Learning and Growing

Prompt: 

1. Tell us about the teacher or administrator you most admire or have something to learn from.

2. Pick something you've avoided outside of school (going to a different restaurant or shop, going to a different part of town) and do it!

Response:
           There are 7 other English teachers at the primary school with me; however, I honestly haven't found much about them that I find admirable. The teacher that I admire is the woman I teach at the Kindergarten/Preschool with, and that I've taught with at the English Power School a few times on Sunday. She has been teaching English at both places for 10 years, and her English is better than any of the teachers at my school. Personally, I feel that I can have an easy, flowing conversation with her without having to explain what I mean to say every sentence. I like hanging out with her, and easy to get along with. I admire her strength. She has the cutest 3-year-old daughter and raises her by herself because her husband passed away two years ago. Her parents help her, but I can't imagine how hard it must be to be a single mother in China. But she doesn't let this bring her down; I always see her smiling and she has a positive outlook on life. She's my first friend in China!

          Professionally, I feel that she is an amazing teacher. She was one of the first teachers at the English Power School, which now has 10 branches. Just watching her, she has so much knowledge of the English language. I feel like she must know every sound-letter combination when she sounds out new vocabulary words to her students! More than I do! The strategies and games she uses to keep her students engaged and her classes interactive are great; I've even already used a few in my own class. I think that I can learn a lot from teaching with her and continuing to observe her. She's very proactive with the work she does, and I can clearly tell she loves her job.
           There are a lot of things that I've avoided doing outside of school that I feel like I've done over the the last week or two. I'm not sure if its because of the warmer weather (30 degrees to 40 degrees makes a big difference) or if it's just that I am starting to feel more comfortable here. The fact that cab drivers understand "Shree Yen Arn Bu" when I say it to come back to my dorm helps a lot! I've been walking around and going to new places by myself a lot. I went to the market myself a few times. Two weeks ago, I wouldn't have gone without one of the other UMSL students. I even went to an area of town to just walk around and go the shops, by myself. And I felt ok. I wasn't scared; just a little unsure, but that was fine. Another thing I did was take a pedicab. It's pretty much a bike with a small cabin attached to the back. I had been afraid to take one because of the crazy way people drive around here. I've seen a few accidents with pedicabs and I was afraid one taking one, even though so many people use them.I rode in one from school to the dorms the other day and it wasn't too scary, although I felt bad for the man pedaling the entire time. Another thing I did last week was get a blind massage. The masseuse was a little rough, but overall, I liked it! I can't wait to go back for another :)