The Wanderlust Notebook

Flowers with Grade 1 This blog is probably going to be more pictures than anything else. The last few weeks have been quite hectic as the lead up to Christmas and the English festival continues. Watching Grade 1 rehearse Three Little Pigs was cute at first - now I've seen it 100 times it's magic is wearing off! Although I am impressed at their ability to memorise a play in a language they don't know. Apparently is means 'long life' Flower Power Every year in Xiaolan, they hold a flower festival. It's important to them as their town flower is the Chrysanthemum, but they also loves daisies and sunflowers. It's not very easy to get to or purchase tickets, so Alyson and I tagged along with Grade 1 and 2 one morning. Even though is was cloudy and a little chilly, it was a lovely show. Myself and Daisy Panda-monium Possibly the best trip I've had so far out here - I saw pandas!!! I love pandas! Alyson and I found a safari park that was...

Firstly, apologies it’s been a while between blogs. Life is getting hectic now that the English festival has started! English festival spans 4 weeks and it involves a lot of performances – including some from my classes. This means teaching the planned lessons and helping prepare their plays and songs. I’ve discovered that the children are very good at remembering words, even if they don’t know what they mean! Getting funky with some fruity kids! We had the opening ceremony on Monday and it was a less extreme version of the sports day. However this time, as we’re the English teachers, we had to get up and lead a performance. Needless to say I was less than thrilled about our mediocre singing. We made up some lyrics to the tune of the Addams Family (and thus, The Foreign Family). Thankfully our audience couldn’t really understand it! We also had to run through the audience when the Head of English said our name. It was a struggle to get through for all ...

This is not the first time I've missed my mum's birthday, but the last time I was only in Brighton and able to come home for Christmas. So this year I enlisted some help to sing to her (especially as I'm still ill with a bad cold!) Give it up for Grade 2 and their rendition of 'Happy Birthday!' And a big happy birthday to my mum, I know you had a good one 😄 Hannah

Sports Day in China is nothing like I have seen before. From my own sports days as a child, to those I help with now, I can honestly say that here, it is the most incredible experience. What Happens. In the school there are 37 classes, each with roughly 45 children. For this reason, it is spread over two days. They have an opening ceremony which local VIPs are invited to watch. Parents take part as well and it is a massive celebration to honour the school and China. Scott from Grade 1 Everyone of those 37 classes put on a performance, some of which include the parents! It will be no surprise to hear that I could not understand any of the chants or songs performed, but I was told at the end of every performance they recite a chant that basically means 'I love my school, I love China'. I've never seen such patriotism. 'Bundled' by Grade 2 Each class queued up waiting their turn to perform and they were all so excited. I found my Grade 2s to wish them lu...

Nothing better than free food! So after reading the title of this post there are no prizes for guessing which muppet woke up with a eye infection at the beginning of the week! Finger puppets with grade1 The Chinese healthcare system is quite different to the UK. They don't have doctor's surgeries, only hospitals. Obviously I couldn't go on my own; I didn't know where it was or how to communicate with them. I went into work as normal and showed Daisy (who is now basically our Chinese mother despite only being 2 years older than us). She messaged our official support lady, Tammy (I didn't message her straight away because a) she works the other side of town and ironically near the hospital and b) very heavily pregnant). Anyway Daisy organised for me to meet Tammy at the hospital who would help me. This meant braving the motorcycle taxis 😱. It actually wasn't too bad; he had a spare helmet and didn't go fast. It was almost nice (if it wasn't for m...

Grade 2 I rarely discuss my accomplishments, it's just not something I do. But I'm making an exception because I am just so happy with the feedback I've been given recently. Grade 2 Basically, us interns get two 'reports'. One from Bond, our employers. Daisy and Wendy feedback to them how we are getting on. The second is from JuCheng Primary School itself. At the beginning we were told about bonuses available from both institutions if they are impressed with our work, but not to get our hopes up. Working with Grade 3 English Corner Well, Bond awarded me Teacher of the Month . To say I was shocked is an understatement. Whilst I have experience of working with children, never have I had to plan, prepare and deliver lessons. The responsibility can sometimes feel a little overwhelming - especially with no formal training. I figured I would just do what I thought was best and then adjust depending on what the teachers say. There have been some stressful ...

Longshan Park So firstly, apologies for such a long gap between posts. You may be aware that the 19th Meeting of Congress is currently taking place in China. As such, the government has become (more) strict on internet usage. So VPNs (which is how I access google and therefore, this blog) have not always been working. It's a small price to pay for this experience and it hasn't much bothered me - it's been quite refreshing not to be on Facebook or Whatsapp all the time! Fisher Girl Statue - perfecting the pose! Anyway my last post got quite a positive reaction - I'm glad so many of you liked it. As I made it during Golden Week I realise I never actually showed you what I got up to in my time off, so here's a sneak peak: Summer Palace I mostly explored Xiaolen (where I am living). Because of the heat I hadn't been out much and it's only recently just started cooling down. I started the week by going to Longshan Park - which translates to Dragon...