For our seniors this week we have been basically doing a 10 minute speaking warm-up then finishing by just watching a 25 minute episode of Mr Bean - called, The Curse of Mr Bean - where he goes to a swimming pool, get's too scared to dive off the board, runs around naked as he lost his swimming shorts etc etc. Until present I've always thought Mr Bean to be stupidly unfunny - though in reality I had never actually seen him. Now after watching the same episode 9 times in one week I have to admit he was pretty amusing - particularly a scene where he's making a roll out of miscellaneous goods from his coat.
It was fun watching the senior students watching it however. They genuinely enjoyed it - comedy of the most simplest form. The reason we said to them that we were playing it, was because it was the last class - something fun - and the fact that the entire semester we had been trying to get them to talk with varying degrees of success. Mr Bean was someone who communicated with action rather than words, so it would be novelty for both them and us to watch something that was the opposite of what we had been trying to drag out of them all semester. It was a successful, easy and enjoyable week.
On Tuesday I held my first of two birthday classes. Tuesday was also Abby the kiwi's birthday. We went to an american bar named Rockies in the New District of Wuxi. In total, we had 3 americans, a canadian, an english woman, 3 new zealanders and us making up 2 Australians. It's cool being part of a completely multi-cultural bunch, all with the desire to ho down burgers, pizza and beer, all being over over-boiled vegetables that make up our respective school lunch menus.
Anyhow the birthday classes were a complete joy, and a complete success, with all credit going to Courtney's tireless work putting everything together. I personally can't claim anything here other than making sure Courtney didn't draw the tails on the donkeys(which she would have done, i swear it!)
My first class is easily the most boisterous of the two and really tired me out. The hardest part of the lesson was geting them under control for a game of pass the parcel...45 player stylez. It was the first game and they were SUPER excited that something cool was about to happen.
Firstly I had to scream my lungs out to get them into a circle that involved them standing next to each other. In these classes, the boys and the girls are very very aware of each other. Whenever a circle is required, there is a gaping chasm between the two sexes. I had to grab and force them together. In class two I decided to tell them to just outright hold hands to bring them together. Unlike western kids, they have no issues holding hands...unless it's with the opposite sex! I saw one boy holding a pen top whilst one of the girls held the pen that went into the pen top - sure i could drop a joke about a boy and a girl holding a pen sliding into a pen top right here, but these are junior kids, so i won't! (teehee)
Pass the parcel was played to the Chinese favourite, Backstreet Boys. I have had the freakin song "I want it that way," in my head so utterly bad this week that it's driving me nuts.
Next up was Pin the Tail on the donkey which likewise they thoroughly enjoyed. The first class completely mobbed the donkey and took over, running it themselves. The second class was a little more orderly, but still just organised chaos.
We had bought 3 large bags of chuppa chup style lollipops to hand out to every kid at the end of each class. When I brought out the bag and told them that there was one for every kid - well sure as shit they didn't believe it and I was mobbed like I have never been mobbed before.
The first class just insta attacked me and I could barely see through the hands that were thrust in at me. God I wish I had filmed or photographed this! The second class - the one I said was less boisterous, was even worse! When I said there were lollipops, I couldn't even get my bloody hand in the bag that I was holding!! In amongst this, I actually had kids requesting flavours, or wanting to swap their flavour for something else. All the while I am trying to not give multiples out to the same kids and am watching for double dippers, which I am sure there were a few of the bastards!! No matter how much you emphasise there is one for everyone, I don't think they believe you - they must be used to just having to fight for things like that, being so many of them.
Class 1 - while Pin the Tail was being played, the class broke down into Backstreet Boys chaos. Kids were all over the class enjoying themselves. Whenever I tried to film them doing their thing, someone would either get up on a damned chair or in the second class, be throwing the parcels around so much that I thought they'd burst open. I'd pick up the camera, press record then have to thrust it back down and get control back. Bloody kids!
Pin the Tail in full effect! Who needs a teacher here, really?
Class 2 on Wednesday - special mention to Naiger for the random pig face. It's good to be able to show you guys back home a little piece of what we experience in our classes. These younger student classes are very different to the older students - hopefully we'll get them on film one time- just so we can remember them when this is all over and we're back home with our multiple TV channels, comfortable couch, bed that's not in a net, dishwasher and air that's not full of mosquitoes! Wait, did I just squeeze a whinge in there??!
Every tuesday before class these three guys come and escort me to class. They run their little hearts out to get as close to my apartment as possible so they can walk the whole distance. This last class they were almost at the apartment. On the left we have Paddy, in the middle, Parker(formerly Gordon) and on the right, my original escort(ie: he used to come by himself) Taylor. I love these three kids, I am looking into adopting them.
On the left is Stephen, the penultimate Backstreet Boys fan. It was for him that I decided to choose them. The whole class had a sing-a-long during pass the parcel. On the right is Victoria. While in hang-man, as a sweet little girl, she chooses words like 'Lucky Star,' the boys go for words like, "George W Bush," "Allah," and I had "Hitler" the other week.
It was actually Victoria's birthday this same day, I gave her a handful of leftover lollipops by way of present; she beamed.
Class 2 on Wednesday - special mention to Naiger for the random pig face. It's good to be able to show you guys back home a little piece of what we experience in our classes. These younger student classes are very different to the older students - hopefully we'll get them on film one time- just so we can remember them when this is all over and we're back home with our multiple TV channels, comfortable couch, bed that's not in a net, dishwasher and air that's not full of mosquitoes! Wait, did I just squeeze a whinge in there??!
Every tuesday before class these three guys come and escort me to class. They run their little hearts out to get as close to my apartment as possible so they can walk the whole distance. This last class they were almost at the apartment. On the left we have Paddy, in the middle, Parker(formerly Gordon) and on the right, my original escort(ie: he used to come by himself) Taylor. I love these three kids, I am looking into adopting them.
On the left is Stephen, the penultimate Backstreet Boys fan. It was for him that I decided to choose them. The whole class had a sing-a-long during pass the parcel. On the right is Victoria. While in hang-man, as a sweet little girl, she chooses words like 'Lucky Star,' the boys go for words like, "George W Bush," "Allah," and I had "Hitler" the other week.It was actually Victoria's birthday this same day, I gave her a handful of leftover lollipops by way of present; she beamed.
The name of the kid on the left I forget, but he's bugging me each and every class for a turn at hangman, bringing up massive words he's found in the dictionary. I have had to bring in rules such as 1. you must be able to pronounce the word, 2. You must know what it means, 3. The class must KIND OF know what it means!! The boy on the right is guilty of this too - his name is Jeep. When he picked the word 'Oxygenism" I picked him up and put him on the teachers desk(he's tiny you see, I try and show off my super strength whenever I can). I then made him try and say the word and tell the class what it meant. It was all in good fun incidentally, I'm not like, vindictive or anything..mostly!
Mr Harry Potter is another cronic Hang-man badgerer..but a good kid all the same.
This is Mr Pan's daughter, Delia. She's in my wednesday class and is a really sweet little girl. Both Courtney and I like her very much. We bought her some gifts - like a funky pen, some Hello Kitty hair clips etc, as she bought us the Pig Cups(tm) and does random things like stuck some flowers in our apartment door.
No clue who these two are!
This is Gary - a good kid. He looks older than the rest by a year or two, and is one of the tallest, if not the tallest, in the class.
This is Annabella, who the kids call Annabella Umbrella.
I did know this kids name but I've forced myself to forget it as he's a total pain in the ass!!! He sits RIGHT beside the teachers desk - obviously because he's naughty or something. He's always talking in class, always doing anything but the work I ask him to do and is constantly badgering me to play games of which he just mucks around in anyhow. Bleh! He's a nice enough kid I suppose, but I ain't gonna miss him, that's for sure ;)
No clue who these two are!
This is Gary - a good kid. He looks older than the rest by a year or two, and is one of the tallest, if not the tallest, in the class.
This is Annabella, who the kids call Annabella Umbrella. 
I did know this kids name but I've forced myself to forget it as he's a total pain in the ass!!! He sits RIGHT beside the teachers desk - obviously because he's naughty or something. He's always talking in class, always doing anything but the work I ask him to do and is constantly badgering me to play games of which he just mucks around in anyhow. Bleh! He's a nice enough kid I suppose, but I ain't gonna miss him, that's for sure ;)All in all it was a fun yet deceptively tiring week. The two party classes were absolutely exhausting and they only went for 40 minutes each! The humid temperatures in the classrooms had both Courtney and myself dripping with sweat by the end of them. I think once the students start moving, the heat levels go through the roof. We don't think we will be teaching these guys next semester, but we have asked to, and fingers crossed.
Worse comes to worse we'll have some new gifted students and they'll be even better! At least this time round, going into the new semester after a long break, we'll be infinitely better teachers as like any job, as the months have gone by we have learnt a lot.
That all being said, the lesson plans remain a constant pain in our asses.
Cheerio!
Worse comes to worse we'll have some new gifted students and they'll be even better! At least this time round, going into the new semester after a long break, we'll be infinitely better teachers as like any job, as the months have gone by we have learnt a lot.
That all being said, the lesson plans remain a constant pain in our asses.
Cheerio!
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