Saturday 30 July 2016
China - Day 189
Last class on the last day before the summer holidays. Four teams - each team has a sticky ball to throw at the board at the front of the class. Each team member takes it in turns to throw and they get the chance to do one of four things depending on where the sticky ball lands - give me the word (I give them the category and the first letter), answer my question, tell me the missing word in a sentence that I make up or lift from the curriculum, or spell a word that I know they should know
in the afternoon I read the Three Little Pigs to a theatre-full of people
then we had a demonstration of sugar painting
Friday 29 July 2016
China - Day 188
Really tired today - I think the heat is taking it out of me - well that and the teaching dawn until dusk in the run up to the holiday. On Sunday night I will leave for the Philippines for two weeks wooo hooo!!!!
Thursday 28 July 2016
China - Day 187
I thought 'oooooohhhh sea mist lovely' as we were going over the bridge on our bikes - Steve said the air pollution was up to 90 blubblubs per blubblub today - I said I didnt know what that meant - he said 'well, air quality is unsafe at 30' (I think that he meant to add blubblubs per blubblub to that measure too). Imagine all the people........
Wednesday 27 July 2016
Tuesday 26 July 2016
China - Day 185
Miraculously Ivan (agent) managed to line up an interview for this afternoon. No information just that the interview is in a shopping centre (?!?). He gave me the time and we agreed a place to meet and so Crystal and I whiled away the time in the local KFC. Much cooler today after the monsoon rains. Crystal and I went with Ivan into the shopping centre and sure enough there was a private language school there. Fabulous facilities, plenty of international teachers, full syllabus delivered completely in English by both the Chinese teachers and the international teachers. I was asked to prepare and deliver a 10 minute demo and Rachel video'd part of it - I taught a mock class of Rachel + 11 invisible children, how to identify and pronounce (using flashcards and actions) a fish, a gorilla and an elephant. I thought it went well . We will see if I am offered a job
China - Day 184
Anyhow I didnt meet Robert and Veronika (not Melanie) for dinner because Crystal messaged me and we had a lunch which started around 1pm and finished about 9.30pm.
Meanwhile there was monsoon style flooding outside so when we got outside the restaurant I (gallantly) took me shoes and socks off so I could carry Crystal across the flooded roads. The MRT had ended so we walked in monsoon rain until we were able to find a taxi back to the hotel
Meanwhile there was monsoon style flooding outside so when we got outside the restaurant I (gallantly) took me shoes and socks off so I could carry Crystal across the flooded roads. The MRT had ended so we walked in monsoon rain until we were able to find a taxi back to the hotel
Sunday 24 July 2016
China - Day 183
Making a bit of a lazy start today. Landed in Shenyang late last night and the interview that I had planned for today at PA International has cried off. Meanwhile it is very hot and humid here. And it is now thunderstorm and raining outside so I might just stay in the hotel and perhaps use the spa later. This evening I am meeting Robert and Melanie for dinner
China - Day 181
Off to Shenyang for the 'weekend' - Sunday night to Tuesday night - Shenyang is one of the places that I am looking for work. It is a big city, the capital city of Liaoning Province. I am lining up a bit of a study/leisure tour for the end of August to take in Shenyang, Dandong, Dalian, Yantai and maybe one or two other places depending on how the job enquiries go
China - Day 182
Big teaching day today - and it was SSSSSOOOOOOOOOO hot and humid - 98 percent humidity - i dont know what it means but it sounds hot and wet and it is - am sat in the flat now with the aircon on full blast - I am off to Shenyang later tonight. I had a job interview lined up for tomorrow - it was meant to be a 10 minute demo class - I imagine just with me and a school director and an HR person - not in front of real kids - they sent me some consecutive pages and asked me to use them as material for this demo class
Anyway I made the decision to tell them that I was not available for work until December. Later they messaged me to say that the interview is cancelled because they need someone now. I said I wanted to go and meet anyway. But not possible. Still going to Shenyang though...........
Thursday 21 July 2016
China - Day 179
Steve gave me some short clips of me teaching that had been sent to him through WeChat from the kindergarten that I go to first thing on a Friday morning so I thought I should post one or two of them up here
Teaching at the kindergarten is real fun because the kids are learning new words and that's proper teaching that is, make me feel i is proper teacher wiv grammar an that
I'll be back there again in the morning. I love it!
Wednesday 20 July 2016
China - Day 178
I arrived back from Dandong on the early morning train and prepared for my lessons later on in the day. Then I drove the 2 min motorbike ride to ShiYan to pick up my new contract. Before I left for Dandong I had already to re-sign an amended 12 month contract that will give me two months off on unpaid leave from 1st August up to when I get back from the UK on 2nd October. I also collected two signed reference letters. These will assist me in my search for a new contract at a new school during the summer break.
While I was at ShiYan I was informed that my classes for this afternoon had been cancelled due to the rain that had forecast for later in the day. I drove over to LingHe for a practice session of 'Three Little Pigs'. On July 31st I will be reading this story to an audience of about 1000 people in a hall at Bohai University. The story will be broken down into sections, recorded live and narrated and translated in 20 second bursts and simultaneously broadcast to mobile phones using WeChat (bit like WhatsApp).
The practice session went well but there was a problem with the WiFi connection on my phone and there will have to be more practice sessions at the school and at the University before the big day
While I was at ShiYan I was informed that my classes for this afternoon had been cancelled due to the rain that had forecast for later in the day. I drove over to LingHe for a practice session of 'Three Little Pigs'. On July 31st I will be reading this story to an audience of about 1000 people in a hall at Bohai University. The story will be broken down into sections, recorded live and narrated and translated in 20 second bursts and simultaneously broadcast to mobile phones using WeChat (bit like WhatsApp).
The practice session went well but there was a problem with the WiFi connection on my phone and there will have to be more practice sessions at the school and at the University before the big day
Monday 18 July 2016
Sunday 17 July 2016
Friday 15 July 2016
China - Day 172
I have been given every Thursday off until the end of July and so yesterday I went out with Guo, he took me in his car to the beach, very pleasant it was too
I went close to the seashore that I had been to with Steve where there was some very dramatic rock outcrops that were a perfect photo opportunity for wedding poses
In the evening I met up with Steve, Tim, Winston, Cathy, Amy, Daisy and Vicky for a sweepstake dinner to celebrate Winston's success (Portugal) and Steve's running up (France)
I went close to the seashore that I had been to with Steve where there was some very dramatic rock outcrops that were a perfect photo opportunity for wedding poses
In the evening I met up with Steve, Tim, Winston, Cathy, Amy, Daisy and Vicky for a sweepstake dinner to celebrate Winston's success (Portugal) and Steve's running up (France)
Wednesday 13 July 2016
China - Day 171
Every Wednesday after work I have an hour with Vicky who is the activities co-ordinator at StarSplendor and for the first half hour I help her with conversational English and then she teaches me Chinese - currently a song
Tuesday 12 July 2016
China - Day 163
Woke up to an unusual view
LiuXiaoMeng and I walked along the river that separates China from North Korea
LiuXiaoMeng and I walked along the river that separates China from North Korea
China - Day 162
Met Steve to organise one or two things in preparation for the summer holidays and we stopped for a beer and a sandwich at 'Story Coffee'
Late afternoon took the train to Dandong where I met LiuXiao Meng (Eva)
China - Day 159 - Friday 1st July 2016
Another normal day at the office - and then the camel and the peacock throne arrived
China - Day 169
I took the train to ShenYang, provincial capital, this afternoon (Monday) and met up with someone I had met on a Chinese social media site and I have been helping her with her English using WeChat (which is a bit like WhattsApp). We got on really well.....
Sunday 10 July 2016
Saturday 9 July 2016
Thursday 7 July 2016
China - Day 161
I lost my VPN for a couple of weeks - now that is up-and-running again but I am finding it difficult to upload onto YouTube for some reason, so that is why there are no videos appearing on the blog
Wednesday 6 July 2016
China - Day 151
Story time at the recording studio - preparing stories and recording them for selling to the parents
The Little Red Book
The Little Red Book
China - Day 148
slow trip back from the beach
including a slow meal at the fish restaurant at lunchtime
China - Day 147
Filling up with gas in preparation for our road trip
Beautiful fish restaurant hidden away on the beach
seafood fresh as can be
At the KTV that night
0200 BBQ
asdf
China - Day 144
I often meet this beggar just round the corner from one of the schools
Presidential calendar
Presidential calendar
motorcycle repair shop
China - Day 143
my favourite wierd fish counter in the local Wal-Mart
rush hour on the local bus
English graphics on Chinese jackets and T-shirts
Fossilised trees in the local park in Jinzhou
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