China: Day 12: July 16, 2010 Friday

Today was SHOW time! We started out with two shortened morning classes and then were to rehearsal with EVYERBODY for the first time. This went considerable better than yesterday when each group was practicing but still quite a few “kinks”. 400 hundred children at on and off stage, as well as learning a LOT of new material in English in only really four days is AMAZING. And we also have the problem that when they are not on stage they are supposed to sit quietly and wait. For many children, not their best skills.

In my teaching time today with my four classes, I shared our new book How Baby Coyote Learned to Howl. I showed the book; talked about different vocabulary words and then told/read it to the students while my Chinese teacher/helper sat beside me and showed the other half of the class the pictures. It was a hit. When I asked them if children in China liked this book, my boy replied, “Off course!” Another girl said, “I want to buy this book.” Yes! What a joy to be able to share the result of all of that hard, hard work over these last several years and have it really pay off.

The book works well with a range of ages, as well as for English Language Development students. What a great field test to share it in China! Another teacher shared it with the teenagers, and, although they were clear that it was an easy book for children, they LOVED the story and the illustrations. It is very interesting for everyone to hear about the process of writing and book. The students in the younger groups here will be continuing to “write their own books” during the next week. They have never done this, but are very excited.

During the final 15 minutes of the day on Friday (primo teaching time of the week!!!!) the parents were invited to come to our class and observe. My students practiced their choral poems one more time. Then they were able to show and read to their parents the small books that they were writing for the reading class.

The parents were so encouraging of their children. It was wonderful to see them interested and so proud when their child brought their books and shared them. Wow!

Then everybody went down to the

school auditorium, which seats 700 people. Because it was at the end of the workday, some parents were not able to attend, but many were there. The theatre was full.

All of the staff was nervous. Could we really pull this off: 400 kids, lots of new materials, and songs with accompaniment? Memorized pieces, and ones with scripts? Props, backdrops? YES! We/they did it! Every group rose to the occasion and performed beautifully!

I was especially proud of our advanced beginner group. The filed on, smiled, said their lines with gusto, and did they sing?! The Lion Sleeps Tonight has never sounded so sincere. They sang loudly, and then very quietly on” Hush my darling…” coming back with Aweeeeeee aweeeuuumm away like angels. Go B Team!!!!!!

All of the other groups did terrifically, also. From singing Slippery Fish going through the water, to a medley of Somewhere Over the Rainbow and What a Wonderful World, to Jungle Love and Under the Sear (from The Little Mermaid).

Then we ended with the entire place singing We are the World, we are the children. Okay, we were skeptical that this song has been so overdone that it would just be silly. But it was lovely. Everyone sang with such power, and they loved doing the arm movements that went along. Even my 5^th grade boys who were texting during the show.

Afterwards, we were all exhausted, but very pleased. The Chinese school officials were stoked. They couldn’t believe that it had come together so well. One of the school officials said that he was sure Chinese parents had never seen anything like this before. The Chinese way would be for 2 or 3 of the very best students to perform. All of the parents got to see every child on stage. It really was fantastic.

As Americans, we had never seen such a pageant come together so quickly. These students can learn songs so quickly, sometimes just hearing a line sung through one time. And the really could learn to do movements so fast. My group poem had a line where they said, “give a little clap” which went with a “clap”. Everyone got it right on the beat. NEVER was someone off. We were highly fortunate that they could learn so quickly. We also had very talented teachers, especially those teaching the kids music. I was highly proud to be part of this crew. Everyone pulled together in such a GREAT manner. Go everybody!!!!

We went back to the hotel and then had the chance to meet with a master tailor who began orders to make custom clothing for us. My roommate has a couple of grand design she is wanting. I will likely get a silk jacket made. It is a very interesting process. Luckily, we are able to have Eugene, one of the heads of the program translate. He is also quite a clothing designer besides being an architect. This process will continue with fabric samples on Sunday night.

Dinner was on our own, and then Jenny and I joined the young music team for a midnight swimming party in the school district pool next to our hotel. Silly and rowdy, but super fun. Jenny was writing haikus about midnight in China, the sky is orange…which it was. The rain would come and go and the pool was a perfect warm temperature. Was a great way to end a VERY long day.

China: Day 11: July 15, 2010

Well, sometimes when you are working in a foreign culture things change or get confused in the translation. We THOUGHT that we were staying late after school today to do a dress rehearsal with the 400 students, but instead, the school had rented out the auditorium to a group that was doing a dance program so it was not available. Sigh! Scramble! We were able to stagger having the groups run into the auditorium for a half hour each (the hundred students/four classes in each TEAM), and then each group found another space to rehearse for much of the remainder of the day. The children are really good sports about things are want so much to please, even thought what we ask them to do keeps changes ALL of the time.

Our kids are going to do a great job. You should really hear what they sound like singing “The Lion Sings Tonight”. They really wail on the Ayeeeeeeeeeeee eummmmaway! Somehow, tomorrow night we’ll do it and it will be lovely. In the meantime, we are having more practices tomorrow and the schedule will change again. It is a very ambitious schedule to have a performance every Friday for three weeks, all with children who are English Language Development learners.

We have a really talented group of teachers and we are working our hind ends off. Everyone was exhausted by the time we got on the bus.

Today I told “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and “The Wide Mouth Frog”. I also taught some kids the game of Extreme Ring-around the Rosie…they were so brain-dead after rehearsing so much, they needed to run around. Luckily I have the air-conditioned room. I taught them the song and then “We all fall down” ended up with us all laughing on the floor, them we would get up and someone would say “Again” and we’d start over. These Chinese students can learn songs remarkably quickly. I also taught one group “Make new friends, but keep the old” today and they got after hearing it a couple of times. That makes it really fun to do songs. They often don’t understand the vocabulary, so we often have great discussions about things, like the word for “sneeze” in English and Chinese.

In several classes they will teach me the words in Chinese for things and repeat it over and over until I pronounce it right. Then they applaud for me. A Chinese English teacher told me that I have a good accent. A student caught me at the end class today and told me that I had pronounced a word incorrectly with a sh instead of a s sound. It had been bothering her. Smile.

After dinner, a walk over to get another hour long foot massage. Oh, it is a tough life to have to get massages every day or two!

Oh yeah, they announced that a typhoon is headed this direction. It is called Pacific Ocean Tropical Storm Conson over the south China Sea. It may arrive on Sunday (the day we are planning to go to a local cool ethnic cultural center park. We’ll keep you posted as to what being in a typhoon is really like. Winds of up to 80 mph and driving rain. We are all hoping it maybe will hold off until Monday rather than on our weekend. Hmmmm typhoons. How about a regular old fashioned earthquake or tornado?

China: Day 10: July 14, 2010

I was in the local paper….Take a look! Well at least a photo of me and my group of kids. I am standing up in the orange T-shirt. If you could read Chinese it would tell you all of the basics about 400 children from this area are in the summer camp with teachers from famous Universities in America. (Not quite sure which famous Universities…) and then it talks about the curriculum and the cool stuff we will be doing with students. Nothing about any specific teachers at all. But, cool, how about a clipping from China? Yah!

All of our Chinese students have English names, and we have also been given Chinese names. (This is how my name looks in Chinese characters.)

Today we really got down to business with what our performance will be on Friday. It is coming together (more or less).

The kids that I am in charge of (100 3^rd-5^th graders) will be marching in saying “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” Then on to several little animal poems. We’ll end with a great version of The Lion Sleeps tonight….from South Africa to America to China. The kids LOVE to sing that. They are great singers. They are also going to have water bottles made into maraca shakers to talk about conservation.

Sounds good, but trying to give solid stage directions in a second language to children who are tired and hot is a challenge. We decided in our production meeting today, that this all looks good on paper, and we’ll see how it actually comes together on Friday. Our team has some really great stuff going on.

One thing that I found highly interesting is that in China the schools do not have lunchrooms. Instead, lunch ladies bring a cart of food to the individual classrooms and the students eat there.

The same staff also brings a hot red sweetened tea drink around the classes mid-afternoon. The Chinese believe that this really helps you to cool down, by drinking a hot liquid. I had the chance tot try it for the first time today. Students were very interested if I liked it. Luckily, I did. I tasted sweet (although I don’t know if it really helped me to cool down.).

A very beautiful thing happened with a couple of our reading teachers today. They helped the younger children to do their own small books. Just two sheets of blank paper stapled together. The Chinese had never seen anything like this. It took a long time to explain to the students (and the teachers) what they were talking about, and then to allow the students to just use their own spelling and grammar and do illustrations. The books the students created a FABULOUS. These students at 7-12 years old had never done this before. One girl began to cry that she wanted to write a book about art rather than about the ocean, which was the assignment. When she was told she could do both, it was a very happy moment. They are thinking for the third week, maybe to make “pop-up” books. Being able to bring our methods of teaching is really different for everyone, and has caused some serious confusion and at times struggle, but it is really satisfying.

Then after school today, we set up 3 drum sets in the courtyard and three of our music guys in their twenties got in the drums and the kids loved it. It was so much fun. Then a couple of people started doing break dancing. I got in the action with doing some non-break dancing, as well as playing a tiny bit on the drum set. I am not where in their league, but how much fun it was!

It rained pretty hard over lunch today, which gave us a LITTLE break in the weather, but then the floors in the outdoor hallways of these four story buildings were super wet. I nearly slipped several times. Staff came out with mops and brooms to clear the water out. Unfortunately, they pushed some off the balcony right unto my roommate Jenny where she was resting before the final class of the day. So she had to teach soaking wet. This is so different that what any of us are used to.

Tonight, another massage seemed in order. We love the hour and a half-long full body massages for $13.00. Yes! We went back to the very classy place, which is why the cost was “so high”. Tonight we got the massage with oil instead of the usual Chinese way where you keep you clothes on or put on light pajamas and they massage you through a sheet. I had LOT of really tight places. Imagine that! After the massage, a musician was playing a traditional Chinese stringed instrument. Very cool!

China: Day 9: July 13, 2010

Second day of school or camp or whatever combo it is that we are doing. Everyone is more in sync with understanding how it is supposed to work during the day. There is a strange fuse box switch in my classroom, so that took some getting some help to fix. Then the students arrived and it was “on with the show”. I try to find things in English conversation that they might not know bout. One group learned about the question, “How was your lunch?” with long discussions about what IS a lunch, and what could you say about it. Another was very interested in which things are “fruit” and which are not. These students do not seem to be used to being asked to crawl around on the floor, but they are very willing and seem to love to do it. We are also working on doing some reader's theatre. Very interesting how quickly they are able to memorize and "recite". this is very much a bit part of their educational process.

I did one of my very easy magic tricks, the magic coloring book to rare reviews. (Although several kids wanted to see my book so they could figure out how I did the trick.) This lead to having to learn “abracadabra” as a magic word.

Students were also VERY interested in seeing photos of my house in California, and of my family. They could hardly believe that there were four children in my family and that I had eight nieces and nephews. Due to the official government policy that each family may have only one child, virtually all of these students come form families where they have only their parents and grandparents. They have no uncles, aunts, cousins, brothers or sisters. They thought my family was a VERY LARGE family. Their eyes were glued to my photos.

The temperature is in the high 80’s and 90’s with a very high level of Humidity. It is really hot and muggy and uncomfortable. By the finally class of the day, which ends at 4:15, both the teachers and the students are EXHAUSTED and brain dead. Everyone does their total best, but kids are struggling….and some are poking and hitting bugging each other. Just like kids everywhere. One teacher had to take a couple boys out in the hall to talk to them today about their behavior. I had to ask a couple of teachers to move wherer boys were sitting so one wouldn’t bother the other ones.

One English phrase I taught the kids was “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” Sounds like that should take about a minute to teach, huh? Nope! In Chinese they do not have plurals, so students can’t hear or say those “s” sounds on the ends of the word.

Friday we have a performance for the parents. This is really a high level of pressure of the staff and therefore the students. One of the members of my team is working with the kids on singing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (A-wem-away, a-wem-away……In the juggle the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight…) I got to watch him in action today with getting kids playing piano, and on the drum sets, and singing all at the same time. Chaotic (and slightly disruptive to the classrooms around him) but totally awesome.

Some students are totally excited and really “into” what we are doing, and some are either lost or bored and talking to their neighbor as I am trying to get them to cooperate.

I loaned my picture book that I co-wrote, “How Baby Coyote Learned to Howl” to one of the teachers and she read it to the students and acted it out. She said they loved it and really understood what she was reading. Yah!!!! Baby Coyote rocks China!

There are times when I wish that I had more experience, or that someone who could REALLY figure out how to make the students tap into their creativity like my dad were here to help make this happen. Today as I was crawling on my belly on the floor trying to demonstrate what a tiger “creeping” would look like, I decided that I couldn’t let my pride get in the way of graphically showing what the English words mean. At times, the Chinese teachers seem puzzled (and maybe dismayed) at some of our styles and methods. We will have to see what it all looks like in the next two+ weeks.

We are driven to and from school and our hotel in the morning, at noon and then after school (or meetings) are done. We have a lovely bus, and enjoy the ease of getting around. It is funny to got a month without driving a vehicle.

After school, Jenny, my roommate and I walked over the grocery store and bought some treats.You can buy Pringles Potato chips and Snickers candy bars here. Yah! Sometimes you need a treat that tastes like home.

You gotta love the signs, "Food laying fallow" which we THINK means packaged food.

China: Day 8: July 12, 2010

First day of school…. somehow, all of the planning and the communication and the miscommunication is behind us and we have now completed the first day of school. Actually, they are calling it the first day of camp, but it had very much a first day of school feel about it.

We were up early, and had meeting with other teachers over breakfast, arriving at the school at 8:15 with a lovely sign welcoming us all to the American Scene Summer Camp.

There was a bit of scrambling because some of the supplies that we needed had not arrived yet yesterday, but were there today.

The beginning part of the day included a one-hour assembly that was a remarkable opening ceremony. This was filled with lots of speeches and government and school officials, as well as being introduced on stage as the distinguished teachers from America.

One Chinese student gave quite a wonderful speech. We all had tears in our eyes as he encouraged all of the children to take advantage of the amazing opportunity to learn “authentic English”. I was reflecting that most of the English these students hear is by non-Native speakers. They played “We are the World” and, even though it was kind of schmaltzy, it was also nice. These really are very beautiful children.

When the assembly was complete, the students arrived in our classrooms. The students are group by ability level (beginning,

advanced beginning, intermediate, and advanced. And then within those groups they are also divided by ability, so the students really ranged in how much English they are able to speak and to understand. The students that my team is working with are mostly 3^rd and 4^th graders with one class of 5^th and 6^th graders. And there is quite a range within those groups, too.

The day went well. Some groups were able to really tear through a lot of material and activities, and some didn’t get through as much. All students introduced themselves with their English names. Popular names include David, Helen and Jenny, with some having chosen for themselves names such a Candy, Dodo, Killer and Martini.

The students were highly impressed with my photos of me telling stories in an actual classroom in the US. They also really enjoyed the movement activity where I had them move around the room ‘very slowly” or marching or crawling like a baby or on your stomach like a snake. The teacher in the room below me wishes I would do less marching, so I’ll try to keep it a bit more quiet.

We have the tension of a huge amount of curriculum that they would like us to cover, but also to have the students had a lot of fun. This is a tricky balance. Oh yeah, we also have a performance for the parents already on Friday afternoon. We introduced the concept of reader’s theatre (choral reading of short scripts) and then had the students try them. A range of how successful, but one group was able to quickly memorize a script and say with enthusiastic articulation.

Trying to figure out what vocabulary we need to teach is interesting. I ended up having quite a discussion with one class about the word "cave" verses "cage"….quite a different. They also didn't understand the word "partner" as in "find yourself a partner." Things that we take for granted, they have never heard of. We are supposed to be studying animals and their different environments around the world. Fun, but a challenge for some of these little kids for whom English is still highly mysterious. Thank goodness for the Chinese teachers who could translate as wee needed it. My last class of the day, which was the lowest class, ended up teaching me a few words of Chinese, and they laughed at my terrible pronunciation. They especially loved the moving around the room. We had very interesting discussions about the phrase “goodness gracious” (okay, try explaining THAT one!) They also often use the phrase, "Oh my God!" although they don't seem to really know what that means.

We teach only 4 hours out of the day, with morning and afternoon breaks, plus two hours off for lunch and trip back to the hotel…where some people sleep and I talk with my husband, Dick, by Skype on the internet. This sounds like a cushy workday, but this takes a lot out of the teachers and the students. It is more difficult because many of the classes are being taught in non-air conditioned rooms.

Which are VERY hot, dripping sweat hot.I am lucky with my air-conditioning, which I learned how to tell which switch was the on and off button…how cool is that?

So far, this is VERY hard work, but I am also learning a ton. For example, today I read the quote “every little makes a mickle.”

A typo you wonder? No, a British or Scottish proverb meaning every little bit counts or adds up. Who knew?

We have quite good comradely among most of the staff. It is a highly talented group of teachers. And everyone is teaching their hearts out. Another 14 teaching days to go…may it all allow us to touch the hearts and minds of one another.

After school, we had a big debriefing meeting, and them back to the hotel for dinner, a little more planning and off to bed. Tomorrow is another school day.

China: Day 7: July 11, 2010

Up this morning, breakfast and then off to a dim sum restaurant. Some thing we are familiar with in the US and then some totally new foods. At times it takes some courage to taste things that look strange or smell "interesting”. But what fun to have the chance to eat these amazing foods! (Some of us are getting a little nostalgic for hamburgers, salads or even just fresh fruit. It doesn’t seem like that could happen in just one week, but there you go!)

We all got “The American Scene” summer camp T-shirts to wear today at meet the teacher time at the school. It was a challenge for these kids and families to find five different classrooms in four different buildings to meet us all. Elementary school kids here are TRULY not used to changing classrooms, so some amount of chaos reigned but it was good.

Parents brought their kids to the student’s “homeroom” where the teacher met the students and then sometimes ended up conducting an impromptu class for an hour or so. New students were still being enrolled during these sessions, and our Chinese colleagues were also involved in giving out information to the parents. THEN they took the students on a little bit of a tour to the other four classrooms that they will rotate through. Sounds simple enough, eh? Well, put in nearly 400 students, plus at least one parent each, 20 Chinese teachers, 20 US teachers, and various and sundry other Chinese staff people, and the understanding of what was happening got confusing at times. One poor mother asked, “Do I really have to try and meet 16 separate teachers who will be working with my son? How will I find them all?”

Despite the confusion, we all got through it, and met some VERY nice children and parents, with a variety of different level skills of English.

Everyone was very nice and we will really enjoy getting to know them much better over these next three weeks. We finished the day tired, but glad that we got through this meeting time.

By the end of tomorrow, we will all have a lot better sense of what this will be like. Although I didn’t have a “homeroom” class, so I didn’t have a group of students for a long time, I did get a chance to have everyone take a look at my great classroom: I ended up with the dance studio, with wood floor, mirrored walls and AIR CONDITIONING….something that not everybody has. I was also able to find a small drum today that I fill bring into the class tomorrow.

My roommate, Jenny, and I decided to opt out of a more formal supper and walked over to Wal-Mart to buy a few supplies for school tomorrow. Although we were warned about it, this is not your mother’s Wal-Mart.

The bottom of two floors has big tanks and lets of Chinese groceries (or as the sign says Dry Droceries). The tops floor has many sections similar to Wal-Mart back home, and then random additional areas such as the chopstick aisle. We were struck by the numbers of people standing and sitting around in the books section reading in the stores. And, of course, people gathered around the big screen TV’s. How things have changed in this country to go from such an isolated country to one filled with Wal-Mart,

McDonalds, KFC and Starkbucks!

In the midst of all that has been happening and coming at me, I read a good reminder quote today, “That which we bless with our gratitude responds by multiplying.” So I am coming today with a heart filled with gratefulness. I am grateful that I am here in China, that I have such wonderfully capable colleagues, that these Chinese parents are entrusting their children to us believing that we will bring good to them, that we have amazing new food (in plenteous amounts) every day, that I get to teach and tell stories to one hundred young Chinese children five days a week for the next three weeks, that I get to learn from my American and Chinese colleagues and from the children, that I am not alone, that I have done things like this before so I have experience, that if something doesn’t work out we can try something else and learn from the experience.