photos from my last 2 days of school

i wasn't going to make another long post about my students, but i can't help myself, i have to put these pictures up! i didn't actually have school these last 2 days, i just went in to say good bye to the kids. both days were a little rushed- jumping from one classroom to another, but hey, that was kind of my life here anyhow. it was so nice to see the kids for the last time.

the first day of good byes was at zhongxin school with my 4th graders. my teacher friend jane was GREAT, she took me around to all of my classes, interrupting whatever normal lesson they were having at the time, and helped me take some pictures with them.

this class has a bunch of sweet hearts in it, some of my best little student friends in dalian. including...

...this little girl, alice!
actually, i didn't know alice very well until after this picture was taken. jane just happened to pull her up to the front to take a picture. after this day, she somehow got a hold of my QQ number and my cell phone number (i know at least one girl in that class has my cell number) and started chatting with me. at first i couldn't figure out who she was, because her english was so good on QQ, and i thought i knew all the kids in that class with good english. so i sent the class picture to her and she pointed herself out to me, and i realized that she was the little girl i had gotten a solo pic with :) she never spoke in my class, i never even knew her!!! i sent her our picture on QQ, she said,

alice 4:45:09 PM
it is me ,a shy girl
alice 4:46:02 PM
happy moment to me

a happy moment for me too!

now we chat online, and she occasionally sends me text messages. fun :)


another class with some cuties. this is the class my mom and dad visited when they came to dalian. in a letter i got from one boy in this class, ray, he said that he hoped to see my parents again :) what a considerate little boy.

this girl is so adorable all i can do is laugh

finally we came to my favorite class at this school (jane's fave class too). jane took me there last because she had planned for them to sing a song. the song was SO CUTE. i loved it so much. i really just wanted to sit and enjoy it but i knew i would be so sad if i didn't have some pictures and a little clip of them singing it.


jane doing her thing. she is a great, great teacher. from what i've seen, very few chinese teachers are this high-spirited and plan such fun activities with their classes. she's very out-going, confident, and thoughtful.

let's all wave our arms and sing

a video clip...


so happy i got a picture with this student. his name is tom, and he is the best, so i had to throw a v sign with him. he'd give me cute little notes just like the little girls would, haha. he also was the giver of the "i like you" egg from last semester. i like the chinese word for 'chubby' better than 'chubby', it's 小胖 (xiao pang), or little fat, so i will call him a xiao pang baby.
LUCKY!!!

i got a picture with their teacher too, she's great, i liked her the best out of all the homeroom teachers. she's very friendly and i like that she used a little clapper to get the kids to be quiet (most teachers just have a scary wooden stick). i've never seen her seriously angry at the students before. they don't change their homeroom teachers here in elementary school, so i can say that she raised a good class.


together with the class after their performance. it looks like xiao pang baby is giving me bunny ears.


the guards were really great at zhongxin school too, they were very friendly (i always said hello and good bye with them), and it seemed like they worked a lot harder than the guards at the other schools (carrying things up the stairs, doing repairs, etc.). they acted like huge goofballs before we took the picture, they changed their clothes and fixed their hair. but the guy on the right has no hair...haha.


jane and i left after the class visits and went out for lunch and shared a delicious meal together. i really like this picture. i think out of everyone i'll miss her the most when i go home.


after lunch i went back into the school to say good bye to jane and see her off. many exciting things were happening, the kids were decorating for their school party the next day. the little girl ran out to say hello, but it was actually good bye!




the second day of good byes was at the small school, hutan, with my 6th graders. they invited me to come to their holiday party, and i was very happy to go.

i wasn't exactly sure what the holiday party was going to be like- but for some reason i imagined the whole school would be together in the lobby area just mingling and having a few performances. angela, my friend there, said the party started at 8am and ended at 11am. it seemed really long for a party, and really early, so i told her i'd be there at 9am.

unfortunately, the party set-up was different than i imagined (the parties were in individual classrooms), i arrived a little late and the party ended at 10am rather than 11. it was my first official day that i could sleep in and it was so hard to get up....but i was so angry with myself. i should have gotten there earlier.

at any rate, i got to enjoy a little bit of their holiday parties. i had 4 class parties to go to, and i made it to 3 of them. when i walked into the 4th class, the teacher was totally mean and said the class party was over. it was like 10am on the dot, she could have at least let the kids do a 2 minute performance so i could enjoy their party too. basically, i walked in there, the kids gave me a bunch of presents, and then i had to walk out. it seemed rude, and that class had been the most adamant about me attending the party. i let them down a little :(

a happy boy with his snacks

they had decorated the rooms really nicely. the board says happy new years

angela always told me about how this boy was a little star at their school- he is acting on a tv show after school right now. his name is tony but for some reason he spells it tonny. they put a wig on him so he would look like the actual singer of the song, but i don't know who the singer is. he's got a great voice and stage presence :) i hope he will be a big star.



heres' a video of him singing, and angela fixing his hair!

this was my first time hearing the erhu, and i really liked it. he's really good! it looks like a cool instrument, simple, but produces a variety of sound.
his video


so many wonderful, talented students. if i don't see at least 1 of them again in the future, my life will be incomplete.

i got rock star treatment these last 2 days of school, which i should be embarrassed about, and i am a little, but actually i'm really not because it was so enjoyable and i really appreciated it. i am thankful to angela and jane for the opportunity to enjoy teaching at their schools :)