REALLY to be welcomed to ZhuZhou

This morning when we walked back to the middle school, we were led to an outdoor stage, where 700 students were assembled to welcome us. We were presented with flowers, there were short speeches, and then we toured more of the grounds. King Home School has about 2000 students Grades 6-9 (a bit small in numbers for around here), and the adjacent high school has about 5000 students. There are 14 Grade 7 classes of 50 students here, but not all of them are here today. After all it is summer holidays. But most are here, for summer classes.

Before lunch, the teachers had the opportunity to work with a class. Sky and Liam, the two youngest, came with me. We did introductions, then some drawing and naming parts of the face, followed by some songs. We taught “Itsy Bitsy Spider” along with the actions, then asked if a volunteer could share a song. One student stood up and sang what sounded like “Frere Jacques” in Chinese. We concluded by teaching and singing the song in French and English, and a final rendition of the Chinese version. This went so well we did it again with another class.

In the afternoon we met with the teachers of the English Department and discussed teaching ideas, very interesting but not as fun as working with the students of course. In the evening we visited the site where the summer camp will be held. More on that later, except to say that it is not in the heart of the city, kind of in the suburbs, but with rice paddies. And bamboo.

The highlight of the day, possibly of the trip so far, was lighting and launching Chinese lanterns in the evening in Yandi Square. It was beautiful, festive, and somehow no one’s hair caught on fire despite ourselves.

Next: Sky has a home stay with a Chinese family, leaving Dad unsupervised and unchaperoned.

-Paul Stinson