Eating on the Go

I'm getting braver about eating at little hole in the wall places and vendors on the street.  When I take the bus into work I walk through an alleyway that has lots of little places to eat.  One night coming back from work I decided to order some soup from this chinese man.  I selected my vegetables and watched him cook it.  Then ate with some other people who were watching Chinese tv.  The life story of Bruce Lee was on the set.  It was fun to sit there with all the people watching Chinese TV.  

The other picture is of a muslim man selling his bar-b-q sheep he cooks on the street.  It was so yummy.  I also tried the bread he heated up with spices.

What are those men carrying?

One of the funniest sights I have seen here in China was a group of men literally carrying a tree across a highway.  Crossing the street in China is quite the ordeal, but to cross it carrying a tree was hilarious.  When I first came here I was quite scared to cross the street and screamed when a car came zooming past me about 6 inches from me, but now I am quite accustomed to crossing the street.

QSI East Asia Teacher Conference

Last weekend I went to my first professional development in Shenzen.  It was QSI's East Asia Teacher Conference.  Teachers from all over south east Asia were at the conference.  The conference was on assessment.  I felt like I was back in college.  During the age-alike sessions I connected with other 8 year old teachers and the other music teachers.  The other music teachers were surprised I was also teaching 8 year old's.  They thought that was crazy and quite honestly I think it is too.  The music program at my school is just starting.  I am the first music teacher and that is why we are so limited with supplies.  I'm very grateful I brought my own music books and collections of songs to teach students.  There was an English book store in Shenzhen.  It was a gold mine.  I get so much more excited about English materials now.  Discovered an Oxford leveled reading program that would be great for my students.  The Rigby books are just too easy for them.  They need more challenging literature.

A Springlike Fall

Well it's starting to feel like fall here in a tropical way.  I'm so used to having all the leaves change colors and fall off, but here in Southern China fall is very different.  It does get cooler, but still in the low 70's.  Flowers are blooming on the trees.  As I walk down a street the air is filled with fragrant smells.  White, purple and pink flowers are blooming on the trees.  It seems more like spring here than fall.  The light has changed.  The days are getting shorter.  Did you know that there is no Daylight savings in China?  I found this interesting.  Well, I can still say Fall is one of my favorite seasons even without the falling leaves.  

Birthday Cake

Today was one of my students' birthdays.  His mom had a cake delivered for the class.  The cake was so cute.  They make really cute cakes here.  There was a folded up flower, with candles that I was unsure about.  When I lit the candles it opened up into a flower and rotated around playing happy birthday and some sparkler type fireworks went off.  It was so cute.  The little boy was so delighted.  There was enough cake for the class some other teachers and the guard.

QSI Carnival

Last Thursday we had a carnival.  I was on the planning committee to organize the event for the school.  My first planning committee.  I don't know why I volunteered in the middle of organizing a school Christmas musical, but it was fun and I learned a lot.  All the teachers hosted two games like bob for apples, wet sponge toss, maze, pin the tail on the donkey.  It was so much fun.  Everyone dressed up in costumes.  Children were given fake money to play the games.  When they ran out of money they could exchange their prizes at the bank for money.  If teachers ran out of prizes they could exchange their money for prizes.  So it was an endless cycle of recycling and made the bank a hot place of exchange and bartering.  My game was the Guessing game.  Guess how much candy is in the jar and guess the coin under the cup.  The students had fun and even parents came dressed up.  It was a very successful event.  We even decorated our classrooms.  My students created faces on balloons that we hung from the ceiling and covered the lights with crepe paper.  I dressed up like Pipy Long Stalkings.  Everyone thought it was funny I came in my pajamas and most students didn't know that character.  I had fun telling students their teacher was gone for the day and I was the substitute.  

Tailor for the Nutcracker

So it's been awhile since I've put a post up.  Work has been crazy and I've been fighting sickness.  I'm in the middle of getting ready for a Nutcracker production for the school.  The scenery is taken care of and currently being created.  The costumes were a big step for me, because I've never done costumes before and here I am in China trying to figure it out.  Well I met with the tailor today and a translator communicated as I explained all the costumes.  She is coming in tomorrow at school to size all the students.  There will be over 100 costumes made.  It is a big thing.  The music is coming along.  That is the easy part for me.  Several teachers are choreographing the dances and that leaves only two scenes for me to choreograph.  The overture and the march.  The picture is of the tailor at her sweatshop.  Haha.  Not really a sweatshop.  It's her business.  The little boy is belongs to the translator.  He was cute and funny.