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China has some very good private kindergartens and I was fortunate enough to teach at a few of them. The staff also at these kindergartens are exceptional also very helpful and friendly. Chinese now are focusing a lot on teaching English to their children at a very young age. I found that so interesting and the children were such incredible learners and so much fun. Many of the kindergartens actually have better facilities than the primary schools and high schools in China. Chinese are very focused on early childhood education. I am excited today to show many photos of my time teaching at one of these kindergartens. There are wonderful photos of the staff, children and me of course. Tomorrow I will continue my story about teaching and traveling in Handan, China. Enjoy the photos and I think tomorrow will be another electric scooter folly. If you would like to advertise on my blog or if you would information on teaching jobs in China contact me at tanukichamptranslation@gmail.com
After the party and the bus ride a few days went by with just the same routine then I got a phone call. Tammy called me and said tomorrow you start a new schedule you will be teaching kindergarten two days a week. Hey that sounds great!! The next morning comes and I wait for Tammy at the front gate of Zheng Tong. I wait for a few minutes and then she comes. We took the 20 bus to Lilac # 2 kindergarten. The bus ride was long about 50 minutes but it was worth it to see the little ones. We arrive at the kindergarten and meet the head teacher there. She is a wonderful tiny lady with a great attitude and a lot of energy. I think it takes a lot of energy to teach 3 to 5 year olds because they have so much energy. Tammy leaves and the head teacher takes me to my first class. All of my classes are 20 minutes long and that is good cause that is absolute max attention time for a 3 to 5 year old. At all of the classes I am mugged by the children. They all wanted to jump on me and play.
Well 11:30am rolls around and I have finished my classes and it is time for is lunch. I go to the head teacher's office and ask her what time do you want me back? She tells me 2:30pm we will see you then. I did not know what I was going to do for three hours. I asked about a lunch at the school and they told me that its 5 RMB for lunch. Well 5 RMB for a kindergarten lunch or 6 to 7 RMB for a lunch outside and probably something that I would like better I will go for that! I went outside and had a look around so many different kinds of food stands and little restaurants I did not know what to choose. I finally settled for a lamb barbecue and some rice. It was a little more expensive at 8 RMB but hey whatever it was so good! The gentleman that operated the little restaurant was so happy that I was there he wanted me to come back every day. I told him I am only here once a week then he said okay you come here every week!! What a nice guy. Well its 1pm and I go back to the kindergarten to see if they have a place where I can get a little sleep. They inform me no they did not have a place for me to sleep but I could lie my head down. I go lie my head down on this hard table for awhile and 90 minutes seemed like an eternity. ALERT The reason for the three hour lunch break is because the little children need their two hour nap, of course! I told myself next time there has got to be a better way. Well my next class rolls around and it is so funny the children are just coming from their naps and their hair is all messy especially the girls. Below is the magical kindergarten. If you would like to advertise on my blog or if you would like information on teaching jobs in China contact me at tanukichamptranslation@gmail.com
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The wedding ceremony was actually quite similar to a wedding ceremony in America. After the ceremony there was a wonderful party. The amount of food was hard to believe I mean it was really a lot of food. Everything of course was very delicious and oh yes plenty of beer. While the party was going many people were approaching and asking me to take pictures with them. This was really fun taking pictures with all of these people many of whom had never seen a foreigner before in person. They were seeing someone with blonde hair and blue eyes in person for the very first time. So taking pictures with me was a serious memorable experience for them. While I was taking all of these pictures Zhang Nan came up and told me the that bride and groom's families wanted to take pictures with me after the party. I was a little shocked I do not know these people but I was honored to take pictures with them.
Me and Zhang Nan went back to our table after all the pictures and Zhang Nan asked me a question. Can you drive an electric scooter? I forgot to mention this before in my blog but I hate these things in China. I mean these electric scooters are everywhere and they mix in with the regular car traffic and really really cause traffic jams. That's when I turned to him and said NO! And I really do not like those things. He just looked at me and didn't say anything. I thought it was a funny question but I did not think anything of it. People start to leave and we start to gather for the family photos. I took so many pictures I was actually getting tired. After all the photos the father of the groom approached me and told me in his best English that their marriage was going to be a very happy one because of me attending their wedding. That was one of the most amazing compliments I have ever received in my life. I did not know what to say. Shortly after that the groom approached me with a small envelope. I know what is in the envelope and I just cannot believe it. These people do not even no me and they want to give me money just for attending their wedding. They also do not have a lot of money this is rural China and people are poor here. I find Zhang Nan and we go outside to leave and that is when I see the little electric scooter. This is why he asked me if I could drive an electric scooter. He says this is our ride don't worry I can drive. Okay but we are 8 miles away from your home and it is all dirt roads.
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Today I just have some information told to me by a Chinese friend of mine. The reason why the groom and his family have black stuff smeared on their face is because wash and happy in Chinese is a word that is pronounced the same. The groom's family is very happy because they are adding a new member to their family so they will wash their face and be happy. Now how cool is that you just have to love different cultures especially ancient cultures. I am usually happy to after I have washed my face. Tomorrow I will continue on about the wedding. Below is one of the reasons teaching in China can be such a rewarding experience. Actually teaching in any foreign country can be a rewarding and learning experience. Different cultures, different people, different food you can't beat it if you ask me. Oh I almost forgot thank you to my Chinese friend for the information on weddings.
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The night was very eventful. So many people coming over to see me. There has not been very many foreigners that come to this part of China so I am quite the celebrity here. Everyone is so nice and I believe they all had mooncakes with them. So many hellos and handshakes that night I could not even count. I ate a mountain of mooncakes that night and I could hardly move. The main talk that night was about the wedding the following day. Myself I was very excited and curious what a traditional Chinese wedding is like. I asked my friend Zhang Nan and he told me a little about it and it sure did sound interesting to me. Evidently there are a lot of fireworks involved and a lot work on the grooms part. It seems as though the groom has to first go to the brides house and pick her up and bring her and her party to the wedding. The poor fella has to get up extra early that day get himself together then get his party together and then they all go and pick up the bride. Then the groom and his group of folks hahaha! drive to the place where the ceremony will be taking place while leading the bride and her group. There are a lot of formalities with Chinese weddings I will tell you that right now. For some reason or another the groom also has black stuff smeared all over his face. Why I am not clear on that but I think it has something to do warding off bad luck and demons. We are at the hall where the wedding is going to take place and all of a sudden these guys appear out of nowhere and start lighting off a bunch of fireworks and this does not stop for some time. My ears started ringing and then the groom appears with the bride and her party off in the distance. Below is a random gift from a wedding I don't smoke but the package sure is nice. Later on I found out that this is the #2 cigarette in China and costs about 8 dollars a pack. WOW! how nice. If you would like to be favorite link or if you would like information on teaching jobs or teaching programs in China contact me at tanukichamptranslation@gmail.com
