Egads, Dude!

T-minus 10 days and counting....

I am actually really, really sad to be leaving Guyuan.

Of course, there are some things that I really won't miss. And, lucky for you, this is a post about one of those things.

Mr. Horse - AKA Math Dude.

Seriously, dude, what's your deal?

Today, I wrapped up things with two more classes (junior two this time, not as tear filled, as I didn't really get to know these kids quite as well). Mr. Horse is the head teacher for one of these classes. I wanted to have the time to be with my students, take some pictures and wrap up the final exam. And, well...

Okay, inhale, getting a little ahead of myself.

I posted a little while ago, after the English competition, that I was afraid that things were going to start up again after that most unfortunate dinner I was duped into with him and another couple of teachers. Well, I'm not happy about being right about things this time.

To recap, the English competition dinner: Confused English about being happy about the students' success and wanting to celebrate. Me thinky - "ooh! Student dinner - fun, fun." Reality: dinner with Horse and another teacher who I don't know. Back story - I had already refused an apology "sit" with Horse ("sit" - a smoke screen that meant dinner).

It is fairly obvious to me, at least, that I put out nothing but a toxic vibe when around him. I think others notice this as well. But he just doesn't GET IT. The big "IT". The big "Stay away from me, I can't stand your presence" or more bluntly, "F-off" type of thing. Seriously, I don't think that I could be more blatant with my attitude or body language than if I flat out said, "Dude, I hate you. Go away. Now."

Alright, now that we have my general comportment on record, let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we? Since the dinner that I really didn't want to be at, he now thinks that I have "forgiven him" for his drunk-ass behavior from October and worse yet, that I am his friend. I honestly, do not know what would possible give him that idea.

So, besides just the routine annoyance of having him seek me out in the common areas of the school, having him dismiss students I am playing with and such, he has brought his game to a whole new irritating level.

So, he has this book called, "Crazy English". He has decided to catch me and interrupt me no matter what I am doing to have me try to explain to him what certain phrases in this book mean. The phrases are usually "hand picked" and of a certain theme. Like: "Oh, you are such a sweet man!" and "what a sweetheart" and something that was the equivalent of "that dress is hot" and the like. Yeah, cherry picked phrases so he can make example sentences with the convenient characters of Ms. Molly and Mr. Horse.

Crrreepy!

The headmaster for the junior school decided to throw a special dinner for all of the junior teachers. All of the junior 1 teachers were in one room and all of the junior 2 teachers were in another. So, I went to dine with all of the junior 1 teachers. Enter Mr. Horse - Junior 2 teacher. The only junior 2 teacher in the room. We thought that he would only be staying for a little while and then retire to the other room. Nope. He stayed. Stayed for the whole dinner. Other teachers made fun of him - "why are you here?" and "go to your room, get out of here!" Nope. He stayed. Sat right across from me. Yup. Stared at me the whole entire dinner. It not only made me feel uncomfortable, but also the other teachers at the table. At the first opportunity for me to leave, one of the English teachers grabbed me and said, "You should leave now". So I am rushed out with the Horse nipping at my heels.

So, fast forward to about 4 weeks ago. I had started to give his class my final exam. It is a talking exam (how else to test spoken English). So, I was taking students in pairs out into the hallway to give them the test. Suddenly, the students stop talking and start gaping. I look up from my stool to find Horse looming over me holding ice cream over my head. I don't know how long he had been there or what, but, I mean, what the hell...? I told him that I really didn't need the ice cream but he insisted. Rather than dragging it out DURING MY CLASS TIME, I accepted it so he would get lost. Nope. Instead, he starts to comment on how he thought that he thought that I must be hot and that he thought that I looked tired, blah blah blah. Finally, I told him that I really must work and that I need him to leave so I can test his students. So, he said that he would come find me after class so we can talk during the free period. Like hell! I slip away down the back staircase as soon as class lets out.

Now, let's jump to last Friday. So, I had written about these mad exams that the kids take to get into University, well the Junior 3 students take one to get into Senior School. So, now that the test is over, they must all be corrected and my school was chosen to be one of the test correction sites. What does this mean? It means that they emptied out the top two floors of the Junior building to accommodate all of the teachers from various schools coming to check the test. Which also meant my office. We had to move all of our stuff down to an office on the second floor. The Junior 2 floor. The Junior 2 office. Mr. Horse's office. *Shudder* He brightly announced that I could share his desk, which was approved despite my protests. Great. Luckily, he was called in to help correct the tests, so I wouldn't have to share space, but I still didn't spend a lot of time around the vicinity for his frequent "check-ins".

Now, last weekend. I was supposed to meet some kids last Saturday at the Junior School. I was a little early so, I waited and helped some of the junior 1 kids get ready for their talent show. I didn't really think that many teachers would be at the school, outside of the Junior 1 teachers. Wrong. Yup. Mr. Horse. He cornered me and when I excused myself he always managed to find me again shortly after. Finally, he asked when I would be leaving Guyuan. So I told him. He then said that he wants to have a special goodbye dinner for his American friend. I told him that it was not necessary. But, sometimes, talking to the Chinese people that I have met here is really more like talking to a Chinese wall (hmmm... walls, something that the Chinese really excel at). So he continued. I continued to refuse. I tried the too busy, not enough time shtick on and on and on. Finally, he relented. I talked my way out of it! Whoo-hoo! Triumph!

I was able to watch my kids perform in peace. A side note: It was strange to look at the packed auditorium, filled with kids and think that I teach them all. That sea of people in front of me - I see each one every week.

Anyhow, back to the story.

Tuesday - I have been going to school during their open period to give my test to those who want to get it over with and, well, to play with the kids on the playground. Which I have found is quite the oddity to the guest teachers correcting exams. They are all puzzled by this "look like Chinese" foreigner, wearing strange clothing, big earrings and playing with kids. So, I am going to leave for the day when one of my fellow English teachers says, "oh you're leaving? I thought that we would walk to Mr. Horse's dinner together." Me, "WHAT!?!?!" She, "Mr. Horse says that we are having a dinner tonight". I tell her that I didn't know anything about it and that I was just too busy to possibly go.

Meanwhile at the bat cave...err...apartment...

Matt gets a call from one of the Senior English teachers who we like. We both know that he was planning some kind of farewell dinner for us and the other English teachers. So, Mr. King invites out to a goodbye dinner. Matt accepts, thinking that this is the dinner. He is told to meet Mr. King out by the Senior gate in about 10 minutes. So, as I am walking home, I meet Matt on the way. He tells me about the farewell dinner with Mr. King. I swear loudly, robustly and with feeling. This is Mr. Horse! This is the dinner that I told him that we were just too busy for. So, knowing that I am refusing, he goes around and pulls this shit. I am furious! I wind up going for only an hour because I needed to go and grade papers. I am so angry I won't even look at him the entire dinner. The next day my English teacher friend wanted to talk about a little to comment on how strange the whole thing was.

Alright, now today.

I am barely in the office, but today I happen to be in there for about a total of 15 minutes. I see Mr. Horse 7 times.

This afternoon. I am early, so I wait in the hall and talk to kids before the next class begins. Mr. Horse is lurking about. I retreat to a different floor. Then, when the bells rings, I go to class. Safe! So, I bring some students out into the hall to give my final. I am in the middle of giving a test and up comes Mr. Horse. He gives me a canned coffee drink and wants to talk. Geez! What is up with this dip shit? Excuse my language. I have seriously censored my usual usage of colorful language for the purposes of this blog, but I am seriously pissed off with this man and "dip shit" is truly the nicest set of words I can manage right now.

I get him to leave and finish up (for the most part) with the exam. I tell my class "goodbye" and leave. As I leave the room, I see Mr. Horse heading down the hall toward me. I run down the staircase and retreat to the playground.

Oh yes, today he reeked of alcohol.

The photo?

This is the gift his "class" gave to me on Teacher's Day. I think that it is an accurate representation of our relationship. One horse trying to run away from the one following it. Or at least that it how I see it.

Well, shit. I'm tired.

What are they doing?

What are they doing?

Watch the video

Just thought that I would capture one of the more entertaining things for me to watch on my Tuesdays (well, other than Sam dancing). Between my 3rd and 4th period classes, the kids have an extended passing time to clean the classrooms and do these "eye exercises".

I love watching them do this to no end. One time they showed me what to do so I could do it with them, but everyone was laughing so hard it wasn't very successful. Usually I just peek into the classroom while they are doing them and they will try to wave while rubbing the eye area, and yes, they do wind up poking themselves in the eyes.

The video is a little long and a little bumpy (I was walking around recording), so watch what you can - and follow along!

Yi...er...san...si...wu...liu...!

Entertainment?

Just a blickie (blog quickie) -

Today it was actually raining hard here, which is really needed as the region is in serious drought.

and...

...my umbrella was a source of entertainment for 20 minutes.

My kids have never used a push button operated umbrella before. They also played with it all the way home.

More pictures on flickr - soonish.

Hard Core English!

More testing today. I am really surprised that so many kids have been coming during their free period. I mean, when I was their age, taking a test would be the last thing that I would want to do when I don't have class. In the past two days, I have tested over 160 kids.

Some highlights from today's testing:

The English teachers have all been really impressed with the kids listening comprehension and speaking abilities. Today, one of the Junior 3 teachers said that her students were not able to answer similar oral questions as well as the kids that I have been working with.

Students have been passing along the information that the Timberwolves are my hometown basketball team, so some of the boys all wore Timberwolves jerseys and made a little English song about basketball, my team, me, and English.

Some of my Junior 3 girls came up to see me (it was their last day of school). We had a really excellent chat. It was good to see them again as I probably won't see them again.

A boy from my junior 1 class 3 (boy pictured above) came in with a bandaged head and a big 4 inch, bloody gash on his head. He was in the hospital or something and got his parents to bring him back to school just to take my English test at an optional test time. I told him to go home and I would test him during his class time next week. But he said that he wanted to see me so he came. So, part of the conversation was the question, "how's it going?" he pointed at his head and replied, "just so-so". I'd say! He said that he was hit with something.

Last, after I finished testing another student, I told him that he did a very good job and he threw his arms around me and I gave him a big hug. The other teachers started to laugh and applaud. He got embarrassed and ran out of the office. When I left, he was outside waiting for me and said, "thank you teacher!" before running down the stairs.

I guess that is all for today. Tomorrow morning I have a brunch with some of the kids from my class 5. They are really excited about it, they have been visiting me at school to remind me and emailing me about it. Then, in the afternoon, I am climbing the hill with some more kids from class 6 (wish me luck, I don't think that I will be able to race up like they will want to).

Nauseating Fun

So, I am finally getting around to writing about last weekend, now that this weekend is almost here. I have been busy giving my final exams. It has been going okay - the kids cheat like crazy though. But more on that later.

Last weekend...Matt and I went out for lunch with some of my students from my lovely class 6 (junior 1). We went to have hotpot and then went to a new arcade at the mall. After, we all went to the park. It was fun! We took out some paddle boats and the boys acted exactly as 12 year olds boys should act. Also, we took a ride in some bumper cars - Matt and my car quickly turned into the target car to hit. Then, well, the nausea. There was much discussion leading up to the event. The result? We all wound up boarding one of those ship rides that rocks back and forth and arcs higher and higher until you want to puke. I was never too keen on those kinds of rides in my youth - more of a twirling ride kinda gal than a fast drop ride kind of gal. So, you can only imagine how the ride went over in my 20+ year older self. Yeah, exactly. I think that my kids forget that I am more than twice their age.

Anyhow, it was fun to hang out with some of my favorite students and will do so again this coming weekend.

So the finals. They cheat. Bad. But I guess that it doesn't really matter as our grades don't really count anyhow. Which brings me back to: why am I giving an exam exactly?

I have been speaking to each student individually to get an idea of their conversation abilities. But, the kids are upset that I am leaving and some of the sessions have been full of tears (mostly theirs). It is getting really difficult as some of them have been pleading with me to stay. It will be a hard few weeks as I have inadvertently become the adoptive sister to about 700 kids give or take. Many of my girls have taken my first name as their English name and many of my boys have started to use my surname on papers (and not just on papers for my class).

What else...I have been encouraging my students to come to the English office to take their spoken test during their free period so we can have a fun class at the end. So about 60 students showed up today. It was fun! I got to weave in and out of J1 and J2 conversations and later one of the teachers told me that her J2 students (who I only see every other week) were envious of my J1 students (who I get to see every week) because the J1s could speak and comprehend at my (very close to) normal speaking rate and they could not. They were really, really shocked that the J1s speaking ability was so much higher than theirs. She then told me that she thought that my classes were the reason. Whoo-hoo! Yes, I'm telling you this to brag.

Hmmm...I brought my Polaroid camera to school (thanks, Jerry!). Man did that go over big! I was mobbed. Not exaggerating. I chose one student to man the camera and then took photos with tons of kids. One of the students then showed the picture with me to his head teacher (one of the English teachers). She said that he ran over to her after class and said "Teacher, teacher I want to show you a photo, please wait for me to get it!" Then he ran and pulled out the Polaroid and exclaimed, "This is me and Miss Molly! Look how happy my face is - I can't believe it!” :-) I just don't think that University students can even begin to compete with the cuteness. *sigh* I will miss my 800 kids.

Nail Biting

The National Exam is over!

I can hear the loud music and singing from the probable celebrations as I type this. This is the exam, the one that they all prepare for throughout their pre-university schooling. It's crazy!

The exam takes place over three days. All of the other senior students are excused from classes and are actually barred from entering the school grounds (unless they live in the dorms). The street in front of the school is blocked (so there is no traffic noise) with a police person standing watch to make sure no one sneaks through. The gate is locked except for when they let students in and out (or for the curious foreign teacher wandering around).

Parents take the testing days off and wait outside of the gate. There were small crowds of people all squatting on the sidewalk outside of the school, waiting for their child to finish the test. Everyone is tense. Just walking through the campus was eerie. No noise. None. At all.

Things were even quiet on the Junior campus - even they recognize the seriousness of The Test. The children were doing all of the things they generally do out on the playground, but not really making any noise. Spooky. Really spooky.

Anyhow, the test is now over and now they wait for the results - dwell on the test and over think what they did wrong. I hope there aren't any suicides. That would be horrible. I am worried about one of the students Matt and I had conversation practice with. These kids have so much stress - more than I ever had at their age. They prematurely go grey because of the stress. I am thinking about bringing up the idea of peer counseling to our waiban. When given the opportunity to talk about problems, they are startling open about what they are feeling and want to talk about whatever is on their minds, but they really do not have the opportunity to do so.

Anyhow, The Test is now done. The Junior 3 test to get into Senior School is coming up next (they only get one crack at that test).

Article about THE TEST

In China, students failing the stress test
Teenager’s suicide underscores concerns about student worry over exams

Associated Press
Updated: 7:46 p.m. ET June 7, 2006

SHANGHAI, China - A teenager’s suicide after being barred from a key high school exam for not tying back her hair underscores the intense pressure on millions of Chinese who began taking annual college entrance tests Wednesday.

Worries are rising about academic stress. There are 2.6 million places at China’s universities, but the competition is fierce — 9.5 million youths are taking the three-day exams that are widely viewed as crucial to career and financial success.
Although 16-year-old Wu Wenwen’s suicide occurred in January, during high school end-of-term tests, it is resonating during this week’s college exams.

According to her family and newspaper accounts, Wenwen drowned herself after she was stopped at the exam room door because her hair wasn’t tied back as her school required.
She returned in barrettes, but was told the exam had started and she was too late to take it. Wenwen phoned her mother in tears, and then disappeared. Her body was found that night in a nearby lake.

As in Japan and South Korea, schooling in China has become a nail-bitingly stressful ordeal for children and parents alike, one that experts say causes undue emotional distress.

“Pressure from study and exams is a top reason for psychological problems among Chinese youth,” said Jin Wuguan, director of the Youth Psychological Counseling Center at Shanghai’s Ruijin Hospital.

Parents even murdered
In China’s increasingly success-oriented cities, academic stress is seen as a rising cause of youth suicides and even murders of parents by children unhinged by overwhelming pressure to perform.

China doesn’t keep comprehensive statistics on student suicides, but Jin said health care professionals see the problem worsening, even among elementary students.
Most Chinese schools still lack counselors and teachers receive little training in spotting emotional distress, Jin said. Parents are little help, often piling on pressure while ignoring their children’s emotional development, he said.

“It’s a basic unwillingness or inability to recognize and deal with emotional problems,” Jin said.

Wang Yufeng, at Peking University’s Institute of Mental Health, estimates the rate of emotional disorders such as depression and paranoia among Chinese students under age 17 at up to 32 percent — a total of 30 million students.

Others say the figure may be as high as 50 percent. A survey last year by the government said nearly 58 percent of students felt highly stressed by academic pressures.

Chinese youth now enjoy greater material comfort and personal freedoms than their parents’ generation, but are more emotionally fragile, experts say.

Today's concerns: tests, work, relationships
Students educated before economic reforms began in the early 1980s were raised amid austerity and ideals of self-sacrifice. Under the job-assignment system prevailing until the early 1990s, graduates could expect the Communist Party to decide their futures.
Today’s Chinese teens are largely preoccupied with the same worries as their Western counterparts — exams, jobs and the opposite sex.

“Kids these days haven’t been through what we went through. Their hearts haven’t been toughened up and they’re distracted by all these other concerns,” Wenwen’s father, Wu Lijun, said in an interview.

Wu blames Wenwen’s school, the elite No. 7 Middle School in the eastern city of Wenzhou, for her suicide. He accuses the exam proctor of taking an overly harsh attitude and says school officials should have kept track of his daughter’s whereabouts.

Wu has sued the school and local education bureau over the death. A hearing was held in April, but no verdict has been announced.

School and bureau officials wouldn’t comment pending a ruling in the case. They refused to give their names because they weren’t authorized to speak to media.

Officials played down suicide
Wenwen’s case was front-page news in Wenzhou, sparking newspaper commentaries and heated discussion in online forums. But the coverage stopped after the lawsuit was filed — a likely sign that communist officials wanted to end talk about such a sensitive issue.

Students aren’t the only ones stressing over exams. Many parents take time off from work to help their children study, book them into hotels close to exam halls, and even petition to have traffic kept from near downtown schools to keep the area quiet during the tests.

Amid a budding debate over the wisdom of putting so much emphasis on the exams, counselors are reaching out through a medium most popular with teens: the Internet.

“This is such an important exam, it’s crucial to reduce anxiety to the lowest level possible,” Tsinghua University psychiatrist Li Yan said on the Web site “Emotional Navigation for Exam Takers,” hosted by the official People’s Daily newspaper.

“You need to lay down your burdens and just show them what you know,” Li said.

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Dragon Boat Festival

So, what do you do for the dragon boat festival when there is no water source?

I don't have an answer. Not feeling too clever right now.

The dragon boat festival was interesting. My kids gave me bracelets made out of colored string and many shoved steamed rice cakes in my face. It was fun and sticky. One of the teachers gave me a little dragon because of the festival and because I am year of the dragon. When my kids found out that I was year of the dragon they started to applaud. Freaks. They get excited over this strangest things.

Also, there were many willow branches in doorways. I was told it was to keep the ghosts out. I think some of my kids got a little carried away with this - one of the classrooms had so many branches you couldn't open the door very well.

Anyhow, that was last week. I have just been too lazy to put this up. This week...ummm....I have been breaking the news to all of my kids about my departure. This has been met with a lot of tears and protests. Lots of "but why?" and "no, you don't go", "we don't want a new teacher", and the heartbreaking "but I love you, do you have to go?" At least my announcement has been met with this kind of reaction rather than applause.

What else...one of my students got into trouble today. Apparently he took a potted plant and dumped it out onto his desk and threw some of the dirt. He was sent to the headmaster's office and then his mother was called into school. None of the teachers could get him to say why he did it, so I am to try to talk to him sometime (the students told a teacher that I'm the only teacher he likes).

Anyhow, hopefully I will be able to finish some of the half completed posts I started earlier this week and post them later this weekend.

WHEEEEEE!!!!!

So, another week comes to a close. We are ever more suspicious about the level of monitoring going on in our home and my kids continue to provide me with material.

So, classes went pretty well this week, well, all but one. There was only five minutes left of class, but I just could not take it anymore. I walked out. I just couldn't babysit any longer. The kids in that class can do everything that I want them to do, they just chose not to do anything and to mock me instead. Yea, fun! I was fed up and left. Later two of my kids came to the English office to talk with me and their head teacher about class. One of the boys was really upset and was crying a little bit. It turns out that this boy thought that I was mad at him for his drawing on the black board (class activity). He thought that I left class because of him. He was really upset and teared up every time I looked at him. I tried to reassure them that they did not do anything wrong, I was not mad at him (he and his friend always do a good job in class) for his drawing, and that they did not need to apologize for anything. Eventually, they seemed to feel better and they left the office.

Later, both of the boys met me in the hallway while I waited for one of my Junior 2 classes to start. They wanted to make sure that everything was okay and that I wasn't angry with them. The little boy was starting to tear up again, so I asked him if he wanted a hug. He said "no", so I asked him again - "Are you sure you don't want a hug?" and held my arms open. Then the tears started to run down his cheeks and he nodded "yes" and ran into me with open arms.

Okay.

Class successes: Not too many. English cheerleader - Go! Verbs Go! (get it?) Anyhow, I'm a dork. So, in class I can be a bit of a spaz sometimes - but I want to get them animated because they sit stationary for long periods of time. I like to run around class and try to get people talking. I also like to work with the kids who don't really have people to work with. So, I have a little conversation practice with a girl and guy in the back of the classroom because they won't talk to each other. Everyone stopped talking to watch what I was doing - after getting them refocused on what the class should be doing, I went back to talk with the pair. The kids around me told me that they were both really shy. When I had the groups present, they didn't present together, but the boy volunteered at every single opportunity even though his English wasn't the best. At the end of class all of the students gave him a round of applause for his effort.

My oh my!

Okay next: Children's Day

Today is Children's Day. Some of my kids had exams today (junior 2) so their special day was, well, not. But I was invited to attend and chaperone movie afternoon for the Junior 1 students. Me, about 5 other adults and 500 hyper children. Interesting.

One of the other English teachers who I work with invited me to come along with her class - but I didn't know how to get to the theater, so she asked her kids who could meet me at the school and take a cab with me out to the movies, she told me that about 45 student hands shot up in the air all at once. She laughed as she has never been able to get that kind of response to a question before. She picked one kid who lived near the school, and then, she said, experienced one of the biggest groans from the disappointed students.

So, I met the student outside of the gate and we set out for the movie theater. He was talking to the cab driver about how I was his foreign teacher from America, but I how I am actually Korean. He played translator for us and I gave him praise for his English. When we got out of the cab, he held the door open for me and announced
very loudly, "After you Ms. Molly!" to get the attention of his classmates. He was so proud that he got to bring the foreign teacher - cute. This was greeted with a lot of applause.

So, all 600 students were standing outside of the theater in rank, waiting to be let in. Finally they are allowed in by class. I go with my class 5. Immediately, I am greeted with, "Teacher Molly, here!" "Teacher Molly, here!"

So, the movie. I didn't really get it. I mean, my favorite part was watching an old man suture a ceramic bowl (the conservation geek in me). Other than that, well, Zhang Zi Yi runs a lot.... Also the kids' response was entertaining. They applauded for, well, anything. They applauded when Zhang Zi Yi first showed up on screen, when her love interest showed up on screen (followed shortly by laughter), when she started running, when she fell down, when she started running, when she got water, when she started running, when she made him dinner, when he gave her a barrette, when she started running, when she fell down, when she fixed up the school room, when she put up paper cuts in the window, when she started running....

Anyhow, the movie was not too interesting, except for the bowl repair, but I loved being there with all of the kids and watching/listening to them. Far more entertaining. Also, I had a lap full of food and drink that the kids pushed on me which also kept me quite entertained.

I was also informed that I must attend a dinner tonight for all of the Junior 1 and Junior 2 teachers. It was okay. This time I went sans Matt. My first adult dinner without the white guy. The dinners are pretty boring, the English teachers try to include me, but it gets exhausting for them to constantly funnel conversation for me. So, I sit and look at the chicken feet on the lazy susan. Every now and then one of the other non-English teachers would shout out random English phrases for my benefit, but other than that, not too much in the way of excitement. Mr. Math was there. And, well, he didn't spend a whole lot of time in the room for Junior 2 teachers and, instead, spent a lot of time staring at me. A bit unnerving, y'know to be constantly stared at. It seemed to be making some of the other teachers a little uncomfortable too, but he didn't break gaze. So, staring, dice game - yup, you could say that I graciously took the first opportunity to jump ship and head home with my bag of pigeon (?) and chicken feet to give to Matt.

Anyhow, now I can officially start my long weekend!