You know how the work just comes crashing down and even when you're pretty darn busy you volunteer to do a gazillion more things? It's a little like that here, especially since when I'm not actually scheduled all day, I'm worrying about overscheduling my life!
Friday was fine as far as I can remember with EC in the evening watching Philippe behaving like a cartoon for an hour explaining circumlocution, drawing and miming to explain words you don't know (way too much energy and lack of time management, but entertaining and I think the students learned something). Well, I was working on the quiz till midnight after EC and met with my speech contest coachee for an hour right before EC, but other than that, it was fine!
Saturday I had auditions for the Opening Night of English Festival from 10am to 1pm then a singing contest workshop from 1pm til after 3pm and I was feeling sick most of that time.
Sunday we Frisbeed in the moring and I turned a nice shade of splotchy purple then we went downtown, got massages and spent time not working ahead of this week of insanity. Then I planned class when I got home. Probably the most relaxing day I'll have for quite a while.
I'd planned to make dumplings Monday but that fell through due to Chinese, speech contest coaching, running errands and more auditions in the evening.
Tuesday was no better: 6 hours of class, 1 hour meeting for English Festival, 1 hour singing contest workshop. The evening made it better when Lok and Daniel (very cute, sweet student couple) came over to make dinner and I managed to find a little time to make a chocolate cake. HongNgoc and Micah came over and joined in our little slice of normal life.
Wednesday, there should have been dumplings, but that's still in the works, due to writing of multiple exercises for quiz review for a few students who seem to think that my day between classes is entirely devoid of entertainment so they need to find ways to help me fill my time. Most students are fine but a couple (this morning) seemed shocked and appalled that I hadn't had time to go online and add the latest powerpoint to our class site and write more exercises between 6pm Tuesday and 8am today. Wednesday ended with office hours- no students.
Today is pretty busy too: 6 hours of class, a level meeting where I have to pretend I know what I'm doing (and should be getting ready for now!) and 1.5 hours at English Lounge. The good part of today is that my active role in class is fairly minimal as it's presentation time. I'll post some highlights of students' business plans to take over the world. The assignment was to come up with a business plan and then present information about the company including budgeting their 1,000,000RMB for the first year and making an advertisement. It's fun and they have some great ideas.
Off I go back to the land of work.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
What is art?
One of my favorite things about teaching is asking the students for personal responses to weird questions, so before we finished talking about the arts, I played Albinoni's Adagio in G minor and asked them to answer the question "What is art?" I'm personally happy I never had to answer it, but among the many misuses of vocabulary words such as haunting, mournful, exuberant and repertoire, I found a few well thought out responses and interesting sentences of which I want to share some excerpts, spelled and punctuated as they did:
Class 1:
It doesn't need to be beautiful, but it touches your heart.
The music is like a river moving in my heart.
Art should be something that can share the same feelings and comfort our souls.
It seems a time machine creates art (Vango's paintings were a kind of bullshit when he was alive, now they are considered art).
Art is created with emotiong. It will tell you stories or feelings without words.
Class 2:
The monrody of sad music will touch my heart.
Vango's paintings play an important role in the exploration of mankind's soul and heart.
Without art, maybe we can eat but we cannot live.
They can soothe, inspire and unite us.
Art is the bridge between artists and audience.
Art is something that can brings us to another place.
Class 3:
Art can delight, alert or comfort us. Anything that can evoke such feelings can be termed art in my mind.
Art is something that can affect people in a spiritual way.
Art in an instrument to release people's emotions,
Art can give us a tool to soothe our pain.
I'm pretty impressed with their creativity. I don't think I could ever come up with some of those turns of phrase. Now, all I need to work on is ridding them of the tendency to say "maybe" all the time and to use "such as.... and so on" and "in a word.....[gazillion words]". Their writing, definitely a work in progress.
Class 1:
It doesn't need to be beautiful, but it touches your heart.
The music is like a river moving in my heart.
Art should be something that can share the same feelings and comfort our souls.
It seems a time machine creates art (Vango's paintings were a kind of bullshit when he was alive, now they are considered art).
Art is created with emotiong. It will tell you stories or feelings without words.
Class 2:
The monrody of sad music will touch my heart.
Vango's paintings play an important role in the exploration of mankind's soul and heart.
Without art, maybe we can eat but we cannot live.
They can soothe, inspire and unite us.
Art is the bridge between artists and audience.
Art is something that can brings us to another place.
Class 3:
Art can delight, alert or comfort us. Anything that can evoke such feelings can be termed art in my mind.
Art is something that can affect people in a spiritual way.
Art in an instrument to release people's emotions,
Art can give us a tool to soothe our pain.
I'm pretty impressed with their creativity. I don't think I could ever come up with some of those turns of phrase. Now, all I need to work on is ridding them of the tendency to say "maybe" all the time and to use "such as.... and so on" and "in a word.....[gazillion words]". Their writing, definitely a work in progress.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Off Topic
Last night was the weekly installment of the craziness known as English Corner. Last year, for the first semester, this club was exiled to the dance room complete with terrible acoustics and gradually declining attendance. This year, it appears to have started on a high note!
By the time I got there, about 10 minutes before it was due to start, all the chairs were taken and there were 2 rows of people standing at the back. It had also already begun, I guess to calm the assembled masses. HongNgoc, the leader of EC and subject of "Teacher Conversation" was supposed to give a talk about tips for improving the students' English and making them more confident when speaking to foreigners. I said I could help and before I knew it, the interviewers of TC were informed that I would be doing the talk with her.
At the given time we were introduced and asked questions like "how can students overcome their fear of making mistakes?" (get over it), "how do you (teachers) react when noone wants to volunteer or it's always the same people who volunteer?" (we get sad, then just pick on the quiet ones... mwahaha), "should we be working on learning slang and idioms to make the conversations go more smoothly and to sound more native?" (you can, but if you overuse it, you'll sound like a weird movie-quoting machine) and, bizarrely, "to the teacher with red hair, is that your natural hair color?" (my dear, noone naturally has hair this color). Why the student thought that this was a question people wanted the answer to or that it was the right time to ask it, I have no idea!
The biggest issue, other than departing from the topic quite so thoroughly, was that the students couldn't keep quiet while others were speaking. Be it tomyself, HongNgoc, the MCs or to other audience members, it was basically impossible for the students to listen quietly. We asked them to be quiet, I walked around and sushed them, we all tried but totally in vain. They could not physically listen quietly. Have they learned this impressive skill, or is it genetic?
Yet another China mystery to add to the list!
By the time I got there, about 10 minutes before it was due to start, all the chairs were taken and there were 2 rows of people standing at the back. It had also already begun, I guess to calm the assembled masses. HongNgoc, the leader of EC and subject of "Teacher Conversation" was supposed to give a talk about tips for improving the students' English and making them more confident when speaking to foreigners. I said I could help and before I knew it, the interviewers of TC were informed that I would be doing the talk with her.
At the given time we were introduced and asked questions like "how can students overcome their fear of making mistakes?" (get over it), "how do you (teachers) react when noone wants to volunteer or it's always the same people who volunteer?" (we get sad, then just pick on the quiet ones... mwahaha), "should we be working on learning slang and idioms to make the conversations go more smoothly and to sound more native?" (you can, but if you overuse it, you'll sound like a weird movie-quoting machine) and, bizarrely, "to the teacher with red hair, is that your natural hair color?" (my dear, noone naturally has hair this color). Why the student thought that this was a question people wanted the answer to or that it was the right time to ask it, I have no idea!
The biggest issue, other than departing from the topic quite so thoroughly, was that the students couldn't keep quiet while others were speaking. Be it tomyself, HongNgoc, the MCs or to other audience members, it was basically impossible for the students to listen quietly. We asked them to be quiet, I walked around and sushed them, we all tried but totally in vain. They could not physically listen quietly. Have they learned this impressive skill, or is it genetic?
Yet another China mystery to add to the list!
Friday, October 10, 2008
False Advertising
This country is full of it, and I keep falling for the delicious-looking cookies that turn out to be little better than sweet Ritz with tiny bits of chocolate, the reasonable-seeming hair colors that claim to be 'Terracotta' and turn out to be nothing short of purple (not offensively so, but still, blatently NOT terracotta!), the 'milkshake' mix which was supposed to make delicious chocolate milkshakes but basically turned out to just make milk vaguely synthetic strawberry flavoured and the CD of Xmas carols which was a weird collection of karaoke-style songs with not entirely accurate lyrics and cartoons as background. There was also the hair dye that should have been auburn-ish and turned me an odd shade of dark copper blonde.
This short rant of the most memorable WalMart lies comes as result of using the hair dye and trying the cookies in the space of 2 hours and not being entirely satisfied with my purchases.
This short rant of the most memorable WalMart lies comes as result of using the hair dye and trying the cookies in the space of 2 hours and not being entirely satisfied with my purchases.
The Cellist of Sarajevo, take 2 (now with musical accompaniment)
And here are the results of my students' second attempt at creativity:
Class 1: This piece of music makes me think of Prison Break. It tells the story of Michael Scofield and [someone] escaping from prison in Panama. As they are running away, the police shoot at them and [the other guy] is wounded. Scofield stops running to help him but [a third guy] is still trying to escape and yelling"run, run". Scofield is sitting holding [the wounded guy] who decides to try to make it even though he is hurt really badly. As Scofield supports him and they try to escape, Scofield also gets shot and they both die.
I don't watch Prison Break, but am told that the chances of Scofield getting killed are very slim. I also, obviously, have no idea who the other people are!
Class 2: This makes me think of an old man thinking about his life. He is sad, like the music is sad. Sometimes he thinks of a good memory and the music is a little happier. But most of the time it is sad.
Not bad, but very 'detail-lite'.
Class 3: I don't know. It is a sad music [sic]. Maybe it is about people dead in a war.
Yes... that would be sad... Almost 7 minutes of music and noone could provide more than "it is sad". That makes me sad!
It is a good piece though (by David Wilde, performed by Yo-yo Ma) and I highly recommend it to anyone, especially those who like sad cello music!
Class 1: This piece of music makes me think of Prison Break. It tells the story of Michael Scofield and [someone] escaping from prison in Panama. As they are running away, the police shoot at them and [the other guy] is wounded. Scofield stops running to help him but [a third guy] is still trying to escape and yelling"run, run". Scofield is sitting holding [the wounded guy] who decides to try to make it even though he is hurt really badly. As Scofield supports him and they try to escape, Scofield also gets shot and they both die.
I don't watch Prison Break, but am told that the chances of Scofield getting killed are very slim. I also, obviously, have no idea who the other people are!
Class 2: This makes me think of an old man thinking about his life. He is sad, like the music is sad. Sometimes he thinks of a good memory and the music is a little happier. But most of the time it is sad.
Not bad, but very 'detail-lite'.
Class 3: I don't know. It is a sad music [sic]. Maybe it is about people dead in a war.
Yes... that would be sad... Almost 7 minutes of music and noone could provide more than "it is sad". That makes me sad!
It is a good piece though (by David Wilde, performed by Yo-yo Ma) and I highly recommend it to anyone, especially those who like sad cello music!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The Cellist of Sarajevo
In class, right now, we’re doing a unit on arts. The listening section was about “boosting brain power through the arts” (Mozart effect, keeping music in schools etc). It’s appealing to me because there’s plenty of material to bring in and if I had time I could try some cool experiments with the students. Things being as they are though, it’s mostly adding a youtube video here and an abstract reasoning test there.
When I read the first passage of the reading section though, I was surprised because it was well-written and interesting (unusual for our texts). It’s about Vedran Smailovic, the Cellist of Sarajevo. The reading talks about the world premiere of the cello piece of the same name, composed by David Wilde and played, on that occasion, by Yo-yo Ma. It also tells the story of Smailovic who, after witnessing the deaths of 22 people from a mortar shell, went down to the crater, systematically at 4pm (time of the bombing) for 22 days and played Albinoni’s Adagio in G-minor in memory of the dead. A striking story, if I’ve ever heard one.
Anyway, the chapter opens with a picture of a man in a tuxedo, sitting at a cello in a cemetery. His eyes are covered by his hand and it seems like he might be in front of a grave. His right hand holds the bow but he isn’t playing. I asked my students, in groups to come up with the story behind the picture. They hadn’t read the story of Smailovic so I was really just working out their imagination. Here are some of their answers:
A long time ago, this man had a music teacher but he didn’t appreciate him and didn’t want to study with him. In the end though, he became famous for his cello playing so he looked for the teacher to tell him and thank him. Unfortunately, he discovered that the man had died. Now he is at his grave and plays a composition for him.
When he was a child, the man told his parents that he wanted to be a musician. They were very poor, but because he wanted this so much, his parents worked very hard and eventually were able to send him to music academy. He became very famous but as he got famous his parents became sick. He was worried about them but had to go perform a very important concert far away. He came back as soon as possible, but his parents died before he made it back. Now he is playing for them and is overcome with sadness and shame for having chosen his career over them.
The man is playing for his family and friends who were the victims of a big war. Maybe the cemetery is full of war victims and he is also playing for all of them, to calm their spirits and help them rest in peace.
The man is playing for his dead lover. When he was younger he met a woman. They were both poor but because he was a good musician, they put together all his money so he could study music and become famous. Eventually he did become famous, but she was sick and died. He wasn’t there when she died because he was at a performance, but now he comes to play for her every week to remember her and honour her memory.
There were more in this vein, where a beloved family member/ spouse was supportive but has died while the musician was away. The details varied, but the theme was common.
Then there were the bizarre answers:
The man is in the cemetery playing for his wife who died a long time ago. He has been doing this for many years, but today is different. Today he plays so well and with such strong emotion that the ghosts are pulled out of their graves and come out to hear him. He is hiding his face because he is scared of them.
He comes to play for his wife every week. He practices a new piece for her every time (or plays the same one) and always is very careful to play well, to ease her spirit. Today though, he doesn’t know why, but he cannot remember the piece he was going to play so he stops in the middle and hides his face in sadness and shame.
He is such a bad cellist, that noone will listen to him so he can only play in the cemetery where noone will need to hear him.
He is a composer as well as a cellist and comes to the cemetery for inspiration. Today, he cannot find any inspiration so he is sad and hides his face in frustration.
Alternatively, He is hiding his face to concentrate and get more inspiration.
And last of all, while there was a very large black bee buzzing around the classroom:
The man comes to the cemetery to play for the dead people and help them be at peace. He does this every week. Today is different though because he cannot finish his playing. This is because a very large bee has stung him in the eye, so he covers his face because he is in great pain.
So creative sometimes! I can’t wait to see what they make of the actual piece of music tomorrow and what new stories I get.
When I read the first passage of the reading section though, I was surprised because it was well-written and interesting (unusual for our texts). It’s about Vedran Smailovic, the Cellist of Sarajevo. The reading talks about the world premiere of the cello piece of the same name, composed by David Wilde and played, on that occasion, by Yo-yo Ma. It also tells the story of Smailovic who, after witnessing the deaths of 22 people from a mortar shell, went down to the crater, systematically at 4pm (time of the bombing) for 22 days and played Albinoni’s Adagio in G-minor in memory of the dead. A striking story, if I’ve ever heard one.
Anyway, the chapter opens with a picture of a man in a tuxedo, sitting at a cello in a cemetery. His eyes are covered by his hand and it seems like he might be in front of a grave. His right hand holds the bow but he isn’t playing. I asked my students, in groups to come up with the story behind the picture. They hadn’t read the story of Smailovic so I was really just working out their imagination. Here are some of their answers:
A long time ago, this man had a music teacher but he didn’t appreciate him and didn’t want to study with him. In the end though, he became famous for his cello playing so he looked for the teacher to tell him and thank him. Unfortunately, he discovered that the man had died. Now he is at his grave and plays a composition for him.
When he was a child, the man told his parents that he wanted to be a musician. They were very poor, but because he wanted this so much, his parents worked very hard and eventually were able to send him to music academy. He became very famous but as he got famous his parents became sick. He was worried about them but had to go perform a very important concert far away. He came back as soon as possible, but his parents died before he made it back. Now he is playing for them and is overcome with sadness and shame for having chosen his career over them.
The man is playing for his family and friends who were the victims of a big war. Maybe the cemetery is full of war victims and he is also playing for all of them, to calm their spirits and help them rest in peace.
The man is playing for his dead lover. When he was younger he met a woman. They were both poor but because he was a good musician, they put together all his money so he could study music and become famous. Eventually he did become famous, but she was sick and died. He wasn’t there when she died because he was at a performance, but now he comes to play for her every week to remember her and honour her memory.
There were more in this vein, where a beloved family member/ spouse was supportive but has died while the musician was away. The details varied, but the theme was common.
Then there were the bizarre answers:
The man is in the cemetery playing for his wife who died a long time ago. He has been doing this for many years, but today is different. Today he plays so well and with such strong emotion that the ghosts are pulled out of their graves and come out to hear him. He is hiding his face because he is scared of them.
He comes to play for his wife every week. He practices a new piece for her every time (or plays the same one) and always is very careful to play well, to ease her spirit. Today though, he doesn’t know why, but he cannot remember the piece he was going to play so he stops in the middle and hides his face in sadness and shame.
He is such a bad cellist, that noone will listen to him so he can only play in the cemetery where noone will need to hear him.
He is a composer as well as a cellist and comes to the cemetery for inspiration. Today, he cannot find any inspiration so he is sad and hides his face in frustration.
Alternatively, He is hiding his face to concentrate and get more inspiration.
And last of all, while there was a very large black bee buzzing around the classroom:
The man comes to the cemetery to play for the dead people and help them be at peace. He does this every week. Today is different though because he cannot finish his playing. This is because a very large bee has stung him in the eye, so he covers his face because he is in great pain.
So creative sometimes! I can’t wait to see what they make of the actual piece of music tomorrow and what new stories I get.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
A Chinese idea of utopia
I just got back from a whirlwind tour of Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai in about 6 days. I'll post more about it in the next couple of days when it's not really late, but I wanted to mention something I encountered when wandering through the Shanghai Museum (awesome museum, by the way, and worth the incredibly long wait in "line") that really struck me:
A Chinese painter's works are exhibited in the Painting Gallery and one is a representation of his idea of utopia. It's a landscape completely devoid of people. There are mountains, trees, a river, probably a few fish, but not a single human.
I'm not going to lie, after a week of being shoved, stared at, honked at, almost run over, squeezed between people with varying levels of concern about their personal hygiene and of getting angry at the rudeness of Chinese people to each other (a few were yelling to each other during a traditional opera performance in a garden in Suzhou- squeeky Chinese singing + squeeky instruments + yelling over it= my personal aural hell), my utopia would definitely also be "people-lite". I wouldn't necessarily ban all people from it, but they'd have to take a test before getting in!
A Chinese painter's works are exhibited in the Painting Gallery and one is a representation of his idea of utopia. It's a landscape completely devoid of people. There are mountains, trees, a river, probably a few fish, but not a single human.
I'm not going to lie, after a week of being shoved, stared at, honked at, almost run over, squeezed between people with varying levels of concern about their personal hygiene and of getting angry at the rudeness of Chinese people to each other (a few were yelling to each other during a traditional opera performance in a garden in Suzhou- squeeky Chinese singing + squeeky instruments + yelling over it= my personal aural hell), my utopia would definitely also be "people-lite". I wouldn't necessarily ban all people from it, but they'd have to take a test before getting in!
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