Those of you keeping up on your Weekly Mandarin already know that this entry is about teaching--specifically, my first day at my school! I'm going to be working with Sing-Sheng Elementary School in the lovely city of Yilan, co-teaching classes for 2nd, 3rd, and 6th graders with my partner teachers Hopkins and Angela. Everyone at the school is GREAT. All of the teachers and administrators, despite a sometimes wide language-gap, are unbelievably helpful. We're talking help switching apartments, walking me through my scooter purchasing and riding, help finding ballroom dancing classes in the neighborhood, and the suggestion that, really, the vegetarian lunch is much better than the meat.
And the kids run the gamut from precious to precocious in the not-so-good ways. Here are some of the best questions I heard during my self-introduction:
- Are you married?
- Are you rich?
- Is it fun to play in the snow?
- How big are the bugs in America?
- Are you pregnant? (Misinterpretation of the belly-rubbing gesture for "yummy")
- How old is your boyfriend? Is he rich? (By the way, sweetheart, they decided you were cool.)
- Do dogs in America listen to commands in English? (This is a sign of higher-level thinking, seriously)
3 comments:
Great to hear that you like your assignment ! Having a good working environment is a great asset - it makes life flow so much better. I'm very impressed - teaching is tough enough without language and culture issues as well - you're doing great!
Ni hao boy I miss Taiwan. I taught there 2 1/2 years from 2003-2005. I had the time of my life there.
As always an excellent posting.The
way you write is awesome.Thanks. Adding more information will be more useful.
Bathmate
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