IT'S MARCH!!!!

Hey hey everyone! Sorry I didn't update last week but life at work has gotten pretty hectic. I now have three of my very own classes (last semester if you recall, I only had a handful of classes that I co-taught with Giles). Well it's the same class but it meets three times a week. This class is something I'm actually knowledgeable about. I'm teaching 30+ AP and A level students about university culture. I started out with 35 students. Then about 15 students added my class. But after taking the first two weeks of classes and realizing that I'm ridiculous when it comes to teaching this course, they all got scared and about 10 dropped. I told them that I was going to simulate a college course... that includes pacing and talking to them as if they understand what I'm talking about unless they specifically say, "I'm confused, can you please explain that a different way." These students aren't ready for college (let alone college in a foreign country with a foreign language) and the ones who dropped told me they were dropped because I wasn't making the class fun enough. I asked them, "Well, what do you expect from a college class?" And their reply was, "I'm not in college yet. High school is not supposed to be this hard." How did these students get through three years of high school with this mindset?! It makes me so frustrated that they expect me to prepare them for college and then at the slightest bit of difficulty, they run away. But as my coworker always tells me, "It's all about our numbers. That's what gets the tuition coming in." And unfortunately, that's true. This school makes their classes really easy so that their students' grades are really high and therefore more parents buy into the fact that they're paying equivalent to $12,000 a year for their child to get a "great" education. Every single student gets an 85% or higher regardless of their actual score in the class. As long as the students get the test score they want and the grades that get them into a foreign university, they don't care how they get it. For every student that dropped my class I remind them that they requested this class last semester, "You asked for a culture class and now you don't want to take it." Their response usually revolves around, "You aren't teaching us what we need to know to survive in university. We need to learn how to get a driver's license and get around our campus." Yea... That's not culture class... That's "how do I become a citizen" class.  I'm sorry if that's what you think will help you "survive" in college but I'm not going to worry about that because in order to stay at university, you need to learn how to do different types of work. YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY DO WORK!!!!! There are some kids here who say, "Well my parents have money so I don't have to worry about the college kicking me out because they want my money." Ok while for some schools, that may be true, it isn't for the schools that they're all hoping for: Harvard, Yale, NYU... These aren't schools that will keep you there just because you have money... Maybe University of Nowheresville will do that because no one actually wants to attend that university! Ugh! These students have been brainwashed to think that they're set for life and I'm doing my best not to crush their spirits but honestly, they won't survive in a foreign country. They're all going to come home crying because they can't handle the pressures of university.

So that's what I was dealing with all last week. Basically just defending my class to my administration. These kids need this class! Luckily they agree but it's still a headache to deal with these backward thinking students. So fast forward to this weekend... Friday I went with some of my favorite Chinese friends to a coffee bar and we just hung out reading and relaxing. I love their little place but it's still not my favorite. It can become my favorite to go with them but to go by myself... I have another place for that ;) I also went to a gym and signed up for dance classes on Friday. I am now taking yoga, jazz, ballet, and belly dance classes. Of course all these classes are taught in Chinese so if nothing else, I'll learn some new dance terminology in Chinese. The membership for the gym is only 650元 (about $100) for a year) and classes are free to all members of the gym.  Such a sweet deal! Saturday I woke up in pain from my dance classes on Friday and decided I needed to go to MY cafe. There's this tiny little coffee shop down a very busy road in town called Truth Cafe. Christine showed it to me and now I want to go every chance I get! There are 4 cats that have full reign of the place and their tea is amazing! I went on Saturday from about 10:30am to about 2:30pm. Like I said, it's my favorite cafe to go by myself. I can just sit with the cats, read, and drink tea for hours! Christine came for a little while to talk with me and just get out of the apartments. Then she left and I left a few hours after her. I went to the gym again Saturday night. Sunday I took it easy. I slept in, read some more and then went to lunch. I met up with Michael and Christine and we decided we needed to go to a movie. Last weekend Frozen was in theaters but here in Jinan, the movies that are available in English changes almost from weekend to weekend. So we ended up not being able to see any movies. Instead we went to Papa Johns and indulged in a bit of pizza. Didn't taste like American pizza but it satisfied my cheese craving.

Now I'm back at work yet again for another long week. I think my Chinese friends might want to go back to their coffee bar on Saturday once we leave work. I love that they invite me to things now :) Even if I can't understand everything they say they still like having me in their company, which is an amazing compliment! One day... one day I will be able to understand them and even participate in their conversations! I just have to study a little bit harder. There is so much I want to do every day (learn Chinese, work out, read for fun) but there are only so many hours in a day :/ I guess I have to prioritize. Oh well. Everything in its own time, right? I'll be sure to update you on how crazy life gets this week... Long story short, my boss is on the defensive because all foreign teachers are now providing documentation that he outright lied about some stuff that happened. He told us that he didn't need some stuff but when his boss came down hard on him he said, "I told my employees and they failed to give it to me."  So his boss came down hard on us and we provided emails where he said, "I do not require your documents... blah blah blah." So now he's making our lives hell for not having his back in his time in need. But he hasn't had our backs all year so what makes him think we'd have his?! Just because we're all expats? Think again Mr. Hostile Work Environment. Seriously, if my coworkers hadn't shared this article about our boss with me, I would've defended him. But since he's done this in the past, I have no sympathy for him. He should've learned. Whatever... life goes on! Speaking of going on, I have to get back to work. Update again next week. Until then... Laters!