What?

Model school is done. It is a good thing. Because I have taught before, unlike many here, I didn't really have a problem making a lesson plan or teaching for the first time. Don't get me wrong. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, the ideal teacher and I can always use more practice. This is particularly true in a place where I have much to learn about the culture. You may not think too much about it, but nearly every place treats the education of youth differently. There are different expectations, teaching styles, pressures and concerns. Here, in China, the differences are quite extreme. Here I am a "Western Teacher." The model school helped me learn about these differences and for that I am grateful. The teaching part was easy, but it took some of my focus from language study which is a MUCH more pressing concern. That is why I am glad it is done.

On a different front, tomorrow we find out where we will be living for the next two years. All 58 volunteers (we lost three) will gather again from the different colleges to find out. This is exciting news here. Imagine not knowing where you will live until a few weeks before you go there. We could be placed so far from another volunteer that it takes a two days to connect or we could be placed in the same city. It might be a large and wealthy community or a small and poor one. Perhaps it is a graduate-level college or it could be a junior college. All of our questions will be answered tomorrow. This means we will have a new address for regular mail too. Next week are site visits. We will visit our new homes and speak with our waiban (pronounced WHY-bahn; the foreign affairs officer) at our new college.

The week wasn't quite as crazy as last week, but still busy. We went on another field trip to a farm/resort place to play mahjongg. They had these electronic tables that shuffle the tiles and place them in perfect rows for the players as they played. I felt fancy.

Later in the week we went back to the train station. Most of us will be leaving Chengdu on Saturday via train. This is where we will go. Most of us will travel together and it will take about 1 full day to get to the place where many of the volunteers will be. I had better get used to the train rides. Those and buses will be my life for awhile.

Beyond that, we have been working hard. Language is four hours every day. It is a lot to cram into your head in a given day and many volunteers (myself included) can burn out from time to time. There comes a time that one cannot process any more new information and the brain sort of raises a white flag. When it happens you drift off and think about food or movies or home or puppies for awhile. The teachers are pretty sensitive to it and when they see the glazed over look on our faces we get a break. That is also the reason we get a field trip in now and again. Still, we all wonder whether we will become fluent or not here. It is a real challenge.

Our teachers have been teaching us many new Chinese games such as Chinese chess, Mahjongg, Fight the Landlord and others. I was happy to finally have the opportunity to help Wang Laoshi (my teacher) learn how to play chess. He seemed to be very interested in the game.

When we have evenings off we meet together to hang out, play poker and socialize some. It is a good way to unwind after a stressful day.

We are doing well and are looking forward to big changes soon. Take care everyone!

Photos:

First we have some students in my oral English class. We were talking about dating and they were drawing what they thought an ideal man/woman was.

Second is my putonghua (Mandarin) teacher. He is a good guy. Behind him is the train station terminal.

Third is a street here in Chengdu. This is where many of the merchants work. You can see the many people (they are everywhere we go) and bikes here.

Last is a couple of kids playing in a box. They are children of merchants. They must've found this box and thought it would make a great playpen. While the parents worked all day, this is what the kids do.

Finally, I have uploaded a quick video of a street here in Chengdu. It is a bit blurry and quick but if you play it a couple of times you'll see everything. Enjoy!