EXAM Day -- but not for us.

Today we give the Chinese teachers their oral examination. They are very nervous. We have tried to reassure them as much as possible, but they still are pretty nervous about it. I know that all the teachers in my class will do really well.

I think we cannot understand how competitive it is here in China. They are very concerned about their marks and their scores. It's my understanding that marks and grades determine a large part of their job and their salary. They have much pressure to do well. This program has tried to encourage them that their marks do not matter and they will never know. Either they pass or they fail.

This morning, my room-mate and I had breakfast at a little restaurant on the street. We had meat dumplings called bioazi and tofu soup. It was delicious. The whole meal cost us 7 yuan which is under $1.00. We will both miss the delicious breakfast and food you can eat here.

One Week Remaining

Well, I am still figuring out this blogging business. It's a little more confusing too because all of the buttons I see are in Chinese characters except for one. So, I just have to mess around with the buttons a little bit.

Anyways, it's our last week. I feel quite melancholy but I also have a feeling of accomplishment. This week will go by very fast. We will teach 3 lessons today and give the Oral Exam tomorrow. The Chinese teachers are all nervous about the exam, but we are trying to reassure them. Either they pass or fail and as long as they answer the questions in English, they will pass.

Yesterday, we had a wonderful day of sight seeing. We got to experience riding on a Chinese train. The train ride lasted about 3 and a half hours as opposed to its estimation time of about 2 hours. It was a really good experience though, and it gave us quality time with the Chinese teachers.

We hiked a mountain when we reached our destination. It was not intense hiking; there were stairs and a beautiful pathway leading up the mountain. I walked with one of the Chinese teachers and we had a lovely discussion. I hope we can continue our discussion at a later date--it was about the meaning of love and how one can know if they love someone. I am still not sure on this issue--but I have an idea.

All for now. I must prepare to teach.

Spring Festival

Last night, the Chinese teachers gave a performance or a sampling of what there Spring Festival is like. It seems similar to our Christmas. All the family members come home and spend time with each other. They also make jioazi--a Chinese dumpling filled with meat or vegetables.

The Chinese teachers gave an excellent performance, and they had even bought some jioazi for each of us North American teachers. I got to participate in the performance last night also. It was wonderful to work with them. Many of them know some beautiful dances--similar to waltzes. They are so graceful.

The older people in China especially like to dance. In the evenings, they will meet in the park and dance together. It's a beautiful dance, and the dancing helps them keep fit. One evening, I walked with some North American teachers and one Chinese teachers to watch their dancing. The Chinese teachers recruited one of the dancers to help me learn. It was quite an experience following the directions in Chinese, but by the end, I had the hang of it.

Tomorrow, we will travel about 2 hours out of Beijing to a place called Yu Shan Poo. It's a beautiful place with a large mountain and much to see. This is our last week-end here with our students. On Sunday, I will go to church with a few students and then we will go shopping. I hope to find one Chinese dress or shirt as a souvenir.

Thank you for all your thoughts. My room-mate is feeling much better, but has decided not to eat the food in the cafeteria anymore. Well, take care.

Botanical Gardens

My blogger account has not been working well lately, so I will keep it short. I am enjoying my time in China very much. I am growing more and more attached to our teachers here. Yesterday, I travelled with 3 of the teachers to Beijing Botanical Gardens. It was so beautiful. We would walk awhile, and then one of the teachers would say, "Should we have a rest here?" Then we would rest and take pictures for about 10 minutes before we continued walking through the garden. In this garden, we also got to visit the Temple of the Sleeping Buddha. It was very interesting, and I had an interesting conversation with one of the teachers about his beliefs.

We had a simple lunch in the Gardens, and then we continued walking. We left the garden at about 3:00 and then looked for a place to have a late lunch. When we returned to school, we decided to meet for supper to eat hot pot--a traditional China dish. After supper, we enjoyed laughing and talking while our food digested. We ordered too much food, and we were all a little uncomfortable (too full) at the end of the meal.

My room-mate has been sick the past two days. She has had the stomach flu and a fever. You can keep our team in your thoughts, as we do not want to get sick. Also, tomorrow is a big day for us as we will be putting on a North American Christmas program. This evening, we will go Christmas caroling in the Chinese teachers' dormitory. It will be a lot of fun. Thank you for all your thoughts.

Meant to be Posted on Saturday

Last night, I had a wonderful time walking with 5 of my students to anoutdoor concert to raise enthusiasm for the 2008 OIympics. We walked aboutone hour to get there. Although we could have taken the bus, one of theChinese teachers said that she would get sick, so a few of us walked withher. We have one guy in our class who really enjoys walking and knows how tonavigate so he so kindly walked with us. It was good quality time with theChinese teachers. We decided to walk on the way home also. It was a lot offun. We walked through a park and saw an outdoor dancing courtyard. Therewere two couples dancing. It was like something from a fairy tale or amovie. Towards the end of the walk, we started to share riddles and jokeswith each other. They taught me some funny jokes, and I gave them a riddle."A man went to town on Thursday. . . " I realized at the end of the evening how hard the Chinese teachers had worked in speaking English the wholeevening with me. No easy feat.

I feel very close to many of my students already. They have strong values and morals and they know how to appreciate the simple things of life--walking through a new city for example.This week-end, we had a wonderful tour of the Hutong district in HistoricalBeijing. We rode in a rick-a-shaw (spelling). It is a bicycle with a seat inthe back for 2 people. My room-mate and I felt a little bit sorry for therick-a-shaw bicyclists. We had a wonderful morning with the other NorthAmerican teachers as we got to see the ancient doors and also got toexperience what life may have been like inside one of those doors. Thehighlight of the morning, however, was a Chinese tea ceremony. We were taken to a tea house inside one of the famous gardens and shown the tea ceremony. We also got to taste several different kinds of tea. The most unique teaflavor was made from lychee and dates. It supposedly helps women with theirstomachs.

For lunch, my room-mate and I had cold noodles in a soup with one of theladies in charge of the program. We swapped some English and Chinese wordsover lunch. It was a neat experience. I am starting to become more aware ofhow necessary it is to speak the language when you travel to anothercountry. We can only communicate in a very limited manner with all the otherChinese people we meet who do not speak English. I wish that I knew morewords and could have conversations with people.As I was reflecting on my teaching last night, I realized that I needed toslow in down when I give instructions in class. I also need to keep mixingup the types of activities we do in class. I have a student in my class whohas his masters in Methodology. He challenged me on something I said inclass. I was a little flustered, but I did my best to explain my reasoning.Thankfully, toward the end of the class, he said that I had just provided agood example of task-based learning as opposed to my earlier example whichhe had found irrelevant.

Tomorrow, we are going to the Chinese government church. I am not sure howtransportation, timing, seating, etc will work out. I think it will be agood experience for all who are going. I have found that Sunday mornings arethe most stressful part of the whole week. Funny how that works

Meant to be Posted on Saturday

Last night, I had a wonderful time walking with 5 of my students to anoutdoor concert to raise enthusiasm for the 2008 OIympics. We walked aboutone hour to get there. Although we could have taken the bus, one of theChinese teachers said that she would get sick, so a few of us walked withher. We have one guy in our class who really enjoys walking and knows how tonavigate so he so kindly walked with us. It was good quality time with theChinese teachers. We decided to walk on the way home also. It was a lot offun. We walked through a park and saw an outdoor dancing courtyard. Therewere two couples dancing. It was like something from a fairy tale or amovie. Towards the end of the walk, we started to share riddles and jokeswith each other. They taught me some funny jokes, and I gave them a riddle."A man went to town on Thursday. . . " I realized at the end of the evening how hard the Chinese teachers had worked in speaking English the wholeevening with me. No easy feat.

I feel very close to many of my students already. They have strong values and morals and they know how to appreciate the simple things of life--walking through a new city for example.This week-end, we had a wonderful tour of the Hutong district in HistoricalBeijing. We rode in a rick-a-shaw (spelling). It is a bicycle with a seat inthe back for 2 people. My room-mate and I felt a little bit sorry for therick-a-shaw bicyclists. We had a wonderful morning with the other NorthAmerican teachers as we got to see the ancient doors and also got toexperience what life may have been like inside one of those doors. Thehighlight of the morning, however, was a Chinese tea ceremony. We were taken to a tea house inside one of the famous gardens and shown the tea ceremony. We also got to taste several different kinds of tea. The most unique teaflavor was made from lychee and dates. It supposedly helps women with theirstomachs.

For lunch, my room-mate and I had cold noodles in a soup with one of theladies in charge of the program. We swapped some English and Chinese wordsover lunch. It was a neat experience. I am starting to become more aware ofhow necessary it is to speak the language when you travel to anothercountry. We can only communicate in a very limited manner with all the otherChinese people we meet who do not speak English. I wish that I knew morewords and could have conversations with people.As I was reflecting on my teaching last night, I realized that I needed toslow in down when I give instructions in class. I also need to keep mixingup the types of activities we do in class. I have a student in my class whohas his masters in Methodology. He challenged me on something I said inclass. I was a little flustered, but I did my best to explain my reasoning.Thankfully, toward the end of the class, he said that I had just provided agood example of task-based learning as opposed to my earlier example whichhe had found irrelevant.

Tomorrow, we are going to the Chinese government church. I am not sure howtransportation, timing, seating, etc will work out. I think it will be agood experience for all who are going. I have found that Sunday mornings arethe most stressful part of the whole week. Funny how that works

Meant to be Posted on Saturday

Last night, I had a wonderful time walking with 5 of my students to anoutdoor concert to raise enthusiasm for the 2008 OIympics. We walked aboutone hour to get there. Although we could have taken the bus, one of theChinese teachers said that she would get sick, so a few of us walked withher. We have one guy in our class who really enjoys walking and knows how tonavigate so he so kindly walked with us. It was good quality time with theChinese teachers. We decided to walk on the way home also. It was a lot offun. We walked through a park and saw an outdoor dancing courtyard. Therewere two couples dancing. It was like something from a fairy tale or amovie. Towards the end of the walk, we started to share riddles and jokeswith each other. They taught me some funny jokes, and I gave them a riddle."A man went to town on Thursday. . . " I realized at the end of the evening how hard the Chinese teachers had worked in speaking English the wholeevening with me. No easy feat.

I feel very close to many of my students already. They have strong values and morals and they know how to appreciate the simple things of life--walking through a new city for example.This week-end, we had a wonderful tour of the Hutong district in HistoricalBeijing. We rode in a rick-a-shaw (spelling). It is a bicycle with a seat inthe back for 2 people. My room-mate and I felt a little bit sorry for therick-a-shaw bicyclists. We had a wonderful morning with the other NorthAmerican teachers as we got to see the ancient doors and also got toexperience what life may have been like inside one of those doors. Thehighlight of the morning, however, was a Chinese tea ceremony. We were taken to a tea house inside one of the famous gardens and shown the tea ceremony. We also got to taste several different kinds of tea. The most unique teaflavor was made from lychee and dates. It supposedly helps women with theirstomachs.

For lunch, my room-mate and I had cold noodles in a soup with one of theladies in charge of the program. We swapped some English and Chinese wordsover lunch. It was a neat experience. I am starting to become more aware ofhow necessary it is to speak the language when you travel to anothercountry. We can only communicate in a very limited manner with all the otherChinese people we meet who do not speak English. I wish that I knew morewords and could have conversations with people.As I was reflecting on my teaching last night, I realized that I needed toslow in down when I give instructions in class. I also need to keep mixingup the types of activities we do in class. I have a student in my class whohas his masters in Methodology. He challenged me on something I said inclass. I was a little flustered, but I did my best to explain my reasoning.Thankfully, toward the end of the class, he said that I had just provided agood example of task-based learning as opposed to my earlier example whichhe had found irrelevant.

Tomorrow, we are going to the Chinese government church. I am not sure howtransportation, timing, seating, etc will work out. I think it will be agood experience for all who are going. I have found that Sunday mornings arethe most stressful part of the whole week. Funny how that works

A Walk Through the Past

Last night, I had a wonderful time walking with 5 of my students to an outdoor concert to raise enthusiasm for the 2008 OIympics. We walked about one hour to get there. Although we could have taken the bus, one of the Chinese teachers said that she would get sick, so a few of us walked with her. We have one guy in our class who really enjoys walking and knows how to navigate so he so kindly walked with us. It was good quality time with the Chinese teachers. We decided to walk on the way home also. It was a lot of fun. We walked through a park and saw an outdoor dancing courtyard. There were two couples dancing. It was like something from a fairy tale or a movie. Towards the end of the walk, we started to share riddles and jokes with each other. They taught me some funny jokes, and I gave them a riddle. "A man went to town on Thursday. . . " I realized at the end of the evening how hard the Chinese teachers had worked in speaking English the whole evening with me. No easy feat. I feel very close to many of my students already. They have strong values and morals and they know how to appreciate the simple things of life--walking through a new city for example. This week-end, we had a wonderful tour of the Hutong district in Historical Beijing. We rode in a rick-a-shaw (spelling). It is a bicycle with a seat in the back for 2 people. My room-mate and I felt a little bit sorry for the rick-a-shaw bicyclists. We had a wonderful morning with the other North American teachers as we got to see the ancient doors and also got to experience what life may have been like inside one of those doors. The highlight of the morning, however, was a Chinese tea ceremony. We were taken to a tea house inside one of the famous gardens and shown the tea ceremony. We also got to taste several different kinds of tea. The most unique tea flavor was made from lychee and dates. It supposedly helps women with their stomachs. For lunch, my room-mate and I had cold noodles in a soup with one of the ladies in charge of the program. We swapped some English and Chinese words over lunch. It was a neat experience. I am starting to become more aware of how necessary it is to speak the language when you travel to another country. We can only communicate in a very limited manner with all the other Chinese people we meet who do not speak English. I wish that I knew more words and could have conversations with people. As I was reflecting on my teaching last night, I realized that I needed to slow in down when I give instructions in class. I also need to keep mixing up the types of activities we do in class. I have a student in my class who has his masters in Methodology. He challenged me on something I said in class. I was a little flustered, but I did my best to explain my reasoning. Thankfully, toward the end of the class, he said that I had just provided a good example of task-based learning as opposed to my earlier example which he had found irrelevant. Tomorrow, we are going to the Chinese government church. I am not sure how transportation, timing, seating, etc will work out. I think it will be a good experience for all who are going. I have found that Sunday mornings are the most stressful part of the whole week. Funny how that works.

A Walk Through the Past

Last night, I had a wonderful time walking with 5 of my students to an outdoor concert to raise enthusiasm for the 2008 OIympics. We walked about one hour to get there. Although we could have taken the bus, one of the Chinese teachers said that she would get sick, so a few of us walked with her. We have one guy in our class who really enjoys walking and knows how to navigate so he so kindly walked with us. It was good quality time with the Chinese teachers. We decided to walk on the way home also. It was a lot of fun. We walked through a park and saw an outdoor dancing courtyard. There were two couples dancing. It was like something from a fairy tale or a movie. Towards the end of the walk, we started to share riddles and jokes with each other. They taught me some funny jokes, and I gave them a riddle. "A man went to town on Thursday. . . " I realized at the end of the evening how hard the Chinese teachers had worked in speaking English the whole evening with me. No easy feat. I feel very close to many of my students already. They have strong values and morals and they know how to appreciate the simple things of life--walking through a new city for example.


This week-end, we had a wonderful tour of the Hutong district in Historical Beijing. We rode in a rick-a-shaw (spelling). It is a bicycle with a seat in the back for 2 people. My room-mate and I felt a little bit sorry for the rick-a-shaw bicyclists. We had a wonderful morning with the other North American teachers as we got to see the ancient doors and also got to experience what life may have been like inside one of those doors. The highlight of the morning, however, was a Chinese tea ceremony. We were taken to a tea house inside one of the famous gardens and shown the tea ceremony. We also got to taste several different kinds of tea. The most unique tea flavor was made from lychee and dates. It supposedly helps women with their stomachs.

For lunch, my room-mate and I had cold noodles in a soup with one of the ladies in charge of the program. We swapped some English and Chinese words over lunch. It was a neat experience. I am starting to become more aware of how necessary it is to speak the language when you travel to another country. We can only communicate in a very limited manner with all the other Chinese people we meet who do not speak English. I wish that I knew more words and could have conversations with people.

As I was reflecting on my teaching last night, I realized that I needed to slow in down when I give instructions in class. I also need to keep mixing up the types of activities we do in class. I have a student in my class who has his masters in Methodology. He challenged me on something I said in class. I was a little flustered, but I did my best to explain my reasoning. Thankfully, toward the end of the class, he said that I had just provided a good example of task-based learning as opposed to my earlier example which he had found irrelevant.

Tomorrow, we are going to the Chinese government church. I am not sure how transportation, timing, seating, etc will work out. I think it will be a good experience for all who are going. I have found that Sunday mornings are the most stressful part of the whole week. Funny how that works.

Tibetan Dance

Last night was the Chinese teachers' chance to perform some of their traditional Chinese dances and songs for us. It was the most enjoyable evening yet since we have arrived. Their was so much spirit and pride in their dances. I also got to take part in a traditional Tibetan dance with my students (teachers). They were so gracious in teaching it to me. It was a lot of fun to perform, and we were all having so much fun.

This week has flown by. After I teach two lessons today, we will officially be done with 2 weeks of the program with only 3 weeks to go. My room-mate and I already said that we will probably cry when we leave the Chinese teachers.

Yesterday, the North American teachers went out for supper instead of eating in the cafeteria. Three of my students came up to my room after supper to bring me white bread and a piece of watermelon. They are worried about my health. One teacher asked me if I was having some problems or sickness on my face; it's only acne, but the way she said it was so kind and genuine that I did not even mind her asking. No worries; I am perfectly healthy.

Week #2

Week number 2 is here, and I feel much more relaxed than I did last week. The teachers that are in my class are wonderful and continue to refresh me and inspire me to be a better teacher. I can tell from talking with them that they work hard and put in long hours for their students.

Today, we talked about our family trees. It was interesting to learn that the Chinese have very specific vocabulary words for different members of their family. Where we might just have one word to describe an Aunt, they have about 4-8 words to describe the specific Aunt.

This week-end, I went to the Great Wall and to the Ming tomb with the other North American teachers and about a third of our students. It was neat to spend the day with our Chinese teachers. They were very helpful and translated for us when our guide only spoke chinese.

Today, I am in charge of preparing the Valentine's Day culture event. I think it will be fun, and I am trying to be a little bit creative (it's a stretch.)

I still have some concerns--I often compare my teaching to the other teachers here and find my skills lacking. I know that this is just a matter of having low confidence. I appreciate your thoughts on this matter. Some skeletons stay the same no matter which country you are living in. Other than that, I am loving every minute of being here. I enjoy meeting with the Chinese teachers, and want to spend my extra time talking with them. My class has invited me to help them learn a special dance from their region. It is beautiful--I have one day to figure out the steps.

I must go prepare for Valentine's Day!! Hugs and kisses my friends and family.

Experience of a Lifetime

Since I have been teaching, I have been so encouraged by the warm-nature of my students. I have never received so many compliments in my life. They tell me that I am beautiful: "Teacher you are beautiful. Teacher you are so kind. You are more beautiful than your picture." Etc, etc. I tell them that in my country, I am considered quite plain looking to which they look shocked. In my opinion, all the people in my class are so beautiful and so ambitious to improve their English. We have quite a nice situation because the students (teachers of English in Elementary, Middle, and High School,) are staying here on campus for the whole program. Part of the appeal of the program is that they will have plenty of opportunities to speak English with native speakers. This keeps all of us North American teachers busy, but the rewards are so great. I have never felt so satisfied even though the schedule is quite intense. We still have chances to take a short nap in the Afternoon. In China, it is the custom to close school from noon until about 3:00 for naps. It's a wonderful idea I think. I have had many chances already to talk with my students in more informal settings. I am hoping that our conversations will continue to move from more general topics to deeper ones. I feel that these friendships will form rather quickly. The first day of teaching, we had a dancing culture program in the evening. It was so fun to teach them some of the more well-known songs like the chicken dance, the bunny hop, and the electric slide. After dancing, I got invited to visit some of my students in their dorm rooms. They were so hospitable and served me fresh watermelon. I told them that in America, women would probably eat chocolate and chips instead of watermelon. They showed me some pictures and asked me about my life. Our team is also doing well. We have had some stressful moments--usually these moments revolve around the week-end activities and planning our programs. However, today we really seemed to work as a team and I can tell that the dynamics have improved dramatically. Yesterday and today, I have been meeting with students either with one to 5 at a time to have English conversations. This opportunity is part of the program, and it is an excellent way to build friendships. My students are so kind; they asked to take me shopping, and today one of my students brought me a gift of their famous jasmine tea. I cannot express how spoiled I feel here. I am starting to see why I was meant to come to China this Summer. I feel that I will return again soon, and all my students say I must come visit them in their home city. All for now. Thank you for reading this and thinking of me in China.