Nov. 23, 2014
Lazy sundays are a very nice thing. I managed to sleep in until 8:30 before people were pounding on my door, demanding their coffee. (And by people, I mean Jesse and Raphi, my fellow caffeinated addicts) Then it was homework really fast, but the workbooks are strutted in a way that as long as I took notes in class I can muddle through. After lunch Jesse taught me and Raphi how to play Chinese Chess, it’s way shorter and slightly more strategic than Western Chess. I am very bad at it but it was fun none the less. The rest of the evening was spent lazing about and general resting. It’s nice having a quiet day after such a long Saturday. Classes tomorrow, hopefully I will be able to Chinese better than last week.
Nov. 24, 2014
My room smells like coffee in the mornings now, people will come by just to smell my room. I should get a sign that says Coffee Shop. Class went better than expected. I was able to actually figure out the words and get sentences put together in a timely fashion. Then after lunch it was off to work. I am beginning to tutor and older student. It took me all of five minutes to realize that her English is not bad. Instead she;’s pretending it’s bad because it gets the attention of her other, who also works at the english school. She probably also was teased for having good English in school, many of the students react that way when someone is able to speak English to foreigners. As soon as I got her talking about the environment and Harry Potter, we were on the same footing. It was really fun getting to talk to an 11 year old, who had a more grasp of the language. I love the little ones but saying the sentence pattern over and over again gets old quickly. She just needs confidence and someone who isn’t demanding she speak English all the time. So over all I think the situation went well. After work it was food then a couple of rounds of Chinese Chess. While Raphi and Jesse played I did my homework. We devolved into catch with the football before watching some shows. TV helps keep our sanity and stay mildly connected with the outside world (Specifically American Pop Culture).
Nov. 25, 2014
I am pretty sure I got 100 percent on my quiz. It’s a nice feeling, especially after the last one. Class went well for me, Jackie and I made plans for going shoe shopping. She has a few stores scope out, we’ll see what we come away with tomorrow. The rest of today was essentially an adventure between Jesse and I. We went to the Muslim restaurant for food, and then half the dorm showed up. The place is really popular with the foreigners, I think the shop owner gets confused about why we all keep coming. Then it was back to the room for a quick nap, that I would be prepared for the amount of playing I would be doing with the kids. Jesse was invited to have a job interview with the school I work at. He’s been wanting a job for a while and there is an opening, as Chuck is leaving. So Jesse will be taking over some classes, which is fun. I also spoke to Wang laoshi about her daughter, whom I am tutoring. I think the girl is just trying to create her own space in the world but doesn’t know how to do it. I am getting the impression that they would prefer that I mentor her more than tutor her in English. That works for me, I feel like Chloe and I are fairly similar in wants and needs in life.
Class itself went really well. The kids were on the ball with their vocal and willing to participate in all the games. Sometimes I have to coax them into playing or one kid is just running around not paying attention. Even during break they stayed the classroom, preferring to play with me then head out. After class though, I was talking to another co-worker, Mark, when Tiger came up to me and gave me a small packet of cookies. Mark said “In China, love is food.” Which is true culturally, but it’s awesome that after such a short time together the kids and I are able to sure food and have a good time learning English. After class it was back to the dorms for general shenanigans. Tomorrow is my free day I look forward to taking a rest. Also fun note I think I am doing a singing competition in Chinese, so that will be fun. More information as I get it.
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