Today is National Teacher's Day in China. Students actually walk up to you and say "Happy Teacher's Day!" I got a few cards, box of pens (mostly red because only teachers use red ink - students will refuse to write in red), a plant and a miniature cake at lunch. Not bad for only having the students for 1.5 weeks. I'm trying to learn all their names but their room teacher constantly moves them around and every time they do that it sets me back to zero. It will be a long process...
One aspect of teaching here is that there are no substitutes (can't really call in an English-speaking sub). So guess what? We have to cover for them. Due to crazy circumstances already, I have had to do this 3 times and envision it will be quite common. Chris, the Econ teacher from Ireland, just up and quit on Friday (said it was family issues but everyone knows different). Jake had visa problems and had to go to Shanghai for 2 days this week to get it resolved, and 2 teachers have called in sick. Sure makes it interesting!
Now here's something that I found fascinating - all of the heat in China is government controlled. The gas and electricity and water that I pay for is all separate from the heating system. And the Chinese government turns the heat on November 15 and shuts it off on March 15 regardless of the weather. So if it's cold before Nov. 15, too bad! (Well, I've been advised to buy a space heater.) And I have no control over the temperature when it is turned on. Reminds me of the heating system at Michigan State when I was there - you couldn't turn the heat down in the dorms so you'd just open your windows in the middle of winter if your room got too hot... And you do receive a separate bill for the heat.
Students are all issued their own textbooks here - they own them and can do whatever they want with them. The interesting part is that they are all bootlegs - they take a real textbook and copy it page by page, bind them up with a nice cover and voila! It almost looks like the real thing! The principal can't understand why they do that because the cost of real textbooks, while definitely more expensive, could just be rolled into their tuition amount without any large effect. And the copy machine is definitely something to behold - big, ancient, and noisy - but extremely fast!
Many of the students are in the midst of studying for their Toefl exams - it shows their fluency in English. I believe they also have to have a certain score to get admitted to the universities in the US. Like any place, some students pick up English quickly and for others it's a struggle. Many students are shy too which makes it tough. But in the long run, I think most of them come out ok...
It has been raining here since Sunday (today is Wednesday) and the weather forecast is calling for rain through Tuesday. It's not torrential but more than Portland-style. One thing I notice about many of the sidewalks, hallways and corridors is that they were made without any concern for drainage. You have to dodge huge puddles (even the hallways at school, which are covered but open-aired). Rain jackets are not common but you will see a sea of umbrellas.
I think for lunch today I had some kind of Muslim food. No idea what it was, but it was good!
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