My First Days as a Teacher

So, on Thursday & Friday (Sept. 8^th & 9^th) I taught my very first classes in China (honestly, they were my very first classes ever – but we don’t need to emphasize that!) First of all, I’ll tell you what I am teaching. I teach a total of seven classes. Five of them are “Oral English III,” which is a class for sophomore English majors at HNU. The other two classes are evening classes called “Oral English I,” which are for English minors (so each of those students is majoring in something other than English). All seven classes last all year long, which is good because it means I might have a chance at remembering my students’ names. Oral English III focuses on interviewing skills during the first semester & debate skills during the second. Oral English I focuses more on conversation & presentation skills. Each class has roughly 25 – 35 students, most of which are female (boys don’t like English I suppose). So now you have the basics, let me tell you about Thursday.

6:55am – 7:10am  – Ride the bus to Xiasha campus.
                I live on “Wenyi” campus of HNU, which is a small campus located near the city center of Hangzhou. However, I teach my classes on Xiasha campus, which is totally on the outside of town – it takes about an hour to get there, hence the ridiculously early bus ride over.

8:20am – 9:45:am  – Teach Oral English III

9:55am – 11:25am – Teach Oral English III, again

11:30am – 1:30pm – Lunch Break!
                Usually other American/foreign teachers have a break at this time as well, so we meet up and eat together in the cafeterias on campus. What type of food? Chinese, of course!

1:30pm – 2:55pm – Teach Oral English III, again again

3:00pm – 6:00pm – Relax in the Foreign Teachers’ Office

6:00pm – 7:30pm – Teach Oral English for Minors

8:00pm – 9:30pm – Ride the bus back to my apartment
                Because I am the only foreign teacher who teaches a class so late on Thursday, they do not provide transportation back to Wenyi campus. This means I had to figure out how to ride the public bus – fortunately, I met a Chinese girl at the Xiasha bus station who spoke English & helped me to get off at the right stop. I was very lucky!!

Okay, so if it’s not clear what I’m trying to tell you, let me spell it out for you: THURSDAY IS A REALLY FRIGGIN’ LONG DAY!!! All I wanted to do when I got home was lay in my bed & sleep. Don’t worry, I did J.

By now I’m sure you’re saying, “Okay, I get it. Long day. But how were the classes??” I can answer this question with one word: Great!! I was very impressed with my students. They all arrived on time & were more than willing to participate (maybe it was because I bribed them with M&M’s?). Not to mention, I was called “beautiful” at least a dozen times just within my first two classes. Who wouldn’t want a job where you weren’t constantly reminded of your beauty?? J Needless to say, I loved it! Of course, the first day mostly consisted of introductions, so it wasn’t anything challenging. But even when I was tired, blistered & sweaty on the ride back to my apartment on Thursday, I knew that I had made the right decision to come here. And you really can’t beat that feeling. So, as my classes take off, I will be sure to share with you more details (for example, I have students named “Toffee” & “Cookie” – they chose their own English names). But for now, you at least know that I am doing well & truly enjoying the classroom experience thus far.

I can’t wait to tell you more!

ZaiJian!!
- Olivia

P.S. I did have my first experience with public restrooms on Thursday as well – it was not a pretty sight. I took a picture of what the “toilets” look like. They have been nicknamed “Squatty Potty”s - you’ll see why!