Well the last few days have been quite eventful. Last Thursday I picked up my bike and have been whizzing around town on it. On my first day I almost had 3 head on collisions. The Chinese seem to enjoy the game of Chicken... It's very much a case of head down, throttle up and don't pussy out. Old people tend to be the worst.... but it think that is born out of the "respect your elders" mentality many people have here. However it is very fun to ride flat out on an empty street.
If I rotate home, I'm definitely getting a motorbike of some description. It's so much easier than a car... Yeah it's higher risk but running costs are cheaper. Also an interesting point about China which makes it seemingly safer for foreigners; if you get into a car accident and you're on a bike, the driver must pay your medical bills for life - and because you're a foreigner they don't really want you dying on Chinese soil as it looks very bad for diplomatic relations. I think Britain could learn something from this.. I'm sure there would be less collisions with motorbikes in that case (not so much paying medical bills, but definitely some form of lifetime stipend).
On Friday I had my medical exam... and they were very thorough. It was at the China Inspection and Quarantine Service where I had a chest x-ray, ultrasound, ECG, sight and dental exam, blood and urine taken. Everything is normal except a fatty liver and midly swollen spleen; this is basically a result of my years of unbridaled alcohol abuse. So time to clean my act up? Possibly.
On Sunday I taught my first lesson. It was only 1 hour, however it was probably the most daunting experience of my life. I was prepared, my lesson plan seemed flawless - my powerpoint was shiny, I had activities planned, everything. By the 30th minute I had used all my good material and was starting my back-up exercises. The kids were around 9-10, and there was 10 in the class. I was teaching adverbs using -ly on adjectives to form them... quite an easy concept which they had managed to grasp within the first 10 minutes. When I ran out of all my material, I had a "deer in headlights" moment, and images of all the teachers I've had previously flashed in front of my eyes. But it wasn't too bad; my observer, Adam, had a backup plan so it was all good.
On the Monday I taught my first set of Kindergarten kids. That was a pretty fun experience. We sang songs, played with puppets, ran around and whatnot. It's amazing how easily entertained kids are - even though their command of English isn't fantastic, they seem to pick up what you want them to do quite quickly. It is also a good experience in social skills for them; the Chinese educational system doesn't do much to foster this - it is all rote learning and individual performance.
The interactive whiteboard is probably the best teaching tool ever invented. It's so easy to show kids videos, play games, draw pictures, go through worksheets... everything! Gone are the days of having to write excessively from teacher dictation or copying things down; which allows for more proper teaching time and demonstration.
Well none of it has put me off so far... Just have to take it all one day at a time. However today is my day off, so I will be going to the KTV Karaoke bar with the girls from work... in the afternoon!
Best wishes
James
