The Yew Wah High School Graduation was so cute and very short this morning. All the Witt kids (except Ben, who is turning into our lost Little Duckling, and Marcus) attended, sitting in the staff and teacher section. The ceremony was held in the canteen and was very personal as 17 graduates thanked each other and the teachers fo the memories and years of support and encouragement. Listing off your classmates would never happen at my high school (I graduated with 664-odd others), but the Hogwarts class loved each other and were/was/is (?) obviously very close. Several of the teachers whom the student speakers mentioned were the ones whom I think that I would have grown fond of as well. One girl said, "Mr. Ting, I know that you will make a great father, as you have already been a father to our class." I want to be that kind of influence for kids, too! But maybe I'm not as kind as a teacher. Maybe the international high school teacher option is not as bad as I was thinking before.
In a little bit, some of the seniors will perform in the rock band that they formed and we all have tickets to see them. I was able to do some work on the school computer after Bailey and I ate more than our fill of noodles this morning. We just went wandering and found a great place to eat. After that, we stumbled on a weekend morning market. There were so many chickens, fish, and eels! We also saw a huge melon/squash of some type and many other veggies that I've never seen before.
The rest of my day will probably be to prepare lesson plans, but my econ book is locked away and I can't access a teacher's computer very easily. Hopefully Media comes and can help us out!
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Friday, June 15, 2012
On Campus at Last
So it turns out that we will be staying in the on campus dorms for our time in Shanghai. But these aren't just on campus, they are right next to the school! I forgot that high school campuses are not usually as large as college campuses. I'm living on the second floor with Abby while everyone else is on their third floor or in the boys' dorm. There are some Yew Wah students here for their finals, but they seem to be moving out soon. Their rooms are so full, I don't know how they are going to get all their stuff moved in time.
My legs are a little tired from all the walking a few of us (Audrey, Martin, Ben, and I) took, but I'm not quiet ready for bed yet. It is still a bit too early and my mind is too active. Here's what happened yesterday: The kids that went to the bank came back and only 1 out of 3 were successful. The rest of the morning was spent taxiing over to the new school, moving in, taking a tour, and having lunch at the cafeteria. Looking around at the school made me wish I could be back in high school, too! They get to do so much and are getting so many opportunities that I began to wonder what I would be like as a student here. It has made me want to focus more and really take advantage of my resources. It as also made me want to work at an international school, but that would be a little later in life.
After lunch, we had a meeting with the staff, who seemed very enthusiastic about having us around, but slightly worried about our ability to perform proper skits. Um...okay, wow. Thanks for all the confidence. But at least now we know what to worry about to impress them. This is also when we met Marcus, a 27-year old from California who will be rounding our numbers out to 10 and be with us for the rest of the summer. I was also told that I would be teaching Econ, Math, and Global Perspectives. Luckily, I'm with some competent kids and the teacher said that the students just need to know how to think and solve problems in English.We'll see how well this all goes on Monday, but if we stick to the lesson plan, I should not have to worry about finishing up the material.
For dinner the first night, Jeff the principal took us to a very Western Chinese restaurant where the staff wore Western Chinese costumes and all the food was spicy. Media ordered wa~~y too much food, so we took it home to Ben, who was more interest in sleep than food at the time. On the way back, we also we to Carrefour (a French department store that is common here), but I was holding back on buying a towel before I look around a bit.
Today was more meetings, planning, and work, but we were treated to dinner again. Peter took us out to the Shanghai Brewery to talk and drink with the school's teachers. Peter is really cool (Taiwan born, but New York raised, in China for the last 6 years, and a soon-to-be-dad!!) and I hope that we can see him more. I spoke mostly with the other Witt kids since they were on my end of the table, but the teachers gave us great recommendations for traveling.
Everyone here is getting ready for the Dragon Boat festival, which is exciting, but I'm still having a hard time getting internet, facebook, or my blog, which is frustrating! I hope that I can log on later :(
My legs are a little tired from all the walking a few of us (Audrey, Martin, Ben, and I) took, but I'm not quiet ready for bed yet. It is still a bit too early and my mind is too active. Here's what happened yesterday: The kids that went to the bank came back and only 1 out of 3 were successful. The rest of the morning was spent taxiing over to the new school, moving in, taking a tour, and having lunch at the cafeteria. Looking around at the school made me wish I could be back in high school, too! They get to do so much and are getting so many opportunities that I began to wonder what I would be like as a student here. It has made me want to focus more and really take advantage of my resources. It as also made me want to work at an international school, but that would be a little later in life.
After lunch, we had a meeting with the staff, who seemed very enthusiastic about having us around, but slightly worried about our ability to perform proper skits. Um...okay, wow. Thanks for all the confidence. But at least now we know what to worry about to impress them. This is also when we met Marcus, a 27-year old from California who will be rounding our numbers out to 10 and be with us for the rest of the summer. I was also told that I would be teaching Econ, Math, and Global Perspectives. Luckily, I'm with some competent kids and the teacher said that the students just need to know how to think and solve problems in English.We'll see how well this all goes on Monday, but if we stick to the lesson plan, I should not have to worry about finishing up the material.
For dinner the first night, Jeff the principal took us to a very Western Chinese restaurant where the staff wore Western Chinese costumes and all the food was spicy. Media ordered wa~~y too much food, so we took it home to Ben, who was more interest in sleep than food at the time. On the way back, we also we to Carrefour (a French department store that is common here), but I was holding back on buying a towel before I look around a bit.
Today was more meetings, planning, and work, but we were treated to dinner again. Peter took us out to the Shanghai Brewery to talk and drink with the school's teachers. Peter is really cool (Taiwan born, but New York raised, in China for the last 6 years, and a soon-to-be-dad!!) and I hope that we can see him more. I spoke mostly with the other Witt kids since they were on my end of the table, but the teachers gave us great recommendations for traveling.
Everyone here is getting ready for the Dragon Boat festival, which is exciting, but I'm still having a hard time getting internet, facebook, or my blog, which is frustrating! I hope that I can log on later :(
Thursday, June 14, 2012
First Morning in Shanghai
This post was actually made on my tumblr account back when I didn't have a way to access normal internet, but now that I have some down time, I can go back and post and keep you all up to date on my latest doings abroad!
Good morning, everyone! So, I can’t seem to access facebook or my blogger account right now. However, on the good side of things, our tour escort (named Media) was able to finally unlock the door, so we can leave!
We’re in Shanghai, and all surprisingly well rested from our 20+ hours of traveling. Since the students are in exams right now, they placed us in a dorm away from the school and somewhere in the city. I love this first dorm we are staying in, but we need to move tonight, so we’re shipping out this morning bright and early! No, seriously, some of our kids were up at 6 am ready to go. Me? I was having a nightmare that my little sister Anna and friend Lauren were taking turns sharing the same existence and that we had to write Arabic on our Japanese recipes so that the government couldn’t track us in Greece. Sweet dreams, right?
Anyway, teaching English isn’t on the agenda just yet. We have a whole lot of orientation to get through before they let us near the kids. Media is taking some of the Witt kids to the bank, so the others are playing Uno. You know us Wittenbergers, we go hard or go home!
Martin just commented that he’s not sure if it is the internet that isn’t loading things or if it is the internet that isn’t loading things. I’m sure that we’ll find a whole host of sites that aren’t allowed by the government, but hopefully this will stay open so that I can keep everyone updated. Take care! I’m off to journal and read until we are whisked off the school.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Made it to Hong Kong!
On my last adventure abroad, I sacrificed my laptop for some extra traveling space and wound up with little way to communicate with America. Forget that noise! This time I'm headed to China with full intention of catching every wave of wifi I can snag!
A little while ago, we landed in the Hong Kong International Airport. I have been to a few airports in a few countries, and while I was impressed by Chicago's (very nice, if you haven't been, but limited hot meals once inside the gate areas) I was shocked by Hong Kong! It is like a ritzy hotel. Seriously! I don't feel like I'm in a an airport at all, but the lobby of some 4 star ("It is only 4 sat~~~rs"as Olivia would say) hotel. Very cozy and relaxing, but the fact that it is night here may be adding to that mood.
What I found shocking here (and what proves that this is definitely Hong Kong and not exactly China) was the prayer room. I'm not kidding about this one! There is a prayer/meditation room offered near the restrooms where, and I'm quoting the airport's official site on this one,
I would have taken many more photos by now, but I haven't taken a single one because I've been rushed and crowded here like no other. We've had to bounce from place to place and make sure that we caught all the right flights, so I didn't have time to let my poor little camera turn on, focus, and take a picture.
Oh! Got to go! Off to Shanghai!
A little while ago, we landed in the Hong Kong International Airport. I have been to a few airports in a few countries, and while I was impressed by Chicago's (very nice, if you haven't been, but limited hot meals once inside the gate areas) I was shocked by Hong Kong! It is like a ritzy hotel. Seriously! I don't feel like I'm in a an airport at all, but the lobby of some 4 star ("It is only 4 sat~~~rs"as Olivia would say) hotel. Very cozy and relaxing, but the fact that it is night here may be adding to that mood.
Passengers wishing to pray or simple spend some time in quiet contemplation may find comfort in the airport's three non-denominational prayer rooms. A foot cleansing basin and directional sign (Qiblah) are available in the rooms.Pretty nifty, especially for the little monks I've been seeing go by.
I would have taken many more photos by now, but I haven't taken a single one because I've been rushed and crowded here like no other. We've had to bounce from place to place and make sure that we caught all the right flights, so I didn't have time to let my poor little camera turn on, focus, and take a picture.
Oh! Got to go! Off to Shanghai!
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