christmas party

yesterday was one of my most wonderful days in dalian- in one of my 6th grade classes we had an excellent student-run christmas party. one of my students last week asked me if we could have a christmas party in her class, and you know what they say, ask and you shall receive! i was a little hesitant at first because they are also one of my naughty classes but i told them that we could do it anyhow. it ended up working out perfectly because i found out that this week was my last class with them, so it was a good way to end the semester. i wasn't totally sure what they were imagining, or if they would even remember, so i just bought a few boxes of cookies to bring to class.

when i arrived, it was clear that the christmas party had not been forgotten. so happy i picked up those cookies, i almost didn't because i was really busy the day before and didn't really have time to go to the store but i knew that if they remembered and i showed up with nothing i would be really upset with myself. it wasn't much, but they were grateful for it. the girl in the purple sweater below was the student who asked for the party and clearly orchestrated it. she was communicating with me about the flow of the party and telling the students what was happening. this is actually a perfect picture- i gave those 3 students the 3 english awards. i love the girl in red, she is funny funny funny. i'd like to think that i was like her when i was little, but i think she is probably a little more bold than i was. the girl in purple is bold too, and a good leader. one of the boys in her class was not present when i returned their letters to them and after he came back she was determined to see that he got his letter. i forgot to bring it 2 weeks in a row and she came up to me each time and asked me where mike's letter was, and told me to not forget it next time. i'm not even sure if mike cared, but he eventually got his letter anyhow!

i couldn't believe how much food they brought, it was very cute. that seemed to be the main focus of the party. this boy brought a ridiculous amount of snacks- he was so ready to party.

this boy brought a santa lollipop haha
the kids didn't leave me in the dark either- here is some of my loot after the party. look how big that dog is! oh my god, so over the top.
i really liked this gift, it's called a grass head. the girl in purple who planned the event gave it to me. in about a week the grass will start growing out of the head and then i can style it's hair as i wish.

the highlight of the party for sure was the three students who played a song together on the clarinet. i am obsessed with this picture, they look so happy and cute. the girl in purple asked me if we could start the music, and i was like sure, tell me what you want to listen to and i'll find it on the internet! i didn't realized that they had planned a concert, haha. how amazing! you may be surprised because the girl in the middle does not appear to be chinese, but actually her mother was chinese and her father is from africa. her mother died, and it sounds like her father is in africa while she is here with some of her mother's relatives. she is a chinese girl! apparently she has a very heavy dalian accent too. her english was very poor, but she was always smiling so i liked her a lot.
here is a video of the concert. so wonderful! the song sounds familiar, but i can't remember where i've heard it.


like my other classes, i eventually took them outside to play and we had a good time together. when we were about to go back in, the chinese english teacher (who kindly came outside with all my classes to help me) told them that it was the last class and they should say thank you. again, i don't know what was up with my classes at this school yesterday, but they mobbed me. standing there trying to hug 45 students all at once was a very happy moment. i almost fell over from the rush. the little girl in red i mentioned before made it to me first- she was jumping up and down hugging me saying teeeeacchhhherr haha. all in all, i think this was one of the best christmas parties i have ever been to. props to my students!