Four of us had
more than a few reasons to smile, all day Friday:
-We were
completing our first week of working with our students on their English: their
spoken English was at a higher level than we had expected, generally.
-We were ending
the morning with songs and dances for all 60 students.
-We were
invited by Chris/Li Baokun to relax in a Hot
Springs for the afternoon.
The “rain on
our parade” Friday morning, though, was the absence from school of Team Member
#5, Leon. At breakfast we learned that he would be spending the day in the
hotel, recovering from a flare-up of asthma and troubled tummy.
Nancy subbed for Leon. We decided that the last 45
minutes of the morning we would meet in the big room on the first floor for
activities all together.
In our
respective classes we asked the students to recall and share some of the
material from the “Break out” sessions of the previous afternoon. They
responded to the new experience of “Break out” sessions favorably, although
they found that some of the topics had advanced vocabulary or concepts that
they found very challenging.
Break-out
session topics were:
pronunciation - led by Nancy
what every good teacher knows - led by Jim
idioms and slang - led by Leon
the language of American Politics - led by
Esther
In my class I
asked the students for topics that they might suggest if choosing a Break Out
session in the future. Their suggestions were:
American teaching methods
Comparing American teaching approaches to
Chinese teaching approaches
How is reading taught in American Schools?
The assembly
for everyone, at the end of the morning included the game, “Who Stole the
Cookies from the Cookie Jar.” They did pretty well at fitting the words within
the strict rhythm of the game.
Our afternoon
with Chris/Li Baokun began with a drive to a Muslim restaurant. We sat around a
deep copper skillet that was placed over a bucket of hot coals. The spicy beef
broth bubbled and cooked pieces of beef, potatoes, mushrooms, taro, two kinds
of tofu/doufu, slices of lotus root, greens, and possibly a few more
ingredients that I don’t recall.
After lunch we
proceeded to the resort town of Anning.
Our destination was the Jinfang Japanese-style Hot Springs. We changed into our swimsuits.
Enrobed in blue terrycloth bathrobes and plastic sandals, we walked along stone
pathways under pine trees. Each of the stone-lined pools had warm or sometimes
very warm water. We would stop, disrobe, and ease our bodies into the pool for
a relaxing soak. Depending on the pool, the water was sometimes clear,
sometimes tinted, and sometimes scented. One pool had white water and a coconut
scent. Another pool had pink water and the scent of roses. The most unusual
pool, “the fingerling bath,” had small fish that nibbled gently on feet, legs,
or other body parts. This pool was a particular favorite of Jim and Baoli.
After three
hours of luxurious liquid languor, we four and Baoli left the Jinfang Hot
Spring with Chris/Li Baokun. Our next and last stop in Anning was a Dai-style
restaurant. Here we ate outside under a thatched shelter, sitting at a low
rattan table and low stools. Pecking the ground around us were chickens. All of
the food at this restaurant was prepared on a grill. The featured meat was
barbecued chickens, served flattened, and with heads on. The other dishes were
barbecued fish, mushrooms wrapped in banana leaves, eggplant smoked and baked
in the coals, slices of beef, rice served in half of a pineapple, and a squash
soup. We ate with chopsticks and with the plastic disposable gloves that were
on the table. Delicious!
Feeling very
satisfied, we then got into the cars and were driven back to the hotel, smiling
inside and out.
-Dixie
