normalcy

Now that I've settled into a routine - school feeling less stressful and China feeling less foreign - it seems that my everyday is becoming less and less blogworthy. So I will choose a particularly unblogworthy day, today, to illustrate the semblance of routine that now shapes my life.

My alarm went off this morning at 7:40. Normally I wake up at 7, but on Tuesdays and Wednesdays I am graced by having no first period class, so I get to sleep in. I made coffee by boiling water on my stove and pouring it over fresh grounds, which I biked about 3 hours to purchase at Starbucks on Monday afternoon. The sacrifices I make for decent coffee...

Anyway, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and ate that with an apple (which I washed using the Chinese water; I now brush my teeth and wash fruit with it, although I still would not consume it in large quantities) while I watched the news. The best news I can get, given my preferences and China's blockages, is TV5.org, a French news channel where I can stream in international news. I watched the coverage of the strikes at the Thai airport and felt lucky that my trip took place 2 weeks before the airports shut down completely. Granted, the coup was already in full swing while I was in Bangkok, but very little surfaced that would interfere with tourists - pretty wise in a country that sources so much of its income from the tourism industry.

After a shower and getting dressed, I headed off for school - a 10-15 minute walk from my apartment, depending on my pace. I passed at least four security guards on the way; they are ubiquitous in China, both in schools and apartment complexes, despite the low level of crime. I also stopped on the way up the hill to school and watched a bit of the "morning exercises" - although I'm getting used to them they are still pretty entertaining. The best part being when the students march out afterwards, legs stiff, arms swinging by their sides. C is for Cookie... And other things...

Students lined up for morning exercises at TESS

My first class, 10th/11th grade listening, begins at 9:25 am. In this class, I basically read from a book, both dialogues and dictations, and the students write and ask questions. I've changed the format a bit to spice things up - for example, I sometimes bring in song lyrics to Linkin Park or Avril Lavigne songs (they love semi-outdated, energetic American pop) with some words blanked out, and play the music video while they identify the missing words. This gets even my most sleepy student, Vincent, engaged - which is nice because I have been instructed not to wake him otherwise, since his rich Hong Kong parents have admitted they use the school only as a baby-sitting service. Today I gave them a test, which also wakes them up - at least until the test is over and they can return to their slumped positions. I have resorted to keeping small pieces of chalk on my desk that I throw at students when they don't wake up to their names being called. At least I haven't gone to Jaris's extremes yet and removed all the chairs from my classroom...

My second class, Year 5 POI, started immediately after. We are currently studying the universe, and have been focusing on the solar system for the past two weeks. Yesterday we were in the computer lab and each student researched one planet, so today they drew and wrote about it on a sheet of construction paper. This is easier said than done; the principal has outlawed both pencils and white-out, so a final draft often takes a few tries. Then for the last 10 minutes we played a game I invented, which the kids adore: I have eight sheets of paper, each with a planet name. On one end of our magnetic chalkboard, I draw a big sun. I mix up the planet names and the students come to the board one by one to see who can arrange the names in order the fastest, using magnets to pin them up. So far the record is 18.8 seconds, and almost all of the students broke 24 seconds, which was my time when they convinced me to take a turn.

Third period followed directly after the second: my 11th grade OSC (OverSeas Chinese - mostly Korean) students. I gave them back graded homework, did a dictation (write the word/phrase + use in a sentence), and discussed/wrote logical vs. illogical arguments. At the end of the period we played two truths and a lie, which was pretty entertaining. However I think the best part of the class was Harry, a student who failed to spell the word "rare," pointing to the moose logo on my shirt and saying "A-B-E-R-C-R-O-M-B-I-E." Jaslene chimed in, "Yes, Abercrombie! I have also!" These are the same students who have never heard of Vietnam, and can't find the United States on a world map...

Well, that brings me exactly to noon and I have already written an excessively long account of my day's activities, so I'll cut myself off. Sorry to rob you of afternoon tales of the gym, Chinese food, Ben and Coco, and lesson planning. Maybe tomorrow........?