Classes are once every two weeks. Which I think is definitely not enough, I would like to see the students more often. There are a couple of them that I can already tell will not pass unless they get a little more practice and I'm not quite sure how to approach them to tell them that. During the two week period I have 8 classes, 3 one week and 5 the next. So far we've pretty much been working on self introductions and in one class I had the students write fairy tales. They really loved that.
The apartment I'm in is actually pretty swanky. It's small, but big enough for me. If I was willing and able to buy a couch, lug it up 6 flights of stairs and get it through the door, it would actually be a nicer place than the house I rented in Bemidji. As it is, I've got three marginally comfortable chairs so all of my movie time is spent sitting on the floor with the pillows I've got.
The kitchen is absolutely tiny. I guess it doesn't need to be large and it's really nice that it opens up into a porch but OH MAN it's small! I don't have a stove or an oven (nobody in China does really, they don't build them in like in the US) instead I have a burner that I use as a stove. It'll also grill, which is nice. Haven't used that yet. I would give almost anything for an oven, though. I reaaaally want to cook some hot dish or pizza or heck, even baked chicken would be a nice variety from noodles and stir fry!
It may be ovenless but hey, there's a bar in the basement!
The food around campus is amazing. There's a small cafeteria right next to the Home for Foreign Friends and I really love to eat there. The best is the chicken.. yum! They've also got another building dedicated to keeping us well fed and boy, I am not disappointed by the cuisine. Outside of campus I have tried Pizza Hut (which is a fancy, five course meal served by people in vests and ties), Korean Barbecue, porridge and hot pot.
Let me take a minute to talk about the Hot Pot. They put a pot of boiling water on your table along with many different plates filled with meats and vegetables. You and your friends all get to dip the stuff into the boiling water, wait a few minutes, then pull it out and eat it. It's the best damn thing in the world. Seriously, why don't they have these in America? It's really nice to share the food with other people, it encourages conversation and it's sooooo tasty.
This is the food of the gods
I've taken a smaller job on weekends, helping tutor high schoolers. They're all from Korea or another country, preparing for the TOEFL exam- the exam that Chinese students need to take in order to study in an English speaking country. Their English is actually better than many of my university students. It's kind of funny, but there's a HUGE gap in the skill of people around age 24 and that of people around 18 or younger. I wonder what recently changed in language teaching methods to do that! Anyways, the tutoring job is kind of fun, it's far more relaxed. A lot of the kids just need to work on their oral English so we spend the time just talking and discussing things, then i just correct what they've said wrong and go into explanations about why it's wrong... all that jazz.
I do have a cell phone now, just not an international card that lasts very long. I'll try to make a good sized round of calls once I figure out what to do. I believe I can accept texts, however. My number is 0086 138 4031 9035. We'll try it! The cell phone was originally built for someone who speaks Chinese so texting in English is a dang chore! I'm slowly trying to figure it out.
Well, I've got to plug grades in and prepare my lesson for later this afternoon. After the lesson I'm meeting one on one with a student to help him prepare for the TOEFL (seriously, this exam scares so many people...) More later!
Sounds like you are having a great time!
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