Preface:
So we are finally trying this blog thing, despite the “great firewall of China.” Patrick’s brother Dylan is going to be our webmaster! If you would like to respond to us directly, please email us at jagger_meredith@yahoo.com or patrick_ley@yahoo.com rather than posting on the blog itself. We can’t access the posts, but when we get back, it will be nice to see what it looks like.
Chapter 1:
We had training in Beijing from August 2 – August 21, 2007. This was very challenging because we were supposed to be doing three things, on top of dealing with jet lag and culture shock: 1) Beginning intensive Chinese classes 2) Taking “Teaching English as a Foreign Language” (TEFL) classes to learn how to manage Chinese students and teach them effectively and 3) Practice teaching during a summer program for students at Peking (Beijing) University who ranged in age from 5 to post doctorate. There were three sessions. I got to start teaching the first week, before I had had any useful TEFL classes, which was a big shock. Luckily I had a very excellent class of college level students who were great. I also practice taught with some “juniors” who were about twelve.
We only got two days “off” during this time, one day to go to the Great Wall and one day to go to the Forbidden City. The Great Wall was first, and that was good because if we had been any more tired, we wouldn’t have made it. As it was, that has got to be one of the most strenuous experiences of my life. Patrick got sick from exhaustion, but made it up to the top!!! The area was very natural and we saw some cool lizards and butterflies. The Forbidden City was beautiful, but we didn’t get to see much of it. They are doing massive renovations for the Olympics and there were a lot of people there. Patrick and I went to a clock exhibit, which did cost a little extra, so I don’t think anyone else from our group went. There were clocks there from the European powers which had been gifts to the Emperors as well as Chinese made ones. They were all so intricate. One had a British man doll that could write eight different Chinese characters. Therefore at the time he could write more Chinese characters than we could. But already we know more than him and we will keep getting better while he never will ha ha ha ha ha! umm…..yes. One was a golden chariot pulled by Elephants that actually moved.
Chapter 2:
After Beijing our group all came to Shenzhen. We spent two days at a beautiful hotel while everyone got their paperwork finished and returning teachers met up with us. The hotel is apparently run for top level Party members and was very posh, including an Olympic sized swimming pool, fountains etc. They called it five stars. The lobby and recreation areas were, by American standards. The rooms might have only been three or four star worthy, but we didn’t complain, at least not about that. I had a horrible first day there, however. We got in from the airport at 2 AM. I had to be back up at 7 AM for a physical, where I was poked in all manner of ways (EKG, chest x-ray, ultrasound, eye test, dental exam and having blood drawn). I finally was allowed to eat a meal around noon and was told I could go rest, except two minutes after I was in bed, they came around and told everyone that we had a meeting. I then got dragged off to the police station in my district for an “interview” to make sure that I wasn’t seditious. Well in theory, in practice the interview only consisted of re-filling out forms we had already filled out. After getting back to the hotel, still working on about four hours of sleep, I had to fill out forms and then fill them out three more times because I kept making errors. About 7:30 pm we had photos made for the police forms and mine was definitely not attractive. The upside was that the next day I was totally free. I had nothing I had to do. The activities of forms, medical exam and police were supposed to be spread out over both days, but I got them all at once.
Part 3:
We signed the contract with our school on August 23 at a big ceremony at the hotel. We were then driven to our school, which was a big shock. They were very nice, but we had some issues with our accommodations. Since then, everyone has been very nice, but after talking to some other program teachers at different schools, our contract teacher has been less helpful that maybe he should have been. We are going to address some of our concerns to him on Monday.
Our students are fairly well behaved and have good English skills. We think we are at the best high school in the district, but it is definitely not any where near the best in the city. The first two weeks of teaching have gone well. We have also gotten to explore the city some. This week, our lesson is on pirates, arrr!
We have lots of pictures from Beijing and will post more when we get a new camera. The one we brought was in a bag with a water bottle that didn’t have the lid screwed on tight enough. We were able to get the photos off it, but the lens was damaged.
Contact Info
Email Meredith: jagger_meredith@yahoo.com
Email Patrick: patrick_ley@yahoo.com
Skype: meredith.jagger
Meredith’s Cell phone: 15820437382
Landline: 27516873
Patrick’s Cell phone: 15820437384
Landline: 29706794
Office Phone: 27512212-8519
All the above phone numbers are for domestic Chinese calls. To find out the international codes from your location, please visit http://timeanddate.com/worldclock/dialing.html.
Mailing Address:
Meredith Jagger OR Patrick Ley
Bao’an Senior High School
Bao’an Education City
Bao’an District, Shenzhen
Guangdong Province
CHINA
518128
We have been told that for packages, using the US Post Office will work better. It takes about 16 days for letters to get to us (that is with a sample size on 1 thus far).
Wish List
Handkerchiefs or bandanas
Panty hose (5’10” and 175 lbs) in skin tone, for Meredith only
English magazines (like National Geo, Smithsonian, Cosmo)
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