Today is a big day indeed! Yesterday, Daisy came to inform us that there would be 10 Americans coming to "check out this school." TEN AMERICANS! Here!!!! AAAHHHHH!!!
I haven't physically encountered anyone who speaks fluent English really in two and a half months apart from the other three Americans here and Daisy. This is a big deal.
I first saw the Americans as I taught my first class this morning. A few poked there heads in. There were women with blonde hair, the most coveted of foreign women it seems here in China. Immediately, my kids were out of their seats, jumping up and down yelling, "TEACHER!! TEACHER!!! LOOOOK!!!" It took me a bit to get them back down and focused on the lesson. But I couldn't help but smile. Inside, I was jumping up and down and being just as excited! AMERICANS! I now understand their enthusiasm!
As we went onto the field to do the dance with the kids (dancing to Cotton Eyed Joe is a daily thing now), we split up and one of the American guys went to talk to Adam and Kammi. I jealously watched from across the field.
Lunch was the best part. We walked into the cafeteria, and there were the Americans. They took two tables and had about 7 2-liter bottles of Pepsi with them. So that's where the stereotype comes from! Haha. I haven't had any soda since being here. Although we have found it a couple times in a few places. I just really don't like carbonation.
Anyway, for lunch they served the sesame fried chicken that I really like (it's a little bit spicy, but way better than a lot of what they serve), they also had the spring rolls and sushi--both of which are normally only a breakfast item, and even then is rarely served. They also served chicken on a stick, green beans (cooked with something sour, ginger, and peppers, but hey! Vegetables!), and sandwiches! Sandwiches!!!
I was practically jumping up and down! I haven't seen so much good food in one place in.. well... a very long time. Unless you count Pizza Hut. :) The sandwiches were on a sweet white roll. There was a fried egg, bolognese, cucumber, and tons of mayonaisse. I mean, it was almost too much mayo for me, and that's saying something! We think it was homemade mayo because it tasted a little strange and we haven't found anywhere that sells it here. But still. It was delicious!
When we were finished eating, a few of the Americans came over and talked to us. They asked things like "Are the students happy here?" (Yes, yes, yes and definitely yes!) and "Do you ever feel left out and separated from the other teachers? We notice they don't associate with you much.'" (absolutely not, it's just the language barrier that makes it difficult, but we can communicate through smiles and head nods, and really that's all we need. The teachers here are great) "How are the student's English skills?" (obviously, the older kids are better than younger, but I'd say they're pretty darn good.)
I think I never actually sent the blog post where I wrote about the one time we met the kids from other schools who were learning English. But I did. And let's just say that I have fourth graders at this school who could outperform the seventh graders at the other school. And the "others" we met were the best in their classes at their school. So yes, I'd say the kid's education here is far superior than many others. However, they are in school from 8:20am to 9pm. So there's that...
Anyway, back to the Americans. We only got to spend a few minutes talknig with them at lunch and then they had to run. But we told them how great it was we got to talk to them and they promised to try and come back and talk later. Boy, I sure hope so. But if not, they still came, and I'm happy. The end!
 Reply | Forward |
 |
Click here to Reply or Forward
|
