New Posts Soon!

Hi everyone - we had an amazing trip in Thailand and successfully met my mom and Iris at the airport on Monday. Unfortunately, since then we've all gotten sick! Some sort of stomach bug that has kept me and Charlotte out of school for most of the week. We seem to all be feeling better now. Tomorrow Charlotte and I will both be in school and my mom and Iris will return from their short trip to Xi'an. Many posts to come! Stay tuned.

Thailand, Here We Come!

Off we go - first time leaving Beijing in 3 months. (And first vacation!)

Itinerary:

Fly Beijing - Bangkok

Fly Bangkok - Phuket

Ride an elephant in Phuket

Ferry Phuket - Phi Phi Island

Lay on the beach for 4 days

Head back to Beijing to welcome Tammy and Iris!

...stay tuned!

Home Sweet Apartment

Welcome to our humble abode! We had guests over for a cooking party last night (post to follow) so we spent a good portion of the day cleaning up our place. Not to mention we are preparing for our first visitors (Tammy and Iris!) What a better time than to take pictures and share them with you! Here's the grand tour. 

When you walk in the door, here's what you see. The main living room, Charlotte's room on the left, Jacky's room on the right, kitchen is the glass doors and the wooden door is the bathroom door.

Panoramic view from the door.

Do you love the couch?

Charlotte's room - but we share the bed!

Charlotte's desk and pictures

Jacky's room

Jacky's desk and pictures

The kitchen - to match the couch!

The bathroom

Now you should book a ticket and come see it in person!

Breaking Bread with Our Chinese Co-Teachers

Last Sunday, some of our Chinese co-teachers invited us over to their "dormitory." When we got their they enthusiastically led us into their shared bedroom and motioned us to sit by a few small tables with countless plates of delicious-looking food. We were shocked to see this feast prepared for us! They nodded proudly at our surprised looks. After a few minutes all of the dishes were done being cooked and the small tables were completely covered with our fellow teachers' favorite home-made dishes! They all joined us sitting by the tables and we shared delicious food and wonderful (translated) conversation. We had a great time getting to know our fellow teachers and strengthening the partnerships that are so important to have in the classroom. Everyone kept saying "I am so happy!" Both of us noticed that after spending the Sunday afternoon together, this past week was much more relaxed and enjoyable at school. We were so grateful for their generosity and are thinking up creative ways to show them our gratitude!

Happy Teacher's Day!

Last Tuesday was Teacher's Day here in China- a day to recognize and appreciate the hard work of all the teachers! Many flowers, cards and gifts were given to us by the students and parents. A wonderful feeling to feel appreciated! The best gift we got all day was a giant pack of toilet paper from the school. Each teacher got one. Such a useful gift! It was actually pretty funny how grateful we were! Ended the day with KTV (karaoke) with our teaching and admin staff. It was classic. We sang and danced with all of the teachers. Our debut was a duet of "Love Story" by Taylor Swift. 

Dancing with our favorite administrators!

Chinese teachers singing together

Charlotte and Julie's duet

Gan bei! - Cheers! 

Dancing with the principal!

Teachers Teaching Teachers

This past Monday we (the two of us and Lauren, a new English teacher at our school) gave a presentation to the Chinese teachers about American Early Childhood Education best practices that we want to incorporate into our school here. The school's goal is to be as "American" as possible in both its curriculum and teaching methods. We really felt as though, and had been told by other Chinese teachers who left the school, the school was in an awkward limbo of a Chinese preschool with a touch of American ideas. The three of us worked together and came up with an hour-long presentation on how we will incorporate these American ideas into the school. The two main things that we wanted to get across was the importance of play in learning and communication between the Chinese and American teachers. The principal of the school translated into Chinese for the teachers. It seemed to go over really well with everyone and we have already seen so much progress in the past few days. We'll keep you posted! 

Matching and Presenting to the Chinese Teachers 

Our Principal, Liang, translating for the Chinese teachers.

The Chinese teachers really got into the creativity -
they made handmade pretend dumplings.. genius!

Sharing My Joys - By Jacky

I have quickly realized that these children are the reason I'm here. They are so sweet, and although they can be crazy at times, they have come a very long way in these past 10 weeks with me. I am proud to say that many have learned how to spell their English names, my babies (2 year olds) can count to 10 and higher, and they can tell me how they're feeling when asked. Charlotte and I ran into one of my students, Peter, at the grocery store last week after work. After hearing a high pitched "JACKY! LOTTY!!" we turned to see him and his dad coming toward us in line. We caused quite a scene saying our hello's and he quickly started pointing out all the things he knew in English. Red, yellow, two, banana, flower, etc. The best part was when I asked how he was feeling he said "I am excited!" (which he very clearly was!) I was proud to say the least and it brought so much joy to me! 

Me and Peter causing a scene!

Also last week I brought my ukulele in to play a few songs while the kids sing. We only have a few down - You Are My Sunshine, ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle and I'm a Little Teapot. They get really excited so they often scream and clap so I'm trying to think of ways to keep it more in control so it can be a relaxing time rather than chaos- but I have to remember that these kids probably haven't had a teacher ever do this with them!

You Are My Sunshine with Franny & Peter

My "Babies" Saying Names of Fruits!