Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Nimen Hao!
I am exhausted!
For the past... six days (... has it really only been six?) We have been teaching for 6 hours a day, everyday at our schools. Getting up at 6:30 (ish) for breakfast at 7 to leave for our school (Shunyi No 9 Middle School) at 8am and starting teaching at 8:30.
The kids are great, there's between 15 and 20 of them on any given day as class members seem to come and go at will. The all gave themselves English names the first day that we got there, only two unusual ones- Ocean and Snow (both girls)- but still very pretty names. The past two days we took them outside to play English games that made them speak in English. So basically we played piggy in the middle, what's the time Mr Wolf and throwing a ball at them with them having to answer a question. We also had a bit of a shouting match between the classes as we'd helped them to come up with their own class mottos. (Ours was "Going all out to be number one!")
I was really nervous the first day of teaching but actually it's proving to be good fun. I'm not sure if that's because Jon and I have been teaching as a duo and so there has been less stressful but I genuinely am enjoying myself. I'll actually be sorry to leave them- who'd've thought it after spending only 36 hours with them!? I had a secret message from one of them whose Chinese name is Ma. It said "Samantha, I think you are very beautiful. I like you very much." Which I think is very sweet (even if I do think they're blind!)
So you're probably thinking that I shouldn't be complaining- I'm only working 6 hours and I have a 2 hour lunch break (in which they serve us lots of delicious chinese food- Jon is a fan of the dumplings and they are really tasty) but then you forget that we spend about 3 hours planning the lessons for the following day and on top of that we have Survival Chinese lessons for two hours every other day and combine that with not having a chance to get over jetlag and to get used to the hot weather you can understand why I'm so tired! But it should all be worth it.
Anyway, we're 7 hours ahead of the UK so it is currently nearly 11pm here so I had better sign off for now. We're going to the Forbidden City tomorrow and to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall on Saturday (photos to follow).
So until next time
Zaijian (Goodbye) and Wa an (good night)
- comments
Wendy Lashbrook Hi Sammy, I'm really finding your blog along with the photos very interesting especially as my son Chris Rutter travelled out there same day as you and is teaching in the same school. Have you met him & Jack yet? Keep up the good work on the blog & above all continue to have fun and indulge in this fantastic experience. Regards, Wendy
Samantha Shemilt Hi Wendy, thanks, yes me and Jon have met and know Chris and Jack, they're both really great guys and we hope to keep in touch with them now that we've had to go our separate ways. Regards Sammy