Changes in scheduling
It has been a long time since my last post so I will try and catch you all up a bit. Things out here in China are still going VERY well. I am continuing to learn a ton of Chinese and enjoy Shijiazhuang. I have, however, made some big changes to my Chinese program.
Initially all of my classes were with a teacher named Michael. He was a great teacher, but after 3 months of spending 4 hours every day with Michael, we began to clash a little. This wasn’t because he was doing anything wrong or I was doing anything wrong, it was just that spending so much time with one person can be a bit much. I was also beginning to feel as though I was learning Michael’s version of Chinese, and wanted a new face who had a different style of speaking/teaching that might be able to broaden my understanding of the language.
Anyway, around February, Michael went home for a week of vacation and a substitute teacher was brought in. This happened to be Willa, the vice-president of the company, and was only meant to be a temporary thing while Michael was on vacation. The time with Willa, however, turned out to be exactly what I needed, and I decided that some way or another, I would have to make it a more permanent thing. This turned out not to be the easiest thing as Willa is not a full time teacher at the school and has other commitments. Also, the school was not wild about benching a full time teacher while bringing in the vice president to teach a single student. After a little convincing, however, I got what I wanted.
Willa had extensive teaching experience and really knew how to instruct. Her ability to drill new words and structures into my head was fantastic, and her conversation-starting/continuing was persistent and welcomed. Some of her short comings, however, started to become apparent. First off, her explanations of grammar were not nearly good enough, mainly because Chinese people in general have never had to explain their grammar to foreigners. Also, her writing was horrific since she only knew how to write cursive. Her stroke order was incorrect and some characters were just plain wrong. I decided that Willa was great for some things, but that I needed to supplement my classes with her with some additional grammar and writing instruction.
We brought in a third teacher, Juar, but after about 4 classes with her, I knew her teaching style didn’t mesh with my learning style. I finally decided that Michael was a really great writing and grammar teacher, and that the best thing would be to have a 2 hour lesson with him every other day, and spend the rest of the time with Willa. After the appropriate convincing, I finally had a program that covered all the bases quite well and worked best for me.
The last thing I wanted to do was change the hours. My classes were from 9am-11am and from 4pm-6pm, but I felt as though having more time in the middle of the day would be nice so I decided to move my morning class to 8am. I then started working out every morning from 530am-7am, then spending 45minutes at the bath house rinsing off, followed by a quick breakfast and then class. By 10am, I was free and had a 6 hour chunk of free time until my 6pm class. I am still considering moving my 6pm class to 11am, but that is up in the air. I know I could never handle 4 hours straight, and I am pretty sure that 1 hour is not enough of a break between classes. Anyway, my schedule is pretty much ideal for the moment.
April 12th, 2006 at 7:22 am
Sounds great. Glad you’re asking for and getting what you need. What do you do with that long stretch in the middle of the day?
Can’t believe you’re getting up at 5 am. What is your 6 am class? Exercise?
Love, Mom
April 12th, 2006 at 7:32 am
I’m glad that things are really working out the way that you wanted them to. Good luck with the new structuring.
April 12th, 2006 at 9:54 am
Changes in latitudes – Changes in attitudes
April 12th, 2006 at 10:05 am
I missed hearing from you. Welcome back. What an interesting set of negotiations you’ve accomplished in order to create what works best for you. You’re using skills that belong on a resume, you know. Were they done in Chinese as well? You really make me very proud of you, as if you didn’t already know that. Hugs, Grammy.
April 13th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Glad you are back in the saddle. Dad tells me that you are sending a DVD of your photo shoot. I will await it eagerly. Glad you are able to augment your knowledge and aptiitude for photography. No substitute for exprerience.. Are you seriously considering extending your stay in China another year?
April 14th, 2006 at 2:57 pm
Sara……..I don’t have a 6am class…..that should have been 6pm (I just changed the typo)
Elijah……thanks
Gary………always
Grammy……thanks…..hugs back at you
Jerome……I have a ton of RAW photos for you….will try and get a DVD to you soon….and yes, I am considering spending more time in China
April 14th, 2006 at 7:48 pm
It felt like so long since we heard from you. I was beginning to wonder where you were. Glad your back in the saddle again. with aloha Terry
April 15th, 2006 at 2:05 am
Terry….sorry for the delay….I am still here, just things have been BUSY
April 16th, 2006 at 8:04 am
dude, i’m in Hong Kong now…if you have a couple days, you should come down and hang out…i’ll show you around =D
- bernard
April 16th, 2006 at 6:41 pm
Bernard…..that would be a lot of fun. I am thinking of taking a trip down there in the near future…..how long will you be there?
April 18th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
AJ- good update. I’d love to get some more stories on what you are doing with your free time. Tell us about some of the friends you’ve met, or some of the places you’ve visited. Are there more funny cultural differences? And, of course, I’d love to see some more pics.
April 18th, 2006 at 10:00 pm
Glen…..I will post an update with some more details about what I am doing with my free time.
April 19th, 2006 at 11:06 am
AJ
Good to hear from you again. Currently on a South American tour and writing this note from Santiago, Chile. Glad to see that you are getting what you need in the way of instruction. Make the most out of your time in China. Love to hear about more stories of your day to day life.
April 21st, 2006 at 1:23 am
Alan…..thanks for the note….have fun in Chile
April 24th, 2006 at 2:59 am
i basically moved here…working for my dad now, doing IT stuff for his hong kong office. i’m going to be in the states for about 10 days in June (most likely 14-24) for the graduation ceremony, but otherwise i’ll be here for a couple of years.
- bernard
April 25th, 2006 at 3:45 am
Bernard…..cool…..from what I hear that is a great place to be. If I make it down that way, I will send you a message. If you make it up towards 石家庄, let me know