You said you wanted pictures...

In other words, be careful what you wish for. :D


These are photos from various adventures and excursions plus some shots of life at Gaoxin No. 1 school.  I'll explain as I go:


The first two are from an underground museum built over the excavation site of Emperor Jan Di's mausoleum.  Jan Di was the third emperor of the Western Han dynasty.

He was buried with lots of terracotta figures, that's what you see scattered throughout these photos.  Oh and the museum has a glass floor so as you go you are actually walking over part of the excavation, it is a true 3-D experience.

This is just a funny shot I took one afternoon in my office.  There are about 7 girls all gathered around two of the male teachers in the office.  You can get a picture here of the student's dress and demeanor.  They are just regular high schoolers.  Oh I should mention that the two teachers they are listening to so intently are pretty cute :P 

About a week and a half ago I ventured with the family of one of my students, Will and his friend Eric and another teacher, Jo (who is the sweetest girl), from the school to this little Chinese village where life in "old China" is reenacted for the enjoyment of visitors.  I will post more on that soon when I edit all the photos.  Here are some to whet your appetite, literally.


In the first one some pigs' feet, because as my friend Jo says, "We Chinese are good at cooking feet."

Here is a local specialty, pepper noodles.  Spicy and delicious! 

Wave at Chairman Mao! 

 That same day we went to another emperor's mausoleum, this one is built into the side of a mountain.  Saw some spectacular views.

 This is probably telling me something very important, but the guide we got didn't speak English so I didn't catch much :) will do some research and get back to you.

This last week was loooooooong.  Taught for 7 days in a row but had Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off.  Here are some pics of my adventure with host mom and dad to the Daoist Cultural "theme park" (my name for it)

 there were about 8 of these stands selling sweet corn and popcorn.

 fairly blah pic of me but at least it's proof I was there!

Then most importantly-lunch!
This is a photo for my dear Tingting whose list of must try foods is being diligently followed with the help of host dad, he's having fun with it to! These were wide flour noodles with spicy chili oil and local greens!  Sooooo yummy, but mom told me not to eat too much because there would be lots of other food.

 No kidding!  This was the first dish, a local fish fried up with chilis.  (my personal fave)

 Wild chicken and bread in a sauce with different spices, I think some cinnamon made it in there.  Very good.

More fish with different kinds of peppers.  This one had the whole fish which I'm still not good at picking around the bones,  but since you're expected to spit the bones out when you find them I'm not the only one looking a little weird! 

Tuesday these three students invited me to explore the Muslim Quarter and part of the old city.  (from left to right: Jessica, Eric and Candace)  


This photo was taken on the Drum Tower.

I'm just going to mention this again, being a teacher in China rocks!  These kiddos invited me out and paid for everything!  But I made them let me pay for Starbucks to round up our day.


 This was taken on the Bell Tower, the other young lady is Amanda, a college teacher in Nanching visiting Xi'an over the holiday.  She's from Philly.

This is what we had for breakfast, soup dumplings!!  Yay for dumplings :)

Here's a last shot for the day, looking out of the Bell Tower towards the Drum Tower and the Muslim Quarter.

What I'm learning

Being a teacher in China is a world away from teaching in the United States.  That's a given.  You're all probably saying, "Yes Carrie, and we also know what bears do in the woods."  But allow me to explain a bit what I mean.

What was completely new for me:  classes are twice as large, students are all ELL (English Language Learners) and everyone (teachers and students) is pressured to preform well on exams.  There is no real grading going on, simply-will you pass the test with this work or not?

What isn't different-teachers here care about their students.  They care about their success and whether or not the students are learning what they need in order to be successful.  Teachers teach content but they also teach discipline and good "morals" (responsible citizenship).  Teachers are loved by their students.

So why did I have a completely different idea about teaching in China?  That all teachers were ogres and fire breathing dragons?  I don't know.

What I have learned from my one week in the classrooms here at Gaoxin No. 1 most importantly is that the great majority these students want to succeed.  For each one this means something different.  They have high expectations placed on them, but they have similar expectations from within.  The students I am teaching at the international center want to study at the best universities in the United States and in the UK, Australia, Singapore and elsewhere.

After they leave the hallways of Gaoxin No. 1 will they have the tools they need?  I think it very likely that they will.  And hopefully they'll have a dim memory of the teachers who came from America to learn from them.

The first few days

This city is huge!  Life at Gaoxin school and the surrounding neighborhood covers a small portion.  This week the big adventures were finding our ways to everyone's house, finding a coffee shop and some decent towels.  Now if only I could find a steady supply of Diet Coke with ice...

-ate hot pot for lunch on Tuesday and toured the school grounds
-Terracotta Warriors and Shaanxi local food feast on Wednesday
-Shaanxi History Museum and shopping Thursday

My host family is super sweet and they live about 1.5 km from the school so I have been walking home in the afternoons.

I will post pics soon!

Happy Chinese New Year

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè!  Happy Year of the Dragon!

Went out to have New Year's "banquet" at Panda Cuisine with Tingting, Dan, Xiaobo and Liyen.  Oh Chris, Michael and Nico were there too!  Yummy Chinese food and good times were had.

Plane tickets and frequent fliers

I bought my tickets yesterday!  I had to call my wonderful travel agent last minute because of a mix up with the credit cards, but all is well.  Going to have to get a United Airlines frequent flier card, racking up the miles-it's a long flight from Chicago to Shanghai.  


One of my fellow student teachers made the point of looking at baggage allowances-United and China Eastern allow one 50 pound bag.  That Teen Missions training is going to come in handy! :)

Terracotta Army

Thankful

Here's a picture I found of Xi'an at night.  Thanks Google images!I am blessed beyond what I deserve.  I am so grateful to be able to use my gifts and talents to serve my Creator and further His Kingdom.  I am also thankful for my fellow teachers and administrators who are working hard to make this venture a success.  I know that they are working for the good of the students, the school and the university but I know that there is a greater Author at work too.

I should be lesson planning but...

I wanted to jump on here and start putting up pics/info/etc. to launch new blog face :).  I am finalizing details of my trip this week and will be planning my after Xi'an trip to Beijing as well.  Woot!

Found out on Friday at China meeting that funds have been found to pay for all my program fees and reimburse part of my travel expenses!! Yay God!!  When I started this journey last year I had hoped to cover costs with help from money I received last year plus whatever the college could give me, but I went through extra funds keeping up my lavish lifestyle :P and so was going to have to stretch to make this work.  What a gift from God to have this covered.

Here's a photo of Gaoxin No. 1 School in Xi'an.