I am finally settling into the teaching routine. I teach 15 classes a week; 10 classes of 7th graders every week and 10 classes of 8th graders every other week. Each class has 50-60 students so I literally have over a thousand students! After this realization and the first class I quickly decided there is no way I am going to be able to take pictures of each students and memorize their names. So far I have taught 5 classes and only one was awful! And luckily that is an 8th grade class that I only have to see every other week. I walked into the class and this boy in the back row stands up and says, “oh foreign teacher, so beautiful!” in English. So I said, “Thank you.” And the class went crazy! I guess he didn’t think I would hear him or that I wouldn’t understand his English, I don’t know. I thought that thank you was the correct response. But the rest of the class was constant chatter and my angry teacher look apparently needs work.
So maybe I introduced myself as Ms. Christy from Washington DC, bc I got tired of the Beijing kids singing, “Country Roads” when I said I was from Virginia. You know, “West Virginia, mountain mama take me home, country roads.” They knew every word to the song but then where completely blank-faced when I said Virginia is different than West Virginia. So my new explanation is that I live in DC near Obama. They love that! Or maybe they just like saying the name because it’s similar to Chinese sounds. They also love Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson according to the “I want to learn about blank” papers I collected. I don’t know how I am going to teach about lady Gaga for a whole year. Then again they want to learn about Kobe Bryant too. I am gonna have to bring Peach in as my sports expert. I don’t know how Foreign Expert translates to basketball expert. Don’t they know I almost failed PE.
Today is teacher appreiciation day! Does the US have one of those? All my friends are going to teacher appreciation banquets tonight. My contact teacher hates me so I bet I am suposta go to one too but she didn’t tell me so she can have my beer! But at least all the other teachers are nice to me. I haven’t decided what to do about my contact teacher, she is the one that I go to with any questions or issues with my apartment and then she is suposta call and get someone to fix it. I have called her everyday about my lack of internet and she seems annoyed. I think the mature thing to do is avoid her as much as possible and pretend to be super happy and friendly. Ok maybe that’s not the mature thing, but the American women thing to do. However it is going to be a whole year and I don’t know how long I can take this smiling crap. But back to the students. So I walk into the office and I can’t even get through the door bc all these children are standing there looking in. I say excuses me then realize that is doing no good bc they haven’t learned that word yet and I probably sound like an alien to them. Instead I decide to push them out of the way. They 2 girls follow me to my desk and tell me they are from 8th grade class 3 (which I haven’t even taught yet) and they have a present for me and happy teacher appreciation day! It is wrapped in “I love you” paper and says, “love your neighbor as yourself, man dosesnot comprehend its worth.” That is pretty heavy for students I have never met! Inside the box is a mirror the shape of a frog with a word bubble that says, “My name is Happy.” Another class gave me a card, in all Chinese with all 60 signatures, all in Chinese with the message, “Thank you, happy everyday.” Then I also had a mystery gift waiting for me on my desk, wrapped in cellophane and a bow. It was a coffee mug, well the china version so about a fourth of the size, pink with hearts and doves. A co-worker gave me some tea the other day and I was thinking I needed to buy a cup. How did they know! I am very confused about the frog mirror. Do I leave him at the school; So that I can be even more vane checking my hair after every class? Either way it made my day!
So maybe I introduced myself as Ms. Christy from Washington DC, bc I got tired of the Beijing kids singing, “Country Roads” when I said I was from Virginia. You know, “West Virginia, mountain mama take me home, country roads.” They knew every word to the song but then where completely blank-faced when I said Virginia is different than West Virginia. So my new explanation is that I live in DC near Obama. They love that! Or maybe they just like saying the name because it’s similar to Chinese sounds. They also love Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson according to the “I want to learn about blank” papers I collected. I don’t know how I am going to teach about lady Gaga for a whole year. Then again they want to learn about Kobe Bryant too. I am gonna have to bring Peach in as my sports expert. I don’t know how Foreign Expert translates to basketball expert. Don’t they know I almost failed PE.
Today is teacher appreiciation day! Does the US have one of those? All my friends are going to teacher appreciation banquets tonight. My contact teacher hates me so I bet I am suposta go to one too but she didn’t tell me so she can have my beer! But at least all the other teachers are nice to me. I haven’t decided what to do about my contact teacher, she is the one that I go to with any questions or issues with my apartment and then she is suposta call and get someone to fix it. I have called her everyday about my lack of internet and she seems annoyed. I think the mature thing to do is avoid her as much as possible and pretend to be super happy and friendly. Ok maybe that’s not the mature thing, but the American women thing to do. However it is going to be a whole year and I don’t know how long I can take this smiling crap. But back to the students. So I walk into the office and I can’t even get through the door bc all these children are standing there looking in. I say excuses me then realize that is doing no good bc they haven’t learned that word yet and I probably sound like an alien to them. Instead I decide to push them out of the way. They 2 girls follow me to my desk and tell me they are from 8th grade class 3 (which I haven’t even taught yet) and they have a present for me and happy teacher appreciation day! It is wrapped in “I love you” paper and says, “love your neighbor as yourself, man dosesnot comprehend its worth.” That is pretty heavy for students I have never met! Inside the box is a mirror the shape of a frog with a word bubble that says, “My name is Happy.” Another class gave me a card, in all Chinese with all 60 signatures, all in Chinese with the message, “Thank you, happy everyday.” Then I also had a mystery gift waiting for me on my desk, wrapped in cellophane and a bow. It was a coffee mug, well the china version so about a fourth of the size, pink with hearts and doves. A co-worker gave me some tea the other day and I was thinking I needed to buy a cup. How did they know! I am very confused about the frog mirror. Do I leave him at the school; So that I can be even more vane checking my hair after every class? Either way it made my day!
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