Monday, August 26
It's the beginning of week 2! Wowzers! I know it hasn't really been a week yet...but let's just stick to the regular weekday schedule so I don't become even more confused with my timing. Shoot....it just turned 7 here in Shenyang and it's pitch black outside. Can't wait to see what time dark comes in winter! But...you read that right...I'm in Shenyang now! Kuo and I took the train this morning at 9:15 and had about a 5 hour trip to get here. I got up around 5:45 cause we had to leave really early since it Monday morning rush hour traffic is apparently horrible...didn't think it could get worse though. The train station was packed...as is everything in Beijing. Anyways, we got to the station around 6:45 and had some breakfast, waited around, and then boarded the train. We got to Shenyang at about 2:15 and took the 40 minute drive to the school. The school is outside of the city but there is construction everywhere! It seriously looks like aliens came to earth and planted this huge blocks of buildings out in the middle of nowhere. It's so bizzare.
The girl who is going to be in charge of my living situation here is named Joy. She is super nice and is so funny when speaking English. She always thinks she is saying something wrong and getting so frustrated but she's actually pretty good! Kuo, Joy, and I went up to my room which is in the international high school building on the 4th floor. My room is super nice as you can see by the pictures. We will get to that later though. After dropping off my bags, the principal of the whole school wanted to meet me. I said hi and then literally sat there for 15 minutes while Kuo, Joy, and the principal talked. I just started daydreaming. Then, the Chinese-English teacher came in and I talked to her for a minute and then sat there again for 30 minutes while the 3 of them talked and I sat around. I know they were talking about the expectations of the program and how the Chinese English teacher (Hannah) and I are going to cooperate with lesson plans and such. So that was kind of boring for me just because it all sounded like gibberish to me, yet I know it was important. After that, Kuo left to go stay with her parents (this is where she is from originally) and Joy and I went to have supper (haha British people). I have some good potatoes, egg/mushroom stuff, soup, cucumber/chicken stuff, and spicy pork. I don't really know what anything was but I tried a little bit of everything and it was delicious.
After dinner, Joy and I walked around campus. I'll have to take some pictures tomorrow of the campus. It's really bit but it kind of looks like a prison. The buildings are called A Block, B Block, etc. Reminds me of the Walking Dead (anyone??). I guess this is just an easy way to keep track of things but still funny to me. The students have a beautiful vegetable garden that puts mine to shame any day. We were about to walk back when Joy got a call from the principal of the primary school. The principals daughter is getting married next month and I guess in China, they make up some kind of video that they show at the wedding. I really have no idea what the point is...maybe to show how the couple meets? I don't know. Originally, they said they wanted me to help the bride practice some English lines that she was going to say in the video. So, we get to the room and they decide that it's a bad room and so we moved to another room on the next floor down. The groom was really nice and spoke pretty good English. He said he worked for BMW and kept asking me about American weddings and asked if they were as stressful as Chinese ones. I said I wouldn't know (cough, cough) haha. We did a few "scenes" that the director wanted us to do. I never actually even spoke to the bride, so I have no idea what my role was in the whole ordeal. I thought it was interesting though that as the bride was getting her makeup done (professionally, of course) the makeup artist put take on her eyelids. I'm assuming it was to make her appear less Chinese. Verrryyy interesting.
After I was done making my film debut ( I told you I was star!), we went back to my room and here I am! I took some pictures for everybody and sorry that they are once again sideways. Stupid computer. Oh...did you know that China spans across 5 time zones, yet all stay on Beijing time?? I didn't know that! So, the sun set around 6:45 today. It's 7:20 now and complete black outside. I just think that's so bizarre but I guess they're keeping with that whole 1 party thing. Anyways, I think I'm just going to maybe start unpacking a little to start to settle in and then probably go to bed early. Oh...one more thing...I think I'm officially on China time! For the past 2 nights in a row, I slept the whole night through and didn't wake up ridiculously early. Hopefully I keep that trend going. I'll be all out of whack when I come back in October. My poor body haha. Well....goodnight for now!
It's the beginning of week 2! Wowzers! I know it hasn't really been a week yet...but let's just stick to the regular weekday schedule so I don't become even more confused with my timing. Shoot....it just turned 7 here in Shenyang and it's pitch black outside. Can't wait to see what time dark comes in winter! But...you read that right...I'm in Shenyang now! Kuo and I took the train this morning at 9:15 and had about a 5 hour trip to get here. I got up around 5:45 cause we had to leave really early since it Monday morning rush hour traffic is apparently horrible...didn't think it could get worse though. The train station was packed...as is everything in Beijing. Anyways, we got to the station around 6:45 and had some breakfast, waited around, and then boarded the train. We got to Shenyang at about 2:15 and took the 40 minute drive to the school. The school is outside of the city but there is construction everywhere! It seriously looks like aliens came to earth and planted this huge blocks of buildings out in the middle of nowhere. It's so bizzare.
The girl who is going to be in charge of my living situation here is named Joy. She is super nice and is so funny when speaking English. She always thinks she is saying something wrong and getting so frustrated but she's actually pretty good! Kuo, Joy, and I went up to my room which is in the international high school building on the 4th floor. My room is super nice as you can see by the pictures. We will get to that later though. After dropping off my bags, the principal of the whole school wanted to meet me. I said hi and then literally sat there for 15 minutes while Kuo, Joy, and the principal talked. I just started daydreaming. Then, the Chinese-English teacher came in and I talked to her for a minute and then sat there again for 30 minutes while the 3 of them talked and I sat around. I know they were talking about the expectations of the program and how the Chinese English teacher (Hannah) and I are going to cooperate with lesson plans and such. So that was kind of boring for me just because it all sounded like gibberish to me, yet I know it was important. After that, Kuo left to go stay with her parents (this is where she is from originally) and Joy and I went to have supper (haha British people). I have some good potatoes, egg/mushroom stuff, soup, cucumber/chicken stuff, and spicy pork. I don't really know what anything was but I tried a little bit of everything and it was delicious.
After dinner, Joy and I walked around campus. I'll have to take some pictures tomorrow of the campus. It's really bit but it kind of looks like a prison. The buildings are called A Block, B Block, etc. Reminds me of the Walking Dead (anyone??). I guess this is just an easy way to keep track of things but still funny to me. The students have a beautiful vegetable garden that puts mine to shame any day. We were about to walk back when Joy got a call from the principal of the primary school. The principals daughter is getting married next month and I guess in China, they make up some kind of video that they show at the wedding. I really have no idea what the point is...maybe to show how the couple meets? I don't know. Originally, they said they wanted me to help the bride practice some English lines that she was going to say in the video. So, we get to the room and they decide that it's a bad room and so we moved to another room on the next floor down. The groom was really nice and spoke pretty good English. He said he worked for BMW and kept asking me about American weddings and asked if they were as stressful as Chinese ones. I said I wouldn't know (cough, cough) haha. We did a few "scenes" that the director wanted us to do. I never actually even spoke to the bride, so I have no idea what my role was in the whole ordeal. I thought it was interesting though that as the bride was getting her makeup done (professionally, of course) the makeup artist put take on her eyelids. I'm assuming it was to make her appear less Chinese. Verrryyy interesting.
After I was done making my film debut ( I told you I was star!), we went back to my room and here I am! I took some pictures for everybody and sorry that they are once again sideways. Stupid computer. Oh...did you know that China spans across 5 time zones, yet all stay on Beijing time?? I didn't know that! So, the sun set around 6:45 today. It's 7:20 now and complete black outside. I just think that's so bizarre but I guess they're keeping with that whole 1 party thing. Anyways, I think I'm just going to maybe start unpacking a little to start to settle in and then probably go to bed early. Oh...one more thing...I think I'm officially on China time! For the past 2 nights in a row, I slept the whole night through and didn't wake up ridiculously early. Hopefully I keep that trend going. I'll be all out of whack when I come back in October. My poor body haha. Well....goodnight for now!
Tuesday, August 27
Not gonna lie, today was kind of a boring day/frustrating. I got up this morning around 6 since I had a headache and couldn't sleep anymore. Breakfast was at 7:10 and I went with Joy. I find it strange that Chinese people don't really have breakfast food...just other types of meat, rice, and vegetable dishes. There was this dish called black rice which looks like purple rice soup but it's sweet and actually pretty good. After that, the Chinese English teacher that I will be working with (Hannah) came and got me and we went to our office. I was then just told to work. I'd say they're still not quite sure what this class is all about and that is kind of frustrating to me since it gives me no direction. I just started to make some random plans that hopefully they will follow or that I can adapt easily. They can't even tell me when my class is going to be held. Oh well...at least I saw my room that I will be in. The class is pretty big and empty. Just a bunch of desks, some cubbys for the kids things, and a desk up at the front, but with no seat. Hannah and I sat in the room for about 20 minutes and discussed how we want the classroom to be run, but I think we still have a lot of things to figure out. She seems a bit disheveled all the time and not very focused. I may have to put my head teacher pants on and show her whose boss! Haha.
The classroom was really dirty and dusty. After lunch, we went up to the room to clean it (apparently that's what they do) but after about 20 minutes of sweeping, Hannah told me that somebody will come to clean it so we don't have to anymore. That was a relief! We then went back to the office, I worked on some more plans. I definitely think I have a ton of work to do this week! I met some of the other Chinese English teachers that work in the same office. They all seem very nice but I pretty much just kept to myself all day. Kind of a weird day since I didn't know what to expect. I took a few pictures of the office but I can't get them off my phone so I'll take some more tomorrow on my camera along with some pictures of campus. Oh....my phone works! With iPhones, when you're connected to WiFi, you can use iMessage! I was super excited to be text people last night! Makes me feel better. Well.....the sun is setting so It must be time to shower and get ready for bed! Haha. What an old lady I'm turning into. Tomorrow should be better though...more work to focus on and then a trip to the grocery store since I feel like I'm living in a box and need feel a bit more independent! Goodnight!
Wednesday, August 28
It's officially been a week since I've been here! Yet today was a pretty boring day. I pretty much just sat in the office all day and did some work. I decided that I needed a year schedule before I did my weekly and daily ones so I worked on that. Hannah and I went and cleaned the room a little bit more as well because there is a parent meeting on Friday. I guess they don't have janitors in China. I met with Kuo after lunch and gave her some documents that she needed for my working visa when I get back home. I can't wait to come back home! These long days make me miss home much more. When I got back to my room this evening, there is was a horrible smell coming out of the bathroom. I think I read something about there being no U-bend in the pipes so that lets the smell of the septic come right back up into the bathroom. It's pretty disgusting. I just put the fan on and hope for the best :( I don't think Chinese construction is that great. Everything looks nice but when you look at it, it's just all thrown together and not clean. I guess they have so many people that they need to accommodate that they can't afford to waste time on details haha. I also thought that I was going to be able to go to the store today, but I guess not! Joy isn't at school today so I am stuck in my room with essentially nothing, again. I guess I just have to start being pushier and asking for things. Well...boring day. It was also rainy today so not a good day for pictures. Sorry!
Thursday, August 29
I have to say, today was a better day! First off, the bathroom stopped smelling. Hopefully that doesn't become a habit. I got up this morning a bit late...yet still was on time...just not looking so hot haha. Hannah and I went to breakfast and I asked her how her night was. She said not so good because she came back to my dormitory so late, the doors were locked and she couldn't get in. So, she had to go back to her dorm and stay the night there. From what I can gather, I am the only one staying in this building and every other night, either Hannah or Joy has been staying in the room across from me so that I am not all alone. I asked Hannah if she liked staying in her regular dorm and she said not so much because there are 6 girls in one room! Man...I'm living in luxury! I pretty much have the whole building to myself (and a security guard). So I thought that was pretty interesting. She said most of the teachers stay here during the week and then go home Friday night and come back Sunday morning. So I'm really all alone. Some of the teachers go home every day and they have to take a bus that leaves at 4 at night and then picks them up around 6 in the morning...I think. I've had to piece many things together. The other teachers keep calling me clever haha. Also, today was the 4th day that she was wearing the same outfit. I have noticed that with many other people so i guess that's the norm here. Another oddity.
So after breakfast, then went to the office and I did some work. I've made a yearly curriculum plan so that helps me with my broad picture that I like to see. Then I can narrow things down and make specific plans. Around 8:30, I went to another office to see Kuo and watched some videos about immersion classrooms in the U.S. Those were very helpful to see, but just frustrating because the resources here are so much less than back home. I really have to be creative and think of ways to work around not having any resources really. This job is turning out harder than I thought it was going to be! So after watching the videos, I went back to the office and did some more work. After lunch, I went back to my room and hung out for a little bit cause I was somewhat overwhelmed with everything. That made me feel a lot better.
Once I got back to the office, Hannah came running in and said we could go decorate our room a little bit. Finally! We went to the room and put up a few borders and posters and then had to leave. The principal was going around the school and checking the classrooms to make sure that they were clean and orderly. After a little bit, Hannah came back and said we passed and that the principal said that I could decorate the room however I would like to! That was a relief because I didn't know what I could hang or where I could hang them, so hearing that was comforting. So, I went back to the room with my things and started to re-do what we had done before because i didn't like it. You can see what i did. I still want to hang some things tomorrow but we have a parent meeting at 1:30 so I will probably do it after that. Things will come up and down throughout the year too I'm sure. So yeah, there's a parent meeting tomorrow and I have to introduce myself and do a small speech. How fun. Hannah is going to translate for me so I hope she does it right! We also found out today that we have 23 students in our class and they have scored very high on their tests. Cross your fingers that they will come in knowing at least some English already!
Once I was done with my decorating session, I went to dinner. After dinner, Joy took me and 2 other teachers to Tesco in Fushun. The school is actually located between Fushun and Shenyang...being a little bit closer to Fushun. Plus it's a less populated city so we went there instead of the big city. We went to Tesco which is like Carrefour that I went to before but a bit smaller. Mini-Walmart. I got a bunch of things for both my room and some snacks and drinks so that I don't feel so helpless. I'm not a big fan of being dependent on people taking me places and having to rely on others. So I went big and bought a bunch of things. After we got back, I put everything away and it actually feel homier. I especially like the plant that I got for my desk (everybody has a plant on their desk here...so I joined the trend). My best purchase...coffee! I have only had one coffee drink since coming here and it was like..forever ago. It's instant coffee so I hope its good and if not, I'll probably drink it anything. I'm definitely on a caffeine detox right now. Well...it's about time for me to go to bed...old grandma Becky these days. Have a great Thursday everybody!
Not gonna lie, today was kind of a boring day/frustrating. I got up this morning around 6 since I had a headache and couldn't sleep anymore. Breakfast was at 7:10 and I went with Joy. I find it strange that Chinese people don't really have breakfast food...just other types of meat, rice, and vegetable dishes. There was this dish called black rice which looks like purple rice soup but it's sweet and actually pretty good. After that, the Chinese English teacher that I will be working with (Hannah) came and got me and we went to our office. I was then just told to work. I'd say they're still not quite sure what this class is all about and that is kind of frustrating to me since it gives me no direction. I just started to make some random plans that hopefully they will follow or that I can adapt easily. They can't even tell me when my class is going to be held. Oh well...at least I saw my room that I will be in. The class is pretty big and empty. Just a bunch of desks, some cubbys for the kids things, and a desk up at the front, but with no seat. Hannah and I sat in the room for about 20 minutes and discussed how we want the classroom to be run, but I think we still have a lot of things to figure out. She seems a bit disheveled all the time and not very focused. I may have to put my head teacher pants on and show her whose boss! Haha.
The classroom was really dirty and dusty. After lunch, we went up to the room to clean it (apparently that's what they do) but after about 20 minutes of sweeping, Hannah told me that somebody will come to clean it so we don't have to anymore. That was a relief! We then went back to the office, I worked on some more plans. I definitely think I have a ton of work to do this week! I met some of the other Chinese English teachers that work in the same office. They all seem very nice but I pretty much just kept to myself all day. Kind of a weird day since I didn't know what to expect. I took a few pictures of the office but I can't get them off my phone so I'll take some more tomorrow on my camera along with some pictures of campus. Oh....my phone works! With iPhones, when you're connected to WiFi, you can use iMessage! I was super excited to be text people last night! Makes me feel better. Well.....the sun is setting so It must be time to shower and get ready for bed! Haha. What an old lady I'm turning into. Tomorrow should be better though...more work to focus on and then a trip to the grocery store since I feel like I'm living in a box and need feel a bit more independent! Goodnight!
Wednesday, August 28
It's officially been a week since I've been here! Yet today was a pretty boring day. I pretty much just sat in the office all day and did some work. I decided that I needed a year schedule before I did my weekly and daily ones so I worked on that. Hannah and I went and cleaned the room a little bit more as well because there is a parent meeting on Friday. I guess they don't have janitors in China. I met with Kuo after lunch and gave her some documents that she needed for my working visa when I get back home. I can't wait to come back home! These long days make me miss home much more. When I got back to my room this evening, there is was a horrible smell coming out of the bathroom. I think I read something about there being no U-bend in the pipes so that lets the smell of the septic come right back up into the bathroom. It's pretty disgusting. I just put the fan on and hope for the best :( I don't think Chinese construction is that great. Everything looks nice but when you look at it, it's just all thrown together and not clean. I guess they have so many people that they need to accommodate that they can't afford to waste time on details haha. I also thought that I was going to be able to go to the store today, but I guess not! Joy isn't at school today so I am stuck in my room with essentially nothing, again. I guess I just have to start being pushier and asking for things. Well...boring day. It was also rainy today so not a good day for pictures. Sorry!
Thursday, August 29
I have to say, today was a better day! First off, the bathroom stopped smelling. Hopefully that doesn't become a habit. I got up this morning a bit late...yet still was on time...just not looking so hot haha. Hannah and I went to breakfast and I asked her how her night was. She said not so good because she came back to my dormitory so late, the doors were locked and she couldn't get in. So, she had to go back to her dorm and stay the night there. From what I can gather, I am the only one staying in this building and every other night, either Hannah or Joy has been staying in the room across from me so that I am not all alone. I asked Hannah if she liked staying in her regular dorm and she said not so much because there are 6 girls in one room! Man...I'm living in luxury! I pretty much have the whole building to myself (and a security guard). So I thought that was pretty interesting. She said most of the teachers stay here during the week and then go home Friday night and come back Sunday morning. So I'm really all alone. Some of the teachers go home every day and they have to take a bus that leaves at 4 at night and then picks them up around 6 in the morning...I think. I've had to piece many things together. The other teachers keep calling me clever haha. Also, today was the 4th day that she was wearing the same outfit. I have noticed that with many other people so i guess that's the norm here. Another oddity.
So after breakfast, then went to the office and I did some work. I've made a yearly curriculum plan so that helps me with my broad picture that I like to see. Then I can narrow things down and make specific plans. Around 8:30, I went to another office to see Kuo and watched some videos about immersion classrooms in the U.S. Those were very helpful to see, but just frustrating because the resources here are so much less than back home. I really have to be creative and think of ways to work around not having any resources really. This job is turning out harder than I thought it was going to be! So after watching the videos, I went back to the office and did some more work. After lunch, I went back to my room and hung out for a little bit cause I was somewhat overwhelmed with everything. That made me feel a lot better.
Once I got back to the office, Hannah came running in and said we could go decorate our room a little bit. Finally! We went to the room and put up a few borders and posters and then had to leave. The principal was going around the school and checking the classrooms to make sure that they were clean and orderly. After a little bit, Hannah came back and said we passed and that the principal said that I could decorate the room however I would like to! That was a relief because I didn't know what I could hang or where I could hang them, so hearing that was comforting. So, I went back to the room with my things and started to re-do what we had done before because i didn't like it. You can see what i did. I still want to hang some things tomorrow but we have a parent meeting at 1:30 so I will probably do it after that. Things will come up and down throughout the year too I'm sure. So yeah, there's a parent meeting tomorrow and I have to introduce myself and do a small speech. How fun. Hannah is going to translate for me so I hope she does it right! We also found out today that we have 23 students in our class and they have scored very high on their tests. Cross your fingers that they will come in knowing at least some English already!
Once I was done with my decorating session, I went to dinner. After dinner, Joy took me and 2 other teachers to Tesco in Fushun. The school is actually located between Fushun and Shenyang...being a little bit closer to Fushun. Plus it's a less populated city so we went there instead of the big city. We went to Tesco which is like Carrefour that I went to before but a bit smaller. Mini-Walmart. I got a bunch of things for both my room and some snacks and drinks so that I don't feel so helpless. I'm not a big fan of being dependent on people taking me places and having to rely on others. So I went big and bought a bunch of things. After we got back, I put everything away and it actually feel homier. I especially like the plant that I got for my desk (everybody has a plant on their desk here...so I joined the trend). My best purchase...coffee! I have only had one coffee drink since coming here and it was like..forever ago. It's instant coffee so I hope its good and if not, I'll probably drink it anything. I'm definitely on a caffeine detox right now. Well...it's about time for me to go to bed...old grandma Becky these days. Have a great Thursday everybody!
Friday, August 30
Friday! At last! I've been looking forward to this day all week long!! I'd have to say that this is the most confusing week of my life! I woke up and went to the office to drop off a bunch of things that I had gotten for my desk. Then, I ate. Surprise! Every meal here is very early I think. Breakfast at 7, lunch at 11:30 (normal) and then dinner (supper) is at 4:30. So early! That's why I had to stock up on snacks and drinks. Anyways, I went into the office and started doing some prepping for next week. I think I'm going to introduce each word separately and then put it on a word wall to keep up for the kids to reference! I better get my printer by Monday so I can print some flashcards! After a couple of hours, Hannah came rushing into the office and told me that my whole bulletin board had fallen down....I was so mad!!!! I worked for a long time on that board!!! Needless to say, I spent the rest of the morning and then lunch time putting the board back up. Stupid me hadn't used enough tape and I used the double sided tape and I had originally gotten to do the job. I think I'll have to search for some more on my next trip to the store. Putting it back together took me about an hour and a half. I was not a happy camper.
After I finally finished, I went back to the office to do some work. Everybody left and I wondered why, but didn't think too much about it. Around 1:15, I was wondering where Hannah was and decided to go look for her since the parent meeting was supposed to start soon. Come to find out, nobody told me that we had to meet in a certain area...they just left me! That kind of was annoying. Hannah had been wondering where I was and I told her nobody tells me anything! I just get led places like a little kid. I need to know things!!! Grrr....haha. Back to the story. So we went into this little auditorium where most of the first grade parents met and all the teachers were introduced and then I surprisingly was introduced as well and had to say something! Thank goodness nobody probably understood me since it wasn't very graceful haha. After the meeting, we went back to our classrooms and had a parent meeting with our students parents. Once again, I sat there for about an hour not knowing was anybody was saying and nobody telling me. I guess I need to just start being pushier and telling them to tell me whats going on. It's my class!!! Time to break out bossy Becky haha. I did a small little intro and that was it. 1 minute. And the rest was up to the other teachers. Oh and for all those who are wondering, there are 4 teachers in our class. There's the life teacher who stays with the kids while they are in the dorm, the head teacher (Hannah) who takes care of the discipline and paperwork, another teacher who I don't really know what she does, and then me...the teacher who actually teaches things.
Once everybody's little talks were done, the parents asked some questions and I know were referencing me yet again, I have no idea what about. Hannah keeps talking about this open line of communication thing and I just don't see her holding up her end! I can't learn fluent Chinese in one day! Sunday we will have a talk about it I suppose. I didn't know about what to teach the kids for music and art so I just made some things up and come to find out, they have textbooks...thanks for the heads up! Guess I have to re-arrange everything. I can't wait for the science and social studies textbooks to appear! haha. Sorry for the downer news today, but I guess it was just that kind of day! After the meeting, I went to the office and did some more work, went and had dinner (there's literally 4 other people on campus) and now I'm here! When I first got back to my room, I heard a knock on the door...suspicious...and there was a younger guy and older guy (security I'm assuming) and told me that the doors are going to be locked so I have to go through the covered hallway to get in and out of the building. Maybe tomorrow I'll take advantage of my loneliness and get some pictures of the campus to put up. Lucky you! Oh, another great thing...Kuo told me that the other American teachers are on another campus...in Shenyang...30 minutes away. Awesomeeeee. Maybe this weekend I should hit the Chinese books since I guess I'll need to know an abundance of it. Oh well.....movie night for me! Smell ya laterzzzzz
Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, September 1
Haha, I reached September before all of you! Yahoo!! Yet, my weekend was pretty uneventful. Saturday, I pretty much just stayed in my room all day and watched movies. I Skyped with my mom and grandma for about an hour which was really nice! Thanks again for calling! It felt good to be really lazy though haha. Highlights of the day were: making a procedures poster and classroom rules poster, making a wall calendar for myself, washing my sheets and putting new sheets on, and locking myself out of my room. Yep. That's right. It took me less than a week to lock myself out of the room....on a weekend...when nobody is here. I was going to the other room to get the sheets out of the washer and hang them up to dry when "click" I hear my door shut. Son of a gun!! I forgot the latch the door and didn't have my key with me! So, there I am, in my pajamas and slipper (yes it was like 1 pm, judge me), looking like a hot mess, and locked out of my room. I started freaking out!
You need a pass for the elevator (so then kids can't come upstairs) which I didn't have and the stairway door was locked. I calmed myself down, realized the door locked from my side, so I ran downstairs and went to the security office. Nobody there. At all. Empty. Crap. I ran to the bathroom to see if there was any way that I could jimmy the door open at all when I heard water rushing down from upstairs. So, I ran up to the 2nd floor (my room is on the 4th) and there was a woman there cleaning the bathroom...YES!! She had to have a key, right?? The only obstacle, I don't speak Chinese and she doesn't speak English (which I guess is good practice for my class). So, after trying to explain what happened using hand gestures, I finally got her to come up to my room and she realized that I had no key to my room. She went downstairs and THANK GOODNESS, had a master key to get it! I thanked her so many times (even tried in Chinese, though I always forget the wrong pronunciation) and got into my room. I was too freaked out to leave anymore and hence why I sat in my room all day. And no mom and grandma, I did not go for a walk outside. I felt like being a hermit and doing nothing. I didn't even go to the cafeteria to eat, just munched on snacks I had here and ate some noodles. Go me!
Sunday, so far, I have not really done anything. I've just watched a lot of clips from The Late Show with JImmy Fallon. He's soo funny. I highly recommend the show! Here's a clip from him playing a game with a guest...I'll pay you if you don't even smile. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzDuwNmPcCY Oh yea, I got this Web Freer software from one of the guys at the company so I can get on blocked internet sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Hulu. Yay for American TV! It's just nice to hear English haha. So yeah, I was a hermit this weekend. The students are supposed to be moving in today but I haven't heard much activity yet, so I don' t know when that will happen. I also don't know if I'm supposed to greet them or do anything of that sort so I'll just hang out in my room until I am told to be somewhere. If anything else happens today I'll let you know!
Friday! At last! I've been looking forward to this day all week long!! I'd have to say that this is the most confusing week of my life! I woke up and went to the office to drop off a bunch of things that I had gotten for my desk. Then, I ate. Surprise! Every meal here is very early I think. Breakfast at 7, lunch at 11:30 (normal) and then dinner (supper) is at 4:30. So early! That's why I had to stock up on snacks and drinks. Anyways, I went into the office and started doing some prepping for next week. I think I'm going to introduce each word separately and then put it on a word wall to keep up for the kids to reference! I better get my printer by Monday so I can print some flashcards! After a couple of hours, Hannah came rushing into the office and told me that my whole bulletin board had fallen down....I was so mad!!!! I worked for a long time on that board!!! Needless to say, I spent the rest of the morning and then lunch time putting the board back up. Stupid me hadn't used enough tape and I used the double sided tape and I had originally gotten to do the job. I think I'll have to search for some more on my next trip to the store. Putting it back together took me about an hour and a half. I was not a happy camper.
After I finally finished, I went back to the office to do some work. Everybody left and I wondered why, but didn't think too much about it. Around 1:15, I was wondering where Hannah was and decided to go look for her since the parent meeting was supposed to start soon. Come to find out, nobody told me that we had to meet in a certain area...they just left me! That kind of was annoying. Hannah had been wondering where I was and I told her nobody tells me anything! I just get led places like a little kid. I need to know things!!! Grrr....haha. Back to the story. So we went into this little auditorium where most of the first grade parents met and all the teachers were introduced and then I surprisingly was introduced as well and had to say something! Thank goodness nobody probably understood me since it wasn't very graceful haha. After the meeting, we went back to our classrooms and had a parent meeting with our students parents. Once again, I sat there for about an hour not knowing was anybody was saying and nobody telling me. I guess I need to just start being pushier and telling them to tell me whats going on. It's my class!!! Time to break out bossy Becky haha. I did a small little intro and that was it. 1 minute. And the rest was up to the other teachers. Oh and for all those who are wondering, there are 4 teachers in our class. There's the life teacher who stays with the kids while they are in the dorm, the head teacher (Hannah) who takes care of the discipline and paperwork, another teacher who I don't really know what she does, and then me...the teacher who actually teaches things.
Once everybody's little talks were done, the parents asked some questions and I know were referencing me yet again, I have no idea what about. Hannah keeps talking about this open line of communication thing and I just don't see her holding up her end! I can't learn fluent Chinese in one day! Sunday we will have a talk about it I suppose. I didn't know about what to teach the kids for music and art so I just made some things up and come to find out, they have textbooks...thanks for the heads up! Guess I have to re-arrange everything. I can't wait for the science and social studies textbooks to appear! haha. Sorry for the downer news today, but I guess it was just that kind of day! After the meeting, I went to the office and did some more work, went and had dinner (there's literally 4 other people on campus) and now I'm here! When I first got back to my room, I heard a knock on the door...suspicious...and there was a younger guy and older guy (security I'm assuming) and told me that the doors are going to be locked so I have to go through the covered hallway to get in and out of the building. Maybe tomorrow I'll take advantage of my loneliness and get some pictures of the campus to put up. Lucky you! Oh, another great thing...Kuo told me that the other American teachers are on another campus...in Shenyang...30 minutes away. Awesomeeeee. Maybe this weekend I should hit the Chinese books since I guess I'll need to know an abundance of it. Oh well.....movie night for me! Smell ya laterzzzzz
Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, September 1
Haha, I reached September before all of you! Yahoo!! Yet, my weekend was pretty uneventful. Saturday, I pretty much just stayed in my room all day and watched movies. I Skyped with my mom and grandma for about an hour which was really nice! Thanks again for calling! It felt good to be really lazy though haha. Highlights of the day were: making a procedures poster and classroom rules poster, making a wall calendar for myself, washing my sheets and putting new sheets on, and locking myself out of my room. Yep. That's right. It took me less than a week to lock myself out of the room....on a weekend...when nobody is here. I was going to the other room to get the sheets out of the washer and hang them up to dry when "click" I hear my door shut. Son of a gun!! I forgot the latch the door and didn't have my key with me! So, there I am, in my pajamas and slipper (yes it was like 1 pm, judge me), looking like a hot mess, and locked out of my room. I started freaking out!
You need a pass for the elevator (so then kids can't come upstairs) which I didn't have and the stairway door was locked. I calmed myself down, realized the door locked from my side, so I ran downstairs and went to the security office. Nobody there. At all. Empty. Crap. I ran to the bathroom to see if there was any way that I could jimmy the door open at all when I heard water rushing down from upstairs. So, I ran up to the 2nd floor (my room is on the 4th) and there was a woman there cleaning the bathroom...YES!! She had to have a key, right?? The only obstacle, I don't speak Chinese and she doesn't speak English (which I guess is good practice for my class). So, after trying to explain what happened using hand gestures, I finally got her to come up to my room and she realized that I had no key to my room. She went downstairs and THANK GOODNESS, had a master key to get it! I thanked her so many times (even tried in Chinese, though I always forget the wrong pronunciation) and got into my room. I was too freaked out to leave anymore and hence why I sat in my room all day. And no mom and grandma, I did not go for a walk outside. I felt like being a hermit and doing nothing. I didn't even go to the cafeteria to eat, just munched on snacks I had here and ate some noodles. Go me!
Sunday, so far, I have not really done anything. I've just watched a lot of clips from The Late Show with JImmy Fallon. He's soo funny. I highly recommend the show! Here's a clip from him playing a game with a guest...I'll pay you if you don't even smile. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzDuwNmPcCY Oh yea, I got this Web Freer software from one of the guys at the company so I can get on blocked internet sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Hulu. Yay for American TV! It's just nice to hear English haha. So yeah, I was a hermit this weekend. The students are supposed to be moving in today but I haven't heard much activity yet, so I don' t know when that will happen. I also don't know if I'm supposed to greet them or do anything of that sort so I'll just hang out in my room until I am told to be somewhere. If anything else happens today I'll let you know!