Fridays with Emily

Every Friday afternoon from 1:00-2:30pm, I have what is called Language Exchange: I meet with six Chinese kindergarten teachers in my classroom and teach them English. We sit in kindergarten chairs around a kindergarten table. These six teachers - Demi, Tacey, Lisa, Lucy, Alice and Sherry - already have a pretty good command of the English language in its written form, being able to read and write fairly well. However, the girls need help with speaking. I prepare a separate lesson plan for them from a book I found to be oh so handy in the Elementary School library. We have met three times so far - the first week was spent on introductions and getting to know each other. I also prepared for them a test so I could gage how much English they already knew. The second week, we talked about our families. I made a family tree and described my family to the girls. It was funny to see them compile their own family tree. Lucy needed another sheet of paper to connect horizontally to her already busy piece of paper. She looked at me and said, "I need more branches!" My girls are really funny and want to know all kinds of slang. I tell them that since I'm from Texas, my slang will be different from other parts of the country. Needless to say, they now tell me Howdy every time they see me in the hallways with their classes.

Since this is called Language Exchange, the girls also teach me Chinese. Two of them come to my apartment on Sunday after lunch for an hour to help reinforce the things I am already learning every Monday and Thursday afternoons in our free company Chinese classes. One of the two who come has a husband and a young daughter, so coming to my apartment means a great deal to me. She wants to see me succeed in the Chinese culture, so she's willing to help out however she can.

Starting this Sunday, I will be adding on another "class" of students. One of my Language Exchange teachers, Sherry, has a daughter who is eight years old. She's in 3rd grade, but at a Kindergarten level of English and needs a tutor. Sherry asked me if I'd be willing to tutor her daughter and three of her daughter's friends on Sunday nights. Sherry will prepare dinner for me in her home beforehand. Luckily, Sherry asked me what kinds of foods I like. She also told me that I need to try new foods, so I'll be blogging about those adventures. Heh.

I am very thankful for my group of teachers; it's a great way to build relationships and experience a pebble on this mountain called Chinese Culture.