April 1, 2016

Nimen hao! Happy April Fools Day, everyone! I'm no good with pranks, so let's play two realsies and a whopper, and see if you can figure it out. 1) I got lost when I rode the subway. 2) I took food away from little kids. 3) I totally talked about church with a native Chinese person. Hmm. . . While you're stewing about that, let me tell you about my week. School seemed to go really well this week, as far as classes. After going through the two-week cycle of all the classes twice, I think I'm getting the hang of this. It helps that I keep a teaching journal. At the end of each day of teaching, I jot down how each class went and what did and didn't work, and things I want to work on and such. It's handy to keep track of how each class works, because even the ones that are in the same grade work so differently. For the Grade 1 classes, we're reviewing the animals that we learned last time, and then I added two more, and then we learn happy/sad and big/little. At the end of the lesson, I do "Five Little Ducks." I don't sing it, I just say the lines, and erase a duck off the board each verse. I get them really involved by making them count and helping me quack. Then, when all the little ducks are gone, I make Mother Duck look sad. I have so much fun hamming it up for the kids. In Grades 2 and 3, we're talking about birthdays. I have a super simple story that I made for them. They needed something fun like that. I can't just talk to them. (It's sad that the easiest way to get a storybook is to go through the effort of making one myself, but it turned out cute.) I think they like it. They better, because I made it just for them. I also incorporate a lot of animal vocabulary in the lessons. Most people might feel weird acting like a rabbit or a chicken in front of a classroom. It's a good thing I'm not most people. Yesterday (Thursday) was a field trip to Baimajian (White Horse Valley) for Grades 1-3. I was invited to go. Alisa and Yuki were chaperones. I don't think I was really necessary, but I sure had fun, and the kids were sure happy that I went. Before we went to Baimajian, we went to a tram station to learn about the history of the tram. (It was in Chinese, and I don't know that I would have found it very interesting even if I'd understood.) Baimajian looked much the same as the last time I was there, but with a lot more flowers, and I got to see more of it this time. (Remember the day I went hiking and saw a Buddhist monastery? This is the same valley we ended up at that day.) We started out with a picnic, and I couldn't help but remember the school outings to Kershaw Ryan. I had left my bag of food on the bus, but it was no problem, because the kids were eager to share their food with me. Seriously, the food wouldn't stop coming. I felt bad taking food from little kids, but they were so anxious to give it to me, that I would have felt worse saying no. I had a plastic bag that was fat and heavy from all the snack food that the kids' mothers had so lovingly packed for their children. So. . .much. . .food! It was better than Halloween. I also got really, really tired of waving at everyone who shouted, "Hello, Miss Wa!" Oh, the life of a celebrity is rough. (JK) As for the valley, it was absolutely lovely. We walked right by Xishi's tower, but we went to another spot that I hadn't seen the last time. They were having the Tulip Festival. There were so many beautiful tulips! We saw the lake, which is divided into two parts: the Horse Pool, and the Dragon Pool. We got back to school in time for the last couple of classes, but they didn't make me teach, which made me very happy. I didn't feel like doing anything. After work that day (if, indeed, it can be called work), I got home, changed into my comfy shoes, swept the messy floor, got my food and my scripture journal (both the bag from the outing and some rolls I'd bought), and headed to the subway station to go to the Hyatt home where we have church. That night was a potluck dinner for those who wanted to watch the recording of the General Women's Broadcast. We were few in numbers, but that made it more cozy. The food was good, and the talks and music were even better. I felt like it was just what I needed to hear. One of the ladies there, who is a Suzhou native, but who is allowed to be in our branch because she's married to an expat, gave me a ride to Xinghai Station, which isn't much more convenient, but it was a little closer. On the subway home, another foreigner and I saw each other and said, "Hey!" I asked her where she was from and we got to know each other. Her name is Paula, she's from Columbia in South America, she's also twenty-three, she's an intern teaching English, and she was also headed to Panli Lu, because she also lives in Wuzhong District. How awesome is that? I have a new friend, and we're friends on WeChat! Maybe we'll see each other more. Today was such a nice Friday. It was warm and sunny, and also the day before a three-day weekend. Qingming Jie is on Monday, which is the day when the Chinese nation-wide honor their dead and go on a spring outing. Also this weekend, on Sunday, someone from the branch presidency wants to meet with me. (Do I have a calling?) Have you figured out the two realsies and the whopper? If you read the email all the way through, you should have figured out that it was the first one. Did I get you? I'm actually becoming quite good at navigating the Suzhou metro system, which is a miracle in unto itself. Well, I love you. Remember who you are and what you stand for, and I'll strive to do the same. Love, Chelsey*:x lovestruck