Today, like yesterday, was a jam packed day of learning and fun. I got up at 7:10, but I was still too late for breakfast. Disappointed, I still went to all the classes. First of which was two periods of Chinese. We critiqued essays and discussed areas of improvement and suggestions as a class. The teacher actually asked me to proof read one girl's essay. I tried my best to give her some good feedback, but I felt that maybe I wasn't so qualified. Just because I'm a senior in college does not mean my Chinese is that good. Keep in mind I moved to the U.S. when I was only 8, aka just finished 2nd grade. So my Chinese level is still about there. Anyways, I managed to pull it off.
Next, I had a biology class. I was really surprised that they talked about the toiletry issue in class today. The teacher had the students reflect on what problems exist with the current bathrooms and then what changes could be implemented to improve current conditions.
It's a small world. Even at Dandelion Middle School, I bumped into a UNC alum, Jim Best, who is the principal at Dalton School in NYC. He and Zheng Hong signed a collaboration to help train the teachers here and try to find ways to let their own passions transfer to the students through creative means. For example, he talked about incorporating math and physics through basketball since it's a popular sport here. During P.E. class today, we had special guests from Nike. I'm not sure how sincere their motives were, but they basically played a game with the kids and rewarded the winners with some random crap. I felt that the most important part of their journey here was taking pictures with the kids and using that as advertisement/CSR for Nike, showing the world that they care, but in reality, I still think they don't. Spending like 3 hours with the kids is not going to do any good.
The children in my class are really starting to open up to me. They see me as like a big brother and would address me as such. Even the teachers have told me that the couple of kids who sit in the back used to be really quiet and not interested in school, but now, they've become very lively and have taken a strong interest in learning English. It's an honor to have that kind of effect on these children. They taught me how to play their game during recess. They exchanged emails and QQ numbers with me. The guys opened up quick, but I'm really surprised how the girls also approached me. Usually, I tend to think that they're more shy and reluctant to talk to older guys, but I guess not.
OMGGG let's talk about dinner... For the first time eating food at the school, I felt full after a meal. We had slices of birthday cake, which was absolutely delicious. I haven't tasted anything this good and flavorful since the last time I was in the inner city of Beijing. Ridiculous right? Well it's true. Good night.
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