Teaching in China

Yesterday was our first day of teaching in China....

 

WHOA.

 

It was so CRAZY!

 

My class has seven children in it, and they are only 4 years old. They are ADORABLE, but they don't speak a word of English. So while I am "teaching" them English, they just stare at me like I'm an alien pretty much.  Poor kids.

 

Since they are new to the English program here at the school, I was able to give them English names. After naming them all, I found out that 3 of them already had English names, and the boy I named Fred was actually already named Apple and is a girl. Whoops. My bad.

 

We rotate classes every 20-25 minutes, so luckily I get to teach some of the older students (5-6 yrs old) too. They are Easier and harder. They are easier cuz they have had a year in the program already so they know some English, but harder because since they know some English, they aren't as shy and you cant get them to SIT STILL. During class today, one of the little boys kept grabbing the board game from me and whacking me in the head with it, while one of the girls kept pulling on my braid and covering my eyes. They just cant seem to keep their hands to themselves. Oh children are such a joy.

 

But really a few of them are SO CUTE. There is this one girl name Emily in my class and she loves to just stay by my side so whenever we line up to rotate she comes and hugs my legs and is so cute. Its hardest for the 4 year olds because they all miss their moms still, and so a lot of them cry throughout the day. There is also this boy named Harry and he is super smart and picks up the language really fast and is extremely helpful. He also has really big ears that stick out and you just want to eat him all up he is so cute!

 

Some of the kids are really funny, too. And not always on purpose. Example Numero Uno: Susan (AKA 'Sweaty Sue'). Sweaty Sue is one of the new 4 year olds in our school, and just the mention of her name here has a rolling on the ground laughing. There aren't really words to describe this lovely little girl, other than she is SWEATY. For some reason she sweats more than anyone else  we have ever met here in China. Even just sitting there, without any physical activity, she has beads of sweat rolling down her face, and her hair is always plastered across her forehead. Oh she is such a joy. I need to get a picture of her in all her sweaty glory!

 

So teaching is NOTHING like anything we expected, and NOTHING like what we were trained for, but I am liking it so far, and I am having so much fun!