China Balance

Let's start with some... PANDASPANDASPANDAS- pandas looking for food, pandas in trees, pandas eating food, pandas in trees! get the theme here??? They are so amazing! I also am still not sure if they are real, or men in panda suits. Hmmmmm

Ok back to balance. I’ve been reflecting on my time here in China. 10 months creeps up quickly on a person! I’ll be going back to the good ol’ US of A at the end of June for two months before coming back for a second school year (whaaaa).

I’ve been trying to determine why I feel pulled to stay in China. What about it is keeping me here- not just keeping me but really enticing me. And I think it’s about balance. For some reason, Beijing has found a way to maintain balance that keeps me sane, productive and very calm.

Balance is so many ugly buildings, mixed with the most vibrant, flower laden beautiful parks I’ve ever seen.

Balance is working hard, but always having time to dance. Or sing. Or stretch. Or do your sword/fan/whip/card game exercises in the park with your friends.

Balance is old hutongs full of history and tradition, next to crazy new construction that is so futuristic and out of this world.

Balance is literally- balance (how do those things stay on the top/back/side of these little scooters!??  I mean, I am flabbergasted!)

These little bits of balance have kept me more grounded than before. Life feels quite easy here and I’m excited to see what next year will bring. Next year I am working for the Beijing Institute of Education. Instead of teaching at a university, I’ll be pushing directly into Beijing public schools and observing English classes, doing demo lessons, and providing mentorship and feedback to teachers. So cool!

I already had the honor of visiting one of these schools. What culture shock! Understanding the education system in China is making me realize how little I knew about teaching my Chinese students in New York. Not only that, it makes me think about how I’ve been teaching my students here, what expectations I’ve had for them and whether those expectations are fair.

1. Every student had to cut their hair short. And they all wear matching jumpsuit uniforms. There is little to no physical individualism (sneaker choice?)> i was told this isnt every school but definitely a lot of them.
2. When I entered the classroom, the students were in the middle of listening to something on the loudspeaker. What is going on? Oh- they are doing their daily eye exercises! Every student was massaging different pressure points on their head! I asked my university students about this later and they said, ‘oh you don’t do that in America?” uh. No.
3. I was sitting on a mini stool, jugging my computer to take notes on and the textbook to follow the lesson when the the bell rang, and the teacher said, “class begin”. All 40 students shot out of their seats- I didn’t know what to do- I sort of half stood up with all my things until we were told to sit down. Very embarrassing for me. Also students bow and say hello teacher to every adult they pass in the hallway. Why aren’t’ teachers respected like this in the US?
4. 7^th graders were near fluent in their English. Wow! I was never that good at a foreign language in 7^th grade.
5. There was so much technology! White boards, smart boards, projectors, everything!
6. They have bulletin boards that look like American ones!
7. They were so excited to talk to me and ‘perform’ for me (speak in English). It was so lovely! What sweeties!

And on that note: PANDASPANDASPANDASPANDAS

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