I'm still teaching.....

I have survived 3 weekends of my 2nd semester as an English teacher in China.   I've decided that this semester will be at least a bit better than last semester.  I still teach 21 classes in 2 1/4 days - over 300 students but I enjoy seeing kids from last semester in the hall. 

Highlights from the first weekend of semester #2:

-I have 1 class that is completely the same as last semester.  They are a clever bunch of kids and it was nice to walk in and see their faces.

-I have one kid that laughs at EVERYTHING.  He can't say a word, throw a ball, or hear someone else say a word without him thinking it is the funniest thing.   I wish I found everything that funny.

-I still laugh every time a student falls off their little stool.  They'll just be sitting there and all of a sudden they fall off.  It's hilarious!

-My new 4 year olds kept touching me.  The Chinese teacher was a little disappointed that when she was teaching them they were running all over and not touching her. 

-In one of my mid level classes the lesson was asking and answering questions.  After I asked them the questions in the book I had them ask me the questions.  Students always take this chance to ask personal questions that aren't in the book (usually how old are you).  But this class was more creative and asked me questions like - What's your dream?  Who is your mom?  What's your social security number?     We couldn't figure out how this kid even knew what a social security number was -  I'm keeping my eye on hm.  He's 9 years old!

-I have students with interesting English names- Optimus Prime, Excalibur, Vampire, Bunny (a boy), Happy, Baboo, Yuki.  Yes, I call on these students by their ridiculous name - usually with a straight face. There are FIVE Lilly's in one class.   I named a few kids.  I like naming them after my favorite people from home - Julie, Sara, Alison, Brian.  I had hoped a student in my higher level class would take Eleanor but I think it was too different and difficult. 

-One of my students said I look like Serena from Gossip Girl.  

-I have a lot of students from last semester.  One student has become obsessed with hearing me speak Chinese.  I try not to speak Chinese in class for 2 reasons.  1.  It's English class.  2.  My Chinese isn't great and the students laugh at me and correct my pronunciation.   Number 2 is the biggest reason.  If I ask them for a word in Chinese to make sure they understand the English word I can usually understand that and tell them if they're right or wrong but I am too self conscious of my Chinese to speak it infront of my students.  Crazy how a bunch of Chinese children can intimidate me.

-I asked my older students where they want to travel.  One said America because of the freedom.  I love that answer because it shows me the student realizes she doesn't have freedom here.  That is not a common realization.

I look back at my post after my very first weekend of teaching and it's nice to see how far I've come.  This semester I can just go with the flow, I'm not lost, I can remember names, I know the routine, I know how to give homework, I'm better at coming up with things on my feet, etc.   It's still hard to get past the fact that my job is playing London Bridges, jumping around like a rabbit, and teaching words like cat, kite, girl, boy, umbrella, table, chair, pencil, ball, book.  Luckily, sometimes I even enjoy it.

Overall, I really like the kids.  I could write a post every day for at least a year about China in general and what I've learned since arriving here 6.5 months ago. It's made me appreciate the kids. They are so innocent and too young to not realize how controlling their country is.

21 lessons to go!