really share what Christmas is all about so I am excited for the opportunity to share hope with my students. We are going to be putting on a short Christmas play in our class called, "Christmas Around the World." I have looked up different Christmas traditions from different countries and I will be assigning students to different countries. They will become the expert on their country's traditions. We are then going to learn the song "Joy to the World." I am hoping it will be a neat opportunity for them to see He came for people of all nations! We will also be having a Christmas cookie decorating party with our Chinese teachers and hope it is a time of salty conversations and fellowship.
This past week I had two cute moments with students. A girl in one of my classes told me she had a dream about me the night before. Then, one evening when I was walking home from school, a 7 year old boy who is not one of my students said "Hello Teacher!" like all the students normally do when they walk by any teacher, but he continued "Very beautiful! Yes, very beautiful indeed!" What a great way to end my day!

Thankful in China

Well, Thanksgiving has been an extended celebration here in China. Turkeys, pumpkin pies, and casseroles were not lacking even though I am thousands of miles away from home. My first Thanksgiving feast was a week before the actual holiday when we had a traditional American Thanksgiving for our Chinese teachers. The Chinese teachers initially took very small portions as they walked along the buffet line, but then they saw the Americans plates were piled high and they too were soon eating like Americans. My second Thanksgiving meal was on Thanksgiving day with just my teammates at my wonderful team leaders home. I got to try sweet potato casserole with the marshmallows on top for the first time and we were able to watch the Macy's Day parade online after dinner. The third meal was this weekend when many English teachers from our organization annually gather. There were 80 of us and we all brought our favorite dishes. I made pineapple casserole, a southern treat! We ate, played games, and sang Christmas carols around the fireplace. Although, nothing beats being home, I continue to be thankful for the family and support He has given me here and the beauty of true community.
I also got to teach my students the story of Thanksgiving. To teach a very simplified and shortened version, I had different realia such as a pilgrim hat, a turkey, and a Mayflower ship and had some of the students act as I narrated the story. We then had a big turkey on the board and each student got a colorful feather to write something they are thankful for and they would then come and put it on the turkey. Many said they were thankful for their parents, friends, and teachers, including Ms. Katie.
My interesting experience of the week was having a whole class of students apologize to me. A few weeks ago I noticed some of the boys in one of my classes sticking their middle finger up at each other. Unfortunately they have probably seen some American movies that have this and although they don't know exactly what it means, I have been trying to tell them to stop. We were taking a test last week and one boy was choosing to not do his test and goofing off, so when I asked him to do his work, I got the finger. I discussed it with the Chinese teacher and she had him individually apologize to me, and then she wanted to the whole class to apologize to me for the overall bad behavior. So I walked in and she was yelling at them in Chinese as they were all standing up and had very shamed looks on their faces. In unison they all bowed to me and said "sorry" three times. I felt terrible for the ones who have never been anything but a help to me and I could not help but feel a little uncomfortable as I am not use to being bowed too. I know this is a symbol of respect in this culture and I truly do hope it changes their behavior, but I also want them to know I forgive them. "Oh, China" is all I can say sometimes!

"Move forward, and stop"

Recently I have been realizing that it sometimes seems my 10 year old students work harder than I do. Their typical schedule begins by waking up at 6:00am, classes from 8:00-12:00, followed by more classes from 2:00-4:30, and then sometimes they have evening classes. I have been a little under the weather this week and have been going to bed really early. I will be lying in bed and hear students outside my window “attention, move forward, and stop, 1-2.” This is a regular chant they say as they are walking in a line from one place to another. I look over at the clock and it’s almost 9:00pm. They continue this draining pattern 5 days a week...I’m exhausted just thinking about all the studying and work they do!
We have been studying an exciting topic…food. This week we learned words like chef, soup, carrots, celery, onion, mix up, cut up, serve, restaurant, and menu. I was able to show a cooking scene from the Disney movie “Ratatouille.” It fit all of the vocabulary so well and my students loved it! I love when students are learning but they don’t even realize it! My Chinese co-teacher that also teaches my students English is having some of the higher-level students act out a scene the story “Ali Baba” that they are reading in her class. She asked if they could use my apartment to film the scene, so today I had eight of my little 4th graders in turbans and middle-eastern costumes in my apartment. It was quite adorable and entertaining!
This week we will be another busy week of teaching and we are preparing a Thanksgiving dinner for all of our co-teachers on Friday. We have ordered the turkey and will be doing our best to create all of the traditional side dishes with the ingredients we can find. We hope to have a recipe station, share the history of the holiday, and share things we are thankful for as we take the opportunity to serve our teachers, share some American traditions, and The reason we are thankful!

Life and School

This week we had a special performance to attend that the 5th and 6th graders put together for the school and their parents. There were many dances, songs, and skits that were very well done, including songs from The Sound of Music. They had memorized all of their lines and dance moves, and even though most of it was in Chinese, it was very enjoyable to watch. They were decked out in costumes and stage make-up, even the boys had on bright pink lipstick and they didn’t seem to think anything of it!
Many of the higher level students are beginning to prepare for an English competition where they will be giving speeches and will be judged on their English. This week I have been able to work more one on one with these students and help them prepare. They will be asked a question about how they feel they have grown and changed during their life. The answer that struck me the most and brings so much insight into this culture was from my student “Rachel” as she talks about how she is becoming more responsible and independent and that she longs to one day give back to her parents what they parents have given her. Even at the age of 10, this is what many Chinese students looking into their future would count as success. It is expected that after University and getting a job, you will live with your parents, sometimes even if you are married, to take care of them as they have worked very hard for the opportunities that have come in your life. Family is greatly valued here and you see it even just in walking down the street, as grandparents are pushing their grandchild in a stroller, most likely because the parents are working to provide for both generations.
This is also a very collective society, which does not work well when I give out a test and my students think it is a “group test.” I have tried to emphasize and model “keep your eyes on your own paper” but some students still think it is ok to look around for answers. I have been consistent in taking points off for cheating and I am trying to use it to promote character in my class such as honesty and integrity.
I am realizing more and more that life and school here very much merge together. When the students spend more time at school than they do at home with their parents, their teachers and classmates become their family. I just love being able to give my students hugs throughout the week and their excitement always remains the same when they see me!
It is hard to believe but midterm exams will be going on next week, which means a whole other week of schedule changes that just keep this school year interesting and unpredictable!

Meat On a Stick and Divine Appointments

The highlight of school this week was getting to go on a field trip! We got to go to a park near the mountains on the outskirts of Beijing. It was a beautiful day to be outside and the kids had a blast. There were many team building and “field day” types of activities. They did everything from having to work together to get all of their classmates over a 10ft wall, to picking up ping pong balls with chopsticks and having to race across a field without losing it and drop it in a bucket. It was fun to cheer the students on and have a day to just spend time with them. The most interesting part of the day was lunch time. As we spread out for a picnic, all the kids got out their snacks- it was like Halloween, only Chinese style. In my opinion, dried packaged meat on a stick and seaweed are not exactly treats. The kids were running around trading their food with each other and putting all kinds of food up to my mouth to try. Needless to say, I was glad I packed a good old peanut butter and jelly! I think it was definitely a day of bonding for me and for the students.
Another highlight this week was getting to go observe some English classes at a local University in Beijing that some other ELIC teachers teach at. We are encouraged to do this to see how it is different and what it would be like, so since our Fridays are just office hours we got permission to go on this special trip! Renmin University is one of the best University’s in China and it felt so good to be back on a college campus…I’m still kind of mourning the fact that I am no longer a college student! The campus was beautiful and had everything you could ever need, including two grocery stores, a cell phone store, and many restaurants in addition to their dining halls. The students in the class we observed were preparing for their midterm assignment which is going to be giving a speech. I got to talk with a few students about their ideas and give them some feedback. I was so impressed with the depth of their speeches, maybe even more because I am really only use to being able to teach basic vocabulary to my ten year old students! One student’s speech title was “A Walk in Autumn.” She was using the metaphor of how the leaves in autumn change colors and then slowly wither away and die, to talking about our lives and humanity. This led to a really great discussion about the meaning of life and our purpose here on earth. I respect these students so much, as I cannot imagine having to give a speech in Chinese! It was a really fun and encouraging day to connect with students there, including two girls I had met on the train ride I took to Taiyuan a few weeks ago! I walked into the class we were going to be observing and knew I recognized one of the students and then realized we had sat across from each other on the train. Of all the people in Beijing for me to sit across from on that train ride, and of all the classes I could have attended on that campus! I had actually gotten the other girls phone number so I called her once I got to campus and we were able to meet up for lunch. I am so thankful for the Divine appointments and opportunities that arose over this weekend.

Stop and Go

It is hard to believe it is already October and we have already had two major holidays and breaks from school. As much as it has been nice to have the days off, it has been difficult to get into a routine in my personal life as well as in the classroom. Students are beginning to settle back into campus tonight and we will work this weekend and a full week next week. It will be a long stretch until our next break when the American teachers get a couple of days of for Thanksgiving, but I am ready for routine!
I took full advantage of having our week long break for National Day this past week. Our team got to travel to the city of Taiyuan, about a 3 hour fast train ride, west of Beijing, to visit another team of teachers their that we became friends with at training. We were so thankful for their hospitality and encouragement. We ate very well during the trip, everything from homemade oatmeal banana chocolate chip pancakes, to fajitas with homemade tortillas. I guess that's the thing here in China- we don't have a lot of access to Western food, so you have to be creative and make everything from scratch which makes it that much more delicious to eat! It was great to see another part of China, as Beijing has been my only experience thus far. The train ride allowed us to pass through many beautiful mountainous areas where I saw rice farmers and small villages, and then we arrived in Taiyuan, a booming and growing city that had a lot of charm and a smaller town feel than Beijing, but it was still rather large. We went shopping and to large park that was full of families and fun activities for the holiday. We definitely noticed more attention and stares, as it is not as common for the people their to see foreigners as it is in Beijing. I even got pulled into two Chinese family photos! I'm sure I will be on their wall or in a frame in their homes for years to come. The attention is kind of nice for a little while, but I am thankful my everyday living is not like that.
I am starting a new unit tomorrow that will be about weekend activities. This includes teaching many verbs and I found a "Verb Rap" that I can't wait to have the students learn!I feel a little more prepared to begin teaching this new unit as I have made it through teaching the first one, but I still am learning new techniques to practice vocabulary, choosing activities that have the students speaking the majority of my short 40 mins. with them, and building relationships with them through the language barrier. More teaching updates to come...

Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps

This week has been full of unexpected schedule changes. At this point, I should just be expecting them and I am sure that soon I will simply not be phased by them. We found out at the beginning of the week that we would have 5 days off of school this coming week because of Mid-Autumn festival. This is an important holiday in Chinese culture when families get together, share a meal, and eat mooncakes, a traditional dessert, special to this holiday. Apparently this is the first year they have taken so many days off for it. However, we also learned that making up school and work days on the weekends is not off limits here, so we will have to work this Saturday and next Saturday to make up for it. It has been a long work week but I am so thankful for the holiday next week.
This has been an encouraging week of teaching. I am beginning to see my students flourish in the routines and procedures I have put in place. I am learning how to manage a Chinese classroom and have implemented new strategies this week that have allowed me to feel more confident and in control of the class and their behavior. My students need a lot of extrinsic motivation, which in the 4th grade means giving them stickers and when they get 5 stickers, they get a bigger prize (candy and pencils galore!). I struggle with my belief that rewarding a student for everything they do is actually more harmful than good, but I feel like I am slowly but surely figuring out the balance between my teaching philosophy and that of the Chinese teachers.
One fun lesson we did this week was about animals. The students were learning the words hippo, elephant, giraffe, snake, lion, and monkey. We sang a song I remembered learning at summer camp as a kid, “Let me see your snake face…what’s that you say? I said let me see your snake face…what’s that you say? I said…ooh aah aah aah ooh aah aah aah ooh aah aah aah ooh (doing motion for that animal)” The motions and singing help the students with the vocabulary and I have heard them singing the song outside of class…it’s truly wonderful to know learning is taking place!
I also started teaching an activity class that will be once a week for an hour and a half. It is for 4th-6th graders who tested highly in their English skills. Two of my teammates and I get to teach it together and we have made it into a theatre class. This means I get to teach dance to the kids! In fact we are teaching them the song and dance “We’re All in This Together” from High School Musical. We are also working on some skits and hope to put together a little show by the end of the semester for them to perform for parents and the school. One of my 4th grade students in the class has become fond of getting to have me as his teacher for two classes now. He says in his Chinese-English accent “Ms. Katie, I love you. I want you to be my wife.”
Well, how my days off will be spent is still up in the air. One of my Chinese co-teachers had invited me to go home with her a couple of times and asked me again this week. She is from Inner Mongolia and it would be such a cool opportunity to get to know her outside of school and to see more of China. However, train tickets are proving to be hard to come by with the holiday next week so it may not work out. If the trip doesn’t happen, I will be perfectly fine resting and doing some sightseeing in Beijing. I still haven’t seen even half of this city! “Perhaps” is a word that is often used here, so perhaps I will go to Inner Mongolia on Monday…probably the most spontaneous thing I have ever said! Until next time…

First full week!

 I have officially been in China for one month now, teaching for one and a half weeks.  So much has been packed into this time that it seems impossible that it has only been four weeks, but I’m thankful to have this Saturday off and take some time to process all that is going on!  The autumn season is upon the city of Beijing, lifting the grey smog, and allowing a beautiful blue sky and cooler temperatures in.  For the month of September, I am focusing on Sleeping, Eating, Pr., and Teaching and I’m learning that these basics are enough for now!  I am continuing to adjust to teaching English as a foreign language, getting to know my students, and getting to know my Chinese co-workers.  Sometimes I expect for relationships to develop faster and to be successful in the things I do on the first try, but I have to remember I am a new teacher, I am in a new culture, and there is a language barrier that requires even more patience!  

I need to provide my students activities and lessons that allow for oral language production, as I am a native speaker and they can have great benefit in learning how to communicate with me and each other.  Coming up with games and activities that give them the most practice is still difficult at this point as I am getting to know the varying levels of English amongst my students within each class.  Some things this week I thought would be good activities failed, some miserably, but I am learning.  I am use to teaching one class of about 25 students and getting to be with them all day.  Teaching four classes of about 32 students and trying to fit everything we need to cover into 40 minutes is challenging to say the least.  I know that when my students can’t understand me, they begin to tune out and that is when the talking and other discipline problems begin.  I totally get that- I sometimes tune out when we’re in a meeting where they are only speaking in Chinese.  Why bother to listen and pay attention if the person talking is making no sense to you?  Ironically enough, my students and I are going through the same thing, in a way, just in reverse. I need to be better at transitioning between activities and engaging the students so there is less time for them to easily get distracted.   Although the language barrier is frustrating at times, I am intrigued by how we were created with different languages and tongues and I’m thankful for the opportunity to get to learn Chinese while I am here. However, there are many ways my students communicate with me beyond language.  There is not a lack of feeling loved and appreciated as their teacher.  As soon as I walk in to set up for the class they immediately come to say “hello teacher!” and to give hugs.  They also want to touch everything I bring in with me and help set things up. 

I have also been getting to know my two Chinese co-teachers who also teach these students English throughout the week.  They took me out to dinner at a local restaurant here this week and it was nice to be out of the school environment and ask about their lives outside of being a teacher.  They work very hard and are very busy all the time.  That particular night, they had to return to teach another class that evening and one of the teachers lives an hour away from the school.  I live right on campus and have fewer classes than they do so I feel a bit spoiled.  Although we all speak English, there is still a communication barrier and I’m not sure they always understand what I mean so I have to be patient in asking the same question in a variety of ways and being ok with misunderstandings.  In the Chinese culture, if you are the one inviting someone out to a meal, they will pay.  There is no splitting the bill.  It felt weird to let her pay for my meal, but she replied “This is the Chinese way.”  I look forward to cooking an American meal for them and having them over to my apartment.

Friday was also Teacher’s Day in China.  Students bring gifts to show their appreciation for their teachers and it is made rather a big deal compared to The States.  The school had a banquet dinner at a hotel last night to celebrate.  There were over 200 teachers there from the primary, middle, and high school.  Many speeches were given by administrators, performances including singing and dancing (my team performed “Lean on Me” as a last minute request), and toasts were given at individual tables (you always want to have something in your glass at a Chinese banquet so you are ready for toasts!).  It was a very nice event and new experience for all of the foreign teachers!

First Days of Teaching

     I've decided this blog will be dedicated to my experiences, challenges, and joys of my first year of teaching.  When I began my degree of Elementary Education at USC, little did I know I would be here in Beijing leading 4th grade Chinese students to learn English during my first year of teaching.  When you are a teacher you must be flexible, and my time in China thus far us been stretching me in that more than ever before. 

     The first day of school across the whole country is September 1st.  I did not find out what grade I was teaching until August 28th.  Because I am a planner and I love knowing details, this was the first of many circumstances of ambiguity I have encountered in my short time at the school.  I feel like I must be prepared for anything at anytime which can be unsettling but exciting at the same time.  For example, as we were getting ready for the first day of school, doing last minute lesson plans and anticipating meeting our students for the first time, we (my team of American teachers) were told we needed to be taken to a foreign health clinic to have some tests done instead of teaching on the first day of school.  Even though we had all had the required medical tests before leaving The States, apparently the country needs their own records.  I awoke that morning hearing the chants of Chinese children beginning at 6:30am, as the students were walking from their dorms to the school's opening ceremonies right outside my window before being whisked away to the clinic (the clinic was an interesting experience in itself as we had to go from room to room for different things such as blood work, an ultrasound, and even "surgery"- some things just don't translate correctly, and it was quite the joke that they were going to take one of our organs).  When we returned from the clinic, we ate lunch in the school cafeteria with our Chinese co-teachers.  My teacher says, "Katie, there is a schedule change.  You will teach this afternoon."  I was not completely confident in my lesson yet so I was a little nervous about this sudden news.  This is when the idea that "nothing is as it seems in China" worked to my advantage because within the next hour, as I ran up to my office to practice my lesson, my schedule changed again three different times within that 60 minutes and it turned out that I did not have to teach. 

     My first day of teaching ended up being today, and what a busy day it was.  I taught all four of my classes back to back (thankfully my schedule is only like this on Thursdays) and each class went differently.  The students are so excited to have a foreign teacher.  Even walking down the hallway I feel like a celebrity as students from all classes and grades will say, "Hello teacher!"  My plan was to get to each class early to discretely set up my materials, but as soon as they saw me come in, they began talking to me and wanting to see what was in my bag.  My students are very helpful and full of energy which was great but also hard to manage at times.  My Chinese teachers say students are very hyper and talkative because the school year has just begun but that they will settle down within a couple of weeks.  My greatest moments of the day were definitely the students' wonderful smiles and excitement.  However, managing a classroom in an Eastern vs. Western context and learning what is culturally appropriate is a new and ongoing challenge I'm sure I will be faced with throughout the year, especially in these first few weeks. 

     I hope to be faithful to document the funny stories, breakthrough moments, and everyday life of being a first year teacher...each day is truly an adventure!