The other night, while running with Mike, I told him I wasn’t sure how to re-cap my two year experience. He then asked me to name off some of the more memorable moments, which led to the list below.
IN SHANGHAI, LIVING AT SHSID
- First day of arrival – “What have I done?” I remember thinking this when I first stepped into the teacher dorms at SHSID 2 years ago. I had just arrived in Shanghai, was picked up by our international teacher coordinator, sat through a dizzying car ride from Pudong airport to the lovely school campus on Bai Se road and got dropped off in front of Building #4. The room wasn’t terrible, but it was certainly a step down from my previous living conditions. Anyway, this became my home in Shanghai in 10 months, where I survived with 1 plate, 1 spoon, 1 bowl and 2 pairs of chopsticks.
My kitchen at SHSID
The bedroom
Morning exercises for the local students
- Orientation – “OMG. I’m going to die.” I muttered these words when I first received my teaching schedule. The school administrators assigned 5 different courses to me – 4th grade Science, 5th grade Geography, 6th grade ESL English, 10th grade Economics and of course, the dreadful 12th IB Economics. No other teacher had this many different courses to teach, and no other teacher had to straddle between 3 different classroom buildings. I think I went home that day, wondering why did I quit my job to bust my ass off when I was suppose to be on a “career break”.
- First day of school – Kids, kids and kids. Frankly, the first day of school was quite a blur, but I do remember feeling a bit nervous. I organized and re-organized my lesson plans 20x trying to figure out how to fill 60 minutes of class time. I remember walking into class and seeing 15 students staring blankly at me, nervous and unsure whether they would like me. The first class I taught was 6th grade ESL English, and those students would later turn out to be some of the sweetest kids I taught. Anyway, from that day on, the rest of the school year was quite a blur – everyday I would see throngs and throngs of screaming children carrying backpacks twice their sizes, running around and making me dizzy.
- Dione - As a teacher, you’re not suppose to have any favorites, but honestly, if I were to think about all of my students, the one who sticks out the most is Dione. I think I wrote about her in my other posts, and I tell stories about her the most. She was loud, obnoxious, and bratty, but she was also super cute with her big glasses and 2 ft. tall frame. Some memorable moments with little Dione: taking care of her when she was feverish and sick, printing extra copies of homework and study sheets for her to study with, making her cry when I busted her in class for passing notes, ignoring her while she spoke to me in Cantonese, hahahah, this kid was so cute.
Dione, Nancy and Sophie
- IB Econ Days – Ugh, those IB Econ days were dreadful. I never knew what I was teaching and literally winged it for the entire school year. I remember staying up late on Wed and Thurs nights trying to study econ myself so I could teach the content to the class. I also remember holding multiple after school sessions prepping the students for the big IB exams, hoping I would not be held responsible if they didn’t score well. Luckily, all of them passed and 13 out of the 15 students got the highest scores.
- Guilin/Yangshuo – This was my first trip in China since moving out here. It was the perfect holiday getting to know my fellow teacher friends and seeing the southern countryside. Yangshuo in my opinion is still one of the prettiest places I’ve seen.
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil (in Yangshuo)
- Cambodia – Of all of my trips abroad, Cambodia is probably one of the more memorable ones. Walking through Steung Meanchey was horrifying, yet eye opening, and I’m so happy I had a chance to see it. Seeing the Cambodian Children’s Fund sites reminds me that there is hope and goodwill in this world of suffering. Climbing the temples of Angkor was an amazing experience too. While I may not visit Cambodia for awhile, it’s definitely one of my favorite countries.
- Huangshan – What better place to have your first date than climbing the Yellow Mountain? :)
- Boracay, Philippines – I went there this February and tried scuba diving for the first time. Loved it so much I got my Open Water certification, and now I’m excited to dive in other places. I can still remember the first time I swam past a school of fish and seeing Mike wave his hand on the other side of it. It’s a totally different world under water!
Taking a break with my instructor Alvin
- Xinjiang – Seeing Mike, Jason and Kevin cross the Gobi Desert finish line was really cool (even though everybody stank and smelled like hot and sour soup, haha). Seeing the rest of Kashgar and learning more about the Uighur culture was also incredible. Luckily, we were in Xinjiang before the riots broke out.
- First day in Beijing – Just like the first day when I moved to Shanghai, I was also a little nervous when I first moved to Beijing. I showed up with the same two suitcases I brought with me to Shanghai, and was picked up by my buddy Rob, who to this day I am extremely grateful for his hospitality. He brought me to my apartment, took me out for lunch, and told me to call him if I ever need anything. Thanks Rob, you’re an awesome friend, and I need to take you out for steak dinners more.
The Bird's Nest
- 2008 Olympics – Very cool. Enough said.
- North Face Challenge – My first long distance race, and definitely, not going to be the last.
- Meeting all of my buddies in the Jing – I don’t think living in the Jing would be as fun without all of the wonderful people I met. It’s nice to have a comfortable network of friends who look out for each other. We’re all living out here on our own, taking charge of our careers and pioneering unchartered territories. As Joyce says, we're sort of like a pseudo-family to each other.
So there you have it – memorable moments in China. There’s a lot more, but like I said before, these are the ones that stick out the most. I have no idea how long I’ll stick around for, but until that day comes, I’m not going to worry about it and try to maximize my experience here.
3 comments:
sounds like the journey has been amazing so far! glad to have been part of your China experience :)
great reflections, em! i second what vy said - so happy to have been part of so many fond memories! hopefully we can make some new ones down the road!!!
I remember your room in Shanghai! So glad that we took that trip together, it was truly life-changing.
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