Two days ago I gave my first two classes, and let me tell you they were rousing failures!  Anything you've heard about the orderliness of Chinese classrooms has been greatly exagerated.  These classes were worse than anything I remember from 8th or 9th grade.  To be fair the classes number in the 50s, and I was a new teacher who was very exciting to talk about.  But it was bad.

However, fear not.  I was wise in delaying my posting soas to have good news to relay.  The second day (yesterday) I adjusted, and things went much better.  I think the problem was the material I had prepared was too difficult and the kids quickly lost attention.  So I slimmed down the plan and had them eating out of my hand.  The lession consisted of a breif introduction, followed by them writting an desciptive essay about a picture I provided.  The picture was of one of the dancers from Return of the Jedi (special edition).  They loved it!  They thought it was so weird, almost to the point of incomprehensibility.  Opinion differed greatly on whether she was beautiful or ugly.  Here are some excertps.

"She very ulgy."  "She resmebles a devil."  "She look like a man."  "I think she is very popular, but I don't like she."  "She has a white face that looks like fearful."  "She is a fierce and old woman."  

On the positive side.  "She is beautiful."  "She hair red like fire, face white like paper, eyes plack like panda."  "I like she.  She let me feel passion."

Others that are more plain observation.  "I don't know her, so I think she is a mystery women."  "I think she is actress."  "I think red is her favorite color."

Or just confusing.  "She is very beautiful but a little ugly."  "She is tin"

Otherwise I'm kinda getting into a grove.  The school is a partial boarding school so provides free breakfast, lunch and dinner during the week which is awesome, but I am already getting sick of it.  It's pretty standard school food quality, except all Chinese food.  To drink they have hot soy milk in the morning, and soup broth during lunch and dinner.  Don't there people drink cold beverages! (the anser is no)  Also, breakfast is served from 6:4-7:15, which I don't think I can do anymore.  I believe I'll just be doing lunch there from now on (which is what most teachers seem to do anyways.  Michelle and I got some funny looks when we showed up for dinner).  Besides, food is hella cheap even by Chinese standards.  To elaborate, dinner is Changsha cost about 15 RMB, or $1.80.  I've had dinner here for 3 RMB, or about $0.36.

I will start private lessons next week with one of the English teachers, although the schedualling is very vague.  Everything is very vague here, plans change at the last minute.  Yesterday as I was about to go home someone told me "You must go to tomorrow's 7th period now.  They have a lecture tomorrow."  So I had to be in class in like 2 minutes!

Random observations- Toddlers here don't wear dipers.  They just have crothless clothes and when they got to go, they just squat and go right in the street.  Chinese people yell- alot.  

-the Wandering Norseman-