Tutoring

So in January I went to the police station to get my Visa taken care of. A police man called me into his office and (in not so many words) asked me to tutor him. I said sure and smiled not expecting to get a call because many people ask, but no one usually means it. Last week I get a call to go to the principal's office. I have no idea who the principal is, let alone where his office is, so one of the Chinese teachers took me there. I really thought I was in trouble.

I get in there and there are a bunch of people just laughing and speaking Chinese. A man stands up and speaks to me in Chinese. It is the police man. Oh no. Another woman was there and asks me if I could tutor three children at the same time. I laugh and say of course because I am so happy I am not in trouble ( I don't know what i would be in trouble for, I just have never been called to the principal's office.) So now, I am tutoring the police man's child and two other children.

So fast forward to last night. I meet the children and they are really cute. I was very nervous because I had no idea what their English level would be. It was okay. Better than I anticipated.  So we went to the classroom and the parents stayed and watched for the full two hours. Seriously, that was not fun. I liked the kids a lot, but having the parents there made me feel really weird. It makes sense that they want to make sure that their money is being well spent, but I was not a fan.

It was a success though because they will be back the same time next week. Hopefully without the parents staying for the full two hours.

Well, I have two more classes today and then I am off to Ningbo. Apparently China's largest theme park is there. I am thinking that could be a good time. I'll have to see if Janice wants to do it. Otherwise I will just be at the beach and mountains, which I am definitely not complaining about. :)

Have a great day!

well hello there.

It has only been three months, so I thought I should give you a summary of what I have been up to.

1. My dad and Nick came to visit. It was a blast! They came to my city, met all the teachers and students, and went to dinner with my staff. It was so nice to have someone come and understand my life here! Then we went to Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing. The highlights were: climbing the great wall. (It was more uphill than I had anticipated, but nonetheless one of the coolest experiences.) In Hong Kong we went to Macau and saw Sally Carlson, which was fun to have another blast from the past. Her life in Hong Kong seems super great. We also went to the Beijing Zoo and saw a crazy amount of cool animals. We did a lot of touristy things and I was so sad to see them go. It was wonderful having them here.
2. Traveled to Xiamen to see another teacher from EC, Sara. She lives in the beautiful coastal city of Xiamen so it was fun to see a different perspective. We visited a famous chinese Island, and went to an Island of Taiwan which was super cool. I really enjoyed my time there. Sara also came to visit Brady and me two weekends ago for his birthday. It was a great weekend!
3. I have a legitimate Chinese friend now. Her name is Jenee. We go dancing in the park together (with 50 other men and women) and it is super fun! Sometimes we go shopping or walking. I feel as though I am learning a lot more about Chinese culture through her.  Like how much they really love KTV, which is basically like a karaoke place where you rent out a room with friends. I think they could be there all day and have no issue with it.
4. The rain was horrible here for about 2 months. I don't think I could ever live in a rainy city. Seriously, about 5 days of sunshine in 2 months. I did not like that at all. Now it is sunny though, so I am happy!
5. I am loving the weather and going for walks. I do that a lot here. There is a nice river/lake right in front of my school that I can walk around.
6. Classes. My senior 2 students are still amazing, they are so cute and eager to learn. My senior 3 students are the opposite. They are in their senior slide, so I have had to adjust my classes accordingly. I still enjoy them, just maybe not being their teacher so much ;)
7. This weekend my roommate and I are going to Ningbo for the Holiday. I think it seems like a nice city, so it should be fun.

This is the beach in Xiamen that Sara and I went to.

Top of the great wall!

Jackie Chan or Pat Sweeney? I'm not sure.

This is cooler than it looks. The floor is see-through so it is super freaky to look down! It is like the sky walk in the Grand Canyon.

We saw Pandas at the Beijing Zoo!

I will try not to stink at updating again.