You are very beautiful today

We've had a mixed bag this week - some classes just make you want to tear your hair out (or the kids hair actually!!), and some have been great. I had a couple of lovely Grade 2 singing lessons yesterday - I got them more involved - getting kids out the front to do the actions etc, and it was fun. And it always helps when the Grade 2 Chinese teacher settles down the class at the beginning and gives them a talking to (probably telling them that if they don't behave something terrible will happen to them - I can only imagine what the teacher is saying, but it works like a treat - all the kids sit up straight and are quiet...so that is a good start anyway!)

One little girl stopped me in the corridor between classes to say "Teacher, you are very beautiful today"!!!

Apart from school we've been having a good time...we've been making friends around the place - everyone seems to like talking to Andrew and he isn't one to say no to a good chat, even if it is mostly trying to work out what the other person is saying! One of the security guards at school has been trying to communicate with us every day...she is lovely...one day she caught a student as they went past made the student be the interpreter, so she could say "I will teach you Chinese and you can teach me English"...so now every time we arrive or leave school she teaches us a word! Also Sam at the corner shop has started teaching us a few words...they think it's great when we try and learn some words...

Andrew has spent this morning at school - he went in early to test all the computers and write down what is not working ( he still isn't back, so it must be a long list!). He is going to give the list to the Chinese teacher in charge of computing, and then hope for some action!!

We asked Cookie (a Grade 5 English teacher) if we could sit in on her class last night - the class was for 30 minutes from 7.20pm...so we turned up to school and the kids thought it was great that we were there. They were just doing homework, so Cookie told the kids that they could ask us to help...we walked around and talked to the kids and they were so lovely...I had a nice chat about earrings with a group of the girls...and at the end of the lesson 2 girls came up to me and said "Ruth, welcome back to our class next Thursday"! I also helped Harry with his homework - he was doing an English comprehension thing. When I was standing next to him, another boy from the class (John) went and got me a chair. John and Harry are sooo cute - they are boarders at the school and share a room. I find it sad that such little boys could be living away from home!

Apparently there is a mountain climbing trip tomorrow with students from the school, so we've said that we'll go along - it is an early start, but it sounds like an opportunity not to be missed...I'll let you know how that goes.

Well, Andrew is back now so I'll sign off...I hope you are all well and that you have a great weekend! I am thinking of Canberra in Spring with all those lovely flower smells. (I don't know what I'm smelling here, but it ain't flowers).

written by  arterra on October 18, 2007 from Dongguan, China
from the travel blog: China Adventure
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