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你好,
My blog post today is going to be a little bit different. Today is November 20th. Do you know what that means? It means I have been in China for 3 months. Yes, 3 months! I can't believe how quickly time is passing, and each month feels shorter than the previous one. Even three months in we find new and exciting things so often.
I decided before I came out to China that I would do 4, slightly longer than usual, posts every quarter. I hope to make these posts slightly more reflective and also include my aims for the next 3 months that I am here.
First I shall look back:
When I arrived in China 3 months ago, I was filled with many hopes - I hoped to learn Chinese, make friends in our town, be a good teacher to my pupils, travel as much as China as possible and experience as many things as I could. But there were also a few worries that I had. Would my pupils like me? Would I be able to learn such a hard language? Would I like my town? Would I feel homesick often? I knew I was to face many things in the upcoming year, and I hoped I would be strong enough to work my way through all the ups and downs.
The 10 days in Beijing with the other 20 volunteers was one of the best experiences of my life so far. We had an absolute blast, and it helped me to put aside my thoughts and just enjoy time with them there. Separating was hard as we knew we wouldn't be seeing the whole group again for 4 months, and over the 5 days at training, and 10 days in Beijing we had become a close knit group of friends.
I remember arriving in Jiangxi and having my breath taken away by the beautiful scenery - the green hills, the blue sky free from pollution. One of my fears was put aside straight away, I definitely liked where Project Trust had placed me. Everybody was so friendly and I felt comfortable in this small town.
The first couple of weeks were spent settling into a routine and becoming familiar with Yihuang and the school. Some of my classes were easier to teach than others (still are!) but I found generally that I established a good relationship with all of my pupils. We began to explore more of the town and I found myself really enjoying life in Yihuang. However, language was still a barrier.
I tried my best with the language learning stuff I had brought with me, but getting the pronunciation right is key, and one of the hardest things to do in this language. We eventually managed to sort Chinese classes, and now we get two lessons a week with 兰老师 (Lan Laoshi - Teacher Lan). Unfortunately his English isn't great, but he's good for helping us with the pronunciations. So I am now tackling one of my main aims for this year. When I arrived in China the only two phrases I could say were 你好 (nihao, hello) and 谢谢 (xiexie, thank you), I now have a few other words and phrases in my vocabulary, and can't wait to learn more. I also received not one, but two Chinese names. The first 凯瑟琳(kai se lin) is a direct translation of Kathryn, and the second is a nickname 小林 (xiao lin) which I was told means little tree, but more accurately translates to little woods (I think I'll go with what I was told!).
There were a few ups and downs. I definitely miss home on some days more than on others. I would say my worst bout of homesickness so far was on our last day in Shanghai. I really missed home and just wanted to be able to be in the company of my friends and family. But I am stubborn, no way am I going home before the return date. I signed up for this and I'm going to complete it.
Travelling China was one of my top aims for the year, and we're definitely accomplishing that - Beijing, Nanchang, Fuzhou, Jiujiang, Yingtan, Shangqing, Mt Lushan, Mt Longhushan and Shanghai, all in 3 months! The things we have seen and done already have been absolutely amazing and I can't wait to see what the next 3 months bring.
As for getting on with my pupils, I definitely seem to be doing that. I wasn't too sure what the majority of my pupils thought of me, but after hearing Ivy and Sophia tell Tom that all our students really liked us put my mind at rest. I know as a teacher I'm not supposed to have favourites, but as a human being, I do. Classes 1, 6 and 12 are my favourite classes, and there are a few pupils in a couple of different classes who are really helpful and very friendly, and I feel bad as I can't remember all of their names, however here are the ones I do remember - Soolie and Jennifer in Class 9, Lulu and Marie in Class 8… actually right now, that's all I can remember (so that's another aim for my list…).
Reading that over, it is actually amazing how much we have fitted into such a short space of time!
So now for the next 3 months:
I hope to improve and expand on my Chinese knowledge - maybe I'll be able to have a bit more of a conversation with the people I meet (at current it's limited to my name, the fact that I'm from Scotland and that I'm an English teacher.)
I hope to maybe find a secondary project (there is the possibility of one on the cards, but we shall wait and see).
I hope to travel even more of China - and that is definitely happening - travelling up to Gansu for Christmas, then Shanghai, Beijing, Ha'erbin, Xi'an and possibly Qingdao for Spring Travelling.
I hope to put my Class 1 in contact with a class at my old high school, Largs Academy and maybe set up some sort of pen-pal project between the two schools - this has been an ambition of mine since before leaving the UK, and I hope to initiate it as soon as possible.
And I hope to have fun. I think out of all my aims and hopes, this is the most important. There is no point me being here if I am not enjoying myself - and I am definitely doing just that.
Well, sorry for the slightly long post, but I did warn you!
Wishing that everybody in the UK is safe, well and happy,
Until tomorrow,
再见 x
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