English Party #1 with my Grad Students

From left to right: Jennifer, Summer, Annie, Mickey, Jessie, Angeline, and Jessie

Last night, I had the first of the groups from my graduate classes over.  I wasn't sure how it would go—they're a few years older than the students I've had over in the past, so maybe they wouldn't be as easily impressed, and also Micah and I don't share graduate students, so I was on my own. Sometimes I run out of things to talk about and nervously sip my drink during awkward pauses when I have to entertain a small group on my own (weird—as a teacher, it doesn't make me nervous at all to stand up and lecture for two hours in front of a whole class full of students, but one on one or with a small group I sometimes struggle to keep a conversation going.).  Micah helps with that when we've had our parties together, because he always tells jokes and picks out somebody to tease and give a hard time to. 

Fortunately, it turned out to be one of the most fun groups I've had yet—a few years older turned out the be good, because it meant that they're that much closer to my age and so we have more in common than I do with my younger students, and also they are less intimidated by me as the teacher.  I set out the normal snacks—popcorn (with salt—always a shock to them!  Popcorn here is always sweet; movie theaters serve something closer to Cracker Jacks than the buttery popcorn we're used to), chips ahoy, oreos, sunflower seeds, etc.  Last semester, I made jello for most of my groups, but I'm kind of bored with that, and besides, I've been craving another strawberry cobbler since I made one a couple of weeks ago.  This was the perfect opportunity to make one in a situation in which I'd get some but not eat the whole thing. 

I was running a bit late getting ready; I had everything done except the strawberry cobbler and mixing up the lemonade (thanks, Carrie, for leaving behind eleventy billion packets of lemonade kool-aid!  My students love it!). Actually, that turned out well too—food is a great common denominator across cultures, and several were interested in seeing how a westerner cooks.  Sunny Summer (she always wanted the English name Summer since that's what her name means in Chinese, but she didn't know if was acceptable as a name in English.  Once I told her it was, she decided she's going to start using that.  As if learning 140 names in a semester wasn't bad enough, somebody always has to change! You know, if she thought Summer probably wouldn't work, why did she think sunny would?) washed the strawberries, Annie filled the pitcher with water for the lemonade, Lily was there and did something but I don't remember what.  Annie stayed to watch the whole process as I melted the butter and mixed in the sugar, flour, and milk. 

We spent over an hour eating and talking.  The cobbler turned out well, except maybe a little sweet.  The sugar here comes in bigger grains that that I'm used to using in the U.S., so maybe I should use a little less of it.  And there were no awkward pauses in conversation—not with Sunny Summer around.  She always has a question.  If she doesn't, Angeline is always good for a story.  We then played a couple of games of Uno—Angeline had played once before, so she helped explain the rules.  I usually that once someone goes out, everyone else keeps playing until there's only one person left, rather than bothering with keeping score and rounds and all.  The first game, Summer ended up being the last one.  Now, for most of us Americans, we would just say, "Rotten luck!" or some such to the loser and that would be the end of it.  Here, though, it's not a good game unless there's a "punishment" for the loser.  For lack of creativity, it's usually to sing a song (not as embarrassing here, where karaoke is so popular, as it would be for many Ameicans…).  And so it was that Summer performed a dramatic version of "My Heart will Go On" from Titanic.  She sang so seriously that Annie, Jessie, and me were falling out of our chairs laughing silently, trying not to laugh out loud.  Finally in the chorus she added in dramatic hand gestures, and we all gave up and giggled through the rest of the song.  

The second round, it came down to Annie and me, and we kept getting stuck and having to draw more and more cards—would it ever end?  Finally, Annie came out on top.  So, my turn to sing a song (I'm used to it by now—I usually sing "I'll Fly Away" or some such—I keep meaning to learn to words to Adele's Someone Like You because that's what they usually want me to sing, but I can't ever remember both the words and the tune at the same time).  Before I could start, Jennifer (not the same Jennifer I've talked about before—I have three students named Jennifer) asked if I knew a song called "Grace." 

"Amazing Grace, maybe?"

"No, just 'Grace.' Hold on, I have it here on my phone."

I hummed the tune of "Amazing Grace" while she was looking for it, and Summer hummed along with me—most of my students are familiar with at least the tune of that one because it's in so many movies, especially funeral scenes.  But that wasn't it.

"Here—listen."  It turned out to be a gospel song by Laura Story, who I hadn't heard of before.  The words were good, though.  Unfortunately, I couldn't sing that, since I hadn't heard it before. However, it's interesting that she likes it enough to have on her phone.  After they left, I looked up the lyrics.  I'm going to find it and listen to it so that I can bring it up again to start a conversation with her later.  Always nice to have little opportunities for conversation starters. 

We chatted a bit more before they left—they seemed to genuinely enjoy the evening more than any other group I've had; I hope my next few groups go as well!  I really like these girls, and I hope I get the chance to spend more time with them.  

Another 1105 Party

A few more students from class 1105 came over on Friday night, March 22nd: Laura, Zoe, Arjen, Monkey, and Lucas.  And yes, Monkey knows that is a ridiculous "name."  The boys hadn't eaten dinner yet, so they brought a ton of street food with them, so combined with all the usual snacks, we had a quite a feast.  I had forgotten how much boys that age can eat...

Lucas had to leave early, but the other four stayed and we taught them to play dominoes.  We've been teaching Uno at most parties, but to tell you the truth, I think both Micah and I are thoroughly sick of that one.  The students the last couple of times have caught on to dominoes pretty quickly, and I'm happy to finally get some use out of the dominoes set that Mom sent me for Christmas. :)  

So, three parties down.  I'm taking a little break for a couple of weeks, and then I need to figure out inviting over my oral English classes, which will probably take another eight parties, at least.  It's a bit tiring sometimes, but it really helps in getting to know the students to see them outside of class in a small group.  

Second 1105 Party

Well, another Friday night, another party!  A few students had to cancel at the last minute, so I had a small group, just three girls.  Different from the usual craziness of seven or eight, but it was nice, because I felt like I really got to talk with everybody.  Not enough people for a shy person to hide.  

The girls and I snacked--we had good popcorn for once, as I bought some Act II buttered microwave popcorn from Metro, and added salt.  We also had the usual, chips ahoy and oreos--well, half the oreos were my usual, double chocolate, but the other half were the strawberry creme ones, just to try.  My advice: stick with the chocolate.  The girls brought some typical Chinese snack food--duck meat, liver, seaweed strips, tofu, and lotus root, all marinated in a really spicy sauce.  I ate several pieces of the lotus root and a bit of the liver. One of the girls, Jennifer, is from a coastal region of China (Shandong Province) where the food isn't spicy, so she and I were both fanning our mouths and grabbing the orange juice bottle for refills.  

Micah joined the party just a bit late, as I was teaching Uno, as has become my custom.  He was really excited about the liver; he loves that stuff.  The students were gratified to see a foreigner enjoying their contribution so much.  

It didn't take near as long to teach and play a game of Uno with just three students, and then they wanted to learn another game.  So, we moved to the dining room for Spoons, which they didn't get as excited about as most groups.  Mom had sent me a dominoes set for Christmas , and here it is March and I still hadn't had the opportunity to use them. I wasn't sure if Mexican train would work with as many people as we usually have, but with this group it was perfect.  

The girls caught on quickly to the concept of dominoes, and we had a good game.  We played double-twelves down to double-eights, but then it was getting late so Micah called the game at that point (while he was winning, of course).   I hope I can get another group to play dominoes with again soon!  

Before the left, I got a picture with the students, as usual:  left to right, Cherry, Rebecca, and Jennifer.  

English Parties are Back Again!

The semester is in full swing now--and I am back to hosting English parties with my students.  I was thinking, before I got my schedule for the semester, that I should have three returning classes (who I had over last fall), and probably just one new class, so just three parties for this semester!  Plus maybe one for a student club that I've gotten involved with a bit (SIFE).  

Micah and I were talking the other day that there are two things you should never say in China, and yet we do all the time:  "Surely not!" and "You would think..."  

So, first of all, for some scheduling reasons (although I'm not sure what, because as far as I can see, the classes do not conflict with either their or our schedules), they swapped one of my writing classes for Micah's writing class.  He already knew my students (1106) because he has had them for oral English, but I hadn't had his (1105) class before.  I had met a few of them when I dropped in on some of his gatherings last semester.  So, there's one new class.  Then, I have two oral English classes to replace the Mythology class I taught last semester (which I enjoyed, but is only a fall class).  

So...three classes of students to have over, and the oral English classes are bigger, about thirty students instead of twenty-one or twenty-two.  Sooo...probably eleven or twelve parties, just like last semester.  So much for my Friday nights...but I enjoy getting to know my students, and we usually have a good time.  I shouldn't complain, it's actually a step up from my ordinary Friday nights, which are usually spent on Pinterest. :)  

The first group of the semester was a group of girls from 1105, plus a guy somebody brought along.  In the picture, they are, from left to right, Vera, Carol, Anne, Paula, Aries (we did have a conversation about the fact that this is the male god of war, and not particularly a nice god, either, but she isn't too concerned, really), Kissy (sigh...), Isabelle, and the guy, whose name I can't remember at the moment.  Jesse?  Jay, maybe?  

We ate snacks, talked, and then I taught them to play Uno.  Most of my students really enjoy it, and it's a game that even beginners can do well at.  For example, I lost the first game, even though I was teaching it.  When playing games here, they all have the idea that the loser should be "punished" in some way--usually along the lines of "the loser should sing a song!" or "the loser has to do the Gangnam style dance!"  Anyways, I lost, but while I was dithering about what in the world I was supposed to sing, Micah broke out in Johnny Cash's "Walk the Line", so I hummed along to a couple of lines and said that counted.  

English Party 7

After a weekend off, tonight I hosted our seventh English Party.  Now we're starting on class 1104; we'll have the other two groups of them over next weekend. This was our smallest group so far; just four students: Bertha, Seldom, Wind, and Xiaobei (yes, they choose their own names...I know.)

Anyways, we followed our usual format; if you're following the blog, you know the usual by now. We had a good time, as usual; Xiaobei is a bit nutty and we all gave him a hard time; he and Micah got into a stand-off refusing to tell each other their birthdays.  Xiaobei insisted he was very clever; Micah said
it was sneaky instead; every time Micah would insult him, he would say, "My heart is broken!" very dramatically.  We all told him he wasn't going to have much heart left by the end of the night.

Chinese students usually love to sing; it's not unusual at a party for somebody or everybody to end up singing.  It typically starts in some sort of game: "The loser has to sing a song!"  Xiaobei lost at Uno twice; and I don't remember exactly how all it went but it came down to that Micah should sing a
song, but he refused unless Xiaobei sang all three of the songs that he owed us by now.  Usually that puts an end to the "sing something!" conversation, but not with Xiaobei, of course.  He sang his three songs: two very silly ones, and one that was actually pretty good.  Fortunately, I had the video camera ready, and he's a ham and didn't mind.  So, Micah had to sing his song; he grabbed my Faith and Praise book and sang something out of there.  I got that on video, too, but I have to work with him the rest of the year so I won't put it on here.  (Xiaobei will never know, and wouldn't care if he did). And then they all looked at me, so I sang "I'll Fly Away."

Blogger is for some reason not loading my videos, so here are links to the videos instead: 

Xiaobei being silly

More of Xiaobei singing

Micah aggravating Xiaobei

The video of Micah singing broke. :(  Oh well, here's a picture of him with the broken reindeer antlers:

English Party 6

Saturday night was our sixth English party, finishing up class 1106.  We had a bit of confusion at the beginning; they had thought their group was next weekend, while I had them down for tonight, but we got it all figured out and had the party anyhow, albeit starting about a hour late.



This group was much calmer and a nice relief after the wild people we hosted the night before; however, they were also some of the students whose spoken English is not quite as fluent as some of the others, so the onus of keeping the conversation going fell more on Micah and me than usual.  We had a good time, though, and once we moved to the games, everyone was able to relax and have a good time.  We played Uno and spoons again; both are simple and everyone seems to like them. Then Jello as always,cranberry this time.

From left to right: Dennis, Kay, Helen, Lily, Armstrong, and Deric.

English Party 5

English party five was a continuation of class 1106.  Now, we're having these parties to get to know our students...I don't think we really meant we wanted to get to know them this well.  Crazy only beings to cover it.  With most groups, we talk about a wide variety of topics; this group had one thing on their minds: dating.  We especially got to hear Sarah's views, because, as we teased her good-naturedly, she never really stops talking.  To tell you the truth, all of the students in the group might not be crazy, but she, her best fried Delphine, and the lone boy in the group (who we found has been friend-zoned so badly that he may never climb out), Tom, definitely are. Oh, and Malak, too.  She left before the others as she had a date; from the way it sounds her boyfriend is a brave man; I wouldn't want to fight her.  

We followed the usual format of sitting in the living room, eating and chatting. Sarah expounded on her plans to get back together with her exboyfriend, the girls abused Tom, and had some choice words about somebody elses' ex.  We then tried to distract them with games; we played Uno and Spoons.  Unfortunately for Tom, he didn't get to play much; we were playing elimination on both--in Uno he won, so he was out quickly, and in Spoons, he lost quickly and was out.  So, he ended up being a go-fer, fetching snacks from the other room.  I was the ultimate loser of Uno; the last four or so of us played on forever; so long that everyone else got bored and wandered away.  Spoons, on the other hand, is my game; I won both games.  

Once they left, Micah and I looked at each other and just said, "Wow."   

From left to right: Sarah, Delphine, Blare, Candy, April, Jody, and Tom in the front.  

English Party 4

And, yet another party--this one starts class 1106.  This group seemed quite friendly and familiar, probably mostly because it included Roger, who we have gotten to know quite while outside of class and consider a friend.  I think his familiarity with us led the other to feel less shy and more familiar as well.  Everyone gave Lance, the other boy, a hard time because they said he's always eating.  He did seem to be the one enjoying the snacks the most; whenever anyone else didn't want to finish something, they would hand it off to him.  It's rather useful sometimes to have a bottomless pit in a group of friends. :)

So far, we had played spoons and mafia with our students; I successfully avoided mafia this round--we'd just played it the night before, and I only have so much patience for mafia in one weekend.  So, this time, we taught them to play Uno.  It's pretty simple, and it's a game most Americans know how to play, so it seemed like a good thing to play.  Also, Lance knew how to play, and was able to speed things up by giving an explanation in Chinese.  We didn't bother keeping score, but rather played elimination--keep playing until only one person is left, who is the ultimate looser.  They also reminded me of the colors in Chinese--I can always remember red (hong), yellow (huang), and green (lü), but I always forget blue for some reason. (It's lan).  

The fourth group, from class 1106, from left to right: Alice, Nancy, Echo, Lance, Micah, Emily, Roger, Natalie, and Cassie.  

Also, here are videos from the night:
Spoons!
Getting intense!
Down to three...
The final showdown

English Party 3

With our third English party, we finished with class 1103.  This group included (left to right): Allen, Linda, April, Francs, Jessica, Ives, (Micah), and, in front, Aiden.  

This was another good group; we played several more rounds of mafia--I was on a streak of being the policeman.  Unfortunately, I was wearing my orange button-up shirt (those of you who've known me awhile probably remember it--it's been one of my favorite for years; I know I saw a picture of me wearing it back in 2006 the other day); the problem was that it is made of very rustly fabric.  Aiden, who was sitting with me on the couch, kept figuring out which part I was because he could here me move.  So, between games, I ducked into my dressing room (yes, I have a dressing room--I have an extra bedroom attached to my bedroom that I use as a huge walk-in closet.) and switched shirts so that I could be more stealthy.  A couple of games in a row, Aiden and I were policement together, and we made a great detective theme--once we ended the game quickly by guessing the two killers on our first two tries.

Then, of course, we finished with spoons, Jello, and all.  

English Party 2

Tonight, we had our second "English Party".  This was the second group from class 1103, including Serena, Tina, Cindy, Smile, Blanca, Alice, Ruth, and Alissa.  I hoped going in that it wouldn't be too awkward for Micah with a group of all girls, but I think it went fine.  The only time the issue came up was when we were discussing what game to play--one of the girls suggested Truth or Dare, and Micah vetoed that immediately.   Probably not the best game to play with your students, anyhow. :)

The girls then started describing a game they like to play to us.  The more the described, Micah and I looked at each other.  Mafia.  Turns out Chinese students play Mafia as well; it's funny sometimes what odd things turn out to be international and other things you would think would be aren't.  So, we came to an agreement on the rules (they didn't have a doctor in their version, although another group of Chinese people we talked to later said that they usually did), passed out cards, and played about seventeen times.  Now, I know Mafia is extremely popular with most young people, but frankly, I've always found it quite boring.  I'm always happy if I get out early, as it's much more interesting to watch than to sit with your eyes closed time after time.  Besides, every other time I've played in the states, it's been with a large group, and I've never been anything but a townsperson.  Here in China, however, I seem to have some luck being a policeman.  I just prefer games that give more chance for getting to know the people you're playing with.  After that, we did play a quick game of spoons, as well.

Anyhow, it was fun, but I should have cut them off at fewer games.  We went on the close the evening in what has now become traditional, Jello and group photos.  

English Parties!

As a teacher who wants to make an impact on my students outside of just lecturing on the idiosyncrasies of written English, I feel that it's important to get to know them as more than just a name on a roll.  I want them to feel like we're accessible.  Added to this, the students are always curious about the lives of foreigners, and generally eager to take any opportunity to practice their English.  The perfect solution seems to be hosting "English parties."

One blessing this year is that Micah and I have many of the same students; he teaches them oral English while I teach them writing, so we can host the parties together instead of having separate events.  It's really nice to have someone to share the role of host with; if I need to run to the kitchen for something, I don't feel like I'm abandoning my guests, and I don't have to buy the drinks, cookies, and popcorns every weekend.  It's also a blessing that I, at least, have these students for the entire school year, intead of just one semester (I'm not sure about Micah's schedule).

In each class, there are between 21 and 24 students; since the goal is getting to know them personally, we're inviting seven or eight students at a time--three parties with each class.  Also, with a smaller number, we can play games as a group and fit comfortably in my smallish living room. So, nine parties all together.  I'm having the students sign up in class on one of three dates for their class, so that I can be sure to get an even distribution and all.

Tonight, we had the first group--seven students from 1103: Sharon, Charlie, Sheldon, Dreamcatcher (yes, he chose that name himself...even other Chinese students realize that it's weird, and they think names like Smile, Echo, and Seldom are acceptable...), Jessie, Andy (a girl), and Blare (also a girl).  We had a lot of fun spending time with them--Sharon is very intelligent and has good English; she's the class know-it-all but when I need some information from the students, I'm grateful for her because she always knows what's going on, or will find out.  Dreamcatcher does seem a bit dreamy; it often seems like I've just called his thoughts back from someplace else.  He also has some pretty interesting big hairstyles.  Charlie and Sheldon (he chose the name because he likes Big Bang Theory) are fairly quiet, but good-natured.  Charlie is always smiling.  While most of the boys seem like teenagers, Sheldon seems like a Chinese businessman, with his leather jacket and   stockier build.  Jessie is sweet; Micah accidently mixed her up with another student, Jessica, at first, and teased her throughout the evening calling her different names. Andy, despite her tom-boyish name, is thin and delicate; she usually wears pink or something lacy; Blare on the other hand does have a more tom-boyish air, usually wearing a plaid shirt.

We sat around in the living room to talk for a while; I had some chips ahoy and oreos, orange juice and coke  (different from American students, they drank the orange juice and never even touched the coke), and the students brought some fruit and candy with them.  After awhile, we moved to the dining room table, where we taught them to play Spoons.  (For those of you unfamiliar, it's a card game in which you pass cards around trying to get four of a kind; when someone does, they grab a spoon from a pile of spoons in the center of the table. When one person grabs one, everyone else should, too. Like musical chairs, there's one less spoon that there are players, so someone isn't fast enough and doesn't get one.  That person gets a letter; when they spell out "spoon", they're out. It's usually quite a violent game.)  I was afraid they would be too shy for this rather competitive and rough and tumble game, but no such problem--they caught on quick, and by the second round they were diving over the table and playing tug of war just like my high school youth group playing.  Micah started cheating by looking at Blare's cards part way through, and was caught by Andy, who was next to him; he defended himself by making a counter-accusatin that she was the one cheating; he and Andy and Blare spent the rest of the game teasingly accusing each other of cheating.

At the end, I brought out some Jello I'd made (not far enough in advance, however, which is why I waited until the end to serve it--giving it time to set); they'd never seen or heard of such a thing, so it was a fun and novel experience.  They seemed to enjoy it.  Micah was, of course, playing with his as he ate it with his feet propped up on a stool--several pulled out their camera phones and started taking pictures of him.  I teased him afterwards that he would become famous for jello-eating with all the photos of his masterful techniques...We had a really fun night with our students; I hope the rest of the parties go as well!