This week has been a mix of stress, feeling the end of the year pinch, and growing slightly closer with some of the people around me. So the stressful thing first because they're hanging over my head:
- Last minute things. This is just kind of a general part of living and working here and something you'll run into or read whenever you find something about someone's experiences in China. But this last week it really got to me. No one told me that all classes after lunch on Wednesday were bumped up by 20 minutes so I was late to class. In addition to this, I guess the music club wasn't able to learn the words to a song fast enough so we (the two foreign teachers) were recruited to be the main singers in a show taking place in the next few hours. Which also made us late because we were taken away for rehearsal.
- I guess my voice doesn't pick up too well on mics/wasn't enthused about the situation since my co-volunteer immediately started saying "Hey, I didn't hear you singing at all. Were you? I heard nothing" and I'm sure she was teasing but I got angry and nearly cried anyway because there are few things I hate more than the suggestion that I'm not actually trying. And for me to just go along with this thing while not being the kind of person who feels very comfortable just singing and dancing in front of others (I've managed to avoid KTV for the most part) was kind of a big thing. Even more so since we had to do in front of the whole school, students and faculty alike.
- Did I mention that no one told me that my 7th period would be canceled since the whole school was attending this thing? I mean, I was proud of the kids who got this far in the talent competition, and I knew coming here that I wouldn't always get a warning of events ahead of time, but I just feel like I've been out of the loop on so much. It's like no one even bothers to see if I know anymore...
- I was asked to write an article for the newspaper about my daily life. At first, it just sounded like a fun project to work on. After a few weeks, I was told there was a deadline. After that, I was told it was part of a competition. And finally, when I turned in what I wrote and received feedback, I was told it wasn't detailed enough despite having no concrete instructions about what specifically about my daily life they wanted to know. And then I was told there was a limit on how many words I could use. I never sent a revised draft after my first one because I just lost the motivation after suddenly receiving all these details and hearing my work was insufficient. It didn't seem like my biggest priority. So this past week the other volunteer and I were in the newspaper with our articles. I wish I knew what they said and my students have excitedly asked if it's me, but I have no idea what's written. Knowing that there's a public article with your name on and you're not sure what it says is not the most comfortable feeling...I may post what I wrote originally. It was fun for me, but I can see that it probably didn't fit what they were looking for. Which makes me wonder if the translation of me work went through extensive editing before it hit the page.
- I chose to go to school on Christmas, but I guess everyone was so prepared to give me the day off that it bothered everyone that I was at school. I taught my class, was repeatedly told to go home and relax, waited to lead English corner as usual and no one showed up so I'm guessing that someone just made a decision to cancel it based on the assumption that neither of us would want to come to school on Christmas. Which was kind of frustrating.
- I almost got wifi on Christmas, but again, no one told me that the guy would be coming over. So when I was grabbing treats to pig out on while watching Christmas specials and movies, I got a text asking if I was in my apartment so that they could get me wifi...I sent a message saying I was shopping and asked if it would be easier for me to run over or for him to come another day and got no response. So I paid for my stuff, ran out, showed up at my apartment door 20 minutes after I received the first text and...no one was there. I wound up going across the street to the bakery to grab what I wanted.
- Did I mention that no one told me that my 7th period would be canceled since the whole school was attending this thing? I mean, I was proud of the kids who got this far in the talent competition, and I knew coming here that I wouldn't always get a warning of events ahead of time, but I just feel like I've been out of the loop on so much. It's like no one even bothers to see if I know anymore...
- I was asked to write an article for the newspaper about my daily life. At first, it just sounded like a fun project to work on. After a few weeks, I was told there was a deadline. After that, I was told it was part of a competition. And finally, when I turned in what I wrote and received feedback, I was told it wasn't detailed enough despite having no concrete instructions about what specifically about my daily life they wanted to know. And then I was told there was a limit on how many words I could use. I never sent a revised draft after my first one because I just lost the motivation after suddenly receiving all these details and hearing my work was insufficient. It didn't seem like my biggest priority. So this past week the other volunteer and I were in the newspaper with our articles. I wish I knew what they said and my students have excitedly asked if it's me, but I have no idea what's written. Knowing that there's a public article with your name on and you're not sure what it says is not the most comfortable feeling...I may post what I wrote originally. It was fun for me, but I can see that it probably didn't fit what they were looking for. Which makes me wonder if the translation of me work went through extensive editing before it hit the page.
- I chose to go to school on Christmas, but I guess everyone was so prepared to give me the day off that it bothered everyone that I was at school. I taught my class, was repeatedly told to go home and relax, waited to lead English corner as usual and no one showed up so I'm guessing that someone just made a decision to cancel it based on the assumption that neither of us would want to come to school on Christmas. Which was kind of frustrating.
- My liaison said I should be doing my final exam now because the grades are due soon. I knew the date was coming up and I have the rubric. I planned for the time I would need to spend class period on the rubric and on testing the students but I've lost time because of the unplanned things that keep cropping up at the end of the term. I'm a little upset and keep reminding myself that my exam is actually pretty short and I could potentially dedicate an entire class period to the exam instead of two, but I don't want to take my chances. And I'm worried no one will understand. The class I haven't seen in two weeks is the one that usually struggles to understand and sometimes just flat out doesn't listen to me and I hate throwing an exam at them with no warning. They're not the best behaved, but they are very sweet.
- I almost got wifi on Christmas, but again, no one told me that the guy would be coming over. So when I was grabbing treats to pig out on while watching Christmas specials and movies, I got a text asking if I was in my apartment so that they could get me wifi...I sent a message saying I was shopping and asked if it would be easier for me to run over or for him to come another day and got no response. So I paid for my stuff, ran out, showed up at my apartment door 20 minutes after I received the first text and...no one was there. I wound up going across the street to the bakery to grab what I wanted.
Before you go thinking that I've had nothing but stress, let me list off some of the joys since it was the week of Christmas:
- Asking students what they want for Christmas. The answers are varied and they dream big. Meeting Kevin Durant (accidentally misheard it as "meeting Cary Grant" and I wasn't totally sure...), the TF Boys, EXOGEM, no homework, long holiday, all the presents, an easy test, "red Mao Zedong" (the 100 yuan bill is red and has Mao's face on it, so I guess it's like when we colloquially talk about "Benjamins" in the US), Lee Hom, G-Dragon, family, a gift (I asked. That was it. A gift.), a surprise, a puppy, iPhone, iPad, an NBA star, some books, a bag, lots of money, a diamond, krystal, a pot of gold, a big house, a new house, a wife (a popular answer in these kinds of activities), to go to America, a postcard...
- I nearly ran away from the stage after singing and I think my discomfort was really obvious. On the other hand, it's now been more clearly established that I'm one of the two foreign teachers and I guess the kids had fun, which is always important. At least it's over. As long I don't get anymore last minute sing-in-front-of-thousands-of-people invites.
- All the cards and candy I got. I don't know what to do with them all. I might get a clothesline where I can hang all the small things I get from students. I have some hooks I haven't stuck to the wall yet and a clothesline I never use. I just don't have clips yet. I have no clue what to do with the giant plush banana I now own though...
- The kids have been asking me about the iPhone 6 for a good part of the year. So I drew 6 eyes and taped them to my phone case so that I could tell them I got an iPhone for Christmas. A few giggled, some just kept staring until I opened my case and said "But it's a Coolpad..." while their classmates explained the joke. In time I guess. Maybe I should see what happens if I pull the same trick on some of their teachers.
- I went through Netflix and found a new Christmas movie to add into my list: Blackadder Christmas Carol. In which England's kindest man is visited by a ghost on Christmas eve and changes his ways.
- One of my students who always causes trouble and never really contributes to class finally spoke up this past week and tried to help me quiet the class. It was pretty awesome.
- And finally, my Christmas Swiss roll. 4 years of getting a degree in communications and literature in Italy speaking Switzerland lead me to giggle and buy a tricolor Swiss roll covered in coconut shavings for Christmas. Even better, the bakery is called "1984". What better way for me to celebrate my Chinese Christmas than with an Asian spongecake/Swiss roll in the three colors of the Italian flag bought in a bakery that brings Orwell to mind?
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