Lost in jINhua

So. I have kept this little secret since I have been in Jinhua. The only people who know about this secret are the ones who have been living with me here in China. This is kind of a new thing for me, and I'm not proud of it, but tonight, this new little secret, turned a girl who was ready to go home, into a girl who is excited about living here for the next six months.

You ready? Dying to hear this dirty little secret I have been keeping. Okay. Here it is. I lose stuff. Yes. I loose things. My wallet. My bank card, my pin number, my phone, my keys, my bus ticket, my hair ties, my bike, my bike key, my sweater, my earrings, seriously, the list does not stop. I LOSE THINGS!! All of the time. This has never been a problem before. Seriously. (unless my mind is playing tricks on me, then please let me know if I have lost these many things before). Until tonight, I had figured that this was just a new development in getting older. My mom says that she cannot remember things, maybe I am just starting to loose things (I am turning 33 soon).

So. Christmas Eve. Just like any other day of the week, well not really it is Christmas Eve. So, know one from work wants to go out, I decide to go out on my own. I have no idea where the night will lead, which is so exciting right!. I meet up with some people I had met before, everything seems very normal.  We go to this new bar I have never been to, called The Red Door. (at least I think it is called that...). We have fun, drink some beer, meet some people, and then it happens. I'm in the cab, on the way home, and, cannot find my phone. Again.  SO LAME, I think. Not again. In all honesty, the phone is a piece of S*%T! so I am not too worried, I decide that I will ask one of my co-workers who sings at this bar to text and see if I happened to have left it there....duh duh duhhhhhhhhhhhh......

I know. The anticipation is killing you right now. Turns out my phone is at the bar!! YEAH!!! The problem is, this bar is located in an awkward part of town that is impossible to explain in Chinese, let alone English, so I decide to wait until someone else can bring it to me, this part of the story is not that important, what is important is that today I decided to find the phone on my own. (may not seem like much of a big deal, but it really is!)

I get the directions to this place, not before I ask our secretary Harriet to call and find out when it opens, if my phone is there and to write down on a piece of paper that I am looking for my phone in Chinese, and decide to head into town-on the bus. I would like to remind you, that in Canada, all you would have had to do is call the bar, get in your car, and drive there, pick it up and DONE. But anyways, I digress...I go to Danny's Cafe first, because I am hungry and really want some foreign food, and to my amazement, Danny is there! Yeah! Danny is the wonderful owner of Danny's Cafe, and it is always awesome to see him there.

This is where my time in Jinhua turns around. I arrive, wet (because it is raining) and unsure if I will actually get my phone back later in the night. When my food comes out (I ordered a pesto chicken panini) it comes with a piece of BRIE!!!! AND THE MOST YUMMY HOMEMADE POTATO SALAD I have ever tasted. These things don't normally come with the food, apparently I just have some sweet connections with the owner. This is a BIG deal here in Jinhua. CHEESE! I know I don't eat much diary, but I have a soft spot for BRIE!! Danny, his girlfriend and I get to talking, and he says, "Melanie, we are your friends here, text, call, we always go out for drinks or dinner after ten when the restaurant closes, we would love to hang out with you."

Insert Melanie's heart melting and getting very excited at the prospect of having friends in Jinhua. He then made me a cup of coffee, flavoured with vanilla because I had told him about the coffee my Mom had sent... (which you may think is not a big deal, but coffee is a rare commodity here in China!) and with a heart filled with love and happiness, (and maybe some wine - GOOD wine!) I was then on my way to find my phone. Heart Happy, and ready to find this bar that is impossible to explain.

I arrived at The Red Door with relative ease.  I walk in, and say in English, that I am looking for my phone - THEY UNDERSTAND!! Not only does the owner understand, but after she graduated high school in Jinhua, she went to school in New Zealand, so she understands English, and is absolutely wonderful to talk to.  The owners are kind, thoughtful, and I'm pretty sure I am going to have her in as a guest speaker in my classroom  - I FOUND A GUEST SPEAKER FOR MY STUDENTS IN CHINA!! AWESOME.  And the part of the story that is least important now, they had my phone.

I realize I have picked up a serious habit of losing things here in China. I'm not sure why, or what the purpose of all of it is, but tonight it was clear that losing my phone put me out of my comfort zone to go out and find it, to explore and take a chance, meet new people, make new friends and even if they hadn't had my phone, an ordinary Thursday turned into an extraordinary Thursday.  I made new friends, just at the time when I needed it most. The Universe has a way of giving us what we need, and I needed today. So Cheers to trusting your intuition, following your heart, and taking a chance, because all I really wanted to do at the end of my day was curl up under my heating blanket, with my hot water bottle, and the heat on and sleep - if I had done that, I would have missed out on the opportunity to meet new people, make new friends, and oh- find my phone ;).

Christmas in Jinhua!

Aside from missing my family like crazy - the students made this Christmas in China a very special one.   It all started when I walked into the classroom and they had given the very plain classroom a very MERRY CHRISTMAS makeover. AWESOME.  Not only are their notes in the advent calendar some of the most special warm fuzzies I have ever read, they then took the time to make this Christmas decorating very imaginative, and related every decoration to our inside jokes with our class. One of my most favourite Christmas presents.

To Ms. Killens, Merry Christmas, You're not alone, were here with U, like a circle!

We then skyped my parents, and Ashley opened her Christmas present from me, what I was not expecting were the tears to start flowing in front of the students. Ashley on the big screen, crying, me in the classroom, and the whole fam jam there to support.  It was wonderful.  The students understood, and I'm pretty sure it made them love me more. ;)

If it weren't for these students, this Christmas might have been a pretty lonely affair, BUT it wasn't.  We had a staff Christmas dinner, a little gift exchange, and most importantly, lot's of love was felt from everyone around.  It is not the same as Christmas at home, or Christmas in Banff, where there are so many of us there, who love and know each other so well, but the students did their best, and I love them for that.

Thinking back to my time in Africa, there was no skype, there were no phones (that we could use), and most of the time we had limited access to email.  This time, being so far from home, I have so much access to various forms of communication with people in Canada - and all over the world that it is hard to keep up!  I got to spend Christmas Eve and  morning with my Mom, Dad, Ashley and Dan, Christmas dinner with my brother and his family and even spend some time in Nelson with the Walker's! It is absolutely wonderful to have the ability to see everyone via skype, it makes the loneliness around the holidays a little easier to cope with.

Ten years ago (I cannot believe it has been ten years since I travelled to Africa!!) I didn't have this luxury, maybe that was a part of travelling that made the moments with family more precious. Don't get me wrong, I definitely do not want to give up Skype for any reason, but I think it is important to remember that it wasn't that long ago that finding a way to communicate from overseas was really hard, so treasure those moments with friends and family, embrace the time you have with them, because well, you never know when one day, when the Chinese government decides to shut down the internet, I will be back to the old school way, letters and phone calls.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone, please enjoy the photo's of some of the most creative, thoughtful students out there. I love and miss you all! xoxo

This is what I walked into Christmas Morning!! Beautiful!!

My Homemade Advent Calendar

So, I know I have yet to blog about Shanghai, but it has taken me the entire week to recover from the copious amounts of.....ummmm, water I drank on the weekend. Right. Anyways. This week my friend Adrienne sent me this amazing online advent calendar, it is super neat, and I showed it to my students.  I was pretty sure they were not as excited as I was about it, but I showed them anyways ;).  I also explained to them what and advent calendar was, well our version of it, where you get to open chocolates every day for the month of December, and that the 24th is an EXTRA large chocolate because it is Christmas Eve.  I told them that this was my first year without one because it is much to expensive to send one of those in the mail - although I know my Mom is dying knowing she cannot send one.

The next day (today), I come into class, and two of my students show up at my classroom door.  The class has made me a HOMEMADE Advent Calendar.  CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!! AMAZING!! AWESOME!! I'm pretty sure I had tears in my eyes.

Yes, it is backwards, my camera is broken, so I took it with my Mac Book...isn't this just AWESOME!

This isn't just any calendar, this calendar has notes from students in each of the days leading up to Christmas.  It also has chocolates, and if you notice, the 24th, is extra big with a SNICKERS bar!! Just when you think the students don't listen to what you are saying....
This, made my day, week, month.  I cannot describe how thoughtful this is, I have only opened one note so far, and you know what it said? 

"Ms. Killens, No matter what mood your in, no matter what kind of day you had, or where you are SMILE" ~ I hope you enjoy your first Christmas in China."

GAH!! They've hit me right in the heart these kids.  And I love it.

So, for all of those bad days, we know we have them, for the tests I have to write, for the exams coming up, the unit tests I will be marking, I will look at this calendar and remember that these students care, they are thoughtful, and they listen. I hope I can continue to do the same for them, because all we want in this world is to know that someone, somewhere is listening, and has heard what we have to say.

Brave?

Some some people have said that I am Brave for moving to China, that it is something they wished they had done, or that they could never do.  Either way, I never thought of myself as Brave for packing up and moving to teach and live in China.

Yes, moving to China is a pretty big deal, and getting used to the differences in culture is a bit of a shock.  But, what I have realized, is that the true Bravery comes in when you want to travel outside of the city you live in.  It is so easy to stay in my apartment, take the bus, or cab into Jinhua, hang out with friends at The Red Cactus, Danny's, The Reading Cafe, and I feel pretty safe and secure in this city.  I always know I can find my way home, there is someone to call if I am stuck, and people are generally helpful.  At the same time, there is almost know one in Jinhua who speaks English, but I have never had a real issue with this because I am pretty comfortable in my surroundings.

So. I am going to Shanghai this weekend.  Not a big deal right? It is only a three hour "fast" train ride. And it is a huge city with some people who can speak English, there are English signs, and English speaking tour guides, there are even foreigners around! But this trip has me so nervous! I hadn't realized how much I hadn't pushed my comfort zone in quite some time.  Although I am in a new country, I have found a very comfortable place here in Jinhua, with my regular coffee spot, my regular market, the regular trip to Wal Mart and Century Mart - now I am going to a whole new city!

I have been kind of freaking out a little, printing off maps, getting the pinyon and english translations of the chinese characters, contacting every resource that anyone has ever given me of friends of friends who live in Shanghai "just incase".  I have called the Hostel twice to ensure my reservation is kept until midnight just incase the 35 minutes it says it takes to get there takes me three hours.

My goal is to wander the city, buy some clothes, eat some yummy food and sit in a pub and listen to live music. (and meet up with some pretty awesome people that Corri and Kyra have introduced me to) Take pretty photo's and enjoy a weekend out of Jinhua.  All the rest will come together, right? My hope is that once I arrive in Shanghai, things will be a little easier than I expected.  If not, well, then all my planning has been a good idea!

So, I've put my big girl pants on and I am going to go to Shanghai, I'm going to take in every moment and be Brave. The easiest thing to do would be to stay in my apartment (which would make my Dad happy!) and enjoy a wonderful weekend of planning and doing way to much work, but, isn't there some quote about if it scares you you should definitely be doing it? Well, here I go!

No matter where we are in the world, wherever you live, it doesn't have to be in a different country, we get into our comfort zones so easily.  I challenge you to take a risk, it might be changing up what you had for breakfast, or something bigger, like taking that vacation you always said you would (to China to visit me obviously). But I hope you get out there! Challenge yourself and do something that scares you! Adventure and growth begins at the end of our comfort zone. Thank-you to all of you who have inspired me to get out there, and push my limits.  

Relationships

So, we have been reading Tuck Everlasting for what feels like an eternity.  So, to spice things up I've added in some "hot topic reflections".  The first one I had the students reflect on, was same sex relationships.  The second one, which they wrote yesterday was, "should boyfriends and girlfriends be allowed in high school?"

Before I go into their thoughts on both of these topics, I should give some history about the students here.  For one, they are NOT allowed to have a boyfriend or a girlfriend, if they are found to be spending too much time with the opposite sex, their parents will be called, and the principal called, it is very serious and has major consequences.  Students are told from their parents and other family members that being in a relationship is for mature adults, and that if they were to date in high school, that they would not be able to focus on their studies, and studies are the most important.  This leads to obvious complications for them as they get older, and more importantly when they move to Canada and will need to interact with male and females, in a positive way. (you can see the many other complications coming in here when Western society embraces all sorts of relationships). Just getting them to hold hands in a circle at sixteen years old with the opposite sex is getting them out of their comfort zone.

Secondly, Homosexuality, is Illegal. Done. NO discussion. However, these students are of a different generation than their parents, and they are becoming a little more open to the idea. Isn't it ironic that the girls and boys in this country can show so much affection towards each other, the guys can hold hands, the girls can hold hands, hug and generally care for their friends, and not one person would call them out as "gay".  In Canada, kids are committing suicide, getting throw in lockers, beat up, made fun of, name called, for doing the exact things these kids do every day.

Because my students are awesome, and reflective, and probably the most awesome kids ever, (I'm going to show them this blog, thought I would throw that in there) they started critically thinking about this topic, and they thought it was interesting, that a country that allows the legal marriage of people of the same sex, would not accept people of the same sex showing affection towards each other. On the other hand, this country allows people of the same sex to show so much affection towards each other, but are completely homophobic.

As for relationships in high school.  This is what got me thinking.  Should we have relationships in high school? There are so many sides to this topic that I have no idea where to start.  I have seen the positives of having kids wait to be in a relationship, they are taken much more seriously here, and a partner is chosen either in haste because they are running out of time before, god forbid they are 25 and unwed (i'm probably going to die a lonely spinster). Or, they have had time to wait for the right person. The youth here are so innocent, they have not been exposed to the things that Western kids have been.  They respect their teachers, they respect their classmates, they respect their parents, the Principal's word means something, they WANT to learn, and for the most part they are not worried if their boyfriend dumped them, or is cheating on them, or had sex with their friend - or their friend is pregnant in high school.  Yes, some of the students have boyfriends  or girlfriends, the CANADIAN teachers usually know about these by year three, but they have to hide it.

So what have I concluded by the end of this? Nothing. I have no answers.  There are positives and negatives to both sides.  When your right is taken away to choose to be in a relationship, is that fair? No. Does it help you later in life to choose better relationships, to be mature about sex and having kids? Maybe. Is there a high rate of teen pregnancy and drug use in China - not that I have seen.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could have stayed innocent for a bit longer? We spend so much of our time when we are young wanting to be older, and from what I've heard, when we get older (I'm still 25) wanting to be young. We have to be adults so quickly in this world, start working, make money, go to school...to be young and innocent, for your entire youth, wouldn't that be nice?

I want to add that I really do have a lot more thoughts on this topic, and I've only skimmed the surface in this blog...it would take me ages to write all of my thoughts down.  So feel free to comment, the kids would love to hear what you think! If you can't comment directly, please email me, the students find it very interesting to hear what Westerner's think of China.

Just thought it was an appropriate time for some photo's...back in my "youth".

<3

Jess is going to love me for putting this photo in, but doesn't it make you laugh! Man, we were young and awesome. 

One of my very first mountain bike rides.

I'm pretty sure Ky is in grade 7 or 8 now...ahhhhhhh!

YESSSS!!!

Pretty amazing right!

DeDIcAtioN to mY FrIEndS.

WARNING: This is the cheesiest blog I have written yet, Don't judge my sappiness. :).

Two and a half months in Jinhua. Some days it feels like I have been here for two minutes, other's it feels like I have been here for two years.  I got to thinking this weekend. (I know, scary right). I am currently in a place where I am desperately missing my friends. I am missing everything about YOU. I am not missing any particular place, or time in my life, I am just missing MY friends.  You know who you are, and I want to dedicate this to YOU, and how AWESOME you are, and give a HUGE thank-you for everything we have been through together. I miss you. I think of you every day. (well not every day, but most) ;). You help me embrace the happy times, and the rough times, while travelling here in China. 

Yep. You. You have been my friend for years, months, minutes, who's counting.  I LOVE you. Everything about YOU. You know who you are. You are the one who wiped my tears, lifted me up when I was down, gave me a place to sleep, a place to live, a place to call home, scolded me when I needed it, got wastey pants and walked me home, drank shooters, or made me do shooters, mooned people on the street with me, drank wine with me, bar stool rodeoed with me, we hiked mountains, slept on mountains, skied, had crushes on stupid boys, slept with stupid boys, we have drank beers, tea, coffee, talked about our bowel movements, I have met your children and they are beautiful, we have helped each other through breakups, get togethers, and breakup's again.  We have dance partied in more places than I can count, we have went mountain biking, I wore a bridesmaid dress in your wedding, we travelled to amazing places, spent a summer sleeping in a tent, and most importantly, we have had so much FUN together.

I want you to know that you mean the world to me, and THANK-YOU! 

I realized this weekend (well, not all this weekend, but to summarize...), that no matter where we are in the world, our friends are who help us through the good times and the rough times. My friends are my family, my family are my friends. Living in China, with limited access to meeting new people, a staff who isn't super close, and a language barrier to top it off has helped me realize that regardless of the mountains, clean water, vast open spaces with few people living in them, without your friends in close proximity, you really have to rely on yourself and that inner love that we all work so hard to find. 

Thank goodness my friends are AWESOME, because you have given me the strength I need to move forward, embrace my time here and do the best I can, where I am, with what I have.

I LOVE YOU!

They just keep on surprising me...

Since the first day of school I have been working with the students to help them to do all of those good things we try and get the Canadian students to do, think critically, ask questions, participate in class, learn, try, and above all, have fun. (sounds easy right?). I have been trying to do this through presentations, team building and to be honest, giving marks for speaking in class. (it works here!)

The first set of presentations I had the students create was kind of a disaster.  I couldn't understand most of what they were saying (thank goodness I read their stories first, which by the way were just as hard to follow, thank goodness I had their plot diagram to follow...). Anyways, we are currently doing more presentations for the Novel study unit.  We talked at length about how to engage the audience, how to make it interesting, how to use your voice to captivate the audience, how to add humour, speaking slowly, having visuals...etc. etc.

Well, if those students didn't just go and listen to me, and rock their presentations today. It was, Awesome. (haha, reference to facebook for any of you who read my status).

For those of you who did not I'll add the conversation here:

Me: How are you progressing in this class?
Student: I think I have learned a lot of new English words.
Me: Oh, which ones can you tell me about?
Student: The word "Awesome" I didn't know what that word meant until you were my teacher. You say it all of the time, and on the first day I had no idea, and now I know. 
Me: That is Awesome.
Student: Yes it is.

Anyways, these kids blew me away! It was great.  I have added some photo's of one of the groups who were showing the Character Development of some of the characters in Tuck Everlasting. They went out of their comfort zone and I'm so proud of them.

P.S I did not tell them they had to dress up, make characters, any of the things they did.  We have very limited resources here, and somehow they managed to kick butt with what very little we had.

This is Jacob, he is showing the character development of Winnie Foster - the strap on his dress kept falling down, and he kept adjusting it to make sure he looked good for the entire presentation. Oh my, it was to funny.

I have no idea when they found time to make this sweet scene changer gadget.  But, again, added to the presentation, and it was "Awesome".

Dear Team. You Rocked.

I wanted to add that not every day in the classroom is as exciting as the last two posts.  Actually, most days have been pretty challenging and putting me out of my comfort zone on a regular basis.  It is wearing on me, that combined with living in a new country has made the last two weeks quite a learning experience. (actually the last two weeks have totally sucked, and it has taken a lot of reflection and motivation to stay positive). Thank goodness for Beer, Colleen, and Captain Morgan. (not necessarily in that order!)

As many of you know, finally seeing a small breakthrough in your students/patients/youth whoever you work with, is worth two months of trying to get them to put their hand up in class, when all of a sudden they rock out in a pink dress playing the main character of the story and I wonder, where the heck was that kid two months ago?!  WELCOME!!

Again, I am reminded today, that no matter where we are in the world, we have the opportunity to  learn, grow and become better people because of how we choose to move forward from the experiences we are given.

As Dr. Seuss would say "Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one"

Success.

So, the trials and tribulations of being a teacher.  I have four students in one of my classes who are very much below average, and the chances of them passing the course are very slim.  This is not good on many levels, one we need to keep students in the program, and two, if they do not finish this diploma, they will not have a chance to do the Chinese exams, leaving them with very few options.

I have been struggling about what to do, how to group them, who to group them with. How do I engage these learners? Do we keep them in the program and try to get their marks up, or move them back into the Chinese school full time?  I have found that there is a sense of commrodery between the students, and they will help all of those who are struggling, and hide it so that the teacher does not find out until a test that one of the group members has no idea what is going on. This has been a huge problem for me.

In Ontario, you group struggling students with those who can help them, so that they have a someone to help them understand what is going on. There is extra help for students with learning disabilities, there are tests to find out what the LD is. Here, I am alone. There is nothing to help these students but me. Here, grouping the struggling student with someone who can help them doesn't work, because instead of helping the student, the student who needs help relies on everyone else to do the work for them, and they will.

So. I took a chance.  I decided to group all four of my struggling students together.  I didn't like the idea, because I thought they would see what I was doing.  They would see that I put everyone who is having a tough time in the same group, and feel singled out. It goes against everything we learn in school, however something in my heart told me that this was the way to go.  My hope was, that these students will have know one to rely on but each other, and they will have to step up and do the work.

So, Friday, I moved the last of my "struggling" students together and felt a little sick to my stomach, worried that they were going to either, one, shut down completely, or two feel shamed.  What happened couldn't have made me more happy. I was having a conference with one of the students who I moved into this group about his marks (report cards are coming out), and I asked him how he felt about being moved into the new group.  He said "Ms. Killens, I LOVE my new group, I felt that in all the other groups I've been in, I could not give my opinion because I was not sure if it was right, and now, in this new group I feel very comfortable to talk, and I think I will work harder in this group."  I was SOOOO happy.  I watched this group for the remainder of the period, and although they were speaking Chinese (which is NOT allowed in the classroom), they were getting the work done.  All four students were talking, writing down answers, working together to come up with the information. They were engaged!! They finally felt comfortable enough in their group to work together to come up with the answers because they are on an equal playing field.  This works in China because students want to get a good mark, they want to be successful, it is expected.  I'm not sure I would do the same thing in an Ontario classroom, or if there would be the same outcome, but this is a different culture.  The students are different, the way they learn is different, and I need to adjust how I teach to best help them. I hope these students continue to be successful in this arrangement, and their confidence in this program increases. Big dreams I know, but I am choosing to believe that this is what will happen.

In the end I am glad I followed my heart, because if I listened to logic, and all of the things we learned in school, I would have never seen these students engaged more than I have seen since the beginning of the year.

Success this week looked like four struggling students engaged in their learning and Ms. Killens being very excited at the possibility of turning their marks around.

Finding my way in a Strange place.

Going on two months in Jinhua, I am now having that uncontrollable urge to pack up my bags and head somewhere with clean air (where the sky is blue), easy access to transportation and children who wear diapers.  It would be great to walk the street and run into people who do not spit at your feet,  where excuse me, please and thank-you, and at least polite staring (as oppose to the blinking competitions I have with the locals, I usually win) are something of the norm.

Clean water out of your tap, access to Soy milk, Kraft Dinner, Hot Dogs, Spaghetti, Avocado and all sorts of other random things I really didn't think I would be missing so quickly into my 10 months in China. Erin's cooking, my little bunkey on the lake, Halloween parties with friends, seeing little baby Santiago do all of his firsts this year, Katie's love notes, hugging your Bestie (or 's) whenever you want, or just sitting at home watching t.v eating popcorn, knowing that your Mom is sitting at the kitchen table playing Bubble Witch on Facebook.

I am well aware that when travelling you hit your ups and downs, that sometimes, you just want some normalcy, a bit of back "home" in your life.  This is where I am at.  How do I find my place in a strange city, with very few others to keep in contact with, and still learn and grow for the next 10 months, after all that is what travelling and teaching is about right?

After some reflection, maybe a few wobbly pops and some discussions with new friends, I have found a way to start feeling at "home" in Jinhua.  For those of you who know me, you know I have many different homes, and I try to make wherever I am living, home.

So, step one, make my living space somewhere I want to be. So, I purchased plants, some lamps, speakers for my computer, bath matt to keep my toes warm after a shower, some propane for the stove, an extra duvet comforter, and a yoga matt.  Adding these comforts to my home has made the biggest difference.  This gives me a space that feels comfortable and welcoming.

Next, do not eat fried food anymore, including that from across the road from the school, which is so good.  My stomach issues over the past few days have not been pleasant, but it wouldn't be an authentic experience if I hadn't had some time on the porcelain throne right?

Journaling, getting outside, spending time doing yoga, and blogging have all been ways to make this space my own, to find a way to be Melanie in a place where three million people live in such close quarters, a city that is never quiet, and nature that is hard to find.

For all of the things I miss from Canada, there are many things that I love about China.  Those are the things I remember when I'm feeling down.  Dumplings, spicy food, the kids, teaching, and skyping with friends, receiving letters in the mail and experiencing this new country. Heck, everyone has a bad day right?

I know that I am fortunate to have this opportunity and although some days I just want to get on a plane to somewhere new, I am enjoying my time here, I am learning many things about myself, about a country that I have very little knowledge about, and most importantly about their youth. I am learning the challenges they face and what their goals and aspirations are in a country that gives them limited options, but they somehow they find a way to be who they are, despite higher powers continually trying to take those away from them.

So. There it is. Confessions of a foreign teacher in China.  It is not easy admitting that there are some shitty days here, trying to stay positive all of the time is hard, so I've decided to accept the bad days, and learn from them, move forward and do the best I can, where I am with what I have.

The English Language....

"I think teaching comes from your soul anyway, you are more of a guide through a pile of boring materials unless you make people see the fun that they can have in a book, or while learning new words that mean the world to them."
~Andrew Robinson

A friend of mine wrote me this quote last month when I was feeling particularly disheartened by moving to China, and trying to be a "good" teacher.  I  appreciated the quote, (even put it on facebook which makes it real right?) but did not fully understand it until reading this particular article today.

http://www.raptitude.com/2009/12/chop-wood-carry-water/

I'm not sure the article is is anything out of the ordinary, but the words in the article grabbed my attention. I have been reading "chinglish" from my students for almost two months now. After reading this article I was thinking how unfortunate it is that I cannot give this article to them, and have them understand it on the first read. They would not be able to grasp the idea of this article.  I would have to deconstruct the hard vocabulary, talk about its meaning, and really pull apart the entire article. It really takes away from the "mood" of reading.

These students experience this every day in their English language classes.  They read something I give them, (currently we are reading Tuck Everlasting as our Novel study) and instead of not understanding one or two words that we as foreigners can just look up on google, they have to underline it, find the context clue, and if that doesn't work, then go find a dictionary to understand the word or words.  Once they have done that, they must then go back, re-read the paragraph and then summarize what the article is saying, in order to fully grasp what the author is trying to say.

Worst of all is imagery. (which by the way, is most of the book Tuck Everlasting, what the heck was I thinking?!)  This is such a hard concept when it is all context.  How do you explain the sights and smells of fresh mountain air, when that has never been experienced.  How does the reader understand words that are meant for North American readers?  These are all things I am learning about English Language Learners. First and foremost, find a Novel that they can relate to, with cultural references that are easier to understand.

Words that are written on a page, whether it be in English, Chinese, or Japanese are meaningful.  They evoke powerful emotions, visualizations and meanings that are different to every reader.  When what you are reading is not in your first language, it takes away that suspense, the excitement, and easiness of reading a novel for pleasure.

Every day I work with my students to help them understand a novel that is at a sixth grade reading level, when they are 16 years old.  If this novel was in Chinese they would be laughing at me for even suggesting they read such a Juvenile novel.

This is where  I am reminded of Andrew's quote, it reminds me that although what I am teaching may be at the Elementary level, the meaning they make of this novel, the "real world" connections they can make, relating this novel to current day issues, media and technology, these are the ideas that can be Everlasting.

My students have so many ideas and thoughts that they cannot express in English and I want to hear those thoughts,  through journaling,  community circles, and working every day on communication, I hope that these young adults will be able to enjoy a novel, in English or Chinese where they can critically think about it, understand it, fall in love with a story and "learn new words that mean the world to them."

Kindergarten in Jinhua....

So, the students at our Jinhua High School need to collect volunteer hours, just as they do in Ontario.  Today's volunteer hours were spent in a Kindergarten classroom in Jinhua.  I'm not entirely convinced the kids are Kindergarten age, it feels much more like a day care, either way, I have been told, this was Kindergarten.

When we arrived at the "Kindergarten", the children were in the process of waking up after nap. The difference here however, from Canada, is the students sit in chairs and watch the girls get their hair done during their "wake up" time. Yes. Get their hair done. Each girl comes to the front of the class, and the teacher makes her look "pretty" after nap.

Once the girls have had their hair combed and made beautiful, (and by this time the students have been sitting for about 15-20 minutes) each student receives a warm facecloth to wipe their face (to rid of all the sleepies in their eyes and boogers in their noses..I think this is a practice we should adopt in Canada!). 

After wake up, our students were to give a presentation. Normally, when we do a presentation for young students in Canada, they sit on the floor. Not in China. Sit on the floor? No way! (this could be because they mop the floors with the water from the urinals). These kids bring their chair with them! Tiny little people lugging their chairs up to the next floor was impressive, a little funny and made me feel a little bit bad.  What these kids don't know is they will continue this ritual for years to come, for example, when there is an assembly at CTC, (Canadian Trillium College) the students must carry their chairs from their classrooms, across the campus, to the gym and then back again after the presentation.


Now is time for the fun to begin.  Our Canadian Trillium College students have prepared some activities for the students to learn.  Today they are learning the English words for sunflower, family, grandparents, grandma and grandpa. I have no idea what the connection is, I did not plan the trip, regardless they made it happen.

Our CTC students were AWESOME!!! They brought candy to bribe the children to answer questions, and be "good".  They facilitated an art activity where each of our students were at the children's level, helping them make a sunflower.




Our students even recognized that the kids needed to have more creative ability, and not copy the sunflower they showed them, but create one of their own! It was fantastic.





It was a wonderful adventure to finally get outside of the school and see my students feel comfortable making a presentation, because it was in their first language, Chinese.  I was able to see another side of my students, witness young adults about to embark on an overseas journey to Canada, students who just want to be able to use their cell phones, check their email, have a crush on the boy or girl next door. Things that our youth in Canada take for granted.

*Side note - one of my students has been suspended for seven days for using his cell phone on campus, and another two have been suspended for ten days for sneaking off campus without parental consent to go to the "net bar".  (this is a whole other can of worms). 

To bring this blog to an end, (finally!), summary of the story is, I love my students.  They teach me something new every day, and I can only hope that I am teaching them something meaningful as well.

Please enjoy the photo's of my first school trip! 

Are there any words needed? Amazing.

This is Bubble

Ted, recently, in a last ditch effort to get into their Chinese Classroom,  Ted decided that the best option would be to break down the door. Leaving everything they have in their classrooms unprotected.  I'm sure Ted learned his lesson ;).

Matthew. It was a ten minute bus ride, definitely time to catch a wee nap.

Bubble

Intense!

See! My students are awesome!

Sherlock, engaged! I think so.

Ayemos, inspiring creativity!

Roy

Ted! He is quite the artist, and one amazing teacher to these young kids.

Tina is engaged!

Yeah Jeremy!

Sue, I put her picture in here, although she begged me not to have it on my blog. I'll show her in class, she'll be happy. 

Ayemos and Eleanor (she'll be happy I got her name right)