We're having some problems publishing new blog entries, hence the lack of input since last week. Meantime, here are a few highlights and lowlights:
Lesley and Hou Wanxia delivered teaching methods classes to Maths and Physics students last week, the second one filmed by Ali for the TDC video-training archive. The students are active, interested and work well together so the TP-Prep Project has got off to a fine start. Sue and Liao Xinli are also co-delivering some of the workshops.
Lesley is giving two 'model' (let's hope) English lessons at Simao No4 Middle School tomorrow. There should be about 70 observers each time, including Maths/Physics teaching majors, English teaching majors, College methods teachers and middle school English teachers. She will be teaching Grade 8 students. The regular teacher, Ms Fang, has asked Lesley to teach Unit 8 in the book (even if the students haven't reached it yet) because she wants to compare Lesley's methods to those used by teachers in a recent teaching competition (where Unit 8 was taught). Not much pressure then.
A small (M3.6), local earthquake rattled our window cadges a few evenings ago. Nothing too nerve-wracking but large enough to register on China's seismological database.
The fundamentalists are out every morning. They are two Grade 1 English Department students who repeatedly shout English expressions while walking round the running track. They are fundamentally opposed to giving up these old, useless, meaningless activities. While Ali and Lesley were out running this morning, Lesley couldn't resist having a chat with one. She suggested some new methods, which they tried together, and promised that if they two of them did some more meaningful activities together, they'd both have a better chance of improving their language skills. All that they're doing at the moment is polluting the peaceful morning air with painful-to-listen-to-noise.
Lesley is still working hard at the Chinese. If you're wondering why, given that we are meant to be leaving soon, go back to paragraph one.
Ali and Sue are still running a weekly cooking club and Ali had a bonus curry evening last night, for Sue and Liao Xinli. The Bombay potato, Sri Lankan dahl and lamb rogan josh (made with 3 of our imported spice packets) went down very well. Unfortunately Liao's husband, Chang, was busy working so couldn't make it. He's a Senior Middle School Maths teacher and has his hands full as his students face Universitiy entrance exams this term.
We have fleas, though Freda and Edie are adamant it has nothing to do with the rabbits, dogs and hamsters that spend time in our house.
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