Russ: Weeks 3-5 (Getting in the Swing)

Well, it didn't take long for me to fail at writing in this thing every Sunday. The drop-off in output was partially due to an illness and my need to deal with a personal issue back home, but the dust is starting to settle on that and I'm regaining my excitement for being here. It's simply hard to ignore that I'm living the opportunity of a lifetime and I can't waste a single second not enjoying it to the fullest extent of my ability.

A temporary cold led to me wearing this for a few days.

For the last 3 weeks, I have been teaching my grade 6 and grade 2 classes with something resembling regularity. I've missed some periods due to them having exams or me having to take part in other activities (like Easter Fun Days, where we performed in a drama, danced, led workshops, etc.), but I have definitely stepped up the level of responsibility from the observation period I talked about in my last post.

I simply love to teach these students. Their dedication to learning, coupled with the level of love and respect they show me on a daily basis has made teaching them an absolute pleasure. They are so inquisitive and have so many interesting questions to ask me every day. I've struck a balance with them where I have their respect and attention while I'm teaching them, but then I can go to the playground at lunchtime and play basketball with the older ones or have the little ones climb all over me.

Our school's principal, our supervisor, and all the Canadian primary teachers during Easter Fun Days

They are so in awe over us for being so different from what they're used to. The students at our school, in particular, have spent a large portion of their lives within the confines of their small area of the city. For most of them, we might be the only western people they've ever seen. More specifically, I'm probably the biggest and most bearded person that they have ever encountered. The interesting thing is that while most adults I encounter seem to stare at me and look uncomfortable, the majority of the children just latch right on and want to know everything about me. I wish sometimes that adults could treat meeting people from distant cultures with the same wonderment and excitement that these children do.

Teaching here is completely different from back home. We follow a pretty set routine and schedule of pre-determined units and lessons here, without much variance. The students are very set in their routines and it's often more conducive to learning to adapt to their regimen, rather than attempting to reinvent the wheel. It's nice to insert some Canadian flavour in every once in awhile, but I feel like this experience is helping me become much more flexible in my teaching and I think I'll be a lot better for it. It helps that the other teachers and support staff are so completely helpful. I can't imagine a better group of people to work with.

The crowd on the way to mainland China for massages!

Sightseeing hasn't been as intense as it was in our first couple of weeks, but we have still seen our fair share of interesting things. We wandered around the city center with the grand-niece of our benefactor, visited some more markets, ate at several exotic restaurants, and even took a day-trip into mainland China to experience a real-deal massage for next to nothing (2 hours for approximately $25 Canadian). The adventures are likely to pick up again shortly, as we are about to embark on a week and a half of vacation!

More fun to come soon!