Unfortunately, I guess I’m starting to make a habit of only writing once a week; I think I’ve been too stressed out lately to take much time to keep track of exciting events. Also, most of what I’ve been doing lately is filling out job applications, preparing for interviews, worrying about finding work, trying to get my mind off the employment search, and attempting to get caught up on sleep.
Jean-Jaques had a late-night interview last Saturday at midnight and he knocked it out of the park. Despite the late hour, he was enthusiastic, energetic, and had some wonderful answers to the questions. We should hear from them by the end of this week.
We didn't get much sleep Saturday night because of the interview and the fact that we had to wake up early Sunday morning to participate in an activity for “Children’s Day”. (You know you’re in a Communist country when you have “Women’s Day”, “Children’s Day”, “Worker’s Day”, etc.) Like most activities we in which we participate here, we had no idea what to expect from the day and there is no possible way that we could have foretold how it would all unfold.
It started out with a private car ride to a spot where we met up with three buses. (We had to wait about a half an hour in the wind and rain for the third bus to arrive, but that’s nothing abnormal for China.) Once we had all boarded the buses (Jean-Jacques, a local Canadian named Stephen, and I all had to ride separately to fairly spread out the “foreigners”), we took a half-an-hour-long ride to a “natural” compound filled with fun activities for Chinese to amuse themselves with -- outdoor karaoke, a BBQ area, a ropes course, plants, artificial outdoor fishing, bike riding through vegetation, biked-shaped paddle boats, etc. (During the bus ride, I sang “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” through a megaphone to a busload of screaming children.)
Once we arrived, we quickly trudged to a portion of the compound to set up residence where there were two covered concrete areas; the kids continued munching on snacks that they had started consuming on the ride to the park. During our time at the park, chaos reigned. There weren’t any specific activities arranged for the children, but many participated in tug-of-war, jump rope (and got whacked on the head a few times because they were in the way of the rope’s swing), eating, and just running around being kids. Sadly, most children don’t have the opportunity to relax much, so it was almost too much excitement for them to handle.
My ears will never be the same since I had to survive a constant barrage of shrill, screaming Chinese students. I had a good time, though, and it was worth the pain to have a hilarious story.
Today was hilarious on the student front. We’re finishing Stardust this week and if the two classes I had today are any indication of what this week will be like, I’m in for a treat. My students were laughing so hard that they almost fell out of their seats; were so thrilled when bad characters were killed that they clapped and whooped and hollered; and were so angry when I stopped the movie at the end of class that they screamed at me to keep playing it. Their antics caused me to spend most of the class period with a smile on my face, and I had the occasional outburst of laughter when the students were particularly effervescent with their reactions.
One boy’s action was especially humorous. I have a picture of a crab shell posted for when the students walk into the classroom; before we start the movie, I ask the class what the picture shows. During one section today, a boy in the back of the room decided to play charades and act out the word. He made his hands into the shape of “claws” (think Spock making the Vulcan sign) and made them pinch the air. Undoubtedly, he was thrilled by his acting and had a huge smile on his face when I acknowledged him.
So, I’m excited to see what other hilarious events this week inspires.
