Teacher Tanya Travels 2010: China & Malaysia

My Teaching experience at St. John’s Institution Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2010-08-18T15:08:00.000-07:00

At St. John’s the students stay in one classroom and the teachers move from class to class. The teachers have a large shared office space with cubicles. Approximately 94% of the teachers are Muslim and 98% are women. 6% of the staff is Chinese Malay and Indian Malay. St. John’s is a missionary school that came to be in 1907.

My first lesson was a writing lesson for 16 year olds, Form 3 students. I use Franz Kafka’s “Fellowship” as the reading to spark the writing assignment. A 40-minute class is not long and I learned that the hard way. I completely ran out of time during this lesson. We didn’t even get to the writing instruction. It ended up being more of a reading, listening, speaking, and thinking lesson. (See complete lesson at the end of this post.)

Elly had my lessons divided by writing, listening, speaking and reading. This is not the way I teach. I try to incorporate all of those aspects in each lesson I teach as an English Language Arts teacher. I created the eight lessons I taught at St. John’s from the five E’s: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate.

The second lesson I taught was a writing lesson to 14 year olds, Form 2. I had them write from an autobiographical perspective about their name, “What’s in a Name?” I used a vignette from Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street and a student example I had from a previous year of teaching this writing assignment. Overall, it was a more effective writing lesson than the one with the 16 year olds. I especially enjoyed reading what they wrote----excellent feedback on the effectiveness of the lesson. Furthermore, I use the “exit ticket” approach…before the students left class they critiqued the lesson and what they learned.

The third lesson was a listening lesson in the auditorium with about 60 students 10 of which were sight impaired. At first I was overwhelmed…but the students were all 18 years old, a very mature group. I decided to use storytelling. I read, four times, the start to a story and I asked them to complete the story. The stories they created were great and entertaining. Their feedback was very positive as well.

The fourth lesson was a listening lesson for 13 year olds. I chose a piece by Langston Hughes, "Thank You, M’am." I used the Great Books Shared Inquiry methodology. It worked quite well other than running out of time. The feedback from students was positive. They enjoyed the open ended questions and the discussion the most.

The fifth and sixth lessons I taught were on a Friday, so classes are shorter by 10 minutes, so that the Muslim students are able to go to the Mosque and pray. It was to be a speaking lesson for 18 year olds and 14 year olds. Given 30 minutes on Friday I decided to play some games that rely on communication skills. It got a little loud and chaotic, but in my opinion a fun learning environment.

The seventh and eighth lessons were reading lessons for 14 and 15 year olds. I chose pieces out of a Junior Great Books anthology. I used a combination of Shared Inquiry discussion and Institute for Learning’s Pattered Way of Learning. Again I found 40 minutes to be too short for a one-time lesson that isn’t connected to the standard curriculum.

LESSON PLAN
Topic    “Fellowship” by Franz Kafka
Subject: English Language Arts
Teaching objectives:    Students will engage in critical reading, writing, and talking to gain a deeper understanding of Kafka’s short story, “Fellowship.” Student will use evidence from the text to support their interpretations.
Key points
-engaging students in a challenging piece of literature
-expression and tracking of thinking
-explanation of ideas
-developing an interpretation of ideas
-metacognition
Teaching methods & facilities    5 E Model- Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate
Disciplinary Literacy Patterned Way of Reading, Writing, and Talking/Share Inquiry Discussion
Teaching procedure
Engage:
Text Opener
Have students write on one of the following questions and follow with a brief large group discussion.
What is friendship?
How do you react to strangers?
What is compassion? (Merriam-Webster Online: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.)
Explore:
First Reading--reading to get the gist:
1. Read the piece out loud to the students as they follow along. Do check ins, stop during the reading, and ask the following questions:
What is happening here?
Who are the characters?
What do we know about them? How do we know?
Explain:
Second Reading--reread for significance:
1. Have students read the text again to themselves.
2. Ask students to identify two moments/sentences/phrases that strike them as most significant to the text.
3. Have students create a two column chart to record the moments/sentences /phrases that they selected. Direct them to write the significant moments on the left column; then across from each moment in the other column do a quick write to explain the significance to Kafka's story.
4. Pair Share--have students share their significant moments with one other person by explaining why these are most significant.
Step Back/Evaluate:
1. Ask students how identifying and explaining the significant moments further their understanding of the story?
2. Ask students what they learned from sharing and explaining their significant moments with a peer?
Elaborate:
Third Reading--Read again, Write about, and Engage in a Shared Inquiry Discussion.
Interpretive question: Why does the narrator say that he and the other four are "friends"?
Students will:
1. reread the story
2. individually write a response to the chosen interpretive question.
3. participate in a Whole Group Inquiry-based Discussion
4. cite their written responses during the discussion
5. listen for different interpretations of the question
Wrap up Inquiry-based Discussion:
1. Have students take a minute to add any new information to their response.
2. Have students answer the following questions: As a result of our discussion, did your response change? If so, how? What are your lingering questions about Franz Kafka's story and why are they unresolved?
Evaluation:
Step Back--Reflect on Inquiry -based Discussion:
Ask students:
1. What did you learn about the text's meaning?
2. Task, Text, and Talk--what do you see as the relationship among the task (quick write on the interpretive question; the text ("Fellowship" by Franz Kafka); and the talk (shared inquiry discussion)?
3. What did you learn about participating in an inquiry-based discussion?

The "Big" presentation "Motivating Oneself to Teach"

2010-08-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

A Trip Outside of KL

2010-08-04T17:08:00.000-07:00

The stone where the Japanese chopped off heads during WWII

Kampung Bukit Belimbing Firefly Park

Batu Cave

2010-08-04T16:56:00.000-07:00

The culprit that tried to steal my purse


Heading up to Batu Cave

A scene from inside Batu Cave

Batu Cave

Elly heading down from Batu Cave

Kuala Lumpur Cenvention Centre (KLCC) Shopping Mall & Petronas Towers

2010-08-04T16:40:00.000-07:00

KLCC, T in Traditional Malay clothing

Petronas Towers

Lim, me, and Elly on the bridge between the Petronas Towers

A Durian Adventure at KL's Night Market

2010-08-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

Goin' for the D24 durian...supposedly the less stinky kind

Whoa! Durian is hard to open

Tryin' some durian at the KL night market

Yippee! I consumed two large chunks of durian

Exploring KL with Elly

2010-07-28T23:50:00.000-07:00

Elly preparing me to taste manggis

Fruit Festival yum!

I'm lovin' the Bamboo at Bukit Nanas

Elly at Bukit Nanas

Kuala Lumpur Tower

Bukit Nanas Forest and St. John's from the KL Tower

Teaching at St. John's

2010-07-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

The 13 year olds were riveted by my writing lesson

Finished a writing lesson with a something to show!

Lesson Plan

Successfully? Taught a writing lesson to 16 year olds


Trying to entertain a large group of 13 year olds

The Cintamani Travellers Lodge Kuala Lumpur

2010-07-28T23:11:00.000-07:00

I am staying at a wonderful hostel right in the heart of KL. The price is right, it is walking distance from St. John's, it has air conditioning, and the electric shower is refreshing! I am an infinite pool of perspiration.

St. John's Secondary School Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2010-07-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

St. John Secondary School for Boys

St. John's Secondary School for boys is a government aided, non boarding school. All government aided public schools use the national language, Malay. There is a dress code for students and staff. Students may be caned for not following the dress code. Women staff members may not wear pants, sleeveless shirts, or skirts above the length of the knee. Now. It is hot here, so I found out the hard way about sleeveless shirts...no, I didn't get caned, but I am constantly reminded of my ethnocentrism or lack of awareness of cultural differences...this is an unforgettable learning experience, no doubt.

The curriculum at St. John is dictated by the Federal Territory. They have public examinations when they are 12, 15 and 17. These are essentially placement examinations to decide whether the students go to a technical college or a university. The curriculum and the teaching is centered around the public examinations.

From what I have observed, technology use and implementation is at the beginning stages. I have spent short periods in the staff room during the last two days and not a single teacher has used a computer nor do they have them at their cubicles.

I have so much more to say, but I have to speak at the morning assembly...Hodge out!

Whoa! Not quite two days and so much to say...

2010-07-28T00:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't even been in KL for 48 hours...and I have:
been welcomed by teachers and administration at St. John Secondary;
visited a section of KL called Little India and devoured delicious Indian food with my right hand; facilitated two large group discussions where one student threw a pen at me and another asked my bra and pantie size; taught two writing lessons; broken the dress code; witnessed the caning of several students...whoa!

I made it!

2010-07-27T12:24:00.000-07:00


Breakfast in China town KL.


Elly, my host teacher, and Lim an EFL teacher at St. John.

My first session with students. This was only half the room.

Kuala Lumpur Here I Come

2010-07-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

I leave tomorrow. I am packed, surprisingly. However, I am still working on lesson planning and the professional development workshop that I am facilitating, "Motivating Oneself to Teach." Here is the schedule Elly Ong sent me. I am going to be at St. John Secondary School.

Farwell BRS

2010-06-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

The English Department at BRS! We decided on a textbook series. We wrote descriptions for the four levels of English they are offering. We have a list of next steps. I did some academic coaching and we learned from each other. They treated me to wonderful food, friendship, and delicious tea. A fun group to work with even when we respectfully disagree.

Update on my Work at BRS

2010-06-21T16:52:00.001-07:00

The pic is on my walk to and from BRS. I adore hollyhocks.

The English team at BRS is getting closer to choosing a textbook program. The placement/proficiency test they decided on is McGraw Hill LAS system. Okay, one piece I may cross off my "to accomplish at BRS" list. Three days left...

There is not a perfect textbook program nor will there ever be. The English Department has solid opinions and they are passionate about teaching. That is one of the reasons I came back. I enjoy working with the English Dept. here and I have learned a lot from them. It is a partnership. An international professional learning community.

Western society could take a hint from Chinese culture in terms of time. The Chinese historically, passed down from some wise ancestors, run their days according to the sun and the moon. At 5-7am it is time to wake the mind and body by doing Tai Chi or some form of physical activity. From noon to 2:00 it is time to refuel the body and rest---eat, take a stroll, take a NAP. In the evening from 5-7pm it is time to refuel and do some kind of physical exercise. Finally, the body should be resting at midnight. In my humble opinion, a logical way to run the day. A schedule that works for the human mind and body; not a schedule that considers the human body a machine. Western Culture treats the human body and mind like a machine and folks it ain't workin'!

I am off to observe, Fred, a native English speaker's class this morning. Fred, has been at BRS for a couple of years and he is also a Minnesotan. One cannot get away from Minnesota.

Hodge Out!

A Long Walk Adventure

2010-06-20T01:14:00.001-07:00

First, I apologize for the double posting of my previous blog post. As you know blogger is blocked in China, so I am submitting all my posts via email. Well, I got click the "send" button happy. Unfortunately, since I am posting from email there is no way for me to edit my blog once I send the email.

Now, in brief my long walk adventure. I decided to take a walk off campus to see what I could see. The outer rung of Beijing, where BRS, is located is not a tourist hot spot. I stood out like a plastic pink flamingo. I got a lot of second and third looks. I was stopped by someone in a car who was concerned I was lost or needed help. He asked me if I knew where I was going, I said, "no, but I know how to get back to where I am staying."

I now understand the heavy reliance on umbrellas and fans to combat the heat here---they are not simply a fashion accessory. I melted my way to a small indoor/outdoor market a couple of miles from BRS and as the pools of sweat were cooling on my skin in the air conditioned part of the market I noticed I had a following. Three young women, who obviously worked at the store I was cooling down in, were following me around the store giggling. Ultimately, I think they wanted to practice their English, or maybe just follow the weird looking woman, because I couldn't get any more than giggling odd looks from them. I did manage to buy green tea and the films, Whip It and The Hurt Locker. DVDs here are approximately one dollar and you are able to get movies that haven't been released yet in the States. U.S.A's copyright laws do not apply. The DVDs I bought were in perfect condition.

At the outside market I was able to purchase some cherries with the help of someone that wanted to practice their English. I then melted my way back to the dorms at BRS ready to watch a DVD and eat fresh cherries.

BRS Campus pics cont. I love FLOWERS!

2010-06-19T21:05:00.001-07:00

BRS on a Saturday Afternoon Walk

2010-06-19T20:47:00.001-07:00

Culture

2010-06-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

I have experienced food from the Yunnan Province as I watched people enjoying a beautiful Dragon Boat Holiday at Lake Hou Hai. (see pics in earlier blog post) The food was scrumptious! The teachers at BRS are so kindly taking me out to experience Beijing.

On Friday I rode the subway with Vivian, one of the English teachers at BRS, to her apartment. On our way we stopped off for some fresh, lovely looking cherries and ice cream. Using public transportation and shopping in Beijing is easy when you are with a native Chinese speaker.

Vivian and her husband Tiger took me out for dinner to a restaurant that specializes in food from Sichuan Province. Tiger is from Sichuan. On our short jaunt to the restaurant I was put to a challenge...do I really like spicy food? Many of the folks around here find it odd and difficult to believe that an American, a foreigner from Minnesota, has any concept of spicy food. When we sat down at the restaurant to order I found out that Vivian and Tiger not only wanted to see if I knew spicy...
The menu, thankfully, was a pictorial display of the dishes. One of the delicacies from Sichuan is head of rabbit. Vivian and Tiger were really encouraging me to try it...I wanted to be polite, I only live once, but in the end the plain Minnesotan did not devour the head of a rabbit. I did, however, eat eel.

As you can see from the pics we had savory spread. The fish was brought to the table the first time flopping around in a bucket. The second time is was peacefully stretched out in a pool of bubbling spicy hot sauce. I won the challenge. Vivian and Tiger now know that a Foreigner, an American from Minnesota, knows what spicy food is and loves to eat it!

I must recant...

2010-06-17T14:43:00.001-07:00

There are two things I wrote in earlier blogs that I need to retract...When I spoke of BRS as being in one of the outer rungs of Beijing, I thought suburb. Jay said, "rural." Well, after waking up every morning at 4:30 am to a rooster's call, maybe BRS is located in a suburual. I recant.

The other retraction comes from the blog I wrote about sexism in the BRS English Department. After yesterday's meeting I recant. What I figured out is the sexism I observed was based on the actions of an individual not the group. However, me being the hot tempered feminist I would have reacted to the comments made very differently...I am known to be obnoxious

Yesterday, was a long work day. Hopefully, I will have more time to elaborate this evening or tomorrow, Saturday.

BRS here I come

Back from the Dragon Boat Holiday

2010-06-16T16:42:00.001-07:00

The school is alive this morning with students. BRS shares space with a public school near by. Deafening thunder and bright lightening is welcoming us back.

Yesterday, I spent a quiet day at BRS. I fixed or figured out how to deal with the humidity and sweating profusely issue...I turned on the air conditioner---brilliant! No, I have not increased my skills at reading Chinese characters; I just decided to go for it and press some buttons. As soon as I saw 24 C I knew I was on the right track. Now, I have air conditioning in my office and in my apartment.

I am looking forward to co-teaching with Lucy today and meeting with English Department this afternoon. My research yesterday into the textbook programs they are considering adopting and how Chinese and Western pedagogical practices may intersect and work together hopefully has prepared me for today's meeting. I am up for the challenge. This is going to be a long-term learning experience.

Hodge out---going to go teach! My passion!

More Pics from Play Day

2010-06-15T04:27:00.001-07:00

Beijing Play Day

2010-06-15T04:14:00.001-07:00

A work day for T.Hodge in Beijing

2010-06-15T03:46:00.001-07:00

Monday was a work day for me. The entire school is out for the Dragon Boat Holiday. The pics are the office and the view from my office BRS set up for me this week. Pretty exciting, aye? I put together a draft of what I am going to try an accomplish while I am here. Oh, yes and part of my work day was getting on Skype. My niece Maggie Sophia moo-moo makes me happy. She is going to be crawling any day...cankles and all.

The weather in Beijing is humid. I am sweating profusely...sweaty Betty, no doubt. I think that my apartment may have an air conditioner, but the controller is in Chinese. I am afraid to turn it on and have it blow out heat. Maybe I'll just stick to ice cold Yanjing Beers! I don't need to speak Chinese to buy beers...

It does cool down in the evening, but a pack of dogs hold night court outside my window. Whoa, they have a lot to say!

Dragon Boat Holiday

2010-06-13T18:36:00.001-07:00

I made it back to Beijing. I slept the sleep of the dead my first night here. There was a thunderstorm. I woke up to a wind blown apartment. I had all the windows open...
The entire school, Beijing Royal School, is on holiday; The Dragon Boat Holiday. It is a three day holiday. I am going to work for two of the days at BRS familiarizing myself with the materials they are considering for next school year. Jay, the teacher from BRS that stayed with me early this year, is going to take me out one of the days of the holiday to meet his wife and check out his apartment.

The school is considered to be in a "rural" part of Beijing...whatever that means...because there are people and man-made structures everywhere. I picture rural as farmland with a lot space between homes. I heard at my welcome lunch yesterday that the current count is 20 million people in Beijing. And if they didn't all live in concreted towers the city would be 20 times larger. Whoa!

The weather here is like Minnesota...humid. However, it is quite gray...Jay says air pollution...everyone drives---20 million people---just imagine the CO2. Today the sky is slightly more blue. I think I will take a walk this afternoon.

I met with the English Department yesterday as well. I am going to be co-teaching with all the female English teachers during the time I am here and helping the department decide on what materials to use for next year. I guess in the past they have placed students willy-nilly into levels. Overall, the department seems willing to work with me. My one Western compliant is that males in the department speak and act like Michael Scott from The Office. Sexism in the work place is alive and well at BRS.

I am going back to Beijing!

2010-06-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

I am sitting at the Seattle airport waiting to board my "new" non-stop flight to Beijing, China. I am going back to work with the English Department at the Beijing Royal School. This makes me Tanya Traveler for sure this summer. Beijing, Dallas, Kuala Lumpur, Washington D.C.----here I come!

I happen to be going during the Dragon Boat holiday. I don't know what it is exactly, but I am looking forward to finding out. Obviously, it involves dragons and boats. I am also looking forward to sharing my Minnesotan pronunciation of "boat."

The work part is to help choose an assessment tool to place students in four different levels of English and to give recommendations on curriculum for next school year. The part I love is going into their classes and teaching/modeling active shared inquiry discussions.

There is a lot to be learned from this partnership. Here I go.

Shanghai! I am back...online!

2010-03-30T17:36:00.001-07:00

I made it through the marvelous River Boat cruise on the Yangtze. What an adventure experiencing the Three Gorges Dam boat lock. I don't have time to pontificate. Check out the pics. One of the photos was taken at the Forbidden City...
Hodge Out

BRS Last day and Farewell Dinner

2010-03-26T16:50:00.001-07:00

My last day at BRS I taught the English Department Chair's morning classes. I had them arrange the classroom into a circle discussion formation. They do not use that configuration here at all. The English Department was so wonderful to work with---a genuine professional learning experience. They gave me a beautiful silk scarf as a parting gift. I got teary.

Our last lunch in the BRS cafeteria I tried to buy a bunch of snacks for students, because I had money left on my card. They were very hard to convince, but I just put the snacks in their hands and said, "thank you" and they finally acquiesced. We left BRS after lunch to go shopping in Beijing at the silk market. A massive indoor shopping extravaganza. One is suppose to barter with the tellers, I got taken...but oh, well--I am a foreigner and American after all. Chaz and I had a blast. It was an adventure chalk full of laughter. Chaz is an amazing and gloriously animated woman.

The farewell dinner was another magnificent affair. Check out the pics. I got Jay and Fei to eat the fish eyes. I ate fish lip soup.

I am packed and ready for the river boat cruise on the Yangtze. We fly to Chongqing this afternoon after we visit the Forbidden City. I am going to go down to the courtyard and try to do some tai chi before we leave.

This is my farewell blog.
I am livin' the dream.
Hodge Out!

AP Conference/ Karaoke "Happy Time"

2010-03-26T09:16:00.001-07:00

I have been B U S Y! And absolutely lovin' it. Hex yeah. The AP conference at BRS was interesting. Most of the time we had simultaneous translation, but there was an hour of Q & A without translation that was quite difficult to follow. On the demo day of the conference at dinner I met one of the observers in my class. Ada, from Hong Kong. She is absolutely fabulous. We had an inspiring dialogue over dinner---which was A-maZing. My big adventure was eel. I found it quite tastily prepared. I was also impressed with the chop stick skills of the gentleman that sat next to me. I witnessed him de-shell a crab and a shrimp with his sticks, no doubt he had chop stick skills.

On the second and final day of the BRS AP Conference we had a Q & A with the students of BRS. They are so eager to learn, so appreciative, so easy to adore---I want to teach them and learn from them. Many of them took down my email. I look forward to staying connected with them and working on connecting my students with them, so they have an opportunity to practice their English. Web 2.0 has a lot to offer us here...leaving, however, is not disconnecting. How super awesome is it that I am able to go back to Minneapolis and via the Internet connect and continue to work with all the student and teachers here at BRS. The conference concluded and it was "happy time"---time to celebrate--what better way than karaoke.

BRS has treated us like royalty and karaoke night was no exception. The establishment we went to was closer to downtown Beijing and it was Kickin'. There was a buffet of Chinese cuisine to load a tray full and separate karaoke rooms for each party. We had a room with a stage, a bar, two flat screens, 5 mics, and a massive black couch. Jay asked me if we had anything like it in Minneapolis...if we do I have not ever been there...we have karaoke in a bar, so all the strangers along with your friends hear the performance. This was all about singin' for the crew. There were too many ballads for my taste, but I still managed to work up a sweat dancing. Tone-deaf Tanya doesn't sing, but I will shake it. We celebrated Dingman's, the most marvelous multi-tasking man, birthday with song, cheer, and of course cake. The video screens during the karaoke performances played American footage from the 70's that was gut wrenching hilarious.

Hodge OUT!

The BIG demo day is O V E R

2010-03-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

Whew! I am done with my demonstration lesson at BRS. It went well. The BRS teachers had a lot of questions about my lesson and the students said they learned something, both I LOVE!

Two More Classes

2010-03-22T19:18:00.001-07:00

I taught two more classes this morning, Jay and Vivian's.
It is hard for me to post on this blog without being able to access the comments...
The students were shy. They laughed at me a lot. I enjoy teaching. I got them to do the two truths and a lie get to know you activity. I am a little nervous about tomorrow's demo lesson...a shared inquiry discussion has the potential to be painful if none of the students want to talk. I understand that English is not a language they are use to speaking and thinking in...well ultimately I hope they have fun and learn something from the lesson. Being in Beijing, teaching students reminds me why I do what I do. Students are not different---seriously the students at BRS are similar to my students in MPLS. It speaks to what it means to be human. Hodge out

We can see mountains

2010-03-22T16:13:00.001-07:00

The wind/sand storm has settled, the dust is dissipating and out Meg's window we saw mountains that we didn't know existed until now. BRS is actually located outside of Beijing, we are in a suburb...? From the windows of our apartment all I can see are buildings being built (17 cranes in view), dilapidated buildings, shacks of metal, tall, short, crumbling buildings. The most common sound---car horns! The hierarchy of what rules the road is trucks, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians. In that order; walkers watch out.

It is Monday evening for you all and Tuesday morning for me. At least my mind sees that it is Tuesday morning, but my body is still working in the central time zone. Wacky! I am preparing to teach two more classes this morning one will be with Jay's students, the students I will be teaching for the demo lesson. The demo lesson where 20 adults will be watching from the College Board, the Ministry of Education, Officials from the dept. of Education in Beijing...it shall be interesting. Yesterday evening at dinner the owner of BRS Mr. Wong, through a translator, as he was clutching my hand, told me I need to stay in China and teach at BRS and bring my family to live here.

From what I have gathered in the short time I've been here BRS is a test prep school. And I am definitely not a test prep teacher. I am looking forward to interacting with more students today.

Life is some adventure.

Happy Birthday Handsome Husband!

My First Day at Beijing Royal School

2010-03-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

My First Day at Beijing Royal School

2010-03-22T06:38:00.001-07:00

I feel honored and so thankful to be here. At 8am this morning we walked in a haze from our apartment to BRS. Our "office" is huge (eventually it will be BRS's ballroom). BRS brought it for the teachers of South High! There was a massive sign welcoming us, food, black leather executive chairs, and Chinese candy. The President of BRS, Mr. Wong, welcomed us with quite an emphatic speech---I felt like a celebrity!

Angela,(her English name. I could not pronounce her Chinese name) a BRS student, took me on a tour of the school---BRS has the largest statue of Confucius in Beijing! The campus is dusty, huge, impossible to navigate, and impressive( Yes, more confusing to navigate than South). It was unfortunate that the wind was so bad. During the tour I ingested a lot of dust. Overall, my retired construction foreman father would say that BRS's buildings are not up to code and definitely not union made. However, there are many windows, which South High is greatly lacking in.

Jay, the teacher we hosted a month ago, introduced me to the English department. Evidently, I was a hit because I taught two of their classes right after lunch without a lesson plan to go from. I acted like a goof ball and the students laughed at me. I didn't get to eat much of my big bowl of noodles because I could not stop talking with the English teachers--it was a impromptu professional learning community. Awesome!
I hit the wall of exhaustion after teaching two periods---jet lag set it and I stopped being able to form sentences.
Once again, dinner was a gluttonous feast of glorious Chinese cuisine.

I climbed THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA and I will say, "Woo Hoo!!"

2010-03-22T06:31:00.001-07:00

Typical Tanya style

2010-03-21T15:53:00.001-07:00

I can't sleep. Jet lag. According to Wikipedia, jet lag is medically referred to as "desynchronosis," a physiological condition which is a consequence of alterations to circadian rhythms. I couldn't read any further in this piece on jet lag because Wikipedia is blocked...
Also, yesterday's blog entry was NOT an English teacher showing the best of her PROOF reading skills. Students, here's yet another chance to make fun of Ms. Hodge.
It is time to get professional lookin' y'all. I am going to meet some BRS school officials today. My goal is to look professional, so that my oozing excitement gets overlooked. You all know it---when I have to do a little kick or move my body because I have excess energy seeping from every pore. I don't need all the BRS school officials thinking I am completely obnoxious (I am American).

Blogger is Blocked in China!

2010-03-21T06:47:00.001-07:00

I found, late, that blogger is blocked in China. I was able to Skype my family today, so I had Jeff add the option "email directly to blog" to my account.

The flight was well 15 hours, but I was on a plane with a staircase, which is a first for me. I was crabby when we finally landed in Beijing. Being congested and flying don't mix well. It was great that the Beijing Royal School finished our apartment the day we arrived. It is very nice with a western toilet and all. The of course, in my standards, is a concrete block with sheets, pillows and a down comforter.

Today I climbed THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA. I am still in awe. I am still feeling icky so climbing the wall did me in. I ended my tour day with an authentic Chinese meal---absolutely tasty with some interesting textures...

I found out that Nico, my son, broke his nose the day after I left! I saw him on Skype. He looks beat up.

Tomorrow we get to meet BRS teachers and staff. I am ready to start teaching in my magnificent jumbled barf speak because I am overtaken with enthusiasm.
Hodge Out

Sniffing, stuffy, head, cough...going to China

2010-03-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

I have to get on a plane for 14 hours as a coughing, nose blowing social pariah. I am going to get crusty looks from everyone on the plane, like I am carrying some awful pandemic. I just have a cold. And, yes, the timing is awful, but I am too excited to care. I am leaving the only continent this body has been on for 35 years TODAY! I will beat this cold into submission!
I am off to the airport. We are going to get the Fitzs and go. First stop Toyko, Japan.

Gettin' Ready

2010-03-14T17:32:00.001-07:00

Franz Kafka's "Fellowship" is the reading I'm going to use for my demonstration lesson in Beijing.
I am EXCITED! I have a massive "to do" list to complete this week. I will be on a plane Friday the 19th for 12 hours. Wowsers....