So I think I am getting the hang of the whole chopsticks deal. I can tell you that I definitely am not holding them right. The way that I figure it is that whatever gets the job done is good enough. Over the past three week I have only used a fork once. Actually I guess that is a lie. When we first got here until when the cafeteria opened we were living off these instant noodles and I did use the small fork in there. But I petition that it doesn’t count. 🙂
But as you can see in the picture above, a wonderfully amazing attribute of digital dexterity is require and I am able take big ol’ bites.
Anyway, teaching was a lot better today. I had a class in the morning and it went pretty well despite the kids knowing less than my previous class. What helped was that I focus more on simple explanations and examples. The class was also more willing to participate. At the beginning of the class I looked like a dork because I couldn’t get my thumb drive working but thankfully God’s graces got it working again.
In the afternoon, Jordan and I headed out of the school campus with Stone to the Junior 1 school that we have classes at. This school seems to be apart of our school that we are living at but for some reason they are located more downtown. Once we got there we were a little bummed to find out that they didn’t have a projector so we decided to double team the classes.
And it went really well! Lots better than my previous classes. The first class (Class 20) had they youngest group of children that we had taught so far. The first class was (compared to our second one) a dud because we hadn’t planned on not having a projector and so we were going at it kind of willy nilly.
The second class was better because the class was older, more anxious to show us their work and participatory. Oh, and let’s not forget that they were better at English. I loved the second class because there was a small kid that loved it when I gave him a noogie and a fat kid that was the clown of class. Overall, I did enjoy the class and it was a lot easier to keep the classes under control then it was with the classes that we had taught previously. It was a real pleasure to teach those two classes.
My impression of teaching so far is that it seems there are some characteristics of a particular class that are just plain out of your control but thankfully these are no unsurmountable. While the training that we received in Shenzhen was great, it takes on a different light and perspective when you have actual practical experience to compare it to. I am excited for the journey that this is going to take me on and I can already see myself being bummed at the end of the semester right when I am getting a hang of it.
Love you all! Keep smilin’!