It seems that at times, people are trying hard to make our jobs harder. We are told about last-minute room or lesson changes and been informed that certain lessons are not to be used for certain things (if that sounds ambiguous then that is because it is but that also reflects the ambiguity sometimes with which we are given information). I have been in plenty of work situations before where communication is poor - i was even doing a Communication Studies A Level at the time I lost heart at the Stationery Office in the UK because of poor dialogue. However, as my friend, Garry, likes to say, 'whatever doesn't break you makes you stronger', and out of this has come a tighter and more close-knit Bell teaching team.
We have also been testing the students this week and they were shocked by the difficulty of an IELTS listening/reading test. Unfortunately the test itself was poorly constructed and this was reflected in the very poor marks. Their speaking tests were encouraging and I personally interviewed around 30 students of varying abilities, of which the most interesting was probably a Catholic girl who had to rebel against her parents' communist party member beliefs. Unsurprisingly she would like to visit Spain for its 'architecture' !
Meanwhile, away from the classroom I was present, last Sunday, for my first national flag ceremony, in Tian'anmen Square, along with thousands of 'pilgrims'. For this, I woke at 5am and took a taxi with my girlfriend and her mother to the centre where we ran to get a good spot. We topped this with a walk along Tian'anmen - the Gate of Heavenly Peace itself. In other words, we were walking above Mao's infamous picture, where all the VIPs sit for 'special occasions'. I then spent the rest of the day seemingly visiting every one of the 999 rooms within the Imperial Palace. I won't be doing that again soon... there is only so much jade filled jewellry i can take... although i liked some of the exhibits and the nine dragon wall (see right).
http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/20Scenery83.html
As I write this blog I have found out that my girlfriend may be leaving Beijing on Sunday. Just as it was going well. It will leave the way clear,
however, to move in with her aunt, and become a live-in teacher for her
9 year old son. Sounds complex on paper, but then I have been adopted by the family.
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