Christmas post

圣诞节快乐 bloggers! (That means Merry Christmas) I know it's not exactly Christmas but since I'm not sure what my schedule looks like for Christmas yet... I'll post as usual and if I can get online on Christmas, I'll post another message for you all. But the internet here isn't always the most reliable. It shuts off randomly to prevent students from using it. So last week was crazy and Charity Concert rehearsals are absolutely chaotic. The director said that if he sees even the slightest problem with any pieces, he'll pull them from the show. Ummm yea talk about pressure! Luckily he wanted me to perform more than he wanted my students to look good... so we're performing whether we're performance ready or not... Time to kick my students' butts into shape! I had another student who has had professional singing training help my singer since I can't sing and therefore can't teach her. I worked with my student who I'm dancing with and hopefully everything will be good.

 

On Friday I had a foreign teachers' Christmas dinner. It was entertaining to see all the administrators from the various campuses wasted! I told one administrator who didn't speak much English that if I get drunk I can't talk to him in Chinese and we won't be able to talk. So he helped me escape from drinking that night. He told everyone who tried to spike my drink without me looking that he would "GanBei" them, which means that they have to finish their glass out of respect to him. It's nice to have people high up :) I had a ridiculous vocabulary lesson though... He kept teaching me words that I couldn't say >.< It was a great night regardless and I'm glad I was able to converse with someone with my limited Chinese.

On Saturday I went hiking at 9am. It was FREEZING! But also really fun. The entire hike took a couple of hours and then I went to lunch at Parc 66, took a nap at Cafe 89, and went to dinner at Parc 66 again. I was out all day and it was AWESOME! Normally I get bored staying at home so finding places in town where I can feel comfortable enough to just hang out in all day... it's like being a cast member of Friends and just sitting in Central Perk all the time! I have two cafes that I hang out in now... Cafe 89 on FuRongJie and T House near ShanDong Normal University. The staff speaks no English so it forces me to practice my Chinese. 

On Sunday I ran around town doing a bunch of errands. I finished my Christmas cards for my Chinese friends and started working on the cards for my foreign colleagues. It was a very productive day but today is where it gets FUN!

This week is Christmas week, which brings a lot of scheduling issues. Tutoring and club/activity time are cancelled for the week. Today (Monday) is the IC Christmas party for students. Each foreign teacher is paired up with a class. Of course Giles and I combined our classes so that all of A-Level 12s are together instead of class 18 with me and 19 with Giles. Byron and Angela (our Chinese co-teachers) left the entire thing up to us because we were (and by that I mean I was) so excited to be celebrating Christmas with them :D 

On Tuesday (Christmas eve) and Wednesday (Christmas day) we have classes as usual. We were supposed to have those days off but our schedule changed last week so that we're working. Thursday the foreign teachers have the option to take a holiday because the students have a national exam on Friday so they'll be doing self-study all day Thursday... I don't really get that day off because I have Charity Concert rehearsal on the stage. So I don't have to go all the way to work but I do have to go to the stage. Friday we have to come into work but we don't have classes. Saturday, if you're not in the concert you have regular classes. If you are in the concert, you have dress rehearsal at 7am... So That's meeeee, dress rehearsal 7am. The concert starts at 1 and ends at 3 (Saturday is supposed to be our go home at 12:30 day but we get an extended day because of this concert).

Here's where the fun starts: Sunday... This starts a new week with two possibilities for schedules. Possibility 1: We work full days Sunday and Monday with normal classes (not sure if it'll be a short or long week schedule yet). Then on Tuesday students get a half day and the staff stays late to celebrate the new year during which I have to perform during the faculty talent show (so yes we're at school more than 12 hours). With this possibility, we get January 1-5 off and start a new week January 6. Possibility 2: We have a half day of work Sunday, which will really be the faculty celebration since the students won't come in at all (again this is where I might perform). Then we have off Monday-Wednesday and then work a 10-day work week starting Thursday. So full days normal classes January 2-Januray 11. Either way, we need to make up those days we take off for the New Year. It will be a rough few weeks! I'll be sure to update you when I know what my schedule looks like. Until then... Laters!

I'm on time!

Ni Hao bloggers! :D Here’s the update!

I last left you on Thursday, a bit late on my part sorry about that. But here’s what happened on Friday… So I finished teaching my dance to my student and now all we have to do is clean it up. She’s not great at dancing but she’s trying really hard so I’m enjoying working with her (most days). After work I went to the gym with Giles and Jeremiah to go work on my solo for the faculty party. I didn’t have the studio to myself but it still felt amazing to be on a dance floor again. I worked on my leaps and had a few Chinese women try to imitate me…. That was awkward. Then we went out to eat at a really really delicious restaurant.

Saturday I had to work because it’s a long week. So I went about my business and decorated the bulletin board. Then after work I went to RT Mart (like Walmart but better and cheaper). I picked up a ton of snacks, both for my students and myself. I worked a little on my Christmas cards for my office and friends. It was pretty low key because I mean really, when you have to work but have no classes, you have no stories.

Sunday I finished my Christmas shopping! Yayyyyyy I also had an awesome experience speaking Chinese :D :D I talked with a guy who asked me in Chinese if I was Chinese and when I said no, he asked me where I was from. I said America and he continued to argue with me, “No you must be Chinese!” It was really funny because I don’t have a great vocab base but I know how to say that I am not Chinese and I only speak a little Chinese. He complimented me on my accent saying that I sounded like I was from Shan Dong. Well I would hope so since everyone I’m learning Chinese from is also from Shan Dong. Except Liu Jun. He’s from Shang Hai and speaks Shang Hai Hua. Anyway after shopping I went home and played a little DS then went to dinner and ate amazing dumplings. Overall it was a pretty fun weekend, even if we only had 24 hours.

This week is a short week, which means that we get both Saturday AND Sunday off. Woooooo! But then the week after that is an extended long week. Which means that we WORK both Saturday AND Sunday. Then we go into a short week. So really what it means is that we’re working 14 straight days in a row. At least it’s not 12 hour days like I’ve been pulling for the last week >.< I hate staying here late. They shut off the heat once the sun goes down. You’d think that common sense would tell them that we need heat MORE when the sun goes down. But nope. Frozen! Oh well. I’ll be sure to keep you updated :) Until then… Laters!

Wahhhh So late!

Hey bloggers, Sorry for the late reply but as it so happens, the Christmas/New Year season is upon us. That means extra busy schedules. You know how it is… So here’s the update:

Monday-Wednesday… Uhhh to be honest, I don’t really remember much from that long ago. So much happened on Thursday though :) So Tony walks into my office and tells me that I’m working with a student to dance for the New Year Charity concert. SWEET! So excited to be performing again! But of course this girl doesn’t come find me to talk to me until Thursday night, when one of her friends whom I asked to help me track her down, literally drags her to me. I’m headed off to tutoring session and he comes dragging this poor girl to me in the hallway. So we talk and she’s like yea let’s do it! So I spend all weekend choreographing the dance. Then I discover that there a girl who’s supposed to be playing the piano for us to dance to while still another girl is singing… Um HELLO?! Where was this information last week?! Yea non-existent. I asked the girls, “Do you know how hard it is to dance to live music? This is ridiculous.” So then the girl playing the piano said, “I will try to learn the song.” So I get her the sheet music for the song that I choreographed to and she comes back to talk to me Monday night saying, “This song is not very suitable for the piano. It sounds not good and I think we should play something classical.” Then she plays a song for me… Ok I’ll admit she played beautifully to the classical music but if she plays that, we’d have to change the dance and the singer would be out because there aren’t any classical pieces that she can sing. Oh and did I forget to mention that the girl who is dancing with me has three lessons of modern dance experience? And she wanted me to choreograph ballet for her… Um yea… Not only am I NOT qualified to choreograph ballet, YOU HAVE NO DANCE EXPERIENCE, GIRLFRIEND! This is not going to be an easy task. So I make the dance way way WAY easier for her and she still doesn’t know how to count to music so I do the #1 thing I was trained not to do: choreograph to the lyrics. AWFUL! Absolutely horrendous. But whatever. These are kids who watch wayyyy too many movies and expect to learn a dance and be performance ready within an hour of watching me do the dance. She doesn’t even try to dance while I’m dancing. She just watches it and says, “I will practice when you’re not looking”…. NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!! That’s not how this works! So it’s been three rehearsal days. I stayed late and took the 7:30pm bus home Monday-Wednesday so that we could rehearse as much as possible. She’s looking better but is still having a hard time with moving fluidly. Today (Thursday) we didn’t practice at all because the students had tests all day. I have until the 20^th to get her performance ready. I’m gonna need a miracle! I hope I can keep you updated as time goes on but time seems to be moving faster than I can run. Until then…Laters.

Hello December!

Hey hey bloggers! Are you ready for the next entry in the craziness that is China? Well here it is…

Last week was the most stressful week by far since I got here. Somewhere around 2-3 weeks ago the director of the school went to our librarian and asked if the foreign teachers could prepare a Thanksgiving dinner for the IC staff. That’s about 80 people. None of us had ever cooked for that many people before so we were all like uhhhh no…. But of course, like drinking (yes as in alcohol), if you refuse, you could be considered scum of the earth. So we all chose a dish to prepare for Thanksgiving. I chose decorations because, let’s face it, I can’t cook. So the senior 3s were supposed to help us prep the meal for the faculty so that we could partake in this “cultural sharing experience.” But then the point got brought up, “Why are the students helping us to cook when they won’t get to eat? The faculty should help us cook if they’re gonna be the ones eating.” So of course that blows up in our faces and the admin says, “great idea! You do two dinners! One on Friday with/for the students and one on Saturday with/for the staff.” Crap now we’re stuck doing two… Did I mention that by doing these dinners, we’re staying late at school? We stayed 2 hours past normal bus time home on Friday and 6 hours past normal bus time on Saturday… There went our weekend. So anyway, we start prepping for these dinners by telling the students what to bring from their hometown: cranberry sauce, spices, etc. All the students complained because they’re providing all the supplies for a dinner they didn’t ask to be a part of. Some of the ingredients, especially for 150+ people, can be upwards of 600 yuan (about 100 USD). Would you ever ask your students to provide $100 worth of stuff for other people? Probably not… but here in China, it’s the norm. 

So two weeks ago I started working on the decorations. I had an idea of what I wanted in my head but I was having a hard time making that a reality since there was a lot of prep that needed to happen and I was running out of time. I ended up delegating some of the work to a few students, who by the way, MESSED IT ALL UP! I ended up having to throw away half of what they made because it wasn’t at all even close to what I had directed them to do. So I ended up doing 90% of the work myself. Technically I had to redo some of what they “undid” so I was pissed off. I stayed up until 11pm every night after work doing those stupid decorations. Then some students fell through on what they were supposed to bring in terms of supplies so I ended up going and getting them myself or asking Jeremiah for help in finding some of the supplies. Thank God for Jeremiah because he helped me out so much when I was so stressed that I wouldn’t get it all done in time. I even started crying in front of him, which I’ll admit is a bit embarrassing. Anyway, it all ended up working out. Every table had a tissue paper turkey, some tinsel, paper leaves with teachers’ names on it, and some tea candles. It was EXACTLY how I had imagined the table would look before I lost hope and started adjusting my decoration plans. It was totally worth it but during the week I was sleep deprived, a little delirious, and so sick of looking at my decorations. I ended up throwing everything away. Some of the teachers took my tissue paper turkeys home because they loved them so much and I was glad to be rid of them! So that’s my story… let’s see what some of the other stories were from my coworkers….

Every American teacher took a group of students to prepare a dish. Once the students got to the cafeteria they were pretty excited to get started. We all told them that they needed to wash their hands before starting to work with the food and every single one of them asked, “why?” It was gross when they told us why that was weird to them… apparently washing their hands with the water that comes out of the school’s sink taps puts more bacteria on their hands than not washing their hands at all! But they washed their hands regardless and started helping out. There were one or two mini food fights and students sampling every single food there was (even raw foods that should not be eaten raw). When I was done decorating I walked over to where the students were mixing what looked like cranberry sauce and one of my students grabbed a piece of bread, dipped it in the sauce, and said, “Chelsey! Try this it’s awesome!” Then he held it in front of my mouth like he wanted to feed it to me. I was like, “AHHHH NO THANKS!” Then he did it to his Chinese teacher (female) who let him feed her. CHINA IS SO WEIRD! He fed a few other girls in his class and I just watched in disbelief. I would never let a student feed me, let alone a male student! Weirdddddddd. I think all in all the students had a great time. We had turkey (that tasted more like duck than turkey), stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, something that was green (maybe mushed beans?) cranberry sauce, yams, pumpkin pie, apple crisp, and apple cider. It didn’t taste like America, but it was close enough.

The next night it was the faculty dinner and pretty much the same deal happened. It was like not-so-instant replay. The only difference between this prep time and last prep time was that the faculty chose to wear gloves while prepping the food IN REPLACEMENT OF washing their hands…… yea in America, we do both. So gross! The teachers also sampled EVERYTHING while preparing the food. The faculty really didn’t have as great of a time as the students and I think that was because they were giving up their time off of work to do it whereas the students were getting out of class to do it. So Saturday wasn’t as much fun but the food was still good and my decorations were AWESOME!

Unfortunately we only had one day off this week and I was EXHAUSTED. I was so frustrated that we were required to stay late on both Friday AND Saturday. They didn’t even really give us an option. They just said, yes you are doing it. So now I’m back at work and half falling asleep. On the plus side, the senior 3s I don’t teach are now saying hi to me and adding me on wechat :D New friends to teach me more Chinese! Yay! I think this week will feel boring compared to the stress of last week but I’m moving on to the joy of Christmas planning. December 28 is the school concert and I was just asked to dance in it! They’re trying to get students to dance in it but so far only singing and instruments are scheduled. I hope I can get students to dance with me! I don’t want to do a solo. I’m also making stocking cards for my officemates. The crafts never stop here in the counseling office! I’ll be sure to keep you updated as the week goes on. Until then…Laters!

Busy C is back!

Ok so last week was a bit crazy... but not nearly as crazy as this week will be. We were told that we had two short weeks in a row due to the market on Nov 30. But on Friday the principal of the mainstream school changed it! So now we're on a long week. It's even worse when you consider that this week is Thanksgiving. The International Center is having all the foreign teachers prepare, not one, but TWO Thanksgiving dinners! And they're not even really dinners! We're starting the prep work at 1 and eating at 3... Then we leave work around 5ish, which means that we’ll get home around 6:30 with traffic. LAME!!!!! But before I get too ahead of myself, let’s review what happened last week.

Monday-Wednesday was pretty much the same as always. I had a few classes, a few meetings, and was put in charge of doing decorations for the two Thanksgiving dinners. I started working on them last week and this week I will be incredibly busy with them.

Then on Thursday during our grade 12 meeting I was told that I needed to focus more on practicing writing than teaching grammar. I asked, “So you want me to give them writing assignments, give them feedback, and then have them do it all over again, WITHOUT teaching them grammar?” My admin says, “Yes. They’ve had grammar lessons since they were in primary school so they find it boring.” Ok I get that grammar is boring… Hell, I’m a native speaker and I hate grammar… but if they’re making the same mistakes over and over again and they’re ALL making the SAME mistakes, then we need to go over it as a lesson. I can’t just give them the same feedback over and over again! That’s so stupid. Not to mention that my admin keeps taking classes away from me so now I’m down to one lesson a week per class. Really?! You expect me to give them feedback one week and do another writing assignment another week?! Nooooooo that’s not happening. So to compromise, I said, “I will do what you are asking me to do IF I can have another lesson per class each week.” I got what I wanted. I now see each class that I teach twice for my own lessons and Giles asked if I could help with his speaking classes as well. So really I see each class 4 times a week :D My admin was pissed that I took on more classes… Really?! I’m only in the classroom for 10 lessons each week on a long week and 8 lessons on a short week. That’s the amount of class time I’m required to be in the classroom on my contract so why is this a problem?! I don’t get it.

Friday was a half day. Most of my floor went out of town so I hung out with people in the other foreign teachers building. Eric, Robert, Hannah, and I went to Yosmite—a bar near Shandong Normal University where all the uni students go. I’ve never seen so many foreigners in one place! It felt like a frat party that turned into a Falstaffs party… If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you didn’t go to Skidmore and you, my friend, are missing out on life :P I danced my little heart out and had an amazing time! Eric’s coat was stolen at Yosmite though :/ His keys were in it so he ended up having to crash on my couch. He later had to brake into his own apartment with a credit card to get his spare key.

Saturday I hung out with some new (Chinese) friends. We went to see Hunger Games 2 (AMAZING!!!!!!!) in English. The movie going experience is so different in China! Everyone is funneled into the theater by ushers at every door and corner of the hallway, the seats are assigned, the leg room is enormous… the list goes on. It was awesome to experience. Then we went to dinner at Ajise Ramen… YUMMMMMM! We ended up staying there for a few hours. Jeremiah pointed out that it must look strange that people who look Chinese would be speaking to each other in English. I get that a lot here. My friends all need to explain that I’m American and don’t speak much Chinese. I’m working on it though! Then we went to a place on Furong Jie that felt a lot like a western café. We ended up staying there drinking tea and talking for another few hours. I swear, everything in China happens at different speeds. If you’re at work, everything moves ridiculously fast—the teachers eat and go back to work within 15 minutes! Then when you’re out, you spend 6 hours just hanging out at a restaurant! Regardless, it was such a great night.

Sunday I met a new student from the mainstream school who wants to practice her English with me. I met with her again yesterday (Monday) so that I could introduce her to a few foreign teachers. She was SOOOO happy that she was able to meet so many foreigners. She doesn’t have many classes left this year because she’s already accepted into her top choice university, Shandong Economics University.  Schooling here is so weird. You don’t need to attend class once you get the examination score you want/need. So that’s all school is used for, to pass exams. I even have some students who are taking the SAT next weekend even though they’re already accepted at US universities. I asked why they’re taking their test again and they reply with, “My score isn’t good enough.” BUT YOU’RE ALREADY ACCEPTED! I don’t understand. So bizarre.

This week… Oh my goodness! I’m swamped with decoration craziness. I love that I get to play with arts and crafts supplies all week but man it’s exhausting. I have two students helping me and they’re loving it but there’s just wayyyyyyy too much to do between now and Friday. On Friday we’re having “linner” with the grade 12s and on Saturday we’re having “linner” with the faculty. We’re supposed to teach them about Thanksgiving but no one wants to give up their free time so everyone is dreading going to this thing. It just sucks that our weeks change from week to week so it’s impossible to make plans with friends more than a couple days in advance. Especially hard for those of my coworkers who need to make doctors appointments or plans to have someone translate for them at the bank etc. It just feels impossible to do anything that isn’t work related. Fortunately for me, I don’t really have that problem. The only problem I have is being too exhausted from working 6 days a week to enjoy my day off when I have it! Alright, I think I procrastinated enough now. I have to go back to making tissue paper turkeys. I’ll let you know how this week pans out! Until then… Laters.

Again with the missed updates!

Except this time I have an excuse... It was midterms week last week... which means that I was grading midterms this weekend/yesterday because scores are due tomorrow. So I was actually working! I know, I know, shocker! Lol So here's what went down last week:

Monday and Tuesday were regular days with regular classes except some of my students had tests and I ended up with classes of like 3 or 4 students.

Wednesday I had block (two periods of the same class) but my other block was canceled because those students had midterms. It was a pretty boring start to my week. 

But then Thursday hit and all bets were off because it was the grade 10 and 11 field trip.  They called it camping but it wasn't. When I think camping, I think hiking to the spot where we'll sleep and set up tents and then do activities in the woods... What we did was what you imagine as day camp in the summer. There was a big fake rock wall and a bunch of equipment for CS (Imagine paintball with lasers instead of paint and no boundaries). We slept in tents in the -5 degrees Celsius temperature. But we we were also on concrete in the parking lot... Yea... it was like urban camping. It was entertaining. I made it to the top of the rock wall! One of the few females who did actually. The girls who watched me were so cute when I came down they all complimented me and hugged me. I played some of the bonding games like passing a water bottle from person to person using only your head and shoulders. I got very close to my teammates lol.  We went on a pseudo hike scavenger hunt up a rock mountain. I thought it was weird that we'd go somewhere with no trail but we were with a guide so as long as I didn't leave the group, I was good. The kids had a lot of fun and despite not understanding most of what everyone was saying, I had a great time too.  The best part in my opinion was getting to know different people. I teach 12s and only 10s and 11s were on this trip so it was nice to meet students that I could potentially teach next year. I also got to meet teachers that I hadn't seen before (well maybe I'd seen them but I just met them last week). Apparently everyone knew about me and they wanted to get to know me better but we just never really had a reason to cross paths and talk. So now I have lots of new friends :D My favorite new faculty member that I got to know is Jeremiah. He has a half sister who lives in Japan so he knows some Japanese and practices it with me (yes he's fluent in Chinese and English and working on Japanese... Jealous yet? I am!).  He's also applying to Princeton right now so I've been working with him to help him prep for his interview. He reminds me of myself when I was prepping for my interview... except his resume is ridiculous and he has WAY more accomplishments than I do now let alone back when I was applying for college. If he doesn't get accepted, then Princeton deserves to be shut down. He's an amazing candidate.  Anyway, we returned home around 5pm Friday evening and had to work Saturday.

Saturday classes were the usual.  I started grading midterms! I'm officially a teacher. I spent all day reading over short essays and grammar. It was fun to mark up everyone's papers... Not that I enjoy finding mistakes in my students' work. I just had a lot of fun with my red pen. Not surprisingly my students all did really well because we prepped them for the midterm and they studied really hard.

Sunday I went shopping with my new friends whom I met on the field trip. I spent a ridiculous amount of RMB on Starbucks travel mugs for my family and because I spent so much I got a free hot chocolate.  I'm still short two mugs, which hopefully I'll find next weekend. The inventory changes so drastically from day to day!

Monday... graded more midterms and decorated my dance club bulletin board. I think I'm gonna win that competition because so many foreign teachers just aren't doing it. Really the competition is between Michael and I. He's very competitive so we have a lot of fun trash talking each other and stealing students from each others' classes to help with our own boards. I can't wait to see what his board look likes.

This week is another short week so I'll be going out this weekend! I'm so excited to be going to a club called Soho. All my students say it's the "foreigner's bar" so I should feel right at home :P I'll let you know how that goes. Until then... Laters!

It takes a weekend...

To recover from a weekend! Hey hey bloggers :) I missed my weekly update!!!! So here's what happened last week. It was a short week so we had Friday off. But first a major shout out to my love Lucy for getting me my iPod from Hong Kong because now our bus rides are so much more enjoyable! An hour every morning and another hour every afternoon/night is brutal with no music. OK on to the updates...

Nothing of significance really happened except for the announcement/lack-there-of of the foreign teachers' bulletin board competition. So Tony walks into my office and says, "Excuse me, Chelsey? Do you have a minute?" I say, "Yes, Tony. How can I help you?" He says, "Follow me." So I do. We walk down the hallway where the 10s and 11s have class. As we walk he points at bulletin boards and says, "This one is Joanna's. That one is Greg's.  There is Nick's...." You get the idea. Then he points to three boards and asks, "Which one do you want?" My immediate response, which admittedly was a pretty stupid question, was, "Huh? To take home?!" Tony laughed super hard and said, "NO! To decorate for your club! All the foreign teachers have to decorate one for their club and it will be a competition. The deadline is November 22nd." Ohhhh now it all makes sense. Like I said, Lack-there-of announcement. Cool. So I choose a board and get to work. The only problem is that China isn't exactly known for having supplies to decorate with. So I am LITERALLY coloring white A4 computer paper to make construction paper so that my board is colorful... Talk about tedious work! But now that I've got my creative juices flowing, I'm definitely finding a lot of entertainment and fun in doing everything from "scratch" :P Haha. I have printed and hand cut a boarder of dancing silhouettes, cut out the letters D-A-N-C-E and attached arms and legs so that my letters look like they're dancing, and I started working on "bboy" and "bgirl" names for my students so that I can write them out and use their names as decoration. I have some pictures of my club so I can also use that. I'm getting pretty competitive and the psych club teacher, Michael, is trying to sneak peaks at my designs for ideas.... We are probably the only two who are taking this seriously. But it's so much fun to be competitive!

This weekend was awesome! On Saturday I went to lunch at a Korean BBQ place with Esperanza (Spanish teacher from Spain), Joanna, Greg, and Nick. Then we went shopping and Christine met up with us.  I spent equivalent to about $200 on clothes for the camping trip coming up as well as more work clothes and relaxation clothes.  If I had bought this stuff back in the states, I'm pretty sure it would've been over $500 easily. Thank God I'm in China! Anyway... after shopping we all bought pizza to take home... or rather to take to Michael and Christine's place. They bought a dart board and a foosball table so we decided to throw a party and have some tournaments take place. Robert and Hannah joined us for pizza, drinks, and games. Then we all migrated to KTV (karaoke). About an hour later Mo joined us at KTV and about another hour and a half after that, Eric joined us. So we had 10 people in one room, screaming songs and having a GREAT time! Best Saturday night EVERRRRRRR!

Then on Sunday I went for a walk under the clear, sunny sky.  We only get one of those every two weeks so I took advantage of it. Eric joined me for a walk down the hill to Holiland and then further down the hill to sit and try new snacks. This time we actually picked out good snacks. Usually I pick really bad/weird ones. I'll have to try to remember which ones we got so that I can get them again.  He was probably the only person who went to KTV that wasn't hung over >.<  Then at dinner NO ONE was in the cafeteria... IT WAS AWESOME! About an hour after I got there Eric got there and was like "Where is everyone?!" We never did find out why no one went to dinner in the cafeteria that night.

This week is midterms so I'm pretty much not doing anything.  Thursday and Friday is the year 10 and 11 over night camping trip, which I'm going to :D I can't wait.  I'm so excited! It might be cold but it'll be so much fun! Then we get back Friday afternoon around 5, which means the bus will get us home around 6 and we work bright and early Saturday morning. I don't know why they chose to make this week a long week... the kids will be so tired! But whatever. Not my job to ask questions. I will let you know how this week goes but right now I'm off to play jeopardy with the AP Psych students :D Until then... Laters.

Gossip Drama!

Hello hello my blog readers! Here's the latest in the adventures of China. So last week, as I mentioned, I got sick :( It took exactly a week but now I'm 100% good as new :D On Monday and Tuesday I was pretty much just miserable because I had a sore throat, runny nose, slight cough... you know the usual. The fun part was that my officemates (people I share an office with) kept giving me foods to help me get better. Sesame seeds, ginger tea, some other stuff I have no clue what it was... the point is that it was all FOOD! They know what's up ;P And low and behold, one week later, I'm cured! Quickest cold everrrrrrrrr. Yay Chinese friends!

In other news: I had another year 12 meeting with our administrator and year 12 staff. B pretty much micromanages EVERYTHING so we all get really annoyed. He took my TOEFL classes from me AGAIN. We also had major drama in our meeting. So basically every subject is supposed to have a midterm exam. However, for English, the students have two English classes that are essentially the same content.  But they're still getting two exams. So one Chinese teacher, Kevin, asked, "Why can't we combine our English classes into one exam?" B told him, "The research shows that the students need to be able to perform equally well at the start of the exam as at the end of the exam.  If we combine the exams, the time period will be too long and they will get tired by the time they get to the second exam."  But that's not what K was asking... He wanted to get rid of an exam altogether. So K rephrased the question and asked again (to everyone else it was clear what he was asking).  B literally said in the most condescending way, "What did I JUST say?" And then continued on with the meeting. Um HELLO?! You're an idiot. We all wanted to tell B that he was being stupid but he wouldn't let us talk after that question. He just kept going on with the meeting. He's not a team player and everyone thinks that he's a terrible administrator. After the meeting B pulled K aside and literally scolded him for being defiant and not listening to what he was saying. First of all, English is his second language... give him a break. Second of all, YOU WEREN'T UNDERSTANDING HIM SO WHY IS HE GETTING IN TROUBLE?! Third of all, don't talk to your employees like we're 5 years old. DRAMAAAAAAAA.

Moving on: Halloween was Thursday and it was actually pretty fun to teach the kids about Halloween in America. The IC had a pumpkin carving "contest" and the kids all learned why we make Jack-o-lanterns. A lot of the students were very creative and they had a blast (at least those I talked to did). We had some drama with this event as well because B kept saying to the Chinese admin that Halloween originated in Spain and we should therefore have our Spanish teacher, Esperanza, do all the decorations for the hall way.  So she got stuck with the task even though she had no idea what we do for Halloween. We were all really mad at him for doing that. But I couldn't stay too mad because I had DANCE CLUB!!!! I gained a few more students and lost a few. It makes it hard to create a dance when you have such inconsistent attendance but oh well.

Then on Friday we had a staff meeting and B was sick so we only had Sharon for our leader. The staff meeting was boring as usual but we had plenty of snacks. That was fun. I even won some chocolate for participating in sports day! Then as a prize we all got toilet paper.... yea it was really weird.

Saturday I got into a fight with one of my friends because he was being stupid and I called him out on it. He did not appreciate that so we're taking our time not hanging out.  This is what happens when you live and eat with the people you work with. There's just no time away from them. But then I went shopping with another one of my coworkers and we were very productive. Sunday I went shopping with yet another one of my coworkers and this time we were not productive HAHA. I had my first complete conversation in Chinese with a waitress so I was very proud of myself for that :D For the first time I was able to actually answer someone when they assumed I spoke Chinese. Instead of the usual, "I'm American and don't speak Chinese," response. All-in-all it was a pretty fun weekend even though we only had a day to rest. Hopefully this weekend will be better. I will continue to practice my Chinese now that I have students helping me practice. I even have a tutor from one of the Shandong universities.  He's a friend of Sophie's and we all went out to dinner one night.  He offered to help me learn and I accepted.  He's been very helpful! I think that's why my confidence in speaking is increasing.

So on to today... I have no classes :( I guess I will just continue with my studies and playing with my NEW IPOD!!!!! :D I will be sure to update you as life goes on. Until then... Laters!

Happy Long Week

Happy xingqiyi (Monday) bloggers! Nothing of real significance happened last week except for on Sunday... Here's the story:

Sunday morning at about 4am I wake up silently screaming, tears running down my face. My throat is on fire and I can barely breathe let alone swallow. I try drinking some cold water and it only gets worse. I choke down hot water and start to feel better. At least until I try to go back to bed. Lying down suffocates me so I decide to jump on my phone and Tango (a wifi form of texting internationally) my go-to guy, Jeremy. I ask for some advice, “What do I do??? It hurts to swallow to the point where I can’t sleep.  No runny nose, no cough. Just a throat on fire!” After a few questions and answers he concludes that I need to see a doctor. It hit so suddenly and so intensely. I cry even harder. I continue to drink hot water because that’s the only way to keep my throat from closing up. At about 7:30 I send out wechats (another form of texting via wifi) to multiple friends who speak Chinese and even some of my expat co-workers. It’s Sunday so the only place with doctors would be the ER. I get dressed and join my friends as they guide me onto the bus and to the ER. At this point my throat is feeling better but only slightly. I get to the hospital and Christine mimes to the front desk that my throat is sore. I have two bilingual teachers on my redial ready to translate if need be. The woman at the front desk directs me to the fourth floor and I stand in line to register. I hand the woman behind the glass my residence permit and she yells at me in Chinese. Eventually I figure out that she’s asking me what my name is, “Chelsey Haruko? Or Chelsey?” She pulls out a medical card and swipes it through the credit card looking reader. She hands me a paper and pen and points at my phone. I write my phone number down. Then she writes down the price I have to pay for registration… 9 kuai. I hand her my money, she hands me a medical card that looks like a credit card (this card is where all my records will be stored should I ever need to come back to the hospital), a log book, and my receipt. I take it, “Xiexie.”

I proceed to the ENT section of the hospital and stand in line to see the doctor. After looking very confused for a few minutes another doctor asks in English, “Do you speak Chinese?” I say no and he tells me that I need to put my log book and receipt on the table so that the doctor knows that I’m in line. I do as I’m told and watch as patient after patient gets their ears, nose, and throat checked.  Instead of waiting in the waiting room, people wait in line in the examination room.  You watch other people and they watch you get examined. The doctor checks each patient and sometimes writes things down in their log book depending on what the case may be.  Some people take 5 minutes and others take 15, but I didn’t see anyone sitting in the chair longer than 15 minutes. Then it was my turn, “Che--- Chelsey?” The doctor says in English. “Yes. That’s me,” I reply as I take the seat that 50 other people had sat in before me. He asks, “Do you speak any Chinese?” and again, I reply, “no” with a very embarrassed look on my face. He asks me what’s wrong and I hold up my phone with “Houlong tong” typed out in Chinese characters. He tells me to open my mouth and looks at my throat. Then he asks, “anything else?” I hold up tissue and blow my nose and he takes a look in my nose. He asks, “Can you come every day for treatment?” I reply, “No. I have to work.” Then he pulls out his phone and starts typing something.  Then he looks at me and says, “I can see a minor infection so I will write some traditional Chinese medicine for you. You must take 3 or 4 and it will make your throat feel better. [more typing on his phone] You must drink a lot of water. This traditional medicine will have a special flavor that maybe is very strange for you but you can take it. If you do not feel better in 3 days, come back and see me and I will give you medicine that you are used to. I think it’s maybe called Western medicine.” He hands me my log book with the first page filled with Chinese characters. The nurse walks out the door with me and says something in Chinese.  I hold out my hands with my card, my log book, and my receipt. The nurse takes the card and swipes it and prints yet another receipt. This time it says 24.15. She points me back to the registration desk and points to my wallet.  I nod and walk over.

I hand the woman my receipt and a 50 kuai bill. She hands me my change, puts one finger in the air, and says, “yilo.” I nod and take the elevator to the first floor. I stand at the counter of the pharmacy with about 20 other people fighting to get the woman to take their books. She holds up a paper and screams Chinese words at them. Eventually I figure out that somehow the prescriptions get sent to the woman behind the glass and she fills them before the patients get to her. Then she says the type of medicine that she has in front of her and we show proof of purchase to take it.  The woman must have been informed that I don’t speak Chinese because she looked directly at me and said, “laowai” as she waved my box of medicine so that I would take my medicine and leave. The experience was very different to say the least but overall I’m LOVING Chinese medicine. It’s been a day and a half since I started taking the traditional, special (gross) tasting medicine and my throat feels cured. 

I'm not sure what's in the medicine I'm taking but I assure you it's WAY better than any medicine I've ever taken. The whole experience including my medicine costs 33.15 kuai. AMAZING. Although I hope I don't get sick again while I'm here, I can honestly say that I'm feeling better about the whole idea of being sick here. Hopefully something of interest happens to me this week so that I can share my adventures with you. Until then... Laters.

IT'S A SHORT WEEK!!!!!

Zao bloggers! Here's the update about last week (a long week) that was quite frankly one of my most exciting weeks I've had here yet.
Monday-Wednesday: Honestly... I don't remember much about these days except that I got 2 of my classes back! Yeaaaaaaa!!!! Ok moving on to the really exciting news.
Thursday: In dance club I had a handful of grade 11s come to dance club and ask to join so now my club is up to 17!!! That's right! That means we have enough people to request a room transfer. We're no longer in the music storage room :D We get to request the dance studio! They students all LOVE my club and even stayed 20 minutes late to keep dancing... it was dinner time so I had to cut them off but still, it was a lot of fun!
Friday: Sports Meeting part 1. All day long the entire high school campus sat on the "playground"--that's what they call the track field--and watched their classmates compete against other classes or they were the students actually competing. I had a blast and I think my students enjoyed themselves more because they saw me acting like a fool. I had WAY too much fun.  I even let a student draw a cat nose and whiskers on my face! She loved me for that :P I was showing my school spirit... I mean really now, c'mon. My other students loved me because I signed them out of the barricade so that they could play feather ball with me.  Feather ball, or TiJianZi as it's called in Chinese, is like hacky sack except it's got feathers that stick straight up and the bottom is made of plastic, rubber, and metal disks. I have some battle wounds from playing feather ball for about 4 hours :/ But it was SO MUCH FUN!!!!! I cheered really loudly for my classes and even lost my voice for a few hours :D
Saturday: Sports Meeting part 2. Saturday on a long week is only half day so we played more races and games from 8am until 12pm. I ran the last leg of the 400m relay and passed two teachers pulling out team from 5th to 3rd, which was truly awesome! But now I'm so sore!!!! My quads, hamstrings, and obliques feel like someone has a death grip on them. My students were impressed so my job is done :P.  After my race I felt great so I played a few more hours of feather ball. I now have bruises on my ankle from where the metal kept hitting me instead of my shoe.  I'm still working on that technique LOL.
Sunday: I went shopping with a couple ladies from my building :) Christine and Joanna decided that girl time was necessary and since I go shopping every weekend, they wanted me to show them where all the fun discounts are ;) I had my first successful bartering experience, which was so rewarding! Joanna and Christine got some nice scarves and Joanna found a large photo frame that will help our apt look less like an insane asylum.

My Chinese language skills (speaking and writing) are getting stronger every day but the more I learn, the more I mess up.  So much vocabulary in my head! At least I know enough to get by on my own at shops and restaurants. I can't take anyone on a tour yet but I'll get there soon enough ;). I can't wait to see what new adventures await me this week! Until then... Laters!

Mixed emotions :/

ZaoShangHao (Good morning) Bloggers! It's Monday morning and I'm writing to update you about last week's adventures... Though they were not adventures in the traditional sense, i.e. exploration of new places, they were adventures of new challenges and tasks. After the National Holiday (GuoQingJie) we returned to a short week.  Along with this new week we discovered that there were some changes happening to our schedules (yes, our schedules are STILL being shifted and changed in the middle of October). I originally had 10 classes that I taught throughout the week.  On Wednesday I was informed that some of the teachers had a meeting, which I was not informed of and therefore not included in the decision making process.  Needless to say, I was PISSED OFF. Those are my classes too. Why wouldn't I be a part of that meeting?! But I got over it... at least until I was notified that I lost 3 of my class (my favorite classes no less). I was upset, hurt, and quite frankly confused. Once I got my questions answered, I moved forward in life for about 36 hours when a whole new set of confusions came hurdling toward me. 

There was massive tension during the weekly grade 12 staff meeting. I sensed it and, being the person/counselor/mediator that I am, I stated the obvious. "I'm sensing a lot of tension in this room, and I'm not sure what is going on but we will not be successful as a team unless this gets sorted out." The Chinese teachers started pouring out their confusion about why the schedule was changed and why they weren't notified until the change was made.  They were also confused about the foreign teachers' clubs and tutoring sessions, i.e. what are clubs and why do you offer tutoring sessions? Does communication not exist in this school?! In the foreign teachers' contracts we are required to advise a club of our choice (naturally mine is dance) and on the same day our club activities are held, we are also required to offer tutoring for students who need a little extra help in our classes.  The Chinese teachers were not notified that we were offering these services, let alone that we are required to do it.  So when the students went to them with questions, the teachers did not have answers.  Everyone started talking over each other to try to explain what it was but no one was answering the Chinese teachers' questions. So I mediated (and by that I mean told the foreign teachers to shut up so I could talk) and went point by point in the simplest English I knew to answer each and every question.  My administrator's (from Oregon) comment/question was a hand to forehead moment: "Oh that's what you wanted to know? You just didn't have any knowledge of this at all." THAT'S WHAT THEY SAID YOU ID-ten-T. So once that was all cleared up we moved on to the next item on the agenda. We wrapped up the intense meeting and went on with our day.

About an hour later I told Giles, "OK spill. I can see your anger radiating from you and it's all directed at one person in particular.  You CANNOT let that affect your work here so let it all out now." He explained to me that within the last 4 days he's had 4 heated arguments with our administrator because our administrator isn't doing his job very well (which admittedly I agree with). So I am now acting as middle person for communication between them because I still have a good relationship with both of them. I'm not sure how long I can keep doing that though :/ What ever keeps the peace for a successful team. 

On a happier note (keep in mind I titled this MIXED emotions) I had my first dance club meeting! It was so much fun and the students loved it. It started off rocky since I had no room to dance in thanks to a miscommunication (of course). But once we found a room and started dancing, it was AH-MAZING! After I released the group I saw some girls in their classroom teaching and practicing the combination I taught them to other students :D I also had 4 more girls come to me and say, "We want to join your club!" I was so happy.

Then Friday came and I was hit with yet more confusion and maybe even a little defiance :/ A Chinese teacher came to me and asked if I could correct some essays from his class. I said yes (I really have nothing else to do with my time) and he said xiexie (thanks). Then he said, "On Monday, you can give these back to the students and give them feedback."  Hold up, wait a minute... This is the class that I got taken away from me. When on Monday am I supposed to give them feedback??? My response out loud was more like, "Oh I thought I didn't have this class anymore.  When would you like me to give them feedback?" His EXACT words, "We are not going to do that schedule change. You will see them on Monday." I wasn't comfortable with that so I went to Joanna (my roommate and the teacher my class was given to).  I explained the situation and asked what I should do.  We both went to our administrator and explained it to him and he said he would take care of it... We both felt a little guilty for "tattling" on our Chinese co-teacher.

So fast forward to Sunday (sorry Saturday wasn't very exciting. I just studied Chinese all day). I went to Baotu Springs with some people in my group. We had a lot of fun but it was a very hot and tiring day. We even met an English teacher who gave us "egg cookies" it was frosted cookies and I think they call it egg because you use egg to make the frosting. It was pretty good. The English teacher was very nice and made great conversation with us! 

Now here we are today... Monday morning when I'm supposed to have my class to give feedback on their essays.  I went to the classroom with the Chinese teacher, the deputy director of the international center, our foreign administrator, and Joanna... My students ran up and hugged me excited to hear all about my weekend. After a brief greeting I told them, "You better get into the classroom, you have American Literature now... I'm no longer your teacher." They immediately started gasping, tearing up (yes I caused tears), asking why, and eventually they started yelling in Chinese at their Chinese teacher. I understood some of the words they were saying (hey my Chinese is improving) such as why, don't understand, don't have, and a few swear words... The Chinese teacher talked with them for a few minutes while they latched onto my arms and legs like they were 5-year-olds. I was shocked how much they didn't want to join the Am. Lit. class. It's not like I'm leaving the school... I'm still going to be in the office next to their classroom. I'm still going to see them between classes. I'm still going to hang out with them on club days during their self-study time.  It's incredible how quickly I bonded with them. So about 10 minutes after calming them down and herding them into the classroom, I wished my roommate good luck in English and told my students to be good in Chinese. You would never guess that my students were 17 and 18 by the way they acted this morning. It was touching but also a little embarrassing. Mostly it was just heartbreaking. 

So here I am now, sitting in my office... blogging, learning Chinese, eating intensely weird foods, you know, the usual.  My schedule now looks like this: On a long week I have 3 classes on Tuesday and 4 classes on Wednesday.  On a short week I have 1 class Monday, 2 classes Wednesday, 1 on Thursday, and 2 on Friday. What do I do on those days I have no class you ask? I study Chinese... ALL DAY! Not the most efficient way to learn but honestly... what else am I going to do? I asked my administrator what I should be doing since I have no class transcripts to work on and his answer was, "Once we set up a system I will let you know." Uhhhh xiexie for not helping me at all. I'm frustrated but at the same time over it because it's been this way since day 1 of arriving here. I'm learning to go with flow... kinda. I'll let you know my progress as I time passes. Until then... Laters.

ZaiJian National Holiday

So this past week was National Holiday and I had a full week off from work.  Here are some highlights (be prepared for a long post).

Monday: I went to the bus station around 10am and said goodbye to Robert and Hannah who were on their way to Hannah's hometown. Giles and I met up with Sophie so that we could be on our way to Sophie's hometown.  Sophie lives in Linshu (yes I finally figured out where she's from).  It took us 4 hours to get to Linshu and Sophie's sister HuiZhong (pronounced hway-juhng) picked us up from the bus station.  Lesson #whatevernumberi'mon DO NOT GET IN A CAR WITH A CHINESE PERSON IF YOU CAN HELP IT.  I have made that mistake twice now and I'm hoping I will not make it a third time! Haha they are CRAZZZZAAAYYYYY!  So after we dropped our stuff off at HuiZhong's apartment we went their parents' house.  I literally stepped off the streets of modern day China and went back in time.  Their parents live in a VERY traditional house. I wouldn't even know how to describe it except by saying watch a traditional Chinese movie and you'll see what I'm talking about.  Mama fed us with a LOT of food.  Including chicken feet >.< Blech. Then we walked around the main street and went to the public square.  I danced with a group of guys who were showing off their skills as well as joined in the mama dance.  Finally we went back to the apartment and played cards.  When ever someone lost a game of cards, everyone else drew on their face.  Did I mention that HuiZhong doesn't speak any English and neither does their mother? Yea let the adventure begin.

Tuesday: We woke up and went to breakfast.  It was a delicious soup called Sa. It had egg and beef and some other stuff that I couldn't quite make out.  After breakfast we went to a couple of mountains and valleys with war memorials on them.  We walked around a lot and got some souvenirs. Then we met up with one of Sophie's friends and hung out at the amusement park.  It was a pretty exhausting day. Nevertheless, we still went to KTV (karaoke) that night.  KTV in China is SO much more fun than in the states! Gorgeous private rooms and fancy lights to have private dance parties and sing as much as you want.  Sooooo great.

Wednesday: PRINCESS CHELSEY DAY!! HuiZhong took me to get my hair done.  Then we went to get a massage and baguan (fire cupping).  Then we met up with Sophie's boyfriend, Dylan.  Then we went to get my nails done and ANOTHER massage.  The second massage was a full body massage, which was actually a bit weird.  They have some unusual techniques.  They also start by cleaning your ears... again, weird!  But of course, it's all an experience.  We went back to Sophie's parents' house to hang out for a quick minute.  Then we went to get dinner and shoot some pool.  Did I forget to mention throughout this entire time we've had roughly 6 meals a day?! Yeaaaa I gained like 3kgs in 3 days... that's roughly 2lbs a day!

Thursday: Back on the bus at 8:30am and head back to Jinan.  I didn't do much on Thursday except travel and get back into a daily routine of walking the big hill.  I definitely need to work off all this holiday weight.

Friday: STREET SHOPPING!!!!! I got a new wallet (finally!) and a couple of books.  I love street shopping.  It's so much fun to see everything they have to offer.  Then I came back to the apartments and ate lunch.  I took a quick nap and went for a LONG walk with Eric.  He was trying to retrace his steps to show me a cat that sleeps outside of a shop but we went the wrong direction on JingShiLu so we walked really far before realizing that we weren't going to find what we were looking for.

Saturday: I went shopping for new shoes for dance club.  My hip hop shoes broke in my suitcase on the way here :( But now I have new shoes and they are HOT! After lunch I went to DaMing Lake with Brian, Sarah, Michael, and Christine.  It was a very long hot day and we needed a drink to unwind. Then late into the night I wechatted with a couple of girls in my class to learn more Chinese.

Today: I have nothing on my agenda in terms of adventures.  I was going to go to the zoo but I think I'll save that for another day. I have lessons to prep and dances to choreograph.  Thursday is the first day for dance club and I can't wait! I'm so excited. I hope my students enjoy it :D It's back to work tomorrow so I guess I better get off the internet and enjoy my last day of the National Holiday.  I'll keep you posted as more happens. Until then... Laters!

Happy Friday!

Except not really because I still have two more days of work before the National Holiday.  Yes I am working Saturday and Sunday AGAIN!  But actually it's not that bad.  I loved working a 12-hour day yesterday (literally. No sarcasm in that).

Thursday: In the morning (8:15am) I had a grade 12 staff meeting, which got a lot of questions answered. Then there was a Dubbing competition, which was actually HYSTERICAL. And then in the afternoon we had "pizza" for lunch before our IC (international center) staff meeting.  I put pizza in quotes because there were some interesting toppings that didn't quite make it pizza.  Like chocolate and strawberries, chili papers and onion, and pineapple and apple.  It was an adventure to say the least.  After our surprisingly entertaining staff meeting I had a few hours to kill before my "club" time.  Because we didn't have club activities this week, I walked around and observed all the club recruiters... I saw Harry Potter club, Law club, Cartoon club, Origami club, and Free Style club, just to name a few.  There are over 50 clubs on this campus. They were all REALLY entertaining! Then I went to dinner and had tutoring after that.  I got to hang out with my favorite AP girls and chat a little with them about life in the US. Then the bus left at 7:35pm and I got home around 8:30. It was a shockingly fun day for being so long :)

This upcoming weekend: The national holiday is coming up which is a break from 30 Sept to 6 Oct.  Because we have a 7 day work week this week, a bunch of us are celebrating on Sunday by going to the food street down town to be adventurous in new foods. We're still trying to convince a bilingual teacher to come with us to translate.  Then on the 30th I'm heading to Sophie's home town for a quick visit.  I'm not sure where she lives but I know that it's 4 hours by bus and another 40 minutes by car from Jinan while still being in the Shandong Province... Any ideas where I'm heading? Yea me neither haha! I'll be staying in her sister's apartment with her sister who doesn't speak any English while Sophie stays with her mom who also doesn't speak any English. This should be fun :) I'm only staying there for a few nights though.  Then I'm headed back to Jinan to explore the north end of town... Yellow river, hundred flowers park, Daming lake, Baotu Spring, etc etc. I mean I have a week off! It's time for an adventure EVERY DAY!

Speaking of adventures... Food adventures happen frequently in the counseling office.  Almost every day someone comes in with a new snack to share with me.  I've had walnut cakes (more like cookies), moon cakes (both regular and rose), wan wan cakes (more like crackers), Prince noodles, Chicken noodles, hua guniang (tastes like a sweet cherry tomato), and something else that no one would tell me what it was. I fear it was some kind of bug or reptile... I don't really wanna know at this point because it did NOT taste good. Did I mention that I've also eaten CHICKEN FEET?! Yea that was also pretty interesting. It was fattier than I expected. I didn't like it to say the least.  Food in China is very fun with a few bumps in the road. I can't wait for Sophie's mom's home cooked Chinese food! Alright it's time to get back to work.  I'll keep you updated about the National Holiday when I get back! Until then... Laters.

Here's to another long week!

Ni hao bloggers! Well, it's been a week (I think) since I last updated you.  Here's what's been going on.
Monday: Our bus broke down. About 5 mins after we left campus the bus made this really weird grinding noise. We notice 15 mins later that we weren't going any faster than about 30 mph... Yes we were stuck in first gear. Every time we stopped to let someone off the bus or we stopped at a red light/stop sign, the bus would shut off.  So it took us a while to get home. Longer than the usual hour. We didn't even get to our stop really. We had to hike up the San Fransisco-like hill that we live on.  It was brutal in the heat with all our stuff and wearing work clothes. We were not very happy hikers.
Tuesday: Half day for the exit-entry department. The foreign teachers (including me) had to go to the exit-entry department to get our residence permits. Little did we know, we needed our ORIGINAL physical forms to get a residence book.  We (the group I'm here with) was never in possession of our physical forms.  They got sent directly to our recruiter so we were almost screwed for getting our residence permits. Luckily, our school made something happen and we were able to get what we needed... about 4 hours later.  It was a nightmare.
Wednesday: Half day of school and also the 10th day in our work week.  BRUTAL. That's all I can say. My brain was dead, my body was tired, and I was ready for the Mid-Autumn Festival.  Our group went to dinner to celebrate.  We celebrated late into the night (if you know what I mean ;P).
Thursday: 1st day off in a while. Didn't do much except explore the city. I FOUND A BOOK STORE!!!! I was so excited. I also found some stuff to decorate my room with :D
Friday: Decorated room and went to RT mart to get more stuff for my room aka another pillow, a rug, some towels, etc.
Saturday: Lazy day in. Hung out with friends. Watched movies. Slept.
Sunday: Dance! I found a spot on the mountain next to our apartment and just danced for three hours.  IT WAS AWESOME!!!! I couldn't walk after lol. But I'm fine today (Monday).
Today: Work work work. Today through Friday is a Long Week schedule and then Saturday will be a Short Week Monday and Sunday will be a Short Week Friday. Then we're into the National Holiday. That's a week long break. Yay! More exploring to be done. I'll be sure to update you again next week. Until then... Laters.

Hello day 7...

OF A 10-DAY WORK WEEK!!!! Yes. It is currently Sunday afternoon and I am just wrapping up a full day of work. Today (Sunday) was a Tuesday Schedule, yesterday (Saturday) was a Monday schedule, and we will be done with our week on Wednesday with a Friday short week schedule. Anyone else confused? Yea welcome to our world! JNFLS is not exactly known for their consistency. We're pretty much told the week before what our week ahead will look like. If you're lucky, you get told which classes have be at BEFORE you have to be there! I went to a class today that I thought I had but the schedule had been switched that morning so I no longer have that class on a short week. It would've been nice if someone told me so that I didn't have to walk across campus and up three flights of stairs but whatever, at least I didn't miss a class like I did the first week >.< oops. 10 days of classes, planning, and grading papers is definitely taking its toll on me. And I'm only at day 7.... Yikes! At least there's a 4-day weekend for the Mid-Autumn Festival to look forward to. When we get back, we have an 8-day week and then 6 days off! Wahooo!

Usually my days look like this:
5:45 wake up
6:30 breakfast is served
6:50 bus leaves
8-3:55 classes/prep
4:00 bus leaves campus
5:30 dinner is served
7:30 try to kill time until it's time for bed (usually this consists of adventures with my friends and colleagues into the city or hanging out in someone's apartment playing philosophical games)

With a schedule like mine, it's nice that we have an hour-long commute between our apartments and campus because I've definitely made use of that time.  In the morning I use it to fully wake up, choreograph, read, or socialize. On my way home I use it to let everything go so that I don't take the office home with me every night. It's really helped me relax a lot more. I think today on my way home I'm going to read again though. Eric lent me his copy of The Alchemist and I'm having a hard time putting it down :D

Next week, starting Monday, all the overseas teachers are required to start their club. Yes I got approved to start a dance club! I even picked out my speakers this afternoon.  The only catch is I can't only dance.  I have to find ways to provide the students with English speaking and listening tasks as well as leadership opportunities.... So I guess I won't be doing much Bliss exercising.  It's amazing how even non academic activities still have to be academic. I hope I can make it work!

In other news, I've made several fans. Yes I'm calling my students fans.  I've gotten four letters of appreciation in the last week! All of them are pretty much the same: Chelsey I love your class; I hope you will let me practice English with you; I really appreciate your help on my college applications... It's so cute how all these students are so thankful! I don't think anyone else has gotten letters which is why I'm calling them my fans... I got fan mail :P I've been using their letters as decoration in my room so that my room doesn't look quite so much like an insane asylum.

I'll let you know how the Mid-Autumn Festival goes.  Until then... Laters.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!

Special shout out to the teachers of the world.  September 10th is teacher appreciation day in China and this is apparently a big deal. The administration gave everyone cards with gift certificates and each class gives each teacher a card or a gift.  When you walk into the room they say (well shout really) HAPPY TEACHER DAY! It was so much fun :) My AP-Level TOEFL class gave me a very beautiful card and my Japanese side kids gave me three gifts.  All the students have been so excited today. I am really loving being in classes on a regular basis helping students work on their applications and personal statements/essays.  It's all about the brand name of the school, you know? I've been trying to help the students de-stress a little but honestly, I feel like a bit of a hypocrite because I remember what it was like to be applying for schools... it sucked. Regardless, it's so much fun to have students walk past me and say hi and gawk a little bit because I look like I'm from China but I speak English. They grab every chance they can to talk to foreigners so that they can get some practice.  Unfortunately I'm no foreigner in their eyes so they don't stop me in the hall to talk to me.  They only come to my office to give me their statements and ask for help.  At least they use me as a resource.
Now on to the ugly news that I just got not too long ago.  Because Mid-Autumn Holiday is coming up next weekend, the school is allowing the students to go home Wednesday afternoon instead of Friday.  However, because we are missing two full days of school by doing that, we are making those classes up on Saturday and Sunday.  Isn't that interesting?! For every day that the school is not in session, those days are made up on the weekends. The schedule for the next week is always a mess because it changes so often! This experience is definitely helping me to go with the flow a little better haha! At least I get a lot of prep time during the day.  That's all I can think of for now with the updates so I'll let you know next weekend what I end up doing for the break! Until then... Laters.

First weekend

Ni hao bloggers! So here I am finishing up my first weekend in Jinan. Let me tell you about my classes this week. I had my first class on Thursday, a 12th grade IELTS prep class. I'm supposed to help the students improve their writing skills. That class was actually pretty fun. I see them again Tuesday afternoon. Then on Friday, I was supposed to have another IELTS prep class with different students but because Saturday was some market day thing, the school switched the schedule so that we had a short week with our Saturday lessons on Friday.  So we had a half day Friday with Saturday classes.  That means that I had TOEFL prep with the main stream students who are studying Japanese.  They don't speak much English. I also had a TOEFL and an SAT prep class with Joanna for the 12th grade International Center students.  If you're confused, all you need to know is that I'm teaching 10 periods of test prep each week regardless of whether it's a short or long week.  They are IELTS, TOEFL, and SAT prep. I've also had students already come and talk to me about where they would like to go for college.
After finishing the work week on Friday I came home, unpacked, and met a couple more people at dinner.  Mina (my favorite person so far) is from Japan and has been speaking with me in Japanese.  I am so excited to have a chance to brush up on it! On Saturday, after a quick SKYPE session with J3 and Tiger, I was off to breakfast. I met up with Vincent (teaches kindergarten and is from Cincinnati), Eric (teaches grade 1 and 2 and is from Indiana), Mina, and Steve (the most obnoxious guy from the same program that I was hired through). The five of us went to Thousand Buddha Mountain.  IT WAS ABSOLUTELY THE MOST INCREDIBLE PLACE I'VE BEEN TO. There are literally a thousand if not more Buddha statues in this park. There's a cave that goes through the mountain that all the temples and the park is built on.  The cave is FILLED with so many faces and statues and art work. It gave off a very strange energy like I was being protected but at the same time watched for everything I did. I took so many pictures! After about 5 hours on the mountain, we came back to the primary school.  Eric was irritated and ready for a nap so we said goodbye at the gate and Scott joined the four of us.  He took us into town and gave me a ton of useful information.  We went to a Western store where, should I ever crave American food, I could buy pretty much anything I needed. Then we went to R-T mart which is like Don Quijote (for you Hawaii people) but on steroids.  For you mainland people... it's like... nothing I've ever come across. Lol sorry. It's got a first floor full of businesses like KFC, McDonald's, Disney store, jewelery, bags, shoes, etc. Then upstairs is where you would start shopping. Imagine Wal-mart but more. They sell almost everything, including international food.  They have the country's flag under each food so that you know where it's coming from.  When you're ready to check out, you go down stairs to the grocery section and find a cash register.  If you don't have your own bags, you'll have to pay for a disposable plastic one. I'll definitely be spending more time there.
So here I am, Sunday morning. I think I'm going to Parc 66 (I learned where the mall was that I went that first day and what it was called).  Giles wanted to go and I felt bad for bailing on him yesterday for Thousand Buddha Mountain.  Vincent and Eric may have wanted to go but after yesterday's adventure, I'm not so sure.  I'll see them at breakfast so I guess I'll figure it out then. Tomorrow starts a long week so I'll be working a half day Saturday. I have a holiday coming up 1st of October and I have almost an entire week off! I can't wait to share all my adventures with you. Until then... Laters!

Brain dead

I was so excited to post my photos that I completely forgot to write about my first day at work! So here's that update.  I got into my apt around 2am and after a quick 4 hour nap it was light out and I was on a bus headed to work.  The bus leaves at 6:45 am and it's about an hour long commute to the international center.  Along the way I learned a few things about driving in China, like there aren't really rules when it comes to driving in China.  No one really stays in their lane if it means that they can squeeze through two cars and get in front of the.  It was also really entertaining that when we got to a traffic jam, people honk their horns while they are stopped even if there is no way that the person in front of them could possibly move.  Drivers drive through crosswalks even if the crosswalk is signaling that people can cross and even if it has people in it.  It's a bit scary but also quite entertaining if you are in a bus.  The bigger your vehicle, the better chance you have of winning the chicken fight when driving in the lane of on coming traffic.  The quote that comes to mind, "Do whatever it takes to get ahead."
Once I got to campus I was off to the dining hall for a quick breakfast.  Keep in mind I have no clue where I am supposed to go and what I am supposed to do.  All I was told the minute I landed was, "Your roommate is Joanna and we will see you at school tomorrow to show you around." Luckily Joanna left me a note in my room telling me when the bus leaves and all that good stuff.  So I finish breakfast and Joanna and a few other American teachers show me to the main office.  They had to leave because they were already running late for the class they were supposed to be proctoring for the placement tests.  I met some people and they showed me to the counseling office, though not the one I will be in permanently.  My desk isn't ready yet.  I met three counselors who share the office I'm temporarily in, who fortunately speak some English.  Two of them are actually studying Japanese as well so maybe I can brush up on that too!
Throughout the morning students came and went. From my understanding, there is no system set in place for when students can come into the office for help.  They just come and go whenever.  They have been trying to get a system in place for two years but nothing has worked. Also new this year (besides me) is the fact that the counselors are responsible for MANUALLY inputting grades to create transcripts.  The teachers submit the grades to the counselors and the counselors create a word document for each student.  That's the transcript.  All morning students have been coming in and filling out forms to request transcripts. Unfortunately I'm unable to help them with that since I don't have access to the system where all the word documents are stored. So all morning I listened to them speak in Mandarin and attempted to learn some.
Around 11:30 I was quickly and rather abruptly pulled out of the office for lunch.  I had 20 minutes to eat and then I was on another bus with 9 other people to run errands.  I went to the police station to get a residence permit, the bank to get an account, and the phone store to get a SIM card. After the bank almost all the Chinese teachers went home but my counseling colleague from the UK and I wanted to explore the city for a bit. Sophie (known to us as mama), a bilingual teacher offered to hang out with us.  She took us to town square where there were statues of famous Chinese people, springs, parks, and so much more!  I can't wait until I have more time to hang out there more.  Then she took us to the mall (the name of which I cannot pronounce for the life of me). We ended up eating at Greedy Bear Mini Hot Pot.  It was AMAZING! After dinner we walked around the mall square, which was overwhelmingly beautiful and just littered with activities.  See the pictures in the other post. Another place I cannot wait to spend more time in. Around 9pm Sophie got Giles and I into a cab and told him where to take us.  It was such a great first day in the city.
Today I am back in the office and waiting for my instructions as to what I should be doing... a handbook and schedule would be LOVELY! But I'm learning to go with the flow. In the mean time, it's practice practice practice... my Mandarin that is.  I will be sure to update you as more happens (and I'm sure more will happen).  Until then... Laters!

A picture is worth a thousand words

So here a few thousand! Lol enjoy :) I have way more photos of awesome stuff I did on my first night in Jinan, but sadly they won't upload.  When I tried to upload them, I got an error message saying "Server returned invalid response." Any tips would be lovely!
Regardless, here is a photo of a spring in Jinan.  Jinan is the land of many springs. People drink from them, wash their feet in them, and swim in them. I just walked over them.

Sophie (a bilingual teacher) took Giles (my counseling colleague from UK) and I to Greedy Bear Mini Hot Pot.  YUM!!

 Then we walked around the square outside the mall.  It was GORGEOUS!! I wish all the photos could be uploaded.  This is only one side of the square.

 At night the square comes alive with hundreds of people selling light-up trinkets.  Things that fly, things that spin, and wearable items (like the man's headband). 

 Little kids can take skating lessons here in the square.  There were 4 different groups last night.

 Sorry it's sideways.  At 8pm the fountain behind me and the long stretch of water to the left of me puts on a water show. The water sprays toward the lotus in the middle of the fountain as well as out toward the circle of the audience.  If you go, be prepared to get wet.

 There are lots of activities all going on.  This is hacky sack (the little yellow feathered thing to the right of the closest man to the camera is the hacky sack). We saw dozens of games going on.

 There were three or four men and boys showing off their nunchuck skills as well as selling nunchucks.  Yes those on the far right light up and change lights.  EPIC!

 This was where I HAD to join in.  There are groups of people dancing much like line dancing. The Chinese call it "mama dance." Clearly, the laowai, don't know the dances lol (That's Giles to the left of me).

We had a blast! Not a bad first night in Jinan. If I can get the photos to upload, I'll be sure to post all about it.  Until then... Laters!

Hello Jinan!

OMG so much to update you on but I'm not doing that tonight... I have to work tomorrow morning and it's already 2am. So here's all I'm going to tell you for now: I posted three more updates for everyone about the trip out here. Yes this one makes four.  Enjoy your readings! I'll update you when I'm not sleep deprived and/or don't have to work at 6am.  Until then... Laters.