9.5.08

Hey Moth and Family!

I got all your e-mails but I have a hard time getting a hold of internet access for long enough periods of time to give you a good reply-hence the lateness of my response. I am doing great but I am not getting over my cold because.....I got a kitten, and I think I'm allergic to it. Ha! A couple of us are sharing ownership of it and this is my first (and hopefully last) week to keep it at my apartment. We named it Chairman Mao. Mao is the Chinese word for cat....ah hahahh hahaha haaha ahahah!

In other news, I LOVE teaching. I am having so much fun with my students. On my first day of teaching, as soon as I set foot inside the classroom I got a standing ovation. It was great. Chinese people do wonders for your self esteem. Everywhere I go on campus, people say, "oh you aw sohr byou-tea-ful!" My students say this too me a lot also. In one of my classes, we were playing this game called 'fortunately-unfortunately'....it goes something like this- person1: (says to person2) fortunately I have a cat. Person 2: (replies) unfortunately, you are allergic to it. (turns to person 3) Fortunately, I love Chinese food. Person 3: (relpies to person 2) Unfortunately Chinese food in Hunan province is very spicy....and so on and so on. Ok, so we were playing this game and one of my female students says, "fortunately, we have a beautiful English teacher, Miss Haylee!" The male student next to her replied, "Unfortunately, she cannot be my girlfriend." Ha ha ha! They are always making silly wise-cracks like that...not only about me but also about each other-in fact, mostly about each other. One of the questions I have them answer when introducing each other (in addition to where are they from, what do they like to do, favorite food, English name etc ) is if they are single or not. They love that one. They tease each other mercilessly and boy do I enjoy it. (Maybe it comes from having a couple of rotten red-headed older brothers J/K )

I never have the same class of students twice in one week, so I've been doing the same lesson since Monday. I haven't gotten tired of it yet though because one, every class is super different, and two every time I show them the pictures I brought of the fam, they literally ooh and ahh and wooowww in unison. It's so cute! This week's lesson consisted of introducing each other, talking about class rules and playing games. The introduction questions I've already mentioned. My class rules are:
1. English is FUN!!!
2. Don't be afraid to make mistakes.
3. Please raise your hand if you wish to speak.
4. Show respect by being quiet when others are speaking.
5. Peace and quiet (when I hold up the peace sign, you be quiet)
So far, I've played a slightly altered form of catchphrase, pictionary and categories with them. If there is extra time left over, I talk to them about the difference in animal sounds between Chinese and English. (Dogs in Chinese go 'wong wong' instead of 'ruff ruff' etc. etc.) This activity makes everyone laugh because they get to see their fellow classmates and me make retarded animal noises. It's great fun.

K, I love you all and thanks for the many e-mails I've received. More news soon!

Love,

Haylee