Oh yes. Friday.

Classes went well this week. I was doing my student evaluations today and it appears they are improving, and it is evident in class. Most of the kids seem to be speaking more spontaneously which is so good. Some of them just won't stop speaking Chinese dang it :) but I can't blame them. It is their language after all. Paul, Justin, Josh, Morris, Fe fe and Jackson are the worst. In their classes, it feels like the only thing I say is, "English only!" It's a big deal here when they don't speak English. Not so much to the school here as it is to ILP, but either way, it is encouraged for us to enforce using only English while they are in class. It's so funny too. We're not supposed to react at all to their Chinese because it will give them the idea that we understand and then they will want to speak to us in Chinese, and it kills me because I'm trying to learn Chinese so when I hear them talking and I catch wind of something familiar, something I understand I want to just jump in the conversation. But I can't!

Personalities are certainly beginning to shine! and, I L.O.V.E. IT! Alice is 100% little girl! She is always dolled up, accessories and all, and she has better fashion than anyone I know. I met her mom the other day though, and it is very clear why :) Belinda and Aiden are our best speakers. They have been in the program the longest. Aiden's dad is in the government and puts a great deal of money into the school, and Belinda's mom Sukki, who we love... is the principal. So both of them seem to get special treatment from the Chinese teachers, a lot of attention. Belinda definitely has a sort of "know it all" attitude. Often in our lessons, I will have her model a sentence or phrase and she'll just roll her eyes and repeat it as if to say, "Piece of cake, give me something I can call a challenge" :) Ha. I really love Belinda. Aiden drives me crazy! Absolutely off the wall. He is 5 years old and looks and feels like he is 9. He is always wanting to be front and center; first in line, first to speak, first to be rewarded. He tries real hard to be the teachers pet. It's not working. I like watching him try as hard as he does though. Ha! I should NEVER be a teacher, ever! Bella was one of my students at the beginning, in that first week we taught that was very stubborn. She didn't want to be there, she was very shy around us and she didn't speak much at all. She fought it. But! The last couple of weeks, she has totally blown me out of the water. She speaks almost as well as Belinda and Aiden. She seems like she really wants to learn and speak more, and she enjoys the activities I plan in my lessons. I love that! On top of that she is just a sweetheart. She always calls me by my name, which is just cute to me because the rest of the kids call me "Teacher" or "Teacher Sarah". Paul and Justin are just trouble, especially together. Inevitably, every day I have to sit them across the circle or table from each other, and even then they are still conversing like two teenage girls, which I would LOVE and totally encourage if it were in Englsih, but it's generally in Chinese. Justin will pretty much do anything for a token though, so while it lasts, I use that as his incentive to speak English. Paul is kind of hopeless, but I'm determined to break the barrier we seemed to have hit with him. He just doesn't care. Tokens won't make him speak the language and he is fairly un interested in most of the things we do. But we'll get him :) William... oh william. William is the youngest in my homeroom. He got stuck in there last minute to seperate him from Leo. Quick sidebar: They have such an interesting relationship, Leo and William. They are always hanging on each other, and kissing each others arms and faces. HA HA! It is even more funny to watch than it sounds just reading it. Anyways, with Leo gone, William behaves much better, but he's still way spacey. He reminds me of Ben. He's always in his own little world, you have to snap a finger in his face every 30 seconds... but we do what it takes. His language is coming along. That right there, is my homeroom. I teach about 20 other students in our rotation, but those 8 are my homeroom class.

It is such an experience teaching these kids. They are so sweet. I never anticipated how rewarding it would be to be able to see and watch the growth take place in them. It is wonderful.