Sharing Maple Syrup
This afternoon Debbie, Don and I had a special lesson for the English teachers. We talked about the maple trees, the leaf on our flag and then explained how to tap trees and make maple syrup. We had the teachers taste maple syrup by dipping bread into it. Most thought it was far too sweet. Many were surprised that we could get that sweet taste from trees. Some were worried that it was not really edible. It made for interesting conversation for the rest of the time in class!
Although we are experiencing some difficulty with computer compatibility, we are finding different ways to do what we had planned. Don had a wonderful lesson today to help the teachers with the problematic "th" sound. To say "th" the students were to achieve the sound by touching a sucker with their tongue. It made a difficult drill fun for all. Debbie has the classes working on poems and stories. I am leading discussions about teaching and learning English. It is fun thinking of new games and activities to begin the classes, so that we begin on a positive note.
There has been little rain yesterday or today, but the clouds remain, so although it is hot, it is not unbearably hot--yet. The streets are drying and our shoes are drying too. Mosquitoes are beginning to be a nuisance, regardless of the precautions we take. We really appreciate that we have air conditioners in the hotel, that work when we are in our rooms. But we go with fans and open windows in the classrooms.
It is nice to begin to be able to call students by name. We have observed that most are more confident with their English after just a couple of days,which speaks to their dedication and willingness to take risks. We are encouraged and continue to work hard to plan lessons that will continue the progress.
Jan Hazlett, July 14, 2010
First day of teaching
Hello from Dangtu. As I write this there are horns sounding in the street. They use their horns to warn drivers of as a vehicle approaches from behind, so horns sound most of the time. Also as background noise this weekend, fireworks seemed to be going off most of the time. We have been told that it is customary to set off fireworks to celebrate.... celebrate anything, like a store opening, a wedding, a funeral etc. We found this morning as we taught that it is hard to speak over the fire works.
Our hosts have been very attentive and helpful. They eat meals with us and our interpreter is with us all of the time. The food here is wonderful. We have enjoyed many different fish and vegetable dishes. They use a lot of different kinds of hot peppers, so the food makes your mouth hum. We have rice every meal and a lot of watermelon. The portions are generous and we are filled to the brim each meal!
In this area there have been few foreigners, so we cause a stir wherever we go. People stop to look at us, and many have impressed us as they have come up to us to practice their English. One little boy looked up and us and said something that made everybody laugh. Our interpreter told us he said we were very tall!
The classes are large. We have found today that it will be a challenge to provide opportunities for everyone to speak in English every day, but that is our goal! After 3 hours in the morning we break for lunch and time out of the heat. We reconvene for two more classes before the end of the day. This afternoon we will begin with sessions to share our country and theirs. I will be talking about the beaver as a symbol of the country. Later this week we will talk about maple leaves and I will share the maple syrup I brought.
Although we all have lingering coughs, the colds have come and gone and we are in good health and eager to teach well. It has rained here almost since we got here, so the heat is not a big issue for us yet.
Jan Hazlett July 13, 2010
Off to Dangtu tomorrow
It seems hard to believe how much we have packed into these few days. I personally have enjoyed the morning devotions, that have fed my spirit and reminded me of the reason I am here. We have had large group sessions that taught us about Chinese culture, what we might expect in our placements and helped us to better understand Amity and NGOs in China. We have also had smaller group sessions focused on expectations and tips for teaching. And to round our days out we have spent some time experiencing Nanjing.
Yesterday we went to see a part of the Nanjing wall that has sections that were built in 300 BCE. After a brief walking tour, we boarded boats and travelled along the canal. It was interesting to see the city from the water. There has been so much rain that the water level has overflowed the canal structure. Willow trees appear to be planted under water. We learned about the history of Nanjing from a guide on the boat. This side trip was both informative and a refreshing change from the meeting rooms.
Today we finished our sessions, then headed out to the Amity offices for our closing worship and communion. We had time for a brief walking tour of Nanjing University Campus. After a dinner at a local restaurant we returned to have team meetings and pack for our travel tomorrow.
Debbie, Don and I will travel by van to our teaching site in the morning. Then our work will begin in earnest. We are looking forward to meeting with the teachers who will be our students, our hosts and the officials for the district. We hope and pray that our time there will be meaningful for all.
Today we had a group picture taken in front of our hotel. People walking by stopped and took our picture as we were having the official picture taken!
Many of us are a under the weather, mainly with colds. We all would appreciate your continued prayers for our health and safety as we travel. We are blessed by the knowledge that God is with us, and God has gone before us as we travel. I hope to update when we are settled in Dangtu which is just outside of Ma'anshan.
Blessings, Jan Hazlett
Orientation has begun
Yesterday we registered and began our orientation. There are 48 volunteers who will be teaching in 12 sites in China. Since registration yesterday--we have been eating together, sharing many foods that are new to us and becoming adept at using chopsticks. This morning we began with worship and the reading of Psalm 100 and Ezekiel 34:25-26. We considered together how great God is and worthy of praise and how blessed we are and how we are blessed to become a blessing.
Today we learned about the Amity organization through information sessions and visiting Amity sites. As a group as we have spent time together we have begun to share our questions and ideas about our time of teaching ahead. The 18 returning teachers have been a blessing to those of us who are here for the first time.
It has not been all work though. Those of us who visited the Amity bakery project sampled the delicious baking and also had an opportunity to shop at the Amity Christian Art Centre. We only had 15 minutes to look at the traditional crafts. Most items would not have survive travel in China and home. However I did purchase an embroidered silk stole. It is beautiful and will fit in my suitcase easily.
Tonight we spent time learning about Chinese culture and practicing some Mandarin.
I must comment that traffic and crossing streets is chaotic at best. It was intimidating at first, but we are getting used to watching for the bikes and motor bikes that might come from any direction at any time.
I have been impressed by the hospitality of the Chinese people. They have gone out of their way to be helpful and patiently attempted to understand our strange gestures.
I also would like to express my thanks to all who are following this blog and to those of you who responded to my post. I appreciate the encouragement and expression of support.
Jan Hazlett July 6, 2010
Summer English program in China
Having spent about 24 hours enroute, I was met in Nanjing by Robert, the local Amity Representative for the SEP program, late last night. He escorted me to the hotel and made sure I was checked in and able to get some rest. After a good night's sleep, I made it down to the breakfast area where I met the rest of the team, Debbie and Don Shephard. I enjoyed "claw of phoenix" along with some more familiar foods.
This morning we also met a couple from Wisconsin who have taught in this program for a few years. They were able to answer some of our questions and share some of their experiences in the classroom with us. We look forward to the training sessions that begin tomorrow.
After breakfast we were taken to an English worship service. The service structure was familiar and the pews were full. I was surprised by the number of Chinese people who were at the English service. I learned that many come to the service to practice their English. What a privilege it was to share in worship together! As we read together the lectionary passages for this week, I was newly aware of the connection lectionary can provide with others around the world encountering the same scripture at the same time.
Debbie, Don and I then did some sight seeing in the city. It was a good team building in anticipation of the coming weeks when we will be work as a team, teaching in a smaller city about 90 minutes from Nanjing. Altogether it has been a busy but fulfilling day!
I am grateful to my congregation and family, for the support and prayers on which I depend. I will try to make regular updates. Blessings, Jan Hazlett
Last Day of Classes
We are coming to the end of our teaching. Today (July 30, 2009) is the last day of classes with the closing ceremony tomorrow morning and then a party at the school that Jane, Sonia and I will host for all of our teachers.
The weather is cooler and the last couple of days wetter. However, we have umbrellas so we can keep fairly dry. The only real problem is you have to be extra careful crossing the street.
Last Saturday, our liaison, Mr.Ni took us to the Egret Island International Echo Park about two and a half hours from here. It is truly beautiful with a big lake and walkways and a lookout building where you can see hundreds of white egrets. There is a building development along the lake that is very nice. After lunch we went to the hot springs on the property. Each of the hot springs has a different function but they were all beautiful.
Sunday morning we headed for church. The service has a time before the worship to go over and practice the hymns for the day. As you enter the church, there are a number of people selling on the street. There is everything from food to shoes. They know that there will be well over 1500 people coming to the service and as a result they are there to sell their goods. Following the service there are a number of poor people outside begging for money. The service itself had some hymns I did not know. However they have “Holy, Holy, Holy” and the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostle’s Creed. During the service, we had many people offer us hymn books and Bibles. There were in Chinese but it shows the universality of the Christian community to reach out to the stranger. The pastor provided us with a Chinese-English hymn book and Bible. During the service one of the pastors sat with us and explained the service. Although I did not understand the Chinese, I did feel that it was a great experience to worship with so many people who have a real Christian commitment. Following the service we met the pastor and a couple of the elders who were organizing baptismal certificates. Keeping with Uxbridge tradition, the last two Sunday s we went for a coffee.
I have always found the Chinese very gracious and warm to us “foreigners”. It is no exception here. People from all walks of life acknowledge us and say greetings to us. It is nice to be so far from home but still see warm smiles.
As part of this new Amity program, we are asking our teacher-students to be more involved in the classes. As I mentioned last week, the first week they did a presentation on hobbies or their use of spare time. Last week, each student prepared a short lesson to deliver to their classmates. It was great. This week, today, each student working with a couple of others prepared a full lesson of 30-40 minutes. They did some wonderful teaching with amazing power point presentations. It was a great ending to the classes. In China, it is important to note that they have large classes of 40-75 with 40-45 minute periods. There is a great deal of concern about this matter and work is being done at various levels to lessen this load. Overall, the teachers that we have worked with have been extremely professional and willing to work together in learning from us and teaching us as well.
It has been another wonderful experience with just one day to go.
Good bye for now from Ma’anshan China.
David Phillips
David Phillips works in The Vine: Connecting People, Places and Programs at the national office of The Presbyterian Church in Canada.
Eclipsed
Sunny and hot and humid describes the weather until July 22, 2009. Finally, the temperature cooled off and the sun went behind the clouds. Unfortunately, the cloudy day was the Wednesday of the full solar eclipse. Although it was cloudy, we certainly could see the effects as everything went dark at 9:30 AM. We went outside on the school landing to see the results of the darkness.
On Sunday we attended church at a local church. The main sanctuary seated 1000 and a lower hall sat an equal number. It was difficult to see how many were in attendance because we were seated at the front but the sanctuary seemed to be full and there was a large number when we went through the lower hall. The service naturally was in Chinese, but two familiar hymns were sung: “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “Take Time to be Holy”. Following the service we met with the two ministers and two of the youth who taught Sunday School. It was interesting to hear their story of the church in China and the great strides it has made.
The previous day, Saturday July 18th, we were taken to Yushanhu Lake Park in Ma’anshan. It is a huge park with a lake in the middle of the park. We had a walk through the park and saw various activities there. It was a wonderful morning and a time to see the local people enjoying themselves in the park.
There is a beautiful new City Square on the fringe of the city. During the day it is quiet but at night it lights up and large numbers of people go there. We were there in the late morning so we could enjoy the area. I had a chance to play table tennis against our liaison, Mr. Ni Hong while at the square. Let us just say that he is very, very good.
In the afternoon we were taken to Caishi Park near Ma’anshan. The famous Chinese poet Li Bai is buried here and the Yangtze River flows through the park. It was a highlight of the day to actually see the Yangtze River and to experience the bamboo forest that is in the park.
Basketball is extremely popular in China. Anywhere there is an open space and a basket there are lots of young men playing. The policy here is for the school grounds and parks to be open for use by the public. It is great to see the number of people using the parks and in particular the number playing basketball. Last Sunday afternoon, I went for a walk around the campus of The Anhui University of Technology, our home away from home, and saw almost 200 boys playing basketball on the outdoor courts here. They were having great fun and some were very good players.
Of course the reason that we are here is to teach. Last Thursday, I asked my class to prepare a short presentation on a hobby or how they spend their spare time. I expected a few presentations of about a total of 25 minutes. I was wrong. They all participated and the presentations were about one hour and twenty minutes. Included was a teacher who sang opera, a beautiful artist and various teachers who collected fascinating items. The whole time was well spent and extremely pleasing for everyone.
We have had a visit from two of the Amity organizers to assess the program. So far everything is going well and I continue, as the team leader, to appreciate my two UK colleagues, Jane and Sonia. We have different styles that has made the program go very well and a better experience for our teacher colleagues who are here to be part of the program.
We continue to marvel at the traffic. It is interesting to watch and see the number of vehicles of all sorts that are on the road and other places. We continue to appreciate the people of China who are very friendly to us and our teachers who are so keen to learn.
That is it for now from Ma’anshan China.
David Phillips
David Phillips works in The Vine: Connecting People, Places and Programs at the national office of The Presbyterian Church in Canada.
Getting There
David Phillips with students and Amity workers at the Amity Summer English Program in China, 2009
The 14.5 hour flight to Shanghai was long but smooth and fortunately uneventful. When we arrived there were four health officials who entered the plane to do tests. They were very efficient and it was well done. From the airport Daniel Cho and I took a taxi to our hotel in Shanghai.
The next morning we went to East Nanjing Road to see the sights of Shanghai. With the World’s Fair coming to Shanghai, the Bund is under construction as well as many buildings in the area. A vacant lot last year has a beautiful new building going up this year. There is no evidence of a poor economy here and I believe the growth rate is over 6%.
We visited the shopping area a couple of times taking the subway each time.
On Sunday we took the train to Nanjing to start the orientation on Monday. We stayed on the outskirts of Nanjing at the International Conference Centre. It was a lovely location in the forest area closed to the tomb of the Ming emperor. Over the course of the week we had several workshops on various themes as well as two trips. This time I went to the Amity Printing Press, producing the most Bibles in the world. They are well over 50 million. A very interesting visit and I bought a couple of New Testaments in Chinese and English. My other visit was to the Massacre Museum. I visited it last year and returned since it is so well done.
Finally, on Sunday we were transported to Ma’anshan, a city of about one million, for our teaching. We are in a hotel on the campus on the Anhui University of Technology. Anhui is the province we are in. The university is quite nice but different from our campuses and the hotel is comfortable. We get all of our meals here.
Our classes are about a 10 minute walk at the Foreign Language School. We did our testing on Sunday and had our opening ceremonies on Monday. Since I am the team leader, I had to make a speech that was translated into Chinese. We then started into our classes. At the present time there are 15 primary teachers with Jane Coates from Leeds England and Sonia Jackson from London England has 11 Middle School teachers. At the present time I have 18 Middle School teachers. We have formed a good team and work well together. Our teacher-students are all from the Ma’anshan area. They are wonderful group of teachers ranging from three months of teaching to 22 years. Since this is a new project we are concentrating on oral English but also more on techniques and strategies. The teachers ask a lot of questions about teaching also about Canada and teachers there. In China, it is hard to imagine, that the classes range from 35-45 minutes and my teachers here tell me they have from 40-72 in a class.
The weather is very hot. Right now at 9:30 pm it is 28C with a humidex of 41. Fortunately our classrooms and hotel rooms are air conditioned. The traffic here is crazy. You need to look both ways on one way streets and cross walks do not mean very much. Red lights are merely suggestions since they may or may not obey them. However the best is the Chinese people are wonderful. They are friendly and try hard to communicate. They love to meet foreigners and still have an appreciation of Canadians. We have great access on the internet and on Skype. Overall, I am very impressed with what I have seen in this area. I just wish it would cool down a bit.
An interesting thing about the three of us is we all have our birthdays this week. They are Sonia on the 14th, Jane on the 15th and mine the 19th.
Better go for now. I wish you all the best from Ma’anshan China.
David Phillips
David Phillips works in The Vine: Connecting People, Places and Programs at the national office of The Presbyterian Church in Canada.
About Amity
Since 2006, International Ministries of The Presbyterian Church in Canada has provided volunteers to Amity’s Summer English Program to assist middle school English teachers in China with their English skills. In the past, participants have also shared teaching methodologies and techniques with the Chinese teachers.Recent Posts
- Pictures of the Youth Rally at Church In Dangtu
- Last days in China
- Weekend Adventure
- Our morning walk to school
- Back to class for Our Second Week
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