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.