I am Woman, Hear me Roar!

It's been awhile, but I'm back to blogging now.  Spring Festival has come and gone, so I'm teaching again and on a "regular" schedule.  I went home to America for Spring Festival and had a nice time visiting with friends and family.  Any who, unto what's been happening since I've been back in China...

  On March 8, we celebrated International Women's Day.  It was a fun filled Friday where all the women teachers got together for a celebration and were treated to lunch.  The best part of the day...my two classes were cancelled.  Wahoo!  Unfortunately for Lesley, she doesn't teach on Fridays so she had to come up to school just for the party. 

Our school really likes to have big posters printed for any special occasion or announcement. It's basically the same as a bulletin board just fancier.  For Women's Day, there were several posters lining the hallway in the library with pictures of all the women teachers.  Les and I are both featured on one of the posters.  

The top picture is Lesley with a spoon of peanut butter in her hand. Random! The bottom pic is of both of us from last year.

One of the best surprises was that we got 100RMB (about $20) just for showing up!  Nice!!!! 

Flashing my money with my boss, Diana!

All of the headmasters welcoming us!

The essentials for an awesome Chinese party include:  Games (check), KTV (check), prizes (check), and free food (check). 

GAMES: This was one of the games the teachers played.  You had to get the ping pong ball from one end of the room to the other using newspaper, but you couldn't touch the ball. It was pretty entertaining to watch.

KTV:  One of Chinese people's favorite past times...KTV(karoke).  It's a must!

PRIZES:  The teachers who played games won prizes!  The prizes were naturally laundry detergent or shampoo.

Our two best friends at our school are Diana (our boss) and Helen (an English teacher).  The picture below is Helen giving a speech after winning one of the games.  She thanked many people, including CCTV and MTV. haha She's so cute and funny!

Helen giving her speech and Shirley (two English teachers).

Outside after the party with Helen and Diana!

FREE FOOD:  After the party, we headed over to the school cafeteria for our free lunch.  One of the teacher's daughter was there.  No one ever believes Les and I that Chinese children will literally go to the bathroom anywhere...please look below.   We told you!  Yep, that is a child going to the bathroom in the cafeteria of our school over a trash can.  I think I lost my appetite.  Oh China!

Xin Nian Kuai Le

For New Years, we got a few days off of school.  We ended up being busier with a few days off than if we were teaching.  The kids were off of school too, so some of them wanted to hang out.  We also had a school lunch on New Year's Eve to celebrate with all of teachers from our school.  It ended up being a lot of fun and a whole day event, including a massage and KTV!  

New Year's Eve night we had dinner with Wang Hao and Wu Xia (hip hop teacher and wife), then headed to the brand new shopping mall for a party.  The new shopping mall is awesome!  It even has Pizza Hut.  Score!  Huangshi is getting with it!  haha  

Wang Hao and Wu Xia (he can never take a normal picture)

New Shopping Mall

We met up with Kevin and Aaron at the mall.  Their friend Betty is a TV reporter.  We ended up being filmed saying, "Happy New Year!  Xin Nian Kuai Le (Happy New Year in Chinese)!" and then we threw up the China peace sign.  Oh the things we do because we are foreigners!

Aaron, Betty, Wang Hao, Les, me, and Wu Xia

Wang Hao, Kevin and Aaron

My student, Anna, was at the mall too! Her English is soooo good!  It blows me away every time we talk.

Later on in the week, we headed over to san zhong (No. 3 high school) for their New Year's performance.  Brad was performing with one of his classes.  It included him speaking in Chinese and dancing to High School Musical.  We couldn't miss it!  He did a great job!

The stage in the background and Dawn and baby Leila. 

All of the students getting ready to watch the performance.  They looked like ants running around everywhere. 

One of my former students, Hatty Lee.  Please check out my awesome hat.  It was a Christmas gift. 

Brad speaking the Chinese.

Brad dancing his heart out to "We're All in This Together".

After our days off, it was back to the grind of things.  I ended up teaching about New Years in my class for the rest of the week.  I taught them about making resolutions for the new year and got each of my students to write at least two.  I made them display their resolutions on the wall, so that they could read each others.  Some of them were so embarrassed to do this, which made it all the more fun for me. The most common answers were about being taller, studying harder, or becoming more healthy.  I posted a few of my favorites below.

Class 15's Resolutions

My student Oscar wrote a novel for his resolutions.  It was two sticky notes filled with English!  I was so proud. 

I had just taken this students iphone earlier in class.  His resolution was, "I want I'm iphone4s teach I love you."  The translation being, "I want my iphone4s.  Teacher, I love you." After singing for the whole class, his resolution came true.

Cxy wrote, "In 2013, I want to study better and I also wish my families have better bodies."  

The boy next to him wrote, "And I wish Shi Hui Min love me because I am so loving she."  

King said, "In 2013, I want to play better in basketball than Linkin Park.  In 2013, I want to keep in good health.  In 2013, I want to be the master of Huangshi Yi Zhong."  

Translation:  "I want to play better basketball than the boy in my class whose English name is Linkin Park.  I want to have good health.  I want to be the master of my school." I mean his English name is King.

I thought this one was sweet.  Magic wants there to be, "no war, no hungry all of the world."

And my favorite:  "My resolutions are in my heart, I will tell you tomorrow."  His English name is Freedom.  Go figure!

Finally, we rang in 2013 back in our apartment.  It includes a new bathroom with a western toilet   Yay!  Now no one can use the "squatty potty" as an excuse to not visit me! Happy New Year!

'Tis the Season!

Hi Everyone!  I hope y’all had a great Christmas filled with lots of love and family time!  Although I didn’t get to spend mine with my family, Father really blessed me this season.  I had a great Christmas week spent with my students and friends.  I got to share about Father with my students all week, including a very cute video that they all enjoyed watching.  You should check it out!The Christmas Story video I will try to recap all the fun activities that filled my Christmas this year!

Class 13 (which is one of my favorite classes...shhh don't tell!)  decorated their blackboard for Christmas!  I loved it and thought it was so cute!

       

Last Saturday, Les and I performed at a Christmas show for the training center.  We choreographed a dance to a Christmas song and performed it with the other teachers from the training center.  It ended up being a lot of fun!

Les and I with Santa Claus (Lorence who is from France)

Dawn ended up being in the dance because we needed another person!  Poor thing gets roped into all kinds of things because of us. She looked so pretty though!

We thought we would be performing at a small party...we were wrong!  It was a huge room filled with elementary students and their parents.

Students performing

Cutie pies performing Gangnam Style! It was adorable!

Singing Christmas songs

Us with Vicki and Amy, two of the teachers who danced with us!

Our boss Celia!  She is so sweet and did a great job being in charge of the show!

Saturday was a fun-filled, but very busy day!  After our dance performance, we headed out to meet our high school students for Christmas caroling!  We practiced singing Christmas songs in class the week before and then invited all of our students from No. 1 high school and Brad and Dana invited their students from No.3 school to join us!  It was a great night! Hundreds of kids showed up!

The crowd of students ready to start singing!

I only get to teach one of my classes that I taught last year again this year.  These are my students from that class!  I was so happy they came!  I love them. Too bad the picture didnt' turn out. :(

Michelle, one of my students in Grade 1.  Her English is awesome!

Cookie, Kitty, and Sugar from Class 6!  They are so sweet!

Roach with his panda hat.  He wrote me a sweet Christmas card.

Tenty, another cutie!

Hatty Lee was my student last year, but then moved to No.3 school.  She is now Brad's student.

My girls from Class 14!  Anne, wearing the red scarf, was so excited to be there she ran up and gave me a big hug!  I loved it!

Christmas Eve we went to ch.u.rch with the boy I tutor, Geoffery.  He brought along two friends with him.  I was so excited to go to ch.u.rch on Christmas Eve, just like I would if I was at home.  It was a special night!

The blinged out ch.ur.ch for Christmas!

Christmas day was such a wonderful day!  I taught two classes that morning.  My students were so sweet and told me "Merry Christmas" in unison together when I walked in.  Les and I then attended a school lunch with the vice headmaster and a few English teachers.  It was really sweet of them to take us to lunch.  They know how important this holiday is to us and wanted to treat us.  

Christmas night we had dinner with the foreigners and our Chinese friends Dawn and Wu Xia! It was great to see everyone!

Baby Leila opening a gift!

All the girls:  Dana, Wu Xia, me, Les, Leila, and Dawn

The whole group!

And the best gift of all....a bathtub!!!!!!!!!!!!  The school treated us to a night at the fanciest hotel in Huangshi.  As you know, our apartment has been under renovations for over 3 weeks now.  We have been living at the dorm and it's been rough.  So for Christmas night we had a wonderful treat, a bathtub and a comfy bed!!!!  I was so happy! I love to take baths and it is one of the things I miss most about living in America.  On Christmas Eve, Lesley and I were joking saying this would be the best Christmas ever if we could take a bath.  Well, we weren't prying, but Father heard us and gave us a huge blessing! 

One more wonderful surprise from Father was SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!  It snowed the day after Christmas here!  Last year it didn't snow at all, so it was a nice surprise.  The chunks of snow falling from the sky were much bigger than I've ever seen before.  It was really beautiful!  

I had on so many layers of clothing on. I look a little puffy! haha

Our itty bitty snowman

On the school field.  We were like children playing in the snow.  I think our students found us amusing!

Well, that was our Christmas!  As much as I missed my family, Father blessed me with so many special gifts that I knew were just for me.  He loves us so much!  I got to spend my Christmas day teaching my students about Father and sharing His love! I can't think of a better way to spend the day!

I will leave you with a video of my kiddos singing!  I hope your Christmas was as special as mine.