A Day in the Life...

Katie and I realized that we have been busy writing posts about all our various adventures but we have yet to explain exactly what it is we do here. I guess in a way, this is sort of a confessional...so hear it is: No, everyday is not a zany trip into the mountains or out into some old Chinese Temple. That is what we do when we aren't working...and work is something we do a lot of. So all that aside...here is an average day for me, Luke Birge: English Teacher.

Up at 7:15. Yes, its Monday and I am tired. The weekend feels strangely distant and once again I find myself standing on the starting block of a race that won't stop until sometime after 7 pm on Friday night.

Katie and I have breakfast at our favorite spot called "Country Side." At some point during our breakfast the conversation usually centers upon one burning question: So...what are you doing for Fun Time?

What is Fun Time you ask? Well...we'll get there.

8:30: We arrive at work and begin the scramble for materials for the upcoming lesson and, yes, the Fun Time. Now I say scramble for two reasons. First, one must dive into the materials room to see if you have what you need (or something vaguely close to it: ie. this is a paper cup...well I need a plastic bowl...close enough...now do we have 30 of them?). Gathering materials is a complicated process, hinging upon the success of your ability to accurately plan and then request them the week before. The key here is communication...how do I explain "bow tie" pin to somebody who doesn't speak English as a first language? I am honestly asking because after 6 months we have never received one. Anyway, the second reason is often the morning scramble leads one to deal with the "technology" of the school. Without too many details, many mornings, the internet, the printer and the computer tend to conspire against you. That is to say, you need to print something from the internet but you can't and the error message is in Chinese. If you successfully out wit these machines, you must then deal with the copy machine. At this point your skill is no longer a factor and it just comes down to luck.

9:00 AM: Ready or not it's go time. Maybe your Fun Time is ready and maybe not, but the kids have been calling your name everytime they think they see you and they are getting ansy. Katie and I head to the second floor to find 6 classes of Kindergarners (ages 2-6) are sitting with their Chinese teachers waiting for us to lead them in 15-20 minutes of "excercise." There is no way to really describe this in a fashion that would do this justice. Basically what happens is, Katie and I make up dance routines to songs and lead the kids in dancing with us for 15 minutes. This is usually where we forget the frustrations of the morning and just watch the kids and laugh as they dance to "Surfing USA" or "Gold Lion" and sing along.

9:20- 9:30ish: Sharing Time. At this point I head into the "Kangaroo Class" to begin English class. After Exercise time, they are often very hot and tired so they must sit at their table and drink hot water.

This is Joan after drinking a nice cup of refreshing hot water...Sharing time consists of the children getting English in their heads. Many of them don't hear English at any other time except during this class...so this time helps them "remember".

9:30-10:00 AM Snack Time. The children eat and I make sure my Fun Time is ready then I sit with the ones who finish and look at books.

10:00 AM-10:45 English Time. This is the bulk of the lesson. Flash cards, games, ABC's...the whole deal. We have set curriculum to go through, but in the end every class is different and very quickly it becomes your own. My Kangaroo class was a brand new class...that is to say, they knew zero English before coming to this class. For the first month we focused on learning things like "stand up", "sit down", "cup", "chair"...etc. It was slow going but now after only 6 months some of my students can read basic English books...and they are only 4 or 5 years old. Man I am awesome! (actually they are incredibly smart)

10:45- 11:30 Fun Time! So what is Fun Time? What is all this about? It's a craft project. Something fun for the kids to do after the lesson. Why is that such a big deal? Why all the trouble? We have taught over 200 classes now and almost each one has had a different Fun Time game or project...but here are some shining examples:

Yes...Santa beards...
We made bridges....

Now we test them!

All in all Fun Time is great and the only difficulty is coming up with something new each day.

Our next class begins at 1:30 and we do the same thing over again with a new class. Katie and I each teach 2 kindergarten classes and on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we teach a two hour class for older kids.

I can honestly tell you that I have never been so tired after work as I have been doing this. The kindy kids are there everyday with tons of energy and a need for attention. Teaching is one thing, but attending to each child, learning about them and loving them is another thing entirely. The older kids are this way as well, but in their own special way. It has been an enormous challenge, but we are so thankful for it. Here are more pictures of my kids...

This is CoCo and she is adorable.
This is LuLu...she wouldn't talk when I first got there. Now she reads!
Paper/ Scissors/ Stone solves all classroom disputes...
This is Kai...offical expert on all things animal related. He can tell you all the most dangerous snakes in the world (a good list of about 25 snakes).
This is Christine reading a story to the class for the "I Love Reading" competition. She just turned 5 and is reading in her second language...
This is Henry...and yes that is a foam guitar strapped to his back.
At the zoo...
This is NiNi.
The boys...
...and their fearless leader.

Well that's all for now...more blog updates to come!