Meetings.  If there is one thing that happens a lot in China it is meetings.  This week I had all of my theatre practices canceled because the students approach me and say..."we have a meeting."  And they do.  It isn't like they are trying to get out of practicing.  These kids attend more meetings each week than I think I did in a year when I was their age.  The likelyhood that practice is cancelled next week is high as well. I'm kind of freaked out about their performing at the end of the month, because at this rate, and the level they are at now, there is no way they will be ready by the end of December.   

Today I gave an "open class".  Didn't even know I had one when I showed up, so it was somewhat of a surprise.  What is an open class you may ask?  It is essentially where other teachers, in this case from another kindergarten, come to watch our teachers and see what goes on at our school.  Usually the teachers practice the class with the kids so that it goes perfectly (no spontenatity) and so that they are judged well.  Then there is me...didn't know I had one, and really if I wanted it to be a good judge of everyday class, I'm glad there was no practice involved, even if it did mean that the kids all had to figure out how to use scissors and glue while others watched.  So fourty something women and men diverged on our building this morning with notebooks and cameras and generally recorded what was going on.  Enter the foreigner.  Due to some miscommunications I didn't have my first class, but then went to my second class, where the fourty plus people milled around in and out while I proceded to give my lesson on rooms of the house where we cut and pasted the correct room of the house next to the correct action done in the respective room.  For example, brush your teeth goes with bathroom, etc.  THe kids seemed to like it and so did the adults judging from the amount of photo taking that was going on.  Part of me really wondered what they thought fo my lesson, but they didn't mention anything, so I think it went well. 

 

Anyways, so life is good.  THe christmas card writing has begun and is taking a long time.  Sorry in advance if everyone gets christmas cards a bit late.  Other than that life here is going along well. 

 

We've decorated the Mac for christmas and it looks lovely.  Now if we only had some snow.

 

 

Tonight I went with my teamate Helen into the primary school kids' dorm to say goodnight to some of my former students who are now in first and second grade.  I see these kids every day, but it was fun to go give them a hug and say goodnight.  Usually whenver the younger primary students on campus see me there is a large chorus of "Hello, Miss Katie!"  Even though there are only about twenty that were former students, I guess word gets around who I am, and now they are all excited.  Tongiht I mostly saw the first and second grade girls, which was a lot of fun.  I had kids climbing all over me, but it was a joy to reconnect with some of the ones who captured my heart two years ago.  One of my students is so much taller!  She told me that she is 5 and from what I remember I had her when she was three (she was put in an advanced class).  She is probably one of the brightest students I have taught thus far, and it is really neat to see how much she has grown and how well she can speak now that she is in first grade.  Helen and I had fun reading snow white to them over the loudspeaker, hopefully I'll be able to go again. 

I just decorated my house for christmas!  I am really excited, and I was feeling a bit like Martha Stewart.  I hung up lights and snowflakes and I even bought a fake tree.  Listening to christmas music is great too, I love Bing Crosby, and also the City on the Hill christmas Cd.  I could listen to the song "Child of Love" by Sara Groves all day.  The Father is so amazing.  He has blessed me in so many ways, it just feels like my heart will overflow sometimes. I made myself wait until thanksgiving was over to listen to christmas music, but now I am ready and excited for the christmas season.  Today our fellowship celebrated the first sunday of advent.  Really I think the anticipation is one of the parts of Christmas I love the best.  Christmas eve too.  There is just such a stillness to it, quiet, dark, snowing.  We had a few flurries this weekend, but it didn't do more than make everything wet.  I wish I lived somewhere where I got lots of snow.  I miss my family a lot during these times, but I feel blessed that last year I was able to spend time with them.  Now I just have to write all my christmas cards...  Letter writing is wonderful, it just takes a while.  I am still responding to people who have written me, so if you haven't recieved mail yet, I promise it is coming!! 

I've started taking ballet three times a week!  I am thrilled, and it is another opportunity to do a language exchange.  Tuesday through Thursday mornings at 7:50 one on one with the amazing dance teacher at our school.  She doesn't know English, and I don't know chinese, so we will be teaching each other words as we dance.  I will say it has been WAY too long since I've danced, and as thrilled as I am to be doing it again, it is totally kicking my butt.  I've stretched muscles i haven't in a long time.  It will be great though because hopefully a)my posture will improve, and b) my health will improve with the added exercise.  

 

As an added note I also met with my new chinese tutor on Thursday and hopefully that will help me improve my language skills.  We'll see.  Langauge is also kicking my butt as well.  Talk about lots of work.  i am seriously considering the need for more part-time/full time language study though, with as tough as it is to teach my kids and interact with my teachers.  Please please, please, be lifting up the language for me. 

 

So last Saturday I was priveleged to substitute for my teamate Helen at the rural Children of Migrant Workers School.  Talk about an awesome experience.  I hope that I will be able to go again in the future.  These students come from very poor backgrounds and their families are often moving to find work.  In spite of this, and in spite of the fact that whole school attends in four rooms with dirt floors, no heat, and an outhouse for a bathroom, they are probably some of the most happy, joyful, enthusiastic students I have ever met.  They are eager to learn, and soak up english better than many of the students that attend the school I work at.  This was by far one of the best experiences I've had in China. 

So the last two weekends I spent as a camp counselor for our fellowship's youth group fall camp.  It was a blast!  My girls were aweseome both weeks, and I was able to not only make new friends, but I was able to connect with some girls who I haven't seen for a couple of months.  I felt blessed the whole weekend, and lots of growing was done in their lives as well as mine.  Crazy fun was done as well, and Mike Elders if you ever want to know the coolest game to play sometime, human pac-man at night with glowsticks is definitely it.  I can get you a deal on the glowsticks as well. 

So I tried to post this earlier about my experience in Dalian, but wasn't able to.  So here it is now. 

 

Dalian is an interesting city, but I must say that when traveling it is often the people you are with and not the place you visit that makes the vacation.  For myself, I'd travel with the Siping team any day.  They are a blast, and I highly admire their sense of humor/way they get along with each other/ and willingness to have fun.  In iteself, I wouldn't say that Dalian is the most amazing city, however it is pretty.  We visited the aquarium/polor world, which if you are with fun people, you can have a great time at.  You will most likely ask yourself, "What on earth possesed them to do that?!" often if you see their dolfin/seal shows.  Anyways, check out the pictures in the album on the side to see all that Dalian has to offer.

 

Okay, so I just wrote a really good blog and then it got deleted.  I am inclined to agree with my sister in this respect and am feeling slightly hostile to technology.  Oh well. Moving on.  By the way all of the following is completely true. If you want to know more details or see pictures I can provide them of most of it.  I even have some of it on video.

 

Life seems really random here sometimes.  I feel like I am always having these inner monolgues going on in my brain about my life that I always want to write down here, but I never have the time.  So here goes. I'll share a few from the past few weeks.  I hope you find them amusing...looking back at the past couple of weeks I did.  If you don't or you find this a bit long, I apologize in advance.

 

Halloween.  Such an interesting holiday.  I can honestly say I have never quite celebrated it like this before.  150 kindergarteners and their parents in a space designed for half of that.  For one I did not know it is possible to carve a cabbage.  Not only is it possible, but it wins hands down in my book as most amazing lantern I have seen probably ever.  In the other interesting vegetable/fruit nomination category the winners are the green pepper, the eggplant, and the orange.  Yes, an eggplant can also be carved and lit.  I did however become fearful when they were attatched to sticks and given to four year olds, who proceded to walk around waving them at their friends who were also wearing flammable trashbag costumes while trick or treating.  (These costumes by the way were amazing, I do not think I could have done as well with trash bags and gold foil, these parents and teachers are amazing.  I think everyone here must go to some sort of craft school, because I am highly impressed with their skills).  Fun was had by all, and after giving all the kids a sugar high, most of them got to go home with their parents. 

 

This past Tuesday my coworker ran into the office with a "we are leaving for a field trip in five minutes hurry and get your coat!" So much for having twelve people from northwestern university watching our classes that morning.  So instead two of them came with us.  Where were we off to in such a rush you might ask?  To Beihai park, to see the crysanthmums the size of small basketballs and some as big as my children's heads.  Yes, specifically the crysanthmums.  That was all we did there.  Did I mention that three and four year olds don't really care about crysanthemums no matter how big they are?  They are much more interested in stretchy barrier in front of the crysanthmums and pushing one another.  "I'm hungry and I want to go home" were common themes (and no that was not said in English).  Behai is nice but if you bring kids, bring some snacks and some entertainment.  On a positive note, they were required to use the actual restroom at this park instead of going wherever they pleased.   

 

The following day I proceeded to my classroom where I find the school nurse awaiting me barring the door.  "No class".  No class?  "Are they having their teeth cleaned?" (This occasionally happens from time to time) "No, No, they are sick. The room must be cleaned."  I am thinking, I just saw these kids they were perfectly fine yesterday...(all of this was in chinese by the way, accompanied by hand motions to correctly convey meaning)  At this point I'm thinking someone threw up...However, after the electronic translator is fetched and used I am shown the word "infectious disease".  INFECTIOUS DISEASE????  At this point I am thinking, chicken pox ??(which wouldn't be so bad since I've had it) The electronic translator is used again.  and then some description words " Disease with blisters on the hands, feet and mouth." Hand, Foot, and mouth disease!?!?  Just Lovely. How many kids are sick?  Seven, the poor things.  I had to then go teach two other classes who hopefully did not have any cases of infectious disease.  I came home and hand sanitized like crazy.  Then today I returned to the same class and everyone of my students but three were gone either home sick, or as a precaution so they wouldn't get it.  Not knowing much about the disease I'm leaving my health in the Father's hands, but I'm hoping that if it hasn't shown up by now, I"m safe.  Looks like I'll have to be disinfecting the plastic vegetables from last weeks lesson, since three year olds love putting things into their mouthes.  Hence the name: hand, foot, and mouth disease.  What I want to know is...where do these diseases come from, and how on earth are they brought in??? Hopefully no one in other classes will come down with it either. 

 

I have more thoughts and experiences to share, some a bit more positive, but alas they'll have to wait for tomorrow. I'm exhausted, and lots of homework awaits me tomorrow.