Two Weeks Down, ??? Left

So right now in class I am doing paraphrasing and trying to teach the kids the difference between doing research and just plan old cheating/copying. To make it more interesting, I am having them practice paraphrasing/summarizing bios on either Avril Lavigne, Yao Ming, George Bush (for the politics people), or the movie KungFu Panda (which they all seem to love). I told them if they focus in class and get a lot done, no homework for the long weekend. So far two of my four classes have done very well on it.

I also said that if they did well in class that in the last five minutes if they wanted I would show them a video of me sword fighting (since a lot of my students really perked up when I told them I did stage combat). Class A, which is the class I often have the most difficulty with actually said they would rather keep working than stop and watch a video. That surprised me. Class D said they wanted to watch the video and they gathered round and oooed and aaahed in all the right places. They asked me questions like "Are you really hitting him?" or "Are those knives real?" (which gave me the opportunity to teach them the names of the weapons...ha!) What really made me happy was when a boy in Class D came to talk to me after class. He asked if he put a new club together, would I be willing to teach the students stage combat. Of course I said yes. How exciting would that be? Teaching stage combat in China. Bringing the dorkiness of TMT to a far distant country.
Last night the foreign teachers were treated to dinner by the school. We went to a fancy spancy place with a GIGANTIC round table with a lazy susan in the middle that rotated by itself. Of course since the table was so huge, you had to wait a while for something to get back to where you were if you missed it on the first try. There was TONS of food. I ate tongue (beef, not duck again) without realizing it. It was good. I can't even remember what I ate, there was so much variety. There was sushi, fish soup, some sort of noodle and seafood thing on a shell, lamb in a pot, chicken, duck, peanuts, tongue, beans, seaweed, mushrooms, tons of prawns, fish, corn, eggs, and of course moon cakes (to celebrate the mid-autumn festival). And I am probably forgetting a lot. Everything I tried was delicious. I was glad to get the chance to talk more with Adam, Mimi and Lisa, who are the three foreign teachers that live off campus in an apartment in Puxi. They were all very nice and fun to talk to.

Tonight is the karaoke and dinner celebration. That should be fun. I am looking forward to it. Tomorrow I am going to a party at Lisa, Mimi, and Adam's apartment with the other foreign teachers. On the 20th I am going to a jazz festival with Lucy and the friends we went to the park with. Yay! Social!

I get a three day weekend because of the mid-autumn festival, so I think I am going to go on a mighty quest for a guitar. Someone suggested I go to the market under the science and technology museum. I think I'll check that out.

The Mid-Autumn festival is supposed to be a time when you get together with your family and friends, eat moon cakes and look at the beautiful moon.

For the first time since I got here, I am FREEZING. The air conditioner in the office is turned to "arctic" and I am wearing a sleeveless shirt and flip flops. YIKES.

Again, I apologize for the lack of pictures. I finished two squares since my last knitting post. Maybe I'll put those pictures up soon.

Much love!

"Teacher, what's a kink?"

Oh dear. Twice in the last two days has something happened that I had to kind of side step.

Yesterday during the "How To" presentations, a girl started up her power point presentation on how to make sushi. The first picture was an arrangement of sushi that was none too subtly arranged to look like....erm....male genitalia. She didn't say anything about it and no one in the class even cracked a smile when it came up on the screen. I have a hard time believing that not a one of them noticed, but a harder time believing that if they did notice that they wouldn't react. Afterwards I asked her if she had picked that picture on purpose. She just looked at me confused and said, "Yes, I picked out all the pictures in the presentation." I dropped the issue. Maybe Chinese students are just wired differently...

Today in class, a girl meant to write "kind" on the bored, but she wrote "kink". She was in the middle of her presentation, so I waited until she was done before I corrected her. One of the students in the class who is nearly fluent (and sometimes acts like he is my teaching assistant without me asking him to) raised his hand and asked what a kink was. I briefly thought about giving him the complete answer before deciding I didn't want to be known as the teacher that discusses fetishes in class. I told him it could be used for kink in your hair or kink in your neck then we moved on to the next subject.

Ahh...the weird humor of being a teacher.

Happy National Teacher's Day!

Today is National Teacher's Day in China. Some students from one of my classes came into the office and gave all the teachers roses, so now I have a pink rose and a white rose on my desk. In my first class today, one of my students when I was in the middle of saying something said, "Happy Teacher's Day Stephanie!!". It threw me off track for a minute before I smiled and said thank you. Tomorrow the school is treating us to dinner and on Friday we are going to KTV for karaoke (oh dear).

I find it ironic that shortly after making that post yesterday saying that the foreign teachers couldn't seem to care less about me, I got a text message from Stephanie saying they were all at Blue Frog ad I should get there ASAP. It was a pretty nice evening (other than the fact that my bacon potato soup was completely devoid of flavor). Tentative plans were made for a possible party at the apartment where three of the teachers live.

After dinner I went to Carrefour. I wanted to get some speakers for my computer for when I get around to playing music in class, and some new headphones since the ones I have used for three years were literally falling apart. They were having some items on super discount sale so I bought some tupperware, a water bottle (I get so thirsty since they don't give us anything to drink other than soup at lunch), a cutting board (5 RMB!), and a basket thing for my dirty laundry. The headphones were actually the most expensive thing I bought. Yikes. On the way home I picked up three new DVDs from the woman that Stephanie swears by. I was surprised that she only charged 5 RMB a movie. It was 8-10 most other places I've gone and I didn't even haggle with her. I watched Prince Caspian before going to bed.

So, the foreign teachers suggest I get an Ayi. Ayi is Chinese for aunt, and in this case it means a cleaning woman. Stephanie's Ayi charges 25 RMB an hour to wash her floors and windows and bathroom and clean the dishes. It's a good deal, and my floors do get dusty disturbingly fast, but I don't really like the idea of someone being in my apartment when I'm not there. And I wouldn't want to be there looking at her while she cleans for me. The whole idea doesn't really sit right with me. I've always taken care of my own stuff, or been part of a household that shared responsibilities. But then again...when in Rome....right?

Kellie and I have been sharing thoughts about being a new teacher. It's nice to talk to someone that feels the same way I do. Since most of the teachers here have been at it for a while and the only other new teachers here teacher children, it's not the same experience. I am trying to convince Kellie to come visit for the holiday we both have coming up in the end of September. (DOOOOOOOOO IT Kellie!!!)

Teaching is going well for the most part. Some students did their "How To" presentations yesterday and some were really good. I still sometimes feel like a fraud when I teach though. The beginning of each week is frightening since I am teaching everything for the first time, but when I get to the end of the week and I am repeating the same class I feel more comfortable. I like having one on one time with the students. Finishing class early and letting the start their homework usually turns into a good thing. They feel more comfortable asking questions one on one and I can give them individual advice, encouragement or praise. Of course some students just take the oppertunity to talk or sleep or goof off, so I can't do it too often.

I'm rambling and I need to prepare for tomorrows classes, so I will talk to you all later.

I need to find something interesting picture wise to put up. Hmmm...

Love,
Stephanie

SUGGESTIONS?

So, I want to show movies and tv shows and play music in my class. Anyone have any ideas?

I want to use mostly recent stuff so that they can be relatively up to date on new stuff.

They are 15 years old, so it should be appropriate for their age. It should also be appropriate for school.

When it comes to songs, I would prefer if they were pretty straight forward as to what they are about without a lot of symbolism and allusions. And preferably have a catchy tune and be easy to sing along with.

Mmmmmmmm....social.

It seems like every foreigner in the area I live in has a family. I always see a mother and father cycling down the street with at least one kid with them. Whole families out to eat. Families shopping. Families families everywhere, and not one of them is mine. Not only does it make it make me homesick and sad seeing families together when I am alone, but it means its hard for me to make friends with other foreigners in the area. I can't walk up to a couple with a stroller and say "Hey! Cute kid! Wanna go get some drinks??"

There is a website called Shanghai Expat which is pretty useful. It has recommendations on which restaurants and stores to go to, events that are coming up, advice about what to do and what not to do while in Shanghai...etc. In a moment of loneliness and frustration, I made a quick post on the forum saying I was looking for people in JinQiao (the neighborhood I live in) to hang out with.

I started my post with "I am not looking for a boyfriend or a tutor or a job!" I wanted people to know that I honestly just wanted people to hang out with...no ulterior motive.

Well, I have gotten two responses so far. One was from a woman named Carol who invited me out to dinner and drinks last night with her and 4 other people. We went to a Thai restaurant near the school. I am a little unclear still as to who already knew each other and who was new (other than me). Carol and one of the guys was from Singapore. The other girl was from Canada, and the last two guys were from America (Ohio and South Carolina). I think I was the youngest person there, but everyone seemed relatively young and I had a good time. The woman from Canada lives SUPER close to me and invited us all over from lunch on Thursday. I may actually be able to go with my classes the way they are.

The other response I got was...get this...from someone from Connecticut! They are originally from Farmington and have been in Shanghai for a few months. They don't live in JinQiao, but they are only about 20 minutes away by bus. We'll probably try to get together soon.

At school, I still haven't hung out with the foreign teachers much. I still plan on trying to reach out to them . Maybe cook a nice big dinner (as well as I can with my kitchen) and invite them all over. I just feel like I am trying to dig my way into a group that is already set in it's ways.

With the Chinese teachers, June and Zeno invited me out for dinner on Monday night, but I already had those plans with Carol. June asked if I had plans for this weekend (we get monday off for the Mid-Autumn festival).When I told her no, she said that maybe me her and Xeno could go get some steamed dumplings. I said that we should go to a craft shop she mentioned to me earlier and they can pick out stuff they like and I could make them some jewelry. (She has liked all the jewelry that I made and brought with me)

So, that's my story. I am making an effort to make friends.

Emotions

My emotions are really starting to bug me. I can't seem to have an emotion lately without it being to an extreme.

I don't know if it's because I'm adjusting or everything is so new or it's just because I am stressed and tired, but I can't seem to just be OK.

I am either completely paranoid, wracked with worry, utterly depressed, beyond freaking out, aching with homesickness, super excited, or ecstatically happy. I can't seem to level out and just be ok or content. If you mapped my emotions for the past two weeks it would be a series of spikes and lows like a damn EKG or lie detector.

It's exhausting to live like this.

A Day in the Park

Yeesh! I miss a day or two because I'm very busy and important and SOME people start freaking out. Here I was thinking I was being boring by posting so often. Anyway, I have a lot to talk about so this entry will probably be much too long.
So first off, I ended up going to that play with Xeno and Jane, two Chinese teachers from my office. We got a bit lost on the way, but still got there early enough to get front row seats. I enjoyed the play and could understand a good amount of it. Xeno was trying to translate for me in the beginning, but I told her it was ok. I didn't want her to have to do that for the whole play and I wanted to try and figure it out for myself. It was about a married couple and their mothers. The man was from northern China and the girl was from Shanghai. The boy's mother was very traditional and frugal. She wanted the girl to help with the housework and wanted them to have children. The girls mother was very rich and high fashion. Everyone butted heads a lot. There were pieces of the play I understood perfectly. But then there were parts where I was completely lost and asked Xeno about afterwards. It was a fun evening. But Saturday was even better!
Guess what I found? NATURE!!!
This Saturday, Lucy invited me to hang out with a bunch of her friends. For a while it looked like it was going to be canceled because the weather has been bad recently, but it turned out to be a lovely day. We all met in front of the Science and Technology museum and walked a short walk to Century Park. Now I know where I can go if I need some nature. It's about a 20 minute bus ride away and I have to pay to get in, but hey. It's nature.
This is a picture of me and Lucy. I realized yesterday that other than relatives, I have been friends and kept in touch with her longer than anyone. Also, I am wearing the new bag that I bought in the sports store.
I can't remember everyone's name, but it was a LOT of fun. I am so glad I brought my camera. We had a ton of fun taking pictures. Mostly involving us jumping.Here is everyone except WeiXi.
Here is everyone except Weixi doing various Olympic sport poses. I am doing a terrible job at portraying basketball.
This is everyone preparing to roll down the hill all together. I opted out since the ground was wet.
We walked around the park for a bit before sitting on plastic and newspaper in the grass and eating snacks. We ended up playing Mafia, and they were surprised I knew the game. I ended up being the judge. Then I taught everyone how to play "Never Have I Ever". They seemed to like it. After that was when we started taking a ton of pictures.
We walked around some more (Lucy and I were singing a lot as we walked around) until we got to the lake edge. Then there was some dancing and fooling around. One of the last things we did in the park was stand in a circle and took turns dancing in the middle.
After leaving the park, Lucy and Weixi left because they were tired, but the others invited me to go get hotpot for dinner. I was having such a good time that I went. After a little confusion about where to go, we got to the restaurant. This hot pot was different from the other times I've had hotpot. Instead of a bowl over fire or some coals, it was the bowl of spiced broth with the coals in a fluted bowl in the center.
One of the boys ran outside to get lamb barbecue as an appetizer, then the food and beer showed up and we started to eat. It was very good. We played a few drinking games. One was 007. You pointed at a person at the table and said "ling" (chinese for zero), then that person pointed to another and said "ling", then that person pointed to one more person and said "qi" (chinese for 7). THAT person was supposed to stay still and look composed while the two people next to them mimed jumping away. There was another similar game where you did the same thing except said "huai" "dao" and "quan" (meaning boat), and the last person pointed at was supposed to salute while the two people next to them mime rowing and say "heipa heipa heipa" (or something like that. I forget). And if anyone in the whole routine messes up, you have to drink. What got confusing was when you played both games at the same time. People couldn't remember if you were supposed to salute or just sit there or row or what. We also played "Never have I ever" as a drinking game for a while.
Another drinking game involved slapping the table and clapping (in the "we will rock you" rhythm). Each person had a move or gesture that represented them. One of the ones I used was the "i'm so adorable" fingers in your dimples face. You had to do your gesture, then do the gesture of someone else to pass it on, all the while not messing up the clapping or waiting too long to make a gesture. If no one was making a mistake it got faster and faster. During one very long round of the game that got impossibly fast, one girl ended up just pointing to the person she wanted to pass it to, completely forgetting to make a gesture. It was hilarious.
We also said what we would do if we had 5 million RMB (yuan). Everyone else said their answer in English for my sake. I ended up going last and I said my answer in Chinese. I said I would buy my parents a boat, then I would buy myself a car, then I would travel to England, Italy, and Australia. They all clapped and laughed.
All in all it was a really good day. They said I was invited whenever they decided to have another outing like that. I still miss people from home A LOT, but yesterday felt so normal. It was nice to just hang out and relax with some people.
I'm still frustrated when it comes to my Chinese. Everyone I was hanging out with yesterday had much better English than I do Chinese. I think my listening is getting a bit better because I'm surrounded with Chinese so often nowadays, but I'm still so nervous when it comes to speaking it. Ah well. Nothing better than practicing I suppose.
I'm still drudging through my letters. Still freaking out about classes even though things are going well so far. Still feel lonely when I'm in my apartment (which seems like way too often). Still can't imagine how I am going to be able to keep these kids learning for a whole year. Still feeling a bit overwhelmed. Still have a messed up sleep schedule....but yesterday was a good day. And if I keep having good days, then the hard things will seem easier.Here is one last picture of Lucy and WeiXi jumping, just cuz I like it so much.

Much love,
Stephanie