*Sigh!!* Wow...this has been quite the day. My students were so bad today! I had 3 classes, and two of them were terrible. They think that because they cant understand me they can be lazy and ignore everything i tell them, even when they do understand. I tried to make this week easy, because last week was a bust, but they are so uninspired. I even tried candy this time, and still nothing. All i asked of them was to make a simple game board for Bingo, and they refused to participate. I don't even give them work! I try to engage them by playing games and getting them involved, but they would rather me talk at them for 40 minutes then take advantage of the creative outlets i am willing to give them. sometimes i believe they really are robots...except that they all talk of their own free will, and boy can they talk. Ha! And you thought i talked a lot! You really have no idea.
Its quite a paradox...i present to them an idea (or work), but the bad students are talking so loud that the good students cant hear. I have to give the kids that don't understand (generally the bad students) special attention so that they can attempt to learn and catch up, which means that i don't have enough time for those that want to learn. I would much prefer spending more time on the students that want to learn, but when the bad students wont shut up, there is no point in speaking anyway! The only way to get them to settle down is to hover over their desk while giving my lesson at the same time...and with 72 kids in a class, it can be difficult making the rounds.
With any luck, my creativity will win this draining battle, but some days its hard to tell. If anyone has any brilliant ideas on how to manage 72 junior high students at once, by yourself, it would be shameful for you not to share your secrets.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
In Riotous Profusion Commerce...
Yes, that's exactly it! Riotous profusion commerce! Well, at least that what the sign on the way to the University said...i dont make this stuff up. Oh, and for those of you that dont know, i plan to capture silly Engrish quotes from China, and display them to the world...so i guess this is my first. other than that, i have been pretty busy i guess. I mean, it has been over a month since i have written anything. So Amanda, this one is for you!
there are however, some things we need to discuss. First, i am still thrown off by the way Chinese people sit. they squat. with their knees clamped together so that their eyes are barely visible, peeping out above the knees, and their butts balancing just above the ground. this is how they sit, unless there are chairs available. i guess it's their version of sitting indian-style. they sit like this, they poop like this, and who knows what else. (They have squatty toilets here, so they're basically just porcelain holes in the ground.)
as for other news, the weather is getting much colder. today was 13 degrees Celsius, which is about 56 Fahrenheit (I'm good at math...dont forget that :) i think ill have to buy some warm, fur lined boots in the near future, and a few new scarves. they're quite popular here, the scarves i mean...but not the long ones you wrap around 7 times...the ones that are really wide and resemble an over sized ghetto bandanna. yeah, those are the kind. they are pretty though, but I'm afraid that if i wear one ill slightly resemble a hipster. Hmmm...just what i want to be. and unfortunately i think the colder that it gets, the more insane the kids become...for many reasons. First, its cold outside so you think they would close the doors and windows to the classrooms, but NO, they leave them open so that they can be "healthy." They have a very strange concept of health here. Secondly, they bring jars of hot water to class...but not to drink. Imagine 70 kids in one class, all holding old jam jars full of scalding water, so that they can keep their hands warm, which they have to do because they're retarded and keep the windows open. Subconsciously they realize that they are cold, but instead of using common sense, they prefer to use jam jars.
On a great note however, we went to Wuhan this weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving with a ton of other foreigners. Foreigners is the name we give (or were given) to those that aren't Chinese...and speak English. Foreigners that dont speak English however, are just called Chinese. We lump them all into the category of people we cant understand. Well, that's not actually true, but it should be. Back to Thanksgiving. it was great because we got to spend time with friends that we dont get to see very often, and got to make new acquaintances. we have seen/met most of them before, but this the first time we have actually spent a decent amount of time with them. it was so wonderful just to spend time with people that you can actually relate to. Not saying that relating to Chinese people is impossible, because i know from experience that that isn't true, but its so inexplicably wonderful to share culture with someone. its something that cant be experienced unless you have been fully submerged into another culture, not your own. i have been so blessed to see people come together and make memories, despite the fact that they are in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people, just because they share a common culture, and a common love for people. (Hmmm, in another blog ill have to try to explain the Chinese perception of love. it might give you a little more clarity as to why this experience was so cool.)
ok, so i guess the last thing on my list to tell you is that i dyed my hair, again. But, it has been over 3 months, so i think i deserve some type of reward or something. i got blond (well, they have a minor hint of orange, but not bad considering Chinese think that blond hair should be pumpkin colored) and red highlights, and i like them. but I'm pretty content with any color, as long as its different than it used to look. so i promise to put up some pics of the new hair when i have time. ok, well this is a long one, and I'm done writing, so adieu until next time.
there are however, some things we need to discuss. First, i am still thrown off by the way Chinese people sit. they squat. with their knees clamped together so that their eyes are barely visible, peeping out above the knees, and their butts balancing just above the ground. this is how they sit, unless there are chairs available. i guess it's their version of sitting indian-style. they sit like this, they poop like this, and who knows what else. (They have squatty toilets here, so they're basically just porcelain holes in the ground.)
as for other news, the weather is getting much colder. today was 13 degrees Celsius, which is about 56 Fahrenheit (I'm good at math...dont forget that :) i think ill have to buy some warm, fur lined boots in the near future, and a few new scarves. they're quite popular here, the scarves i mean...but not the long ones you wrap around 7 times...the ones that are really wide and resemble an over sized ghetto bandanna. yeah, those are the kind. they are pretty though, but I'm afraid that if i wear one ill slightly resemble a hipster. Hmmm...just what i want to be. and unfortunately i think the colder that it gets, the more insane the kids become...for many reasons. First, its cold outside so you think they would close the doors and windows to the classrooms, but NO, they leave them open so that they can be "healthy." They have a very strange concept of health here. Secondly, they bring jars of hot water to class...but not to drink. Imagine 70 kids in one class, all holding old jam jars full of scalding water, so that they can keep their hands warm, which they have to do because they're retarded and keep the windows open. Subconsciously they realize that they are cold, but instead of using common sense, they prefer to use jam jars.
On a great note however, we went to Wuhan this weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving with a ton of other foreigners. Foreigners is the name we give (or were given) to those that aren't Chinese...and speak English. Foreigners that dont speak English however, are just called Chinese. We lump them all into the category of people we cant understand. Well, that's not actually true, but it should be. Back to Thanksgiving. it was great because we got to spend time with friends that we dont get to see very often, and got to make new acquaintances. we have seen/met most of them before, but this the first time we have actually spent a decent amount of time with them. it was so wonderful just to spend time with people that you can actually relate to. Not saying that relating to Chinese people is impossible, because i know from experience that that isn't true, but its so inexplicably wonderful to share culture with someone. its something that cant be experienced unless you have been fully submerged into another culture, not your own. i have been so blessed to see people come together and make memories, despite the fact that they are in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people, just because they share a common culture, and a common love for people. (Hmmm, in another blog ill have to try to explain the Chinese perception of love. it might give you a little more clarity as to why this experience was so cool.)
ok, so i guess the last thing on my list to tell you is that i dyed my hair, again. But, it has been over 3 months, so i think i deserve some type of reward or something. i got blond (well, they have a minor hint of orange, but not bad considering Chinese think that blond hair should be pumpkin colored) and red highlights, and i like them. but I'm pretty content with any color, as long as its different than it used to look. so i promise to put up some pics of the new hair when i have time. ok, well this is a long one, and I'm done writing, so adieu until next time.
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