Gettin' Class-y

Three days a week, I belt "Gooooood Morning CLASS!!" at 8:00a.m. Nervous, excited eyes skirt around the room in every class as I get a unified, enthusiastic response, "GOOD MORNING, teacher!"

"My name is Thomas, and I will be your English teacher for this semester. Has anyone here ever had a foreign teacher before?" The silent response and confused murmur indicated a "No."

My first classes consisted of introducing my family (with pictures), my backyard ("whooooah!"), my school, my interests in music and sports, etc. I also used my venture to Guatemala as a jumping board for my intentions with their English Class..

"I learned Spanish in Guatemala by speaking, hearing, seeing, living and EVEN DREAMING in Spanish. This is how you will learn English in this class. Any time you pass by this door, you are doing everything in English!"

A lucky long exposure I caught of dripping rain

I don't know how well I'll be able to carry out that theory, but hey, it sounds smart, doesn't it?!

During the second half of class, I had the students partner up and introduce each other. They were instructed to give their name, major, hometown, favorite american celebrity, and their future aspirations. Per usual Chinese uniformity, I received many repeat, uninteresting responses:

"I want to travel the world!" (Which usually queued my follow-up question, "Which country first?" "All of China first" was the usual retort).

"My favorite american celebrity is [Kobe Bryant x20, LeBron James x15, Michael Jordan x10, Steve Jobs x30].

While there were many repeats, a few funny responses stuck with me. One conservatively dressed, shy Chinese girl who misunderstood instructions and just introduced herself, said, "One day in the future, I would like to be a tattoo artist." She had no tattoos on her beautifully white, pale skin.

Having fun at Dazu

One cheerful young man grinned and said, "My favorite american celebrity is you, Thomas! One day in the future, I would like to visit your hometown." Verrry good, young man. Brownie points for the brown noser, but I'm quite honored.

  

Each class sees me once a week. I have six classes, which is over 250 kids to teach. This past week, I came up with a fun game to help give some of them their very own English names (the Chinese names are damn near impossible to pronounce). I created a slideshow of famous celebrities, historical figures, musicians, all from America. They used a cheap laser pointer I bought off the street as their tool for choosing their mysterious character.

"This man is a famous actor in the United States. Welcome to the class… DENZEL!" 

In a few classes with lots of unnamed kids, I had a few choose names from my high school Prom pictures. It was cool to her their oohs and aaahs when I changed each slide in the PowerPoint show. After their names were chosen, I took a picture of every single student with them holding their name and student ID on a sheet of paper. I'm going to try and learn all their names.. a steep task.

After all students were named, I allowed a Q & A session. Every class almost immediately asked if I had a girlfriend (the classes are about 70% female). I explained my Claugduagh ring several times, and had to describe what love is. They are a curious, respectful, obedient crowd, and I enjoy going to my classes-turned-comic-stand-up-routine.

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Last weekend John, Ouyong, Sean, Kassy, and I visited the Dazu Buddist Rock Carvings near Kassie and Sean's hometown of Rongchong. The entrance fee to Dazu was steep but incredibly worth it. No one remained in the park as we explored these incredible ancient masterpiece carvings. Photos and words… as usual… cannot do such a place justice. Many photos above and below are from Dazu. Please also check out Sean Scullin's spicy blog at http://www.shigady.blogspot.com. I love his perspective and unique verbage. Kassy also has a flickr account which has several fantastic pictures on it already. See.. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rongchang

At Dazu Rock Carvings

Rongchong- A river runs through it

 -Chinese students know nothing but studying. Only the very rich are able to "play high," or go out on the town. A typical student's life on the weekend consists of studying, computer games, and a fun, intense session of Karaoke, or KTV with friends.

-Driving in China is absolutely organized chaos. Today, I saw a bus pull into oncoming traffic in order to pass a clogged up lane stopped by a stoplight. There are no rules. Pedal to the metal and hope to don't get hit (not too unlike Guatemalan driving).

 -I binged for four hours on a new game called Mah-Jong last weekend. It is a bizarre mix of Gin Rummy and a card game called "SET" from my home. I love it and can't get enough.. I'm like many Chinese who often illegally gamble big money in on game, I'm hooked.