seth's space

For the past two weeks my school has been putting on various competitions and performances for The Foreign Language Festival. Apparently this only happens every 3 years. Either way tonight I just finished Judging an English Singing Competition. The girl who sang Thriller as a tribute to MJ got third place. Meanwhile the guy who was singing Madonna got second place... go figure.

I am afraid I might have to be performing by the end of the week... I just hope I don't have to sing Country Roads or My Heart Will Go On.

That's right it is Obama-Mania. Well the president is visiting Shanghai today and my freshman students couldn't wait to tell me. At first I thought there was some sort of special holiday. Oh no, just Obama making his first visit to the Middle Kingdom.

I don't know how the trip will end up, but if it is half as successful as the hype... well then I would say it is a pretty good step for China-US relations.

Either way I think I want the t-shirt:

http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/shop/obamao-tshirt-658266

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8361643.stm

The school here has an unusual schedule. Well unusual that is compared to the rest of China. Usually we have a holiday in October, however for various reason that was canceled, so the holiday will be earlier then the rest of China and the city.  So I find my self planning my last 2-3 weeks of classes for the semester. Are you kidding me?  Didn't I just start teaching like last week? I guess it was a little bit earlier then that... either way. Time it is a flying.

So I am trying to figure out how to squeeze both Christmas and Thanksgiving without taking away too much time from either.

My favorite quote of this week would be from my teammate talking about meeting man at a monastery.

Man: Where are you from?
Teammate: oh, um I am from America.
Man: Oh, America!  American English is delicious!

that's all for now from the rooftop. 

Well this seems to be the only blog working these days. It is almost half way through March and things are getting back to whatever normal is around here. We were allowed to go hiking and mountain climbing this weekend. It was blast. Heidi's brother and sister and law came into town so we had a good time hanging out with all the kiwis.

So recently President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize. And frankly I don't know how I am supposed to react. I am have been reading numerous articles about whether or not he deserves it. Now I feel I should be proud as an American, whose president just won a very prestigious award. However I would love to discuss the reasons behind the award, but I am afraid this is not the time or place. So in the meantime I will hold my desire to discuss until I get back into a culture with a lower power-distance.

So apparently what I have missed from my lack of internet in the last month would include the Boston Redsox, Cardinals, and Twins getting swept in the first round of the playoffs. Not too ground shaking. I guess I can go without knowing all the sports scores for a bit. 

That's all from the roof-top. Back online, for better or worse.

First week of teaching, done. Well, it isn't as much of an accomplishment... Most of my classes are freshman classes and they won't start until the 13th. So I have a little bit of a half-holiday until then.

One thing i have been grateful for is my co-teaching class. This is where I actually get to teach side by side with a local teacher. It has been such an insightful process. The student-teacher relationship is very different from the US and also different from other parts of China. So to be able to not only watch but participate with that process with a local teacher helps me in relating to all my students. I hope these teaching relationships can be a great way to share about the important things of our lives.

Coming back to this city is always different. Things still seem tense but moving along. As I walk and bike the streets life is bustling right along. Riding my bike down the main road is just as death-defying as ever if not more! But it is nice to be back amongst it all.

Street Craftsmen.jpg