Boxing Day Dumplings

Friday, December 26. When I arrive at school today, I am advised by Mr. Zhang that my classes are being taken over in order to have "practice" teaching sessions for candidates who are interviewing for jobs at the school. Mr. Z says that it will take about 15 or 20 minutes of each class period. So I go to my first class where chairs have been set up in the back for the teachers and administrators conducting the interview. I sit in one of them a little off to the side. Fifteen minutes go by, then 20 - I start looking at my watch in an obvious fashion - then 25, then 30. Finally, one of the teachers near me leans over to say something to another teacher who then stands up and indicates to the candidate that he should finish. The candidate seems a bit surprised, but I am ripped. I now have only 15 minutes to give the oral part of my exam to 40 students. I race to the front of the class to begin before the candidate has even left the teacher's podium. I really think that the other teachers do not understand that, at least to me, my classes are important.

Then we have to go through the same little exercise during my second class but at least this time they seem to have some awareness that I actually do want to teach my class! So they wrap things up a little more quickly.

After lunch, one of the Senior 4 students comes to my apartment for, believe it or not, a French tutoring session! In early January, she is going to take a special exam for people who want to study languages at university. She doesn't have to actually know any French, she just has to be able to demonstrate a facility for speaking it (i.e. being able to pronounce the various sounds). So for 2 hours, we work on French pronunciation, with a little help from the internet which has some good websites, including some that actually pronounce sounds and words.

Later, I spend a few minutes reviewing the final itinerary for my trip. I also ride my bike to get some yarn so I can start knitting a scarf for Ashley for our Secret Santa exchange later today.

This evening, we continue the holiday celebrations with a Zhuzhou World Teach volunteers Christmas party at Ashley's aparment. Everyone is organized into an assembly line making jiaozi (dumplings), except for me. I'm sitting in a nice chair in the doorway, knitting away on Ashley's scarf (except we tell her it's for one of the teachers at my school!). The dumplings turn out to be fabulous, Tiffany makes another wonderful dish, and we have cooked apples to finish. Ryan also makes a wicked punch with vodka and fruit juice that has chunks of fruit in it, so I'm chugging that down with the best of them! Fortunately, there's not a lot of vodka in it. :)

By the time we are ready to do Secret Santa, I have almost, but not quite, finished the scarf for Ashley. So she gets a small package with a pair of socks and the following message: "Dear Ashley, I hope these Chinese New Year socks will keep you warm during The Year of the Ox - along with the scarf I'm madly trying to finish!" And I do finish it a few minutes later so she has it before I leave to walk home (after first fortifying myself with a little more punch!)