I arrived at Bethel yesterday afternoon. The flight from Shanghai was smooth. I was picked up by two people working at Bethel; a university student named Xue and a recently hired driver, Mr. Zhang. They were very kind, and Xue and I talked a lot about random things--college life in America, college life in China, celebrities, movies, personal beliefs, etc.
We drove an hour south of Beijing to a small city called Lang Fang. It is quiet and not very populated. We are in a private quarter called Jing Jin Hua Yuan. Five houses in this cul-de-sac belong to Bethel. I met Guillaume and his wife Delphine, who are the founders and directors of Bethel. They have three children, all very cute. They showed me to my room, which I will share with five people who have yet to arrive. I am on the second floor of one of the buildings, and there are several other rooms for volunteers to stay in.
I met Sarah, Teresa, and Audrey from the States. Sarah and Audrey are both in their 20s. Teresa is probably in her 50s. Teresa has taught at a blind person's college in Washington DC, so she is using her experience to help the children here. Xue is supposed to be their translator as they teach English, social skills, and health. Sarah worked here last year and knew Adrian (another student at Harvard who taught music here last year).
At night Guillaume drove us to a street near the local university where there were some franchise restaurants. My first meal here was at Yoshinoya. It is a relief to see that serving sizes are small here; the "small" size for a DQ blizzard is around 6 oz instead of 12 oz as it would probably be in the US.
Delphine and Sarah just gave me a brief runthrough of my schedule. This week--
We drove an hour south of Beijing to a small city called Lang Fang. It is quiet and not very populated. We are in a private quarter called Jing Jin Hua Yuan. Five houses in this cul-de-sac belong to Bethel. I met Guillaume and his wife Delphine, who are the founders and directors of Bethel. They have three children, all very cute. They showed me to my room, which I will share with five people who have yet to arrive. I am on the second floor of one of the buildings, and there are several other rooms for volunteers to stay in.
I met Sarah, Teresa, and Audrey from the States. Sarah and Audrey are both in their 20s. Teresa is probably in her 50s. Teresa has taught at a blind person's college in Washington DC, so she is using her experience to help the children here. Xue is supposed to be their translator as they teach English, social skills, and health. Sarah worked here last year and knew Adrian (another student at Harvard who taught music here last year).
At night Guillaume drove us to a street near the local university where there were some franchise restaurants. My first meal here was at Yoshinoya. It is a relief to see that serving sizes are small here; the "small" size for a DQ blizzard is around 6 oz instead of 12 oz as it would probably be in the US.
Delphine and Sarah just gave me a brief runthrough of my schedule. This week--
This week only--8:30 - 9 am translating for Teresa in house 17 upstairs for English lessons for preschoolers. will take over teaching after July 27th when Teresa leaves
Everyday 1:15-2:15 pm translating forTeresa in house 17 upstairs for English lessons for older students (also taking over after July 27th)
Everyday 2:15 to 3 pm piano lessons in house 17 first floor
Everyday 5-5:30 pm piano lessons
Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 6:45-7:45 pm English corner in house 21
This is pretty exciting! I am really glad to be here. I have no idea how I'm going to teach, and my translation skills are pretty poor, but hopefully everything will be great.
posted by Ann Chao at 5:39 PM
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