The Quiet Life

August 19, 2011

I am sure you are feeling the same way, but where has summer gone? Orientation starts on Monday; the rest of our teachers arrive tomorrow evening from Shanghai. Here we are, already at the time I have been waiting for. And, just as I figured, my nerves are acting up. I am nervous. The memories of my failed CELTA lesson and some of the awful lessons I did in Summer Camp haunt me. I have grade 2, which means 90% singing. I told Paul that I wouldn’t quit my day job singing to make an evening career out of it, but I didn’t mind singing with kids. Erin says it can be brutal after a while, but she is on her third year with grade 2, so I am not too worried. Besides, the purpose of this year is to learn how to teach and to gain some confidence in what I am doing. I think that, from what I have heard, this is going to be perfect for what I need. There is a curriculum. I don’t have to plan lessons from scratch; I just have to plan how to teach the day’s tasks. In grade 1 and 2, there is a National Teacher in the room as well. Erin says that you just have to come out strong, tell those kids who is boss and why, and then you are golden for the year. Paul gave me a song book and a CD last night, but I haven’t looked at them yet. He also gave those of us that are here a book called “How to Teach like a Champion” which I have been working through a little bit. Of course, in our week of orientation, we are going to work on them even more. There was a point when I rolled my eyes at a week’s orientation, but now I am looking forward to it, and anxious for the help I manage it will provide. I don’t know why I am so nervous. I had control over my class, just not the other classes that came through in summer camp. I also know that children in grade 2 are what I have dealt with most in my life. Singing out lessons cannot be that hard. It sounds like probably 75% of the teachers have started at this school for their teaching careers. Everyone is willing to help each other out. I know I can knock on any door and they will help me if I have a problem with a lesson plan or whatever. Paul is very supportive too, which is great. With this support system, I know it is only me that is causing my nerves. I am worried I will not meet my own standards. I want to be a Champion teacher from the get-go! But I also know that I get cocky when I am perfect from the get-go and then my cockiness bites my ass not long down the road. I know that this is a learning opportunity, but I do need to walk in with confidence! Here’s hoping this can happen in orientation! I should be working closely with Erin in orientation as she is also teaching grade 2, so that will help a lot. She’s great!

Besides my first day jitters, not much has been going on around Beijing Sheng Dong Fong at Yangzhou. I have been to Tesco three times in four days. I went there on my own early in the week. The next day, Kalyn and I went to Tesco on the bus together because Kalyn needed to go. The next day, Kalyn was going again and I declined to go. Yesterday, Erin texted me and asked if I wanted to go with her, and I said sure because I didn’t know what else I would do for the day. We took her bike and I got to see more of Yangzhou than I had previously. We went to town about noon, so Erin decided it was best to go around the majority of the traffic and we went into town a way I haven’t gone yet. I quickly remembered why I stopped riding a bike as a kid; my poor bum hurt so much! Going around the traffic was obviously a longer way, but less scary so I was happy with that. Erin had never been to Tesco before (in her two years in Yangzhou) and was like a little kid in the candy store enjoying the variety that the RT Mart near our house just doesn’t have. We took a wrong turn on our way home and ended up driving past Wal-Mart, so know I know exactly where it is, and it is easy to find, it is near our Duck Restaurant. I was going to go exploring today, but I think that we have to stick near the house today. Paul had us all make up a list of things which needed fixing, or items that were missing from our place, and today they are working on fixing them. My sink tap doesn’t have a screen so it sprays everywhere. The man pretty much told me it doesn’t have a screen and left…. not sure if he will be back or not. Rainy just brought me a dustpan since I could only sweep my floor out into the hallway. I am not sure if anyone cares that my shower doesn’t really drain and can flood my floor. It’s not as bad as some rooms I have seen, so I am not really worried. I also mentioned, more in case it gets damaged than to fix it, that my kitchen drawers hit the wall every time they open and close and that my desk has three drawers, one has no handle and one has no front. I don’t care if those get fixed, but Paul’s text said that the carpenter was coming around 2. I think it is more for people whose dresser drawers don’t work and stuff and in this room; I am good with all of that. I really am much happier with this room than my last room, which did have people working in it yesterday….

Last night we had a BBQ. Mike was having trouble getting the coals started, so he went to down to find lighter fluid. In the meantime, Erin decided she was going to beat the coal, and Mike and win the battle. By the time Mike got back (like an hour later), we had fire going. Mike had set the BBQ up on a glass table and since he calls himself the BBQ King, no one thought anything of it. He had just put a bunch of shrimp on to cook when there was this crazy crash. As I stared at the coals, shrimp and glass on the floor, I was so confused. Where had the glass come from? The table literally broke in two. Rather than try to rescue those coals we worked so hard on and reset the BBQ up on the ground, we put the coals out. Mike was swearing and cursing that now we couldn’t have half the food. But, someone decided that we could boil the corn on hotplates and we ate Chinese style – one dish at a time. I wasn’t really into the social scene yesterday, but I did stay the whole time. Someone joked that our lack of cooking skills really should mean that we get lunch on Fridays as well. I guess the food schedule is very different for the school year. We get breakfast Monday to Friday, and lunch Tuesday to Thursday in the Western Cafeteria. Monday and Friday lunch, and all dinners are in the Chinese Cafeteria. I gather we go out for a lot of dinners. School is over by Friday afternoon, and there is no food here on the weekends. This is not quite what I understood from the contract, but whatever, it’s not a huge deal.

I don’t know what else to catch you up on in my life. We seriously have done as little as possible around here! I love you!