Friday 4-19-13
I woke up today feeling 1000% better than yesterday! I don't know why or how, but I am not complaining or asking questions. Just going to roll with it! I was actually hungry this morning so I made myself some oatmeal and filled my tummy right up! I decided to take one of my last few Sudafed’s to try to clear everything up then headed down to the gate. When we went into the security room Hannah told us that her package was in there. I remembered getting an email last night from Kelly saying Congratulations on your package so I started searching around with Hannah to try and find our packages. I finally spotted the brown box covered in decorative packing tape.. if that’s not my momma I don't know who it could possibly be! I walked over and grabbed the box, sure enough, Kelly was right on with congratulating me because I have just gotten my second package: D I love packages from home! I really love it here but it’s always nice to get something from home! If anyone feels like giving their left eye for shipping and right eye for good luck to send me a package my mom's got the address!! haha. After Hannah located her package we sat down in the little waiting room of the security check point. We sat and chatted and waited and chatted and waited till finally we realized that our first class had already started and was close to halfway done! What the heck is going on? Dani was late, Sea Perl was late, and now Jinhua was late as well?? Is something in the water that only affects the Chinese ILP schools? Crazy Chinese government! After waiting for 40min we took our packages and headed up the stairs with a little more briskness than normal... we were feeling a little rebellious this morning and thought we had waited the perfect amount of time we will just go upstairs and enjoy our package and then go shopping now! Since our building is the very back of the campus we walk past every office or building on our way up to our rooms, including Kelly's so we thought we would get double coverage and just go tell Kelly that our driver didn't show up and we are going to go shopping now ;) Kelly hates it when people are late so I know she wouldn't have cared. We walked into the room she shares with Julianna and Ella. Ella is the principle of the primary students here and Julianna helps out here and there with ILP things but I’m not quite sure what her job is at this school but it has to be important because she is in the same office as Ella and Kelly. Ella and Julianna were both there so we were going to write Kelly a note and go on our way. Julianna speaks well, but not Kelly status English. So she was saying Kelly wasn't there so we told her that’s fine we will write a note. I asked Julianna how she was doing and that I missed her when Rachelle told her that our driver didn't come. Julianna smiled and said okay! So Rachelle repeated it again... same response so Rachelle said it AGAIN and in my head I’m thinking “isn't this the opposite of what we were trying to do here??” Julianna got it the third time and Called Kelly. Kelly came in the room and got on her phone to talk to the school. It turns out that next week Grimm kindergarten is having Parents come watch day or something like that so they are having us go Wednesday morning and Friday morning and not go to Jinhua next friday. Well, they thought that it meant this Friday. There is the confusion. Nothing in the water, we are all good. See? Asians aren't all perfect. Because we have a 30min break in between our first and second class, there was enough time for us to be picked up and be driven over to the school... gosh dang it! What a terrible attitude right? Especially after I worked so hard on my lesson this week. We got to the school and I set everything up in my classroom. I should have taken a picture because I thought it was pretty awesome ;) I will next week... er... or not. O well, this week’s lesson was shopping. So I took pictures that I got from my mom and put them on my computer in a power point of an American store. I also brought some $1.00 bills that I also got from my mom in my package (isn't she awesome?) and found a Fake 10.00 and 20.00 in the supply room. I brought simple things like a pencil, ball, bunny, fork, Barbie, hat etc and had their “price” on a Popsicle stick like 10 cents or 13 cents. I also pulled out a big bag of pennies and put a pile in the middle of each of the 4 desks. When the kids came in, I passed out their papers and pencils and welcomed them to class, after our routine run down of the rules; I pointed to the American flag on the board and shrugged my shoulders. I heard America whispered in Chinese so I knew that they got what I was asking but didn't know how to say it. After 3 seconds of silence, (its a short time in your head but standing there looking at 24 squinty eyes staring back at you, it seems like 20.. but I remember brother Haws once saying something about how teachers are encouraged to listen and pause to seek answers out of their students instead of giving in and not letting them think for themselves) I told them America. “Teacher Dell, is from America” I pointed to another student and said America? They all frantically shook their heads while pointing outside towards the Chinese flag flying in the wind hoisted above every other flag in the vicinity.
That’s when I pulled out the Bills and taught them “American Money” and “dollars” and then showed them a store from America. I asked them if we go swimming at stores then pulled out my imaginary shopping cart to make sure they understood
we were talking about a store before I gave it away by using my next slide of the grocery aisles and toy isles on the next slide. For some, I could tell these two slides made it click, for others, they confirmed the conclusion they had made in their heads with my charades routine before seeing the pictures. Either way I could see the light bulbs turning on and there is no greater source of energy or excitement humanly possible than seeing those light bulbs come on and the pride in my students eyes for figuring out this is an American store.
After this, I was pumped. Thank you Julianna for calling Kelly, thank you Jinhua for giving me today. Thank you students for loving learning and letting me teach. Thank you Bob and Kathy for your awesome emails and Support. Thank you Mom and Dad for packages and supplies for me to survive out here. Thank you Grandma for watching over me and helping me have a better attitude and not be so sick today. Thank you Grandpa for insisting you help me with the ILP tuition. Thank you Morgan, for understanding how happy this place makes me. Thank you family and friends for donations and excitement for me with my adventure! I am just loving Life, can you tell?
After we established Stores from America and money, it was time to go shopping! I called up a student and had them pick an item they had to ask “how much is this?” and I would let them know how much, they would have to give me that many pennies from the middle of the table usually with the help of their class mates. Then they got their item in a bag and sat back down at the table. I replaced the pennies at their table and picked another student. Each student did the same thing, only with every time, there was a new phrase added. “How much?” “i need to pay” “I bought” the last phrase was I thought going to be hard until I had a brilliant Idea to break a student’s pencil... he looked at me wide eyed as I walked away and he sat there with a broken pencil. I had the class write down “i need to buy” and watched him out of the corner of my eye so confused. If I wasn't so proud of myself and this brilliant idea, I would have felt bad but it was too good. He raised his had ever so slightly hesitant to say anything and then pointed to his pencil.. I said “oh no it’s broken!” had him stand up and say “I need to buy a pencil” he walked over asked how much and went through the routine and bought a pencil from our store. Golden. I love teaching.
After we reviewed the words and phrases I collected the pencils and left one penny for each student. I said goodbye and they tried to give me the pennies I left. I let them know that it was theirs to keep.
And I made their day. I would do it all again tomorrow and the next. I love my job.
After we got done teaching we may have told a fib and said we had a meeting. I was ready to go home and start the weekend. We headed back and hit the lunch room. Today we had potatoes and rice yummy yummy! Leslie came up to me today in the lunch room and threw her arms around my neck extra tight today. I was about ready to tap out from the building pressure in my head but she showed enough mercy to let go long enough to say hello and squeeze again but I was ready this time to squeeze back. This is the only sad thing about Fridays. No Leslie. I tried to give her the home visit papers but I don't think she understood. Ill try again next week. After lunch I grabbed some Banana’s left on the table because they are green and took them up to my room so that I could let them ripen up!
It was sooo cold today I don't understand why China is doing this to us but its getting pretty annoying, all this hot cold stuff is taxing. I was sitting in my nice warm bed typing away when Luke walked in and told me that Chan has invited me and him to go with the Korean students to eat some Korean food. Um yeah I’m totally down for good food. Plus I know that Luke can't go alone.
So I got my coat on and headed out. We met in Chan's office with a few other Korean boys and headed down the street and then got out next to some apartment buildings that are close to the JiaJiayue (and that’s close enough to walk) a little background. Luke is supposedly tight with these Koreans because he teaches them English as a trade to eat the Korean cafeteria food or something like that. So he and Talon would hang out with these guys all the time.
We went up the apartments into the room and turns out it was the cooks at the school's cafeteria, that cooks for the Korean students, house! We sat around and chatted for a little while as the food was being made. It was me and a bunch of Korean boys too shy to talk to me so they were all on their electronic devises. Luke and Chan both kept commenting on how quiet these boys were being. I asked them all questions to try to get them to open up like if you had to choose would you get rid of your arms or legs? A few of them started to talk more and others not so much but once the food was served I didn't mind one bit. Oh my gosh I love Korean food!!! its so delicious! Its soo much healthier than the food at the cafeteria. I could eat and eat and eat all day and be totally fine with it. I admit that I am a Korean food aholic but I won't admit that it is a problem. I love love love the BBQ. I remember in Korea me loving this place we ate at twice it was sort of a meat Buffet and it was my absolute favorite. I remember the food being really yummy but I don't think I was old enough to realize what an opportunity I had been provided with. I didn't soak it all in like I should have. I know that with all my training etc that I was exhausted so I can't be too hard on myself and hind sight is 20/20 but I am never going to forget this stuff. We sat down on the floor cross legged along the 1 ft high table, (how in the world dad survived in Korea is a mystery to me) while being served our meal. Oh man this food is so good! You get the rice of course and serve the lettuce leafs along with the sauce you dip the meat in as a main course but it doesn't stop there, in Korea or any Korean style meal, if done right, you won't have any uncovered table space. They will always serve Kimche (gag) along with 5 or 6 other dishes full of radishes or beans or some other random seasoned vegetable. Those plates are sort of the appetizers and free for all. All I have to say is those who served their missions in Korea are the luckiest people alive. Talk about food heaven.
I was still chowing down on an appetizer for lack of a better term when I saw Luke reach over and take a piece of lettuce and shove it in his mouth. Holy Rabbit! I can't do that, I need something to eat with my lettuce so I pulled out my Korean and took my lettuce leaf filled it with rice, dipped my meat in the best sauce ever and rolled it up and shoved that sucker in my mouth. I am sure I looked like a Hamster, cheeks bulging but yet perfectly content. All my table manners have gone out the door, so I apologize to anyone who has to eat with me for the few months while I am home before I adjust to life as an American. After doing that a few times Chan saw me assembling my next bomb shell of flavor about to explode in my mouth when he said “oh! You know how to eat!” I laughed and said thanks and then let the bomb explode, all in one bite. I almost spit it out laughing when Chan said “oh! I like her, she can really eat Korean food!” remember, hamster cheeks bulging but I was so content! We sat around after a while after eating while Chan talked to the cook and I talked to the Korean students. One of them is an incredible beat boxer! But after a while we were all getting a little tired. I wanted to go home so we hopped into a Taxi and headed back to the school. I got home to a ton of QQ messages from Kelly and Candice about tomorrow if I am going to go into town or not to get the stamp. I can't go out with a teacher alone so I got Mark and Kristen to agree to come with me because they were going to the Calligraphy class too. I have been talking to Dan Dan and Mars for our vacation next week to Xian and I’m pretty sure we have the best local tour guides ready to greet us off the train in Xian! I am so wiped out and my nose is getting pretty stuffy so I am going to call it a night and hope to get better for tomorrow! Goodnight!
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