Orientation Day 1

Well, pretty self explanatory. I've been here for a day. Most of said day was spent in lecture. I learned a little more about how to write a lesson plan, how to prepare for Chinese students, and how to justify the fact that oral English is a very low priority (justifiably so) for most of my future students.

I also ate at a delicious sichuan restaurant and saw a marvelous "face changing" performance. (pictures to come assuming I can befriend someone with a camera)

So far things are going well and I'm looking forward to orientation tomorrow.

Arrival in Shanghai

Almost 24 hours of traveling, and I'm finally sitting in a hotel in Shanghai with my giant bags open and my belongings strewn across the room. I will have quite the mess to clean up when orientation ends in a few days and I'm shipped off to Baoding. For now, however, I'm here.

The flights were unremarkable: the movies ran together, the food was unidentifiable, the babies were howling. As could all be expected. Now I feel like a new person after a hot shower, a cold bottle of water and some clean pajamas. Its almost 130am and I think I had better hit the hay if I plan to be at breakfast at 7. So goodnight, many more updates to come!

Details and Motivations

As my departure date nears, I find myself discussing my trip to China with greater frequency. This is in part the result of actually informing people I'm leaving. Well, I've told you, now I'll try to explain.

What: Going to teach English in China through CIEE
When: Aug 25th to mid January
Where: Hebei Baoding Eastern Bilingual School, Baoding, Hebei province (60 mi or so SW of Beijing)
Why: This proves trickier.  I've received a great deal of "Oh I'm so proud of you"s and "Well good for you!"s, and I really feel it necessary to tell you that I deserve neither admiration nor pride. (but I'll take it!) I'm selfishly taking this opportunity to travel and to escape the real world of finding a career for just a little while longer (disclaimer: this isn't to say I won't be getting small doses of personal development and other benefits along the way.)

Regardless of my motivations, I am very excited. I'm also terrified. I am so terrified of being an unprepared, ineffective teacher. Part of this anxiety comes from the fact that I have not been assigned an age group or grade, and I am therefore unable to fully prepare. However, my fears are partly alleviated by the knowledge that I will have plenty of support from my program staff and my waiban (my school's foreign coordinator).

Ready or not, I'm leaving for orientation in Shanghai in less than two weeks!