I am so sad today. The last day of instruction was yesterday. I am feeling a great sense of loss. I have made a connection with these students in such a short time. I am sadden that it is all about to end. time flew by so quick.
I will always cherish my time in Anhui and hope that i may be able to return to this friendly province. To me it feels like home. The students have all connected with me. I feel like I am part of a cohesive family. I do not want to lose this feeling. I feel blessed that I was allowed the opportunity to work with such an amazing staff and the best bunch of students that I have ever encountered.
My memory book
Will is comforting Anna
I made the last day pretty mellow and relaxed. I was sad and wanted to have a relaxing moment with my students. We played dodgeball, watched movies and made memory books. the students had to write down their fondest memory of summer camp.
This was very emotional for the children because just as i have fallen in love with then, they have fallen in love with me. It was cray me a river there was not a dry eye in the classroom. Even Matt was teary eyed. John lasted the longest and Jonathan decided he could not deal with us and went off to his dad.
As I held unto my students trying to console them, I really knew that I would love the opportunity to be able to teach in Jixi, not sure if it is a possibility but it is something that I will pray on. If God wants me here then there will be a way. All I know is that it does not feel right that I am leaving Jixi.
The students were weeping
I soon broke down in tears and my students began to comfort me. It was quite an emotional scene. No one wanted it to end. The camp faced many hardships but we persevered. Together we are stronger. I really do want to keep in touch with everyone. My heart is aching right now as I write this. I know that I have a new adventure waiting in Xiamen but Xuancheng is where my heart is.
The best part about being in Anhui is the students. I have never met such a group of kind and humble students. The kids are so down to earth. Being in Anhui has changed me so much. It has given me direction. The children have helped to cleanse my troubled soul and have shown me the direction that I want to go with my life.
I realize now that my place is with the kid,s not in a university setting. This will mean a job change after my contract is up. In the middle of a school year too! Wish me luck in that endeavor and pray that i will find the right placement
My class is hysterical, I have 18 students. Out of those students 15 are boys. You know how middle school boys can be, rambunctious, sneaky, mischievous. They were quite a handful but I love them so much. They were eager to learn and we built up such a rapport together.
Each student has a distinct personality. There was Matt who is the troublemaker who had a mega crush on one of the teaching assistants. I have a soft spot for the bad boys, I just loved Matt he was a cutie. Then there was John, he always got in trouble never listened and always ended up almost getting hurt because he never listened. There was Mark the buck tooth beaver. Awwww he is soo precious his English level was low but he tried so hard and his smile warmed my heart. There was Bill who is just a cool kid and an amazing dancer. His mom is the richest woman in town but Bill is so level headed and down to earth. He treats everyone equally. He is so not a snob.
Oh and then there was Anna. Anna and I totally connected. Her mom was my co teacher in the class. This little girl is such a happy, optimistic and loving child. She is 12 years old an she has stolen my heart. She always cheerful and kind. Eliza, her mom is my new female friend in China. I am really going to miss her friendship. I will keep in touch with them. I was even invited over to their house for dinner. I really wish that i had the opportunity to see her grow into a lovely young woman.
I had Mike and Ken who loved to dance. On break time those two were always doing Gangnam Style. It was too funny. My boys did enjoy dancing and singing. They had me laughing for most of the class especially during break time.
Oh and there was James, James is also a student who will be forever engraved upon my heart. He was the oldest and tallest boy in my class at age 15. He had the calmest and sweetest demeanor. His desire to learn English was high. He sat in the front and he out of all my students made the most progress. I love this boy so much.
Oh and the twins Mark and Luke(they choose those names on their own) is it ironic! They had a higher level on English than most of the students. It was so fun communicating with them. I really felt a connection with them, plus they are so funny and friendly who could not love the twins.
Oh and Jim whose parents are both teachers and he had the highest English level. Jim is a smart kid and has a sense of justice. He has the heart of a rebel but he does it in such a subtle and clever way.
I also had the privilege of having Jonathan, a foreign teacher’s son in my class. H aving an expat child in the class really was a learning experience for the Chinese students. Jonathan made some lifelong friends and he told me he was hesitant to leave the school.
Oh and my two lovely girls Lisa and Zoe. It was great watching them torture the boys during break time. These girls were at first intimidated to be in a class surrounded by boys, gradually though they got more comfortable. Zoe taught me how to blow a double balloon. A balloon inside a balloon. It is so unbelievably cool. And Lisa has the funniest laugh and she is quite the actress.
We learned so much together. I taught them high frequency words, greeting, Western Culture and Chinese Culture, phonics. I Also taught them about American football, baseball and dodgeball(In the next and very short blog). We have been practicing for plays that I wrote that we will be performing on the final day of camp. They learned about Western music. I also learned so much from my students to. They taught me so much more than I taught them, They showed me my true purpose and they opened my heart to love. I will always remember Jixi with a fond heart.
After the long long car ride, we were told that our rooms on campus were not ready, so we would be put into a hotel for two days. I have found that my stays at hotal s in China have been quite pleasant. Well escept the my universities hotel room. Ughs.
The hotel staff was so excited to see us. There are not a lot of foreigners that come to Xuancheng. So seeinga foreigner is a big deal. The staff was really nice. We had to check in and our passports were scanned.
We were taken in the elevator. We had to make two trips because the elevator was narrow. We were both on the fifth floor. The Vice head master of the school opned the rooms i walked into the first room. The vice principal said non no no and pointed to Jose and Jonathan. He gestured for me to go to the corner room.
chairs
A bathtub, I never got a chance to use it. I was scared my big butt would get stuck.
To my utter suprise and delight it was a suite!!1 This was the nicest room that I have ever styaed in. I left like a queen. I have two two bathrooms. One bathroom had a bathtun! I had a living room with a chaise, couches and a TV with cable. My bed was a huge king sized. There was also another TV in that room and a computer with internet axis.
I was so nears tears. I flopped on my bed and was comforted by a soft western style mattress. It was like I was sleeping on a cloud. It was an end to a perfect day.
This is part of a series about my month teaching in Anhui province at a summer camp. I have been here since July 3rd, however due to internet snafus and being busy with lesson planning I only have the time now to update my readers on my adventures. I have so much to update, So my lucky readers prepare a series of post overloads. 🙂
The company that hired me to work for the summer arranged a flight for me from Nanchang to Hangzhou. The flight was only about an hour and my friend Liu Jia took me to the airport to say farewell. We arrived early, I am so parnoid about things happening like the cab breaking down. So we sat in the airport people watching for two hours.
I got a window seat, iy was so relaxing to watch the happy little clouds. Don’t clouds make you so happy! Bob Ross likes happy little fuffy clouds. I felt like I was in his paintings.
The plane landedand guess which ditz could not unfasten the seatbelts? ME!!! I think I have blonde roots. I was struggling with it. Finally an older Chinese knight in shining armor saved the day. He unfastened my seatbelt with the greatest of ease. Yeah , I am a ditz. Next i went to claim my luggage, did I mention that I had to pay an overage fee?. My friend told me that I packed too much. Well, I am going to be gone for two months and I am a girl.
I got off the plane and look for my contact person. Everyone has signs with names on them. My contact did not. I could not spot him so I called him. He told me what he was wearing. We finally found each other, He helped me with the bags. He was shovcked at how heavy my bag was. He had no clue that I bought mama and baby bag. Big papa bag was at home all alone. He told me to the car where I met Jose and his son Jonathan and their adorable puppy Chino. I just love their puppy. I wanted to steal him and give him hugs and kisses. I still want to steal him to this day. He is my rent a puppy!!! I nicknamed him Chi Chi.
Look at the cutie pie!!!!!
We had a four hour car ride. It was a great way to get to know the TAs. They are college students and get to help us in the class room. The hour car drive really helped us all to bond. I sat in the front seat. Oen of the only perks about being a fatty is that I always get to call frontsies! Due to my size I am really just too big right now to sit anywhere else in a car when there are lots of people.
On the car ride I found out that I had a lot in common with Jose. He is also from New York. He is a professional teacher like myself. Oh and he use to work at the Newark Board of Eduation! My former district neighbor. Oh and he too moved to New Jersey after living in NY. He is funny as hell too. He is now my new BFF in China. Jason you have been replaced! Hehehehe
We did not arrive at the school until 10 pm. They had a banquet meal waiting for us. Everyone knows that I have been trying to lose weight, well I did partake in the feast and it was so delish. Hands down it was one of the best meals in China. The food was not spicy, like it is in Nanhang. There was duck tongue, this beef that was surely water buffalo, a fish dish and an assortment of veggies. I was hungry so I dove right in. I did eat small amounts.
After eating we were shown our rooms. We had to stay in a hotel te first night. Oh I wasa lucky girl. I will post next about the hotel room.
Duck Tongue
Hunk of Meat, tasted like water buffalo
A fish in a sweet sauce. It was the most succulent fish that I ever tasted.
