Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

After my bout of Christmas food poisoning, I started to feel a little better on Monday, so I taught my afternoon classes. While my voice was still pretty much gone, I was at least able to show the first third of Elf, which the students really enjoyed! In the afternoon, I stopped by the office […]

The Deaf Girl in Class 110

The Deaf Girl in Class 110

Earlier this week I was teaching a typical high school Senior 1 class. We were learning how to give directions, and I gave them a map activity to do in pairs. While I wandered through the desks observing the students, I happened to notice that two girls weren’t doing the activity. I walked over to […]

Classroom Culture Shock: So I’m Fat AND Sexy?

Classroom Culture Shock: So I’m Fat AND Sexy?

Being a minor celebrity in my middle-of-nowhere high school has led to some interesting experiences and classroom culture shock; one of which is the adjectives my students use to describe me. Aside from the typical “HELLO TEACHER!”, “RICHELLE!!”, “AHHH MS. JIANG!”, I also get “SO BEAUTIFUL!!!” multiple times a day, every day. Talk about a […]

Working in a Gaokao Factory

Working in a Gaokao Factory

Recently I came across an article, Chinese Cram School From Hell. This article does a great job describing the Chinese high school education system, and the immense pressure  of the gaokao test. Since I work in one of these so-called “gaokao factories”, I thought I’d shed some insight on the high school education system in China. […]

I Guess I’m Not As Cool As I Thought I Was

读万卷书不如行万里路 “Reading ten thousand books is not as useful as traveling ten thousand miles.” -Chinese proverb It has been an interesting few days, but I have safely arrived in Ningbo… kind of. Not to skip the last month of traveling and orientation, but I figured it would be better to talk about my first impressions NOW […]