End of an Era

Friday was the last day of model school. I'm a little glad to be finished with it, but I will miss the kids. It was hard to know we'd only have them for two weeks and thus not get too attached. For the last day of class, they presented their mini-plays they'd been working on and then we had a party. We brought Coke and Chips Ahoy! and played 20 Questions and Would You Rather...? They seemed to really enjoy it.

The funniest moment came when we were giving out certificates. One student wanted to get pictures in classic diploma pose (take with the left, shake with the right), so I did it for all the students while Ross photographed. One boy shook my hand, and then, right as Ross snapped the picture, threw his left arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. So basically there is this great picture of me being pulled sideways off-balance with a funny look on my face as he beams and clutches his certificate.

I also taught our primary school surprise class for two days this week. I co-taught with another trainee, which was definitely a good system. We had 22 kids from 4 or 5 to 13 or 14 with some speaking no English beyond "Hello! Hello!" and some being nearly fluent. It went shockingly well. They were extremely well behaved, and yes, sometimes it was controlled chaos, but we were able to move through a lesson plan. I don't think I could have done that with an analogous American class. We taught them parts of the body and emotions. Obviously, that necessitated multiple renditions of "Head and Shoulders," "Hokey Pokey," and "If You're Happy and You Know It." They were a little baffled, but they really got into it. Many Chinese love singing, and most children do anyhow.

Today, Saturday, we had a whole-group morning session which was nice in that we got to see other site folks and actually hang out with them. A group of us went to lunch and then to see Harry Potter. The movie was in Chinese, and I liked it pretty well. I'm sure I'd get more of the subtleties by watching it when it comes out on DVD (aka next week here!). Purchasing the tickets entailed a hilarious conversation which I will repeat here for your amusement.

Of our group of six, four stopped at a store and two of us went ahead to buy the movie tickets. At the counter:

[in Chinese]
Me: Hello, I'd like six tickets for Harry Potter, please.
Clerk: [very slowly] There...are...two...of...you. You...need...two...tickets.
Me: Yes, but my friends are coming to see the movie too. Six tickets.
Clerk: You have six friends?
Me: No, five other people and me. Six tickets altogether.
Clerk: What movie do you want?
Me: Harry Potter
Clerk: The one at 3:30? [Considering the next showing isn't for four hours, yes!]
Me: Yes, 3:30, six tickets.
Clerk: You know the movie is in Chinese, right?
Me: Yes, I know.
Clerk: And you still want six tickets.
Me: Yes, please.
Clerk: Well, ok. I guess I can sell you six.
Me:...thanks.

:-)