Ms. V, Why you look so funny?

Happy Halloween!

As a primary grade teacher, I get to do all the fun things that the older grades don't, including dressing up for Halloween! Since SHSID is an international school, we encourage learning about and experiencing various customs and traditions of other countries! This whole past week, we've been learning and getting ready for Halloween. We've talked about costumes, trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, scarecrows, witches, ghosts, mummies, and goblins. The kids donated candy and Friday, we had a HUGE party! The day started off with class trick-or-treating, where the children walked around to the other grade teachers and got TONS of candy! After lunch, we paraded to the high school building, singing songs and getting even more candy along the way. Finally, after everyone was fully loaded with sugar, we had a costume contest among the children where the winners were rewarded with being able to mummify their favorite teachers! All in all we had a GREAT day filled with laughs and plenty of sweet treats to send home!

why I love first grade...

"what's your favorite color?"

"RAINBOW!"

"If you could give the children from the past a gift, what would you give?"

"I would give the children a PSP, pretty dresses, a necklace, and you Ms. V because you're a really good teacher to me."

"Hey Jude, We all live in a Yellow Submarine, A Kuna Matata..."

"Ms. V, I give you star today because you very beautiful!"

"I sorry teacher, sometimes I just like to yell."

"Ms. V, If you're going to be mean today, I'm going to give you an 'X'!"

"My favorite part of school is Science and Ms. V"

"Do you have an siblings"

"Yes, I have little brother."

"You're mom told me you have a sister...?"

"No, I think it's a brother"

walking back from lunch - "Ms. V, I want to hold your hand because you're a lady and I'm a gentleman and that's nice to do."

In regard to my Halloween costume - "Ms. V, why you look so funny?"

Primary School Swim Competition

What’s school without a little competition? So these past few weeks there has been constant talk about the primary school swim competition. With swimming not offered as a class or even an afterschool extracurricular activity I have been questioning the validity and wondering how this will be incorporated into the day. Now, even after the competition has happened I’m still confused about this quite bazaar occurrence.

The competition was done by grade level, so each homeroom had representatives to compete. It was totally optional, so the children that wanted to compete had their parents fill out a form and that was it – no questions asked about swim level or experience. This meant that literally, even if a child could barley hold his/her breath underwater they were eligible…. Well, as you can imagine this was NOT the best idea. The range of swimmers competing was HUGE from kids that have clearly been swimming for years and looked like soon to be Olympic hopefuls to others that actually had to be rescued by a lifeguard. Yeah it was weird – During this time I began to wonder what the school was thinking when they decided this would be a good idea as well as the reasoning any parent would agree to let their child compete knowing that their swim skills were not up to par… At this point all I have to say is, ONLY IN CHINA…

Final day of Outdoor Excursions

I think today was my favorite day of the entire trip! We slept in a little later than the last few days, (around 8:30) had breakfast, and then rented bikes for the day. The four of us ended up mapping out a route and biking all around Yangshou, we got lost a few times along the way and our 4hour bike tour ended up being 6hours! We started off strong and alive – making it to the mid-point without any problems! But once we crossed Dragon Bridge that all began to change…. We couldn’t seem to get our directions correct and ended up making lots of wrong turns. Towards the end of our bike excursion we were so lost that a local Chinese farmer had to show us the way! What a blessing he became – not only did he lead us through his fields he also took us on his bamboo raft across the river singing the entire way! He was so much fun and we were so thankful for him! Once we were on track again we stopped and had a yummy lunch at Giggling Tree, about 3miles out of the main town. By the time we got back we were exhausted so we showered, took a little rest, then spent the rest of the night walking around town and doing some bargain shopping!

Wednesday was the final day of our outdoor National Holiday excursion! We spent our final day shopping and walking around Yangshou! I had a wonderful time and can honestly say it was one of the best and most exciting vacations I’ve ever been had! I love love love CHINA!!!!

Li River Bamboo Rafts and Cooking Class

Monday was another early morning – we woke up at 6:00 in order to catch a bus and raft down Li River. We rode in bamboo rafts down the river spotting water buffalo, wild horses, and ugly white frogs along the way. Being so early in the morning and on the river, it was FREEZING! Eventually we made it across the Li River and took another bus to Yangshou. Since it was National Holiday, everything was a lot busier and more crowded than normal. We weren’t able to get seats on the next bus, but considering how lucky we had been up until this point none of us had any room to complain. Once we made it to Yangshou we walked to Showbiz Inn (our new hostel) and rested for a while before heading out! We booked a cooking class upon arrival for later in the evening giving us the rest of the afternoon to explore the area.

The cooking class was so much fun! We each made 3 yummy dishes! I made green beans with ginger and garlic, braised tofu with veggies, and local beer fish! The green beans were by far my favorite but the fish was also very yummy! Some of the others made Gong Bao Chicken, and Braised Beef which I was told was good as well! At the end of the class we were each given our recipe cards to take home and make again!

After cooking class we went back to Showbiz and had a few drinks on the rooftop bar! We met tons of cool people teaching or working in other parts of China and I even ran into a couple people from high school! Such a small world! All in all we had a great first day/night in Yanghou!

National Holiday Vacation continued

After an amazing, yet exhausting day of hiking through the rice terraces and spending the night in Dazhi Village, we were ready to get back to Guilin. We took an early bus back so that we could arrive in time to shower, relax, and unwind a little before another big night ahead. Once back in Guilin, we had a late lunch, then got ready and went to a DreamLike Show. The show would be the equivalent to Cirqu De Sol, so as you can imagine it was absolutely amazing! We bought VIP seats, which definitely came in handy when a clown came down, grabbed Tricia’s hand and pulled her on stage – She stole the show – It was HILARIOUS! We had a great time - and especially felt like celebrities when everyone around us insisted on taking our picture!

Outdoor Excursions - National Holiday Vacation!

The long anticipated National Holiday vacation blog is finally here – Better late than never right? I’m splitting it into a couple days at a time so that I can add optimal pictures for your enjoyment! Ok, so here it goes…. October 1 we flied out of Shanghai and arrived in Guilin, located in the Guangxi province of southern China. After a surprising nice flight with China Southern Airlines (arguable the nicest and best travel experience I’ve come across) we made it to Backstreet Youth Hostel, conveniently located directly across from the beginning of shopping stalls and booths galore! The first night there we walked around a little, did some shopping, had dinner, and went to bed early in order to be well rested for what the rest of the week had to bring!

Saturday was a day of hiking and exploring! We (Blair, Tricia, Camden and I) woke up at 5:30 and caught a bus to our first destination, Ping-An Village. Once we finally arrived, it was around 11:00 so we grabbed a quick lunch of local dishes consisting of bamboo chicken (not something we will ever order again) rice, and veggies before beginning our 4 hour hike from Ping-An to Dazhi through the most amazing and beautiful rice terraces ever! We followed signs to “Nine Dragons and Five Tigers” and by signs I mean there were a total of 2! Along the way we were chased and followed by Yao Village women (scary long haired women that insist on showing you the way and then expect payment for their services to tell you to continue going straight…) as well as scary roosters (one of which who succeeded in biting Camden while the rest of us screamed and ran away! – good thing we were prepared with a first aid kit!) So after a long and quite eventful hiking excursion (to say the least) we made it Dazhi Village and Minority Youth Hostel where we stayed the night. This was definitely not a hostel I would recommend or ever even think about returning for a second stay. It was very cheap (about $6 a person/night) but I guess you pay for what you get…. BUGS, a toilet that doesn’t flush, and a freezing cold room without heat…)