Teaching and Living

A lot has happened since I last wrote. I went through several days of inservice meetings followed by the beginning of school on Wednesday. Not having really been settled in my apartment, and with very limited amounts of time to work in my classroom I felt very frazzled and unprepared for the first day. However, I did manage to go over all the rules and procedures Wednesday and teach Thursday and Friday. I am definitely hoping I will feel more prepared next week. My students for the most part are respectful and well behaved. I have students from several countries and the cultural mix is fun. Very different learning environment from what I am used to in the states. I was a little shocked at the chaos of the schedule- the kids are constantly going here and there to special classes and Chinese class etc. Also different is the amount I am supposed to cover every day. An average of 90 minutes of homework a night is acceptable! My students in the US would have had a fit. My students here seemed to take it in stride when I gave twice the homework I normally would have on the second day of school. Most of my kids seem eager to learn. I could not believe how many students asked if they could take home the books that I have in my classroom to read over the weekend. I wish I had more. I have two small shelves, but they are so excited about what is there. Books in English are hard to find and very expensive here, so they were thrilled to have some to read. For the most part the ignored the smaller books and went for the thickest ones I had. Yet another difference from what I am used to.

Outside of school I am doing pretty good. I am slowly gathering things for my apartment. I almost have enough items to fix food in my kitchen. Between transportation, not knowing how to get places, not knowing what I can find in what stores, and limited time, settling into my apartment has been a little more different than I expected it would be. I have been on a quest to find an alarm clock almost since my arrival. I finally spent a ridiculous amoount of money on a plastic Hello Kitty clock which broke as soon as I attempted to set the alarm the first time. SO, a friend is taking me out tomorrow to find that and some other electronic items. My biggest frustration at this point is not knowing the langugage and wanting to learn, but having school responsibilities taking the majority of my time. One of the things I am enjoying the most is the community of friendships that I am developing here. We all live so close to school and to each other that it is easy to find someone to go eat with or go shopping with. Last Sat. and this Sat. I have been invited with other teachers to someones home. I am very grateful for the support of the other staff who have been in Beijing longer. Well that's all for now. I hope this satisfies Holeigh, who called me a slacker for not updating often enough.