Stinkers on a Field Trip

In our cute little international department at our school, the administration decided that we take the students on English field trips. Ironically, everything was in Chinese. It's not really ironic, because this is backwards land.

So, two weeks ago, we took our third graders to The Mankattan (right, not Manhattan) Food Company because we've been learning about healthy eating and cooking. The students really enjoyed themselves.

3rd Graders at Mankattan Food Co. 

December  5th

 First we had a lecture on healthy eating and how they make bread here (I think).

 Kirsty and I have no clue what's going on.

Then, we all walked down a hallway with huge windows that overlooked a production line of machines that were making hamburger buns. We were not allowed to take pictures there.

Here's William enjoying his hamburger bun.

The last thing the kids did was make sandwiches. In my mind, I was thinking of a proper sandwich for eating. What they should have said, is that the students would be making bread art. Candies, cookies, sausages, mayonnaise, and tomato sauce- sounds delicious, doesn't it?

 Hello Kitty! ( I think I saw about 3 of these)

 

The three best "sandwiches." Gorden made a tank. 

Leftovers. Gross.................

My third grade kiddos

Note the sweet bus upholstery and the coolest poloroid picture ever:

Then last week, we took the fourth graders to Tony's Farm, which is an organic vegetable farm. Talk about disappointment when the kids realized there weren't any animals. On most of their reflections, they wrote that lunch was their favorite part. >.<  Naturally we went to a farm because we've been studying natural disasters and safety.  Clearly, the farm was a good choice.

4th Graders at Tony's Farm

December  11th

Fanciest greenhouse I've ever seen...

After lots of walking around and looking at plants, the kids finally got a chance to get their hands dirty. They each planted a little sapling to take home with them.

Jason didn't follow the rules and planted 5 plants.

 And I could only round up the girls for a class photo- because my boys just don't listen.

And, the final class consensus: Lunch really was the best part.

 

These kids are finally growing on me. They're ornery but they have a great sense of humor. I'm thankful for both of my classes. And can you believe it, Josh and I are almost halfway done with this contract. Unreal! I'll keep you posted on what our next move will be.

As I have been looking through my pictures and working on this post, I couldn't bear the thought of ignoring the two elementary school tragedies that have just occurred. I don't want to end on a sad note, but I must express my sympathy to the families and teachers who were affected by the school shooting in Newtown, CT and also the stabbing in Chengping, China.  What a horrible day all over the world. I honestly can't imagine anything like that happening at an elementary school anywhere. I admire those teachers who protected their students to the best of their ability. And I would hope, if found in a situation like that, I would do the same. Both attacks must have been equally terrifying. I saw several of my Facebook friends post things along the lines of "I'm hugging my children extra tight today, I can't imagine losing my babies," etc. Losing a child is awful. Being in a traumatic experience like these is awful. I pray for those survivors and families, that they can fully heal from this. We unfortunately had two more terrible reminders that life is way too precious to take for granted.

Cold War

There are so many things that I could go on a rant about here. I usually don't, but you'll know what I'm thinking when I mutter "ugh, China!" with frustration. There's one thing that I should mention, because it's so ridiculous, it's funny.

When we first arrived at the school, the weather was warm and nice. All the windows remained open, none having screens (because that's super safe for young children). The breeze was really pleasant.

I share an office with Allison, another foreigner and 6 female Chinese teachers. My relationship with the Chinese teachers is much different than my relationship with former Korean coworkers. In Korea, I shared all my classes with a Korean teacher. We discussed students, discipline, and the English language. We were a team working towards the same goal- to teach the kids English. And, my Korean coworker, Annie and I became great friends! It's very different here. Of course, I'm not working at an after school English academy anymore, keep that in mind. These students have a variety of subjects in a day, I'm one of many teachers they see. Only a few of the Chinese teachers speak English.

Something else that I should mention, is that the local teachers don't seem to place an importance on our (the foreigners') classes. Several times, they have taken students out of our classes to do Chinese homework, and some have even told the students straight out that their English classes weren't as important as the other classes. We've discussed this with the administration, and so far it's just been an unspoken battle between the Chinese and foreign teachers. Sets a nice mood for the office, doesn't it?

Allison told me right away to bring headphones, because it can get very loud in our office. That's an understatement. If it's not loud bantering or group singing, its an iPhone going off at top volume playing a Chinese pop song - 10 times in a row. She's not answering! Stop calling, idiot! It never stops. I find myself cranking my headphones on full blast just to tune them out.

Lucky me, my desk also sits right under the daily schedule posted on the wall, near the door. At least once a day, a Chinese teacher's torso is leaning on my head as I'm ducking while trying to type up my lesson plans. Occasionally I get a "sorry" but it's not like they stop after apologizing. Whatever, that's not the worst thing.

To be honest with you, none of this stuff really bothers me as much as the door. Because I sit right next to the door (my back is to it) It has become my unofficial job to close the door that everyone leaves wide open. Everyone seems to ignore the sign that says, "Close the door." You may be thinking, what's the big deal about leaving the door open? It's a very big deal, because not only do they leave the office door wide open- every window, right outside the door in the hallway, is open. It's winter. It's freezing. WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! As soon as the door is opened, it sucks in the cold air. I'm the first target.

Apparently, the Chinese teachers value fresh air more than warmth. They've each got a little humidifier on their desks to battle the dry air. There is a nice big heater in the center of the ceiling, that's running on high. But then, all the dang windows are open. Right, makes perfect sense.

I've taken it upon myself to fight back, passive-aggressively of course. It started with loud, unsatisfied sighs. Then Allison joined in with me at yelling "Close the door!" to any student who enters. And now, I just slam the door closed when people leave it open. I don't know why I bother changing  my outfits everyday, because I wear my coat and gloves all day.

I don't think I'll win this war until spring. At that point, I surrender.