My Chinese Fan Club

I have a Chinese fan club. When I walk around in America, I am just an average Joe, but in Yongkang, China, I am super cool. (I'm enjoy this...) My fan club members are many, about 2000 students. They speak fluent conversational English, dangerous words such as "HELLO!" and "NICE TO MEET YOU TOO!" They may look small, but they are mighty (and to be feared in groups).

See? They hang out outside my office door to see if I look out. "HELLO!" And then when I answer, they laugh and run away. The life of the foreigner. Remember, they are relatively poor and have not seen white people besides in movies. They might see them in Jinhua or Hangzhou if they are fortunate to have been, but many haven't. So I am the American standard. So. Obviously, I love hotdogs, cut off shorts, country music, Uncle Sam, and 'Merica... 

But, in all seriousness, I try to talk to as many of the students and teachers as often as I can, and ALWAYS smile, smile, smile--so that they have a positive impression of my home, sweet home country.

Classroom activities. 

Teaching, teaching, teaching.

Nice to meet you. 

NICE TO MEET YOU TOO!!!

 Show me you can do it!

If I am an American, I have to teach them high five, right? They LOVE it. 

After I introduced my family to the fifth graders (actually 6th graders in the US, I taught 6th last year so it's fun to go back!), I drew my siblings and parents and their names and ages on the board. And asked them many different questions to check comprehension. "How many brothers do I have?" "YOU HAVE 1 BROTHER." "How old is he?" "HE IS 17 YEARS OLD!" "Is he a boy or a girl!" "A GI-OY!" "Hey! My brother is not a GIRL!" Luaghing, laughing.., "HE IS A BOY!!!" 

And this student took notes about my family, and recorded who was winning the game along with the score, which my colleague Paula, whose class I had taken over, thought was fantastic and also hysterical. 

The fish! OK! MIGHTY FISH! WHAT IS YOUR MIGHTY SOUND? Kids look at me blankly as if to say: fish don't have a mighty sound. Fair point, kids. Glub, glub, glub. 

Visiting in the English office. HIIIIIII!

Exercising and following the leader. 

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Right before I start the next lesson with some fifth graders. See on their faces the eager antici.... PATION.

After the lesson, their homeroom teacher (who is in charge of them in general and also teaches Chinese, they enforce discipline and get paid a little extra to compensate for all their work with the kids) wanted them to take a picture with me. However, Paula was telling me this, and I had just opened my water to take a drink and in literally the amount of time I tried to put a cap on my water-- sixty kids RUSHED me. 

This is the progression ... You might notice fear strike my eyes as they push me off the ledge and I start to fall, but I am mobbed by tiny humans so I have nowhere to go...

Oh noooo, trying to keep control, too many kids...

I am doing anything I can to prevent 1) death by trampling 2) stepping on a child 3) spraying water all over every kid there.g

Unfortunately, I did soak one little girl. She was WICKED smart, so I said, Oh let's take a picture! And she was just thrilled to pieces. Sweet, sweet thing.

Then, I got to watch one of my colleagues for the first time all week. I taught seven days straight and then the last period of Sunday, I got to watch my friend and colleague Lydia teach first graders (age of 2-3 in the US). They learn sounds, the alphabet, words, etc. The lesson I saw they were working on things "I like to drink..." So the choices and words they were learning to read and say were: juice, milk, tea, coffee, water, and Coke. 

Coke meaning the term for all soda. As it should be. (Take that Diet Coke fiends.)

Check out this hysterical game Lydia played with them to keep them interested. Adorable.

With 60 kids and them being the youngest in the school at the end of a seven day school week, and they are in the back of the class, some of the babies get tired and wild. 

I just love my school.