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China Team 179 Journal- Kunming Day 1-3

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Thought of the day: Great changes may not happen right away, but with effort even the difficult may become easy. --Bill Blackman (Founder of Hearts and Minds – a volunteer organization)

We began our day at the bright and early time of 8 in the morning. Cindy and I made it to the restaurant on the 2nd floor for breakfast, and Baoli was already waiting for us in a comfortable booth. She showed us the variety of food available, and there certainly was a lot of food, mostly Chinese food, but a surprising number of items were also food from other parts of the world, or shared by other cultures around the world. For example, there was a large pile of sweet potatoes, which are quite well known in the United States. As I browsed the array of food, I was amused to find that some of the translations were misspelled, but I understood what they meant. With so many different items to choose from, I took quite a bit of time to choose, so when I got back to the booth, there was a new person seated next to Baoli. I had no idea who he was, and Baoli did not introduce him. The man did not talked the entire time he was there, probably because he was enjoying his noodle soup. I guess it’s normal for people to sit where there is room.

We discussed the scheduled for the day, which included lots of meetings, and bit of free time in between. Our first meeting was the introduction to the program meeting. Baoli told us about all the different programs in China, thos currently opened and those that were closed. It was fascinating to learn about all the different programs, and I was particularly inspired by the Anshang village program. I remember reading about that particular program on the Global Volunteer website a couple of years ago and wanted to join a team to the site, but could not because of scheduling conflicts. Baoli also reminded us of the philosophy, requirements, and guidelines of Global Volunteer.

After this morning meeting, we had about 3 hours of free time. Cindy and I decided to look around and perhaps do some shopping. Cindy was looking for a wool coat, and I wanted a wrist watch. We headed east on Renmin East Road. There were lots of small shops selling mostly clothing and shoes. There were a few that had office supplies and snacks, but it seemed that clothing was a specialty here. Cindy and I went into multiple clothing stores, but did not come away with any clothes. She found a beautiful red coat, but they did not have it in her size. Since she and I are about the same size, I doubt the stores would have something in my size, either. She tried on several more coats in different stores, but none were the right size. The store employees were generally very enthusiastic about helping to find the right stuff. In one particular store, there was a coordinated effort to locate the perfect coat, but in the end they just didn’t quite fit.

So, we decided to turn back and check out the Wal-Mart to the west of the Golden Spring Hotel. We decided to cross the street and see what’s on that side as we walked back. On the corner was a McDonalds. We got two vanilla ice cream cones. They were ok, but not quite the same as in the States.

We passed a tailor shop. Cindy thought it was a place that sold cloth, but I told I thought they actually made what you wanted from the cloth you selected. I was right. But it took a while to figure out how to communicate since neither of us spoke Chinese, and the shop owner didn’t speak English. Eventually, Cindy was able to sort it out with the tailor, with some help from a local shopper. Then, we went to Wal-Mart. I had no idea there were Wal-Mart stores in China. I had to take a picture.

Inside the store, it was chaotic. There were lots and lots of people shopping for everything. The store was four stories. I bought a wrist watch here. Cindy found a cool rolling suitcase/laptop bag. Unfortunately, they did not take credit card.

We got back to the hotel in time for the meeting with the English teachers from the school where we will be teaching for the next two weeks. The teachers told us what they would like us to do, for example, the 4th through 6th grade classes, we should follow their books, since these students have an upcoming exam. The 1st through 3rd grade classes, we can choose our own activities. We got to see the books the students used, which were very helpful. We also learned that the school is a private boarding school. The students live at the school during the week.
After the teachers left, we spent some time looking through materials to use for the lessons, then had dinner. There was another wedding at the restaurant. Apparently there two to three weddings each weekend at the hotel. I was still feeling jet lag, so I went to bed right after dinner. Tomorrow we get to meet the students.

-Dee



Monday, December 21, 2009

Thought of the Day:
Wants the horse to be good and at the same time want the horse not to eat hay. (Chinese Proverb)
Moral: Nothing is perfect.

The first day school for the Global Volunteer team, I am not feeling nervous but it’s hard to know what to expect. We would like to do a good job but without first meeting the kids and observing the student/teacher interaction it’s hard to gauge. When we got to the school we were brought to the principal's office to meet her. She was a very stylish woman and friendly woman. She allowed us to sit in her office until it was time for the welcome ceremony. As I got up I accidently spilled some water on the floor and it was funny to see the principal grab a mob and clean it up right away. I thought, "Oh, great what a way to start the day!"

When we got the welcome ceremony all the students (approximately 700) were lined up in rows according to their class. These kids were in perfectly straight lines and they shifted into different body stances and they were commanded to them. Some of the students helped to raise the flag and some of the older kids served as line leaders. Many of the kids were staring at me as if shocked to see and Africa-American woman for the first time. However, they were very polite about it and it felt quite nice to be a celebrity of some sorts. After the principal spoke about Global Volunteers and our role for the two weeks, my roommate and I were introduced. The children listened attentively and they applauded us.

After the ceremony, my roommate and went into teaching. It was hard-core baptism by fire but we both brave. As far as the children go these kids are just like the kids in American they like to sing, they like hands-on participation, they love to play games and they can be LOUD!
One thing I noticed was the classroom teachers, principals, and staff members were all wearing heavy coats. My roommate and I were not exactly ready for this and so it was very difficult not to focus on how cold it actually was all day long-everywhere! Hence, the Chinese proverb I chose--nothing is perfect! I admit it was hard to understand why they don't invest in fireplaces or mobile heaters.

After we taught, we were invited to a local restaurant by the principal and staff. The restaurant was completely empty expect for us and the bathrooms in the restaurant was similar to the bathrooms in the school. It was a latrine-style and the opening is on the floor and you have to squat down and hope that it lands in the rectangular hole and not on your shoes. The one thing that surprised me was that the whole school had only one boys and girls bathroom and so teacher and students alike use the same bathrooms--which by the way have no doors, no toilet paper (so bring your own). I am sorry but I have to say this, "what if you are a teacher and you have to do no. 2 and one of your students walks in?"

Anyway, in the afternoon our team leader (Baoli), my roommate and I observed a grade 4 English class. I was impressed with all the modern teaching styles I saw. The teachers definitely do the best they can with the resources they have available. Each classroom has about 35 students. And I saw the kids recite a lot of what the teacher taught them in English. The English teacher had they work in small groups of four. She also had them play a game where they had to race another student to identify the English word she was pronouncing. The English teacher also had them act out the four words that she introduced. For example, for the word nurse the student got into pairs and pretending to be giving each a shot just as a nurse would.

I also got to observe a math class. I noticed the teacher used a lot of the same processes that we use in the U.S. to actively engage the students. She had them use multiples of ten to solve 2-digit division problems. She also had them come up to the board to show their work and explain their thinking. Another thing that the math teacher did that I liked is that she showed them non-examples as well as examples of how to do division problems. That way she could address misconceptions. If a student went to the board and had a mistake she used that student's mistake as a teachable moment because she knew that other students in the class could make the same mistake. She took about 10 minutes to have a class-discussion about the mistake and how to fix it. She also had them work independently and I noticed she walked about to make sure they were doing it correctly.

After teaching some more in the afternoon, we went back to the hotel and had dinner. Even though, it was only around 7:30PM my roommate and I have been going to bed early to get some rest. The days are long and there is a lot to do by the end of the day we are exhausted. So exhausted that we actually said no to our team leader, Baoli when she offered to take us to Wal-Mart last night.

-Cindy


Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Thought of the Day:
People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
- Anonymous

We woke up to bright sunshine this morning. This is the first time that has happened, and my roommate and I are very excited about seeing the sun because this meant that the day is probably going to be warmer.

We left for the school today knowing much more than yesterday. This helped since we now have a better idea of what we should do in the classroom. I certainly felt more prepared for the tasks I’m asked to complete.

The ride to the school was chaotic, as usual. I still cannot grasp how people navigate through all the lanes, the cars, the motorcycles, the bicycles, and the pedestrians. To me, it seems as if people go when they see an opening. Cars would turn and switch lanes while they’re turning as pedestrians dodge between the cars. At any moment, I expect to see a crash, but none has happened. The ride to and from the school is definitely a bit of an adrenaline rush.

At the school, I discovered a small fish pond near the entrance. We waited there while the students did their morning exercise. My roommate took this opportunity to get warmed up under the sun. I took some pictures of the fish in the ponds and of the students exercising.
My first class was pretty good. I had flashcards of the alphabet and use them to check the students’ recognition and pronunciation of the letters. We spent the whole class time checking and reviewing the letters. Next time, I will introduce some vocabulary and possibility some sight words. The students are in the vocabulary building stage of English language acquisition, so they need lots of repetition and practice.

My second class was also pretty good. They had already been introduced to the words that I reviewed with them to day. The students were enthusiastic and wanted to show what they knew. We spent the class going over the words in different ways. I think this is going to be the biggest challenge for me, finding different ways to review the same five to six words in a 40 minute class.

We came back to the hotel for lunch, then decided to rest until the afternoon session. On the ride back my roommate and I both felt that we were having a good day. Once again, our driver took us safely to the hotel.

The afternoon session was one regular English class and one interest class. Both classes went well for me and my roommate.

During dinner, Baoli had a brochure for a dance performance that highlighted Yunnan’s ethnic minorities’ heritage. It looks interesting, and I hope I have a chance to go see it. Tomorrow, she is going to teach us some Chinese.

- Dee

The Three Bottles of Water in my Life

by Christina, a Chinese English teacher in Kunming

These days are cold in Kunming, so I always need some more hot water to warm my body. When I was pouring water, suddenly I thought that I was this red empty bottle. I’m so thirsty. Who can give the water? I admit there are lots of people had given me countless help. But who give me the first bottle of water? It was my mother. She's an ordinary woman and had worked in a factory for over 30 years. Now she's retired and stays at home everyday. But I've been to an honest, polite, or kind to other person because of her. I still remember, when I was a student in Grade 3, I loved to eat strawberry so much. I found there were some strawberries outside of our school planted by the farmers who lived nearby. After school I went to the strawberry’s field myself, and picked up a lot of fresh strawberries until I was so full. I felt I was so lucky because no farmers or dogs caught me. Then I hurried home quickly and told my mom how lucky I was. But after hearing my story, my mother told to me “No free lunch at all.” She took me to the farmer’s home and had me apologize for my action. She also paid him 10 yuan for the strawberry I picked. I thought that my mother had poured me the first bottle of water. That is to be honest and courageous to correct my mistakes.

Who gave me the second bottles of water? I think it was the dean of English department. Her name is Ou’Yangming. She always takes good care of us just like her kids. And she knows each student’s needs very well. Before I was to graduate from university, I was confused what I can do in the future. I was the chairman of student union in the university, and also I loved to join all kinds of students’ actives, such as speech competition, dancing or singing. I even became a tourist guide when the World EXPO Garden was held in Kunming. Of course I earned some money, but I was still not sure about my job. I was not sure weather I could be an excellent teacher or other professionals. At that time, Mrs Ou told me:“You should be an English teacher in primary school but not in the middle school. You’re so smart, funny and active. The students will like you, and you have learnt English for many years. They need you. I think you have reasonability and ability to teach them to learn English very well. It’ll be your return to our society.” So I choose my job as an ordinary English teacher in a primary school called Chunyuan primary school. Until now, I’ve been a professional English teacher for 10 years. I think my choice is right, because I’m so happy everyday now, because the children I’ve taught are so pure, lovely. On every Teacher’s Day, they give me some little gifts to thank for my hard work. I feel I’m so lucky because I choose the right job for me, because I got the second bottle of water in my life.

Now after being an English teacher for ten years, I feel bored of the routine work. Sometimes I even imagine me like a famer and my students like the plants. My work is just like farmers planting crops in the fields every year. This feeling makes me very uneasy. But my mind has been changed by the Global Volunteers teachers who have come to teach us. I am shocked by their action. Many of them have retired, but they still fill every student with great enthusiasm. Everyday my dear teacher Danielle and Aleatha greet us with the most beautiful smiles. They are always so patient when talking with us even we have made lots of mistakes. Also, we have learned that Global Volunteers not only teach English in China, but also help special needs children, people in rural village. I am deeply inspired by your spirit. You have given me the third bottle of water in my life. Thank you so much!

Friday, November 13

Thought of the day: “You have more power than you realize! One person can’t make much of a difference, we tell ourselves. But that’s just not true. One’s smile can brighten someone’s spirits. One word can improve their whole outlook. And one kind action can set off a chain reaction that changes everything. And you can start it.”

After breakfast, Ted read a very humorous account of the day’s activities which had us all laughing—a very good start to the day that made us all forget it was Friday the 13th, all this and he was not feeling well. It’s another beautiful day, and as we head off to teach, Bill keeps teachers on their toes and we had a busy morning with discussions and British/American words and phrases. Lunch at the Golden Flavor Hot Pot restaurant was exactly as it sounds and lived up to it, but then Ted was not there to add humor to our lunch—we miss him. He was not up to it, so left halfway through class. We were joined at lunch by Chris and a volunteer, Margie Shuler from Abilene, Texas, who is teaching at a local boarding school for a semester, she had previously done Global Volunteers (in Xi’an) and was very excited to see us. After much ado, we were brought a firepot each, then bowls of tomato soup (or clear broth, or “hot” broth), lots of raw vegetables, meat, noodles, etc., which you then cooked in the firepot, talk about cooking your own lunch.

On our free afternoon, various activities took place. Bill and Louisa swam and caught up on e-mail and even found a magnifying glass; myself and Eleanor went to the Yunnan Provincial Museum, exploring ancient artifacts. Aleatha slept, while Danielle swam. Little did we know Ted was busy getting dessert from Walmart, which we found out when he made an appearance at dinner. In fact, we had two desserts, as one of Aleatha’s students brought some bayberries which we all shared.

By Brenda

Thursday, November 12

Thought for the day: “People lie down, chickens lay eggs.”

Much of each day’s activity is similar to the previous days. In the Navy, we had an expression to cover such a situation: “Steaming as before.” So this journal scribe will not discuss events similar to the other days, only variations.

Group members had discovered how to get eggs the way they wanted them. Ted took a thousand words or so to deliver a six-word thought for the day. Aleatha used as many to describe the previous day. Then Sgt. Major Bao Li shaped up and sent her motley platoon off the carry the GV banner over the ramparts of Kunming University. Classes as usual from 8:30-11:30, back to the hotel for lunch, and then back to school for the Danielle Special Performance. It was a tour de force!

After a quick turnaround at the hotel, we headed down the back alley to the strangely named “Jordan Café.” Special plaudits for the pumpkin and the soup. The standing pig ribs were artistically impressive but very tenacious in retaining its meat until Bao Li and Eleanor wrestled it into submission.

And that’s the way it was, in a slightly imaginative way, on Nov. 12 09 for the GV Team 178 in Kunming. Hey, we’re working hard, having fun, living well, and enjoying the fellowship of a young teachers, plus a group of mostly over-the-hill volunteers under a superb leader. Can’t wait to see what happens on Friday, the 13th.

by Ted

Wednesday, November 11

Thought for the day: “The more a child feels valued, the better his/her values will be.”

At breakfast, Ted reminded us of the historical significance of this day. He shared some tragic statistics of the final 6 hours before the official armistice was signed, a history that is detailed in Joseph Persico’s book “11-11-1918.” The air was crisp as we boarded our van for our second full day of teaching. The tone of our voices indicated greater confidence, now that we were acquainted with our teachers.

We had much to share over another bountiful lunch. I related that I had never had so many students escort me for a trip to the toilet! Brenda and Bill told how that had such meaningful stories with their prior assignments for written and oral stories. The trust level was evident in the painful experience that one student told about—losing his mother too early—and changing his life in tribute to her.

Eleanor and Ted had exercises for teaching homonyms and synonyms. The students were flabbergasted when Eleanor gave some examples in Mandarin!

Sally and Louisa continued their restaurant game—some interesting questions came up regarding paying the bill in different situations. They also had students take turns in introducing a partner to the group.

Danielle had presented the 5 stages of life (infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and senior citizens) and how they could be used with a grid of terms—what make you who you are, i.e. heredity, environment, culture, education, experience—and then illustrated this with persons in the news from movie/rock stars to Michelle and Barack Obama. She also had the students do a “quick write” about their favorite teachers.

The afternoon was free for everyone to plan on their own. We met in the lobby for a brisk walk to the Yunnan Flavor Restaurant, with a stop at the top of the bridge for a photo session. Costumed greeters welcomed us and an old mill wheel was to the left as we crossed over the water to the restaurant.

We had tasted many dishes and were feeling rather full before a humongous bowl of clear broth was set in front of each of us. We were warned that it was very hot. Then the famous noodles of the province and several other items were skillfully dumped into the broth. Our eyes got bigger as we wondered how we could ever consume even a small portion of the contents.

And then the show began. An encased piece of jewelry was presented for auction by the mistress of ceremonies, but no one responded to the minimal bid, so it was taken away. There were dancers, musicians, drummers, all in colorful costumes, presenting once at after another. The old children’s saying of “Liar, liar, pants on fire” had new meaning as performer inserted flaming torches below their navels as they manipulated their “circular tablecloth” costumes with the other hand. Not something that either of our males intend to demonstrate when they get home! Then one man scaled the narrow ladder to the left of the stage and we became aware that it was made of knives! Another feat that won’t be attempted by any of us! He was amazing.

Back at the hotel after another memorable day.

By Aleatha

Tuesday, November 10th

Thought for the day:

“It’s a very ancient saying

But a true and honest thought,

That if you become a teacher,

By your pupils you’ll be taught.” (The King and I, Rogers & Hammerstein)

At breakfast, Bill read his well-written account of Monday. Some discussion of the order in which the “thought of the day” was assigned, but we got it figured out. Bao Li sent us off to our first full morning of teaching with a reminder to slow down and not talk too fast.

It was a particularly beautiful day, streets alive with cars, curiously silent motor scooters, and bicycles. “Spring every day in Kunming,” a sign said, and it was correct.

Sally and I had a good morning with the “students,” who expressed themselves more freely and at greater length. Several of them voiced concerns about management of their own classrooms and wanted ideas about how to get students to want to learn English. A couple of the mature teachers offered some suggestions, like getting to know your students well, using games, etc.—but it was clear that some of these teachers were facing major challenges, such as children with absent parents or parents who “didn’t take care of” their children. We assured them that the U.S. has similar problems.

At lunch, we volunteers what had gone well. Bill and Brenda said that some in their group had responded at length to the question “How did you meet your spouse?” and that “Take me out to the ball game” (requiring some explication) had been a hit. Ted and Eleanor took students outside for the final hour and had a good q and a on American culture. Danielle and Aleatha had their group share information about their teaching, in particular what they liked about it, what was easy, and what was challenging.

We went back to the college at 2 pm for the afternoon session. Bao Li gave a very concise and informative talk about Global Volunteers’ philosophy and its work in China. This was a case when Power Point was obviously very useful and made the talk easier to follow. (Sometimes in the US, I find it silly to have people read what’s on a screen.)

We then divided into small discussion groups, which gave us a chance to talk to teachers not in our group, which all enjoyed.

Back at the hotel at 5 pm, caught our breaths or did preparation and/or errands, dinner at 6. The variety of the delicious dishes that keep coming is truly remarkable. At around 7, Mr. Ma, a travel agent/tour guide, came to talk to us about possible weekend excursioning. This journalist was fading fast so did not follow the ensuing discussion closely, but could tell that Aleatha was doing a great job of figuring out a Plan. We are gong to the Stone Forest for a half-day on Saturday, then be on our own for the rest of the weekend. There are several things in and around Kunming we’d like to see—it has much to offer.

A full day!

by Louisa