Tuesday 3/19:
Tuesday we started the day off with another Chinese observation in Sam's class @ 10. They're kinda awkward because your kids are suddenly good since all the Chinese teachers are in there and they get super quiet and don't participate as much so you kinda look like an idiot. He taught about holidays and had a good lesson planned but between the teachers being there and him being sick that day it could have gone better but we all know (including the teachers) that he teaches better than that so no big deal.
That afternoon I combined my 4th grade class with Talon's for the first time and it went pretty well. He worked on a story out of the book for the first class while I walked around and kept kids focused. The second half though he just had them write a note about themselves and it got kinda crazy but it was nice to work with the kids individually at that point.
That night we played Catch Phrase in Jay and Cindy's room which is always enjoyable. I love having so many people here who like playing games with me :) Afterwards we were going to watch Life of Pi that Mark had bought at one of the DVD shops we found but that never happened so Sam, Mikelle, Melanie, and I just sat in our room and talked until 10:30 opposite sex curfew.
Wednesday 3/20:
Wednesday was our only day all week that we didn't have to do something in the morning so we got to sleep in!! We're supposed to have the mornings off M-Th because of our later teaching schedule (from 1:30-5pm) but we've had all those dumb Chinese observations so.. ya. Once I woke up I spent the entire morning planning for one of my 4th grade classes that afternoon because Casey (the ILP boss) was going to be there for mid-semester (not quite) observations (more observations!!). I was going to finish the story Talon had been working on the day before so I prepared lots of props to help them understand the meaning of adjectives like long, rough, smooth, wide, heavy, etc..
After lunch I was supposed to have my 1-on-1 interview with Casey but he never showed up so I figured he was held back at the airport or something but no one really knew because the head teachers left to go pick him up so we were all still at the school out of the loop on what was going on (the lack of cell phones to communicate has created somewhat of an obstacle to overcome). I sat in the room for my allotted time and then went to class.
My first 4th grade class was psycho. The Chinese teacher wasn't there and sometimes Talon is more of a distraction to the children than an aid for me. The 5th graders were better but still pretty talkative but dang it I was going to have a good class for Casey to see. When my 2nd 4th grade class came around the Chinese teacher was in there so they were better behaved and I had done enough preparation and brought in enough objects/activities that most of them were actually paying attention and participating!And that's the thing.. I know that the discipline problem in my classes could be helped out if I spent a few hours every morning prepping my lesson better but.. some days I just don't want to do that or don't want to cut my social time down enough to do that. Anyways, the class was amazing. Amazing. It was hands down the best class I've taught my entire time here and Casey and the two head teachers sat through the middle of it. :) yay me. My 5th grade class afterwards was just meh again but I was so ecstatic about my success before that I walked out of that class too still skipping with happiness.
After class I had to go back to the school to interview with Casey and sat in the hallway waiting forever with a group of people who also still needed to be interviewed. We ran out of time so all of us headed to the restaurant that ILP was feeding us that night special for Casey's visit. The dinner was pretty decent. Not necessarily better than the cafeteria food (which is hit or miss) but they had more variety which is what made it better. The only place here I've ordered off of a menu here is at the little noodle shops. Everywhere else they just put a bunch off food out on Lazy Susans for us and we all eat off of those. I'm going to be such a rude pig when I get home because here it is totally acceptable to reach across the table and eat straight out of main dish. Dinner was nice but got a little awkward at the end because Luke and Melanie (sitting on either side of me) were deep in conversation about history that I was entirely uninterested in joining. The other side of the table were discussing religion- a conversation I hope to never jump into because Talon is super anti-mormon so things get really intense really fast.
After dinner I had my interview with Casey out in the hallway while we choked over the smell of the ashtray next to us. It still freaks me out when I walk down the stairs out of the dorm and one of the Chinese men in our building has another cigarette lit up as he passes me on the stairs. Casey asked about the social aspects of our group, things about teaching, how things with the head teachers were. I was mature about it but I let him know exactly what I thought. About how our classes are way too big and how my bathroom light has been broken for a week so I've had to pee and shower with the door open and how the head teachers are kinda copping out on being the mean ones to tell the Chinese teachers no to all these observations. But I gave the program a lot of praise too. I told him how much I loved living in China and how helpful the Chinese teachers were and how well our group gets along and how much I love my roommate.
Back at the dorms we all filed into the common room which is what I imagine sitting in a refrigerator to feel like. Two of the walls are windows so that offers no insulation and the floor below us has a balcony instead of a room so the floor is about the temperature of the 1 degree C outside. But it's home and we discovered some electric heating pads that we sit on now that help tremendously. We had a big ILP training meeting that Casey updated us on some stuff and answered questions we had. He also brought us Reese's!!!!! Anyone who knows me can say how much I don't like them but when you're in China and haven't had peanut butter or chocolate in a few weeks they're one of the best things in the world. During the meeting Casey talked about how they're starting a new summer program in SLC where they host kids ages 10-16 there for a week. You have class in the morning and then go do activities in the afternoon. The end of the week has a trip to S. Utah AKA Bryce, Zions.... :) :) :) Guess who is super super super hoping she gets that job?? It runs in July and August so its only a few weeks but hey.. something is better than nothing and its with a program I'm already familiar with and it's exactly the kind of job I would love to have. Fingers crossed.
After the meeting Casey left and I planned with Talon for our 4th grade classes for the next week. Hopefully this set up works and we'll continue getting along and working together well while we're here. After we were done planning together I quickly wrote my 5th grade lessons and handed in that dreaded planning book for review. I spent the rest of the evening talking with Jay, Sam, and Melanie in our room until 10:30 and then was up until after midnight planning for my Chinese observation lesson that I was teaching the next morning.
Then I collapsed into my wonderful ground pad bed, totally exhausted.
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