Long update from China

Below are the notes that I wrote last night and I post it today...

I found out that I only have mood to blog at night, so I quickly jot these down.

I declare that I lose, lose to the evil sickness. I have not been eating a lot recently, but I have been throwing out a lot. I start to worry about myself. The more I feel not well, the more I hide myself under the comfortable blanket. This is definitely the wrong way. Since I was small, my cure to my sickness is to go out and meet my friends. That’s why in secondary school, as long as I still can walk, I will go to school, that is a better remedy compare to the costly medicine. May be because of that, I have develop a habit not to see doctor when I am sick, unless I am forced to. Even if PK medicine is free, I also seldom go.

Falling sick in foreign country alone really make you home sick, love sick, and what ever sick you can think of. I miss my grandma’s cooking. I just can’t eat whatever it is here. I miss my mum nagging asking me to see doctor whenever I am sick. I miss my friends back home…

Enough about sickness, I realize that I need to do something else, but not just lying on the bed, like a patient in the hospital. Hence I get up and write these things down.
I have started my internship as a green power, clean energy teacher for two weeks. I am teaching 3 different levels of students. The senior high school students (form 4 and 5), the junior high (form 1) and the primary (standard 4 and 5). All requires different knowledge to be deliver, different ways to communicate and different style to conduct the class. Let me explain one by one.

First class was Tianjin No 1 school. (schools in Tianjin has no name, they are numbered, this is the number 1 school). As the name states, it is the best secondary school in Tianjin.( kononnya :P). I was told that the students are good in English and they are smart.

So this is my first class. Because it was the second day I arrive, and I have no mood to start work yet, I didn’t prepare well on the topic –solar energy. Instead of teaching them, I asked them to discuss in groups and share with the class what they know about the topic. The sweat thing is, they don’t even know how to move into groups. I was told that they didn’t have such thing before. Fine. So the class was basically they themselves teaching themselves what they know about solar energy and me adding a bit knowledge of myself. Erm, actually most of them were not participating, they are just doing their own homeworks. (got so busy or not oh….lol)

Second class, I was teaching standard 4 students. My first impression to them was great, they are so active, not like the bro and sis in form 4 and 5. They were not shy to approach me. Ok, class started. I still can’t get them settle down. They are too noisy and it’s very hard to totally shut them up. I almost got sore throat because of this. At the end of the class, I found that no use to yell at them, coz they have louder voice than me.

Third one, form 1 student. This seems much better. When I enter the class, they are quite. And they are not holding and books or pencil on their hands, meaning, they are not doing their own home works like the form 4 n 5. Great, so far this is the best class I went to. They are co-operative and seemed interested in my topic. The most important thing is, their English is still not that bad. However in the middle of the class, some boys did make some noise. Lol…boys are naughty, no matter what countries they are from.

This week is the second week. The Form 4 and 5 still react the same way as last week, they just ignore me. I don’t know is it because they don’t understand my English, and they don’t bother to understand me, or they are really so busy with their education stuff. It’s ok, at least I see more people looking at the LCD screen when I presented my topic. I went to another class in the primary school. This class is much better, still able to control them although I am sick. The best thing is after I have finished talking about recycling, one of the student came and ask me “ teacher, what else can we recycle”. OMG, immediately my sickness was gone. I feel so great, she is interested to know more. Oh…..dear.

I don’t like to teach, even giving tuition. Reason is because teaching is a huge responsibility. I am not confident with my knowledge and hence I also think that I don’t want to screw people up. However, after some classes, I found out that teaching is an art. Of course knowing your topic well is important, but the way to deliver and the way to control the crowd is another matter.

Thanks to TTT, I am able to cope with the last two. There is something I would like to praise myself a bit, hehe. My class usually starts at 3.30pm, and I only start to prepare my slide at 11am. Of course I did brainstorm on what to teach one day before that. Thanks to AIESECers, I learn how to talk cork in front of the class. I consider myself quite efficient in this, but the emo part comes in when it reminds me I used to prepare session together with my team mates. Thinking back, most of the session I did was partnering with some one else, and most of the time was with another VP who has no Director too.

I have asked myself why am I here and I have thought of going home. But I have not regret to come here. Almost 2 weeks passed, I will say that I have more bad experience then the good ones. But through those bad experiences, and learn something good out of it. I have discovered myself more, what kind of person I am, and what kind of person I was. I have also discovered more about Maniland of China, the history, the people, the food and the culture. If you think that living in China is almost the same as living in a Chinese society in Malaysia, come and try it yourself, come to the northern part of China!

I am having a positive sense for the coming 5 weeks in China. There will be another HK girl and a Canada guy coming in June. I will not be alone even if the OC are having exams. I am getting used to the environment too. So I should be fine.

Wow, what a long post. Anyway, it’s not for people to read, but for my own record. Who reads the whole thing please let me know. I’ll bring you special gift from China, haha.