Fun at Kid Castle

     

     Many of the classes are winding down and kids are getting ready for summer break. At the end of each class, we create a presentation for the parents to show them what the kids have learned. The Chinese teachers do most of the work and I pitch in to do my part when needed.

     

     The communication barrier is extremely hard to deal with when working with Chinese teachers, but as long as we remind each other that, that is the problem – everything seems to work out. The real problem is that the Chinese teachers do not include or ask for help from the foreign teachers when they need it and they are not very good at clarifying and expressing how they want to put together a program.  Therefore, when it is time to do a presentation it is turned upside down and I end up doing a lot of improvisation. This is a pain because preparation is the key, but it may be good practice in learning how to think on your feet. Anyway, at the end of the day, everyone is happy with the presentation and all is fine and dandy.

     

     The last presentation I did  I was apprehensive about because it was not my favorite class and I had a few students in that class that were hard to work with, but they surprised me to the point that I was really proud of all of them. They sang a Christmas song that was amazing and wrote a short dialogue about their family to present in English. I asked them questions and they all answered them correctly. Got to love when that happens!

     One of my best classes was winding down after the final oral exam in the last class and there was extra time to kill so I decided to show the kids the portfolio I had put together with pictures of the beach, family, pets, and things I like to do when I am home. They had a blast and loved every minute of it! The kids screamed, laughed, and kept saying how pretty all the pictures were.  After the class, a couple of Moms came to the office and wanted to see the pictures. The Moms were excited and loved the pictures, but at the end an overwhelming look of sadness took over their facial expressions – it was disheartening to say the least.

     When I had time to reflect on this experience and put myself in their shoes an understanding came almost immediately. Most Chinese people believe that all United States citizens are rich and many have difficulties when thinking about us in any other way. So looking at this situation from the Moms point of view this is what I believe they experienced:

     “Hmm, let’s see, Wendy’s dad owns a plane, her mom is a famous artist who sculpts beautiful birds, her older sister is beautiful, her younger sister is also beautiful and owns horses and a lot of other things. Her niece is beautiful and spends a lot of time at the beach, her nephews are very handsome and have many hobbies. Her brother is very handsome and looks to be an upstanding citizen with a fun family. Her friends are well dressed and look rich. Wendy lives in a huge white plantation house in Myrtle Beach and has two other huge homes in the same area. She loves to go to the beach and she owns two pristine cats (you would understand this is you could see some of the cats around here).  One of her homes has a river flowing through the middle of it with lots of pretty fish in it. She even has beautiful artwork and sculptures on her properties. 

What a lucky girl."

Yes, I am blessed with a wonderful life, but boy, oh boy, I never saw this point of view until I put myself in their shoes. 

Next time I show my portfolio to students, I will be sure to have a translator close by to help me explain the story.

Do I have to say it?

Oh, if they only knew!

:)