Rise and Shine (and more adorable stories)

I cannot believe I have yet to mention the English training center, RISE, where I have been working since December. Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I think small children are cuter than anything in the world (yes, even cuter than cats or sloths) and they, inexplicably, love me... even when we don't speak the same language!

Working at RISE has been really fun. I regularly co-teach two classes a week, but I also serve as the guest foreign teacher for different classes throughout the month. As I understand it, parents can sign their children up for classes with the foreign teacher every week, or with Chinese teachers that have a "guest foreign teacher" once or twice a month.

Being the guest teacher is a little stressful because I never know what we're doing. Lesson planning is not part of the gig, as I understand it, although I think some teachers believe differently. The full time teacher usually prepares something for me to do with them, for little kids it's learning letters or numbers for older kids it's anything from reading a book to learning about exotic animals. However, there are a few occasions when they gave me something totally above the head of my students, and that's hard to handle. One time I came in and they asked me to use a complex powerpoint about Easter (that said things like "This is the day on which Christ has risen") to teach 3 year olds who barely know their own name, one of whom (aptly named Miffy) who is so deathly afraid of me and my unintelligible language that she cries when I walk in the room.

Every week, I teach two English classes with the same teacher, and she's awesome. Since I've worked there for so many months now, I know the schedule well. I come in and the kids are watching a cartoon for their ten minute break. It would make sense for them to watch a cartoon in English, but for some reason the kids at RISE almost exclusively watch "Tom and Jerry" (no language required) or Dora the Explorer (which is partly in... Spanish.) I hang out with them for a few minutes, before we start the lesson. I come in after they have already been in class for an hour, so we use this time to review. They can choose "Worker Bee House" which involves doing a worksheet or "Word Found House" (which for the longest time I thought was called "Word Fun House," like a carnival funhouse or something) where they use small laminated paper with cutout letters to spell words that they've learned. Afterward, we play a review game (which I am often learning alongside them) and then we sing the good-bye song. The good-bye song is obnoxious and catchy and I hate it and I love it.

Of course, now that I'm leaving for the summer, I finally feel like I got the hang of working at Rise. Good thing I plan on coming back when I return to China! I like working there because I think the other teachers are great and because the kids are so completely adorable. But don't take my word for it! Here is solid, irrefutable proof that these kids are the funniest little rascals... ever.

Fanny. Doesn't speak English. Doesn't matter.

It's important to learn about patterns!

Coco. She has the highest cutest voice ever!

Leo. Extremely misbehaved, but still cute.

Typical Chinese children's poses.

Blurry, but you get the picture!

Bob. That's all.

I thought Jerry wanted to take a selfie with me (I see parents do it with their kids all the time) because he kept trying to kiss me. I then realized he was actually trying to transfer the chewed donut from his mouth into mine.
Ew.

I tried to get a picture of Neil smiling, because
he is possibly the cutest child in the entire world.
But he is extremely camera shy.

Personality shot? From left: Apple is distracted, poor Eva is eclipsed by Apple even though Eva is the bomb.com, Bob, Charles, and Neil are being goofy, Jerry has a great idea, and I'm in the back just grinning because I have no idea WTF is going on.

In other adorable news, my high school students just did their final oral exams for my class. For the younger kids, their spoken exam was an edited version of "Show and Tell." It was a great experience because a) I got to grade them on their spoken English rather than their written English and b) some of them brought in the cutest things. Chinese teenagers are so different than American teenagers because they have different perceptions of what is "cool" or "uncool." I would say 75% of my students brought in toy stuffed animals for "Show and Tell," likely because they still play with them and think they're cute at age 15. I was so disappointed when my students forgot to bring something from home and instead shared their white out tape or bike keys, claiming it had sentimental value, but most of my kids went above and beyond and I got to learn more about them!

Yesterday was my last day at Rise, today is my last day of Chinese class, and next week is my last full week of class. On the one hand, things feel like they're wrapping up because I go home soon, but on the other hand, I'm coming back... so I'm not too sad. More as this story develops...