The new session begins with an audible groan as everyone shifts from idle to go.
Hundreds of students appear and wander in loud, disoriented gangs around the once-deserted campus with eyes filled with excitement and trepidation as they acclimate themselves to their new English-only home away from family and friends. We stifle our impulse to practice hard-earned Chinese.
The lightness with which we sprung from bed before dawn during the break is replaced with concrete. We repeatedly smack the snooze button and begin the day with an eye on the naptime that probably will not arrive.
We are co-teaching a class of 38 students, most of whom are teachers from an affluent school district in Beijing. Their English is challenging us to discard our original plans and rethink our approach, activities and lessons.
The remains of last session that we planned to deal with during the break have not disappeared. Changes in our schedule that seemed so propitious are now confusing and giving birth to new challenges.
Our good friends and colleagues, Peter and Laura, are leaving this week to begin their new lives together in the U.S. and put the finishing touches on their April wedding plans. We are so sad and excited to see them go as the four of us joined the program at the same time. It is impossible to imagine being here without them and impossible to overstate the blessing they have been to our experience.
We continue to be extremely thankful for Yuan Ming Yuan Park, where we walk daily. It is a peaceful expanse of snow, wind, cold and very few people. We were able to buy an annual entrance pass at the beginning of the month (not as easy as it may sound) so we are good to go for the whole year!
We are happy and grateful that our room is warm; that we have so many new friends to get to know and that we are not sick (mostly). The new year is off to a great start and we still have Chinese New Year to look forward to! Life is good.
Class G photos from Preston's December class are now posted online http://www.flickr.com/photos/40596876@N06/sets
1 comment:
We sometimes smack the snooze button too, especially when it is cold, dark, and rainy outside. Best wishes to Peter and Laura.
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