In past years, Grinnell Corps fellows taught ten classes, or often less (like, seven or eight.) However, this year they decided to up our course load to fifteen. This means that making money outside of NDFZ is difficult, unless I want to take a weekend job. So I have taken odd jobs here and there to satisfy my insatiable scarf-buying habits.
Last weekend, I worked at a recruitment Halloween party for a kindergarten. The aim of the gathering was to encourage parents to send their children to this foreign language education center. Although none of the foreigners there actually work at this kindergarten, they needed foreign faces to prove they were legitimate. Enter, me and Sophie.
I was assigned dance duty, since, you know, being a dancer is really necessary to teach "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" or "If You're Happy and You Know It." Interestingly, I learned that in Britain the "Hokey Pokey" is called the "Hokey Cokey" which, to me sounds like a song about a kitschy coke addict. The kids were totally adorable though, in a way that is so different from the cuteness of my middle schoolers. They were all in costume, except none of the costumes were coherent under a common theme. There was a girl dressed as a witch with a pumpkin mask and a boy dressed as a pirate ninja wizard. I got to see all the costumes in their glory during the Halloween fashion show. One of the cutest was a boy dressed as a bumble bee, with stinger attached and all. He liked to chase the stinger like a dog chases a tail and stick the stinger in between in legs and waddle around. All the kids ended with the quintessential Chinese pose: peace signs all around. In typical Chinese fashion, the teachers had tried to organize the kids and make them walk in groups related to their costume and ushered them into this complicated walking pattern. Don't they know it's easier just to let them do whatever? The teachers also handed out prizes for the best costumes, and only three or four kids walked away winner; unlike in America where every kid would get a gift with a grin that says "EVERYONE WINS! YAY!" Definitely a fun experience. Even though I could never work full time with such young kids, they're pretty adorable in small doses.
I have also been editing college essays for a company in Nanjing that American college potentials can hire for SAT tutoring, TOEFL tutoring, and college essay editing. I like the job because I can do it on my own time, wherever I want, and I can listen to N*SYNC pandora while I work. It's an interesting experience because even though NDFZ is a top ranked Nanjing school, most of the students whose essays I edit go to the American School in Nanjing or another foreign language (read: English) school. Their essays are really good. Mostly, they lack the uniqueness needed to be memorable to college admissions officers. They write trite stories like: "I wanted to be singer, my dad said no, I worked hard, he said yes" or "I like soccer, it was hard, but my parents and coaches encouraged me, now, I'm good." So part of my job is editing for grammar and vocabulary, although their essays are pretty excellent. The other part is find the right questions to spur the students to write something more creative. I think that part of the job is really fun.
Side note, in the first three essays I edited they used the phrase, "a feast of eyes." I assume they meant a feast FOR the eyes, but I like to think they intended it to be a feast of eyes, fulfilling all your odd food fantasies.
I do hope to get other odd jobs here and there. Both Sophie and I have been approached for modeling gigs, but it seems on the sketchy side. Tutoring and editing are our biggest markets; Chinese schools will be pretty transparent about the fact that the only want to hire white, female, and ideally attractive teachers.
Odd jobs are fun because I make extra cash and because I get to experience something other than teaching, although making money is definitely the most fun part. So if you know anyone in Nanjing hiring... China Doll is a working gal.
