Sunday, March 29, 2009
Botanical Garden
Today I was invited by three of my students, Katherine, Patricia, and Theresa, to the Botanical Garden in Hefei.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Park in Downtown
I went to the downtown area of Hefei today. It was really happening! Lots and lots of people and stores of all kinds. And I finally figured out how to find other Americans--go to a coffee shop! There was a huge park that had carnival rides. When Evan (a fellow American teacher) and I rode the swings and the water walking ball, we drew a crowd of curious on-lookers. 
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Class, Freshman English Majors
Today in class, I had the students interview each other and then introduce their partner to the class. This was a good way for me to get to know the students too. A lot of similarities came up among answers, as well as some unique ones. Mostly the students come from other, more rural cities in Anhui province. Many want to be English teachers or interpreters as their future jobs. Some want to be Chinese teachers in other countries so they had the opportunity to spread Chinese culture. One girl wants to be a pyschologist. About half of them have siblings. Their parents' occupations are made up of businessmen and businesswomen, farmers, and teachers. One student's father is a policeman, which impressed the other students. Their favorite activities include sleeping (by far the most popular answer!), watching tv, listening to music, watching movies, and sports such as badminton, basketball, soccer, tennis, and running.
They want to learn English to make friends around the world, to travel, and to communicate with foreigners. One of my students who is also the class monitor, Ernest (they all have English names besides their Chinese names), wants to speak English well because his dream is to to be a singer and to be able to sing with his idols. Many recognize that if they can speak English fluently they will get good jobs, and that is very important to them.
Their favorite American movies include Titantic, Gone with the Wind, The Princess Diaries, High School Musical, The Day After Tomorrow, Million Dollar Baby, and Harry Potter. Their favorite American singers include Emilia, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Madonna, and Christina Aguilera. Some had many favorite American movies and singers, so they couldn't settle on one. They are very interested in learning about the world and about American culture. Because of this, I am putting together a presentation for next week on American culture. We will watch an episode of the American tv show How I Met Your Mother and discuss it. As their homework they will each be assigned a state in the U.S. and they will prepare a presentation, acting as a tourism director, on why their state is the best to visit. I am looking forward to what they come up with!
They want to learn English to make friends around the world, to travel, and to communicate with foreigners. One of my students who is also the class monitor, Ernest (they all have English names besides their Chinese names), wants to speak English well because his dream is to to be a singer and to be able to sing with his idols. Many recognize that if they can speak English fluently they will get good jobs, and that is very important to them.
Their favorite American movies include Titantic, Gone with the Wind, The Princess Diaries, High School Musical, The Day After Tomorrow, Million Dollar Baby, and Harry Potter. Their favorite American singers include Emilia, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Madonna, and Christina Aguilera. Some had many favorite American movies and singers, so they couldn't settle on one. They are very interested in learning about the world and about American culture. Because of this, I am putting together a presentation for next week on American culture. We will watch an episode of the American tv show How I Met Your Mother and discuss it. As their homework they will each be assigned a state in the U.S. and they will prepare a presentation, acting as a tourism director, on why their state is the best to visit. I am looking forward to what they come up with!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Hefei Zoo
I went to the Hefei Zoo yesterday! And today I had my first biking experience in China. Trying to keep up and avoid traffic, figure out what the rules are, and trying to not get hit--a scary adventure to say the least! It will be a bit of adjustment.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Meeting Students
Today I visited one of the classes I will be taking over next week. All the students are Freshman English majors. The current teacher, James, is from Liberia. The students were so welcoming to me. They clapped when I came in the room and wanted to talk to me as much as possible. During class they acted out skits and learned the song Lean on Me.
Later I went to English Corner where students meet on Thursday evenings to practice their English. About 30 students crowded around me. They had loads of questions to ask me. One girl told me I was the first foreigner she had ever spoken to so she was very nervous! They asked me what I thought of China and Hefei. They asked: "What is your favorite Chinese food? Where are you from and what is it like? What is American food like? What other cities in China have you been to? Why did I want to teach at their university? How can we improve our English?" They told me they thought foreigners were very friendly. They offered to take me shopping and show me around the city in my free time. A couple brought up the movie Forest Gump because my name reminded them of the character in it. They asked me if I like the American TV show Prison Break because it is very popular in China. But I had to tell them I have never seen it!
Later I went to English Corner where students meet on Thursday evenings to practice their English. About 30 students crowded around me. They had loads of questions to ask me. One girl told me I was the first foreigner she had ever spoken to so she was very nervous! They asked me what I thought of China and Hefei. They asked: "What is your favorite Chinese food? Where are you from and what is it like? What is American food like? What other cities in China have you been to? Why did I want to teach at their university? How can we improve our English?" They told me they thought foreigners were very friendly. They offered to take me shopping and show me around the city in my free time. A couple brought up the movie Forest Gump because my name reminded them of the character in it. They asked me if I like the American TV show Prison Break because it is very popular in China. But I had to tell them I have never seen it!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Campus Life
After moving to North campus, I have been given more time to settle in and will now begin teaching next week. Tomorrow I will visit one of the classes I will be teaching to see how it is organized and to meet the current teacher. There will be a student monitor assigned in each class to help in the class. Each class will have nearly 50 students.
In the mornings around 645am and 930am morning exercises are led outside my building for the Middle School students next door to our university. In the afternoons, students gather to play soccer, basketball, and badminton. There is a cafeteria on campus and during meal times, students are seen in droves with their thermoses and dishes on their way to eat.
I met with Hu Juan (Cindy) and Zhou Hui (Annie) today. Cindy is with the Foreign Affairs Office of Hefei and Annie is with the Hefei Foreign & Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. They have a sister city relationship with Columbus, Ohio, where I used to live. They work closely with Hefei University and we visited one of their campuses close to where I live. I also met Jia Feng (Trevor) who is with their Department of Foreign Affairs and Wu Ke who is a Professor and the Vice-director of the Department of Foreign Affairs. I may be able to teach some English classes at that university as well.
There are lots of little shops nearby like at the previous campus I was on and a large supermarket/mall. There are many of these around Hefei. At this one, the RT Mart, the first floor is a mall with clothing stores, appliance stores, a pharmacy, etc. The second floor is a large grocery store with lots of fresh produce and fish, a bakery, and freshly prepared food. Then the third floor reminds me of a Walmart—a store with anything you could need. On the way out of the mall there is a vendor selling soft serve ice cream. The woman working there already knows me!
In the mornings around 645am and 930am morning exercises are led outside my building for the Middle School students next door to our university. In the afternoons, students gather to play soccer, basketball, and badminton. There is a cafeteria on campus and during meal times, students are seen in droves with their thermoses and dishes on their way to eat.
I met with Hu Juan (Cindy) and Zhou Hui (Annie) today. Cindy is with the Foreign Affairs Office of Hefei and Annie is with the Hefei Foreign & Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. They have a sister city relationship with Columbus, Ohio, where I used to live. They work closely with Hefei University and we visited one of their campuses close to where I live. I also met Jia Feng (Trevor) who is with their Department of Foreign Affairs and Wu Ke who is a Professor and the Vice-director of the Department of Foreign Affairs. I may be able to teach some English classes at that university as well.
There are lots of little shops nearby like at the previous campus I was on and a large supermarket/mall. There are many of these around Hefei. At this one, the RT Mart, the first floor is a mall with clothing stores, appliance stores, a pharmacy, etc. The second floor is a large grocery store with lots of fresh produce and fish, a bakery, and freshly prepared food. Then the third floor reminds me of a Walmart—a store with anything you could need. On the way out of the mall there is a vendor selling soft serve ice cream. The woman working there already knows me!
Campus Life
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Settling In
Wow! Hefei is much bigger than I expected! Everything is very spread out and there is an incredible mix of upper class shopping malls and little shabby garage-like shops and restaurants and outdoor street vendors and markets. I have yet to see another American-looking person, so I constantly get stared at. It is a welcoming surprise when someone says hello to me in English or starts a conversation. Yesterday on the bus that was packed tighter than I thought was possible, a student talked to me about his favorite American movie (Gone with the Wind) and how he was surprised of the bustle and crowds of Hefei in comparison to his hometown in a much smaller town in the same province (Anhui). Talking to him and hearing his eagerness to practice his English made me excited to start teaching tomorrow!
It is interesting to see the similarities in culture here to regular college-life that I am used to in the States. At one of the shopping centers I visited yesterday, there was an arcade and people were crowded around a game similar to Dance, Dance Revolution while a girl bounced around to the music (I have seen the exact scene in America). People are constantly texting on their cell phones and listening to their mp3 players. Some of the students are very stylish and on the streets they are busy socializing and buying snacks from vendors (intricately carved pineapple on a stick, baked goods, etc--things I have grown fond of since my poor Chinese makes it difficult to order in ordinary restaurants!). There are 4,800 students at the branch of Anhui University where I will be teaching, and there are at least a couple other universities here as well. I have pretty much spent my time outside of campus, so tomorrow I will be surrounded by campus life itself.
It is interesting to see the similarities in culture here to regular college-life that I am used to in the States. At one of the shopping centers I visited yesterday, there was an arcade and people were crowded around a game similar to Dance, Dance Revolution while a girl bounced around to the music (I have seen the exact scene in America). People are constantly texting on their cell phones and listening to their mp3 players. Some of the students are very stylish and on the streets they are busy socializing and buying snacks from vendors (intricately carved pineapple on a stick, baked goods, etc--things I have grown fond of since my poor Chinese makes it difficult to order in ordinary restaurants!). There are 4,800 students at the branch of Anhui University where I will be teaching, and there are at least a couple other universities here as well. I have pretty much spent my time outside of campus, so tomorrow I will be surrounded by campus life itself.
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