The Brighter Side

As Nicki indicated in her last post, we have been very busy since school started last week. So, since I have 40 minutes before I need to go supervise the students’ evening study hall, I’ll write a quick update.

The challenging things I mentioned in my last post haven’t been a nearly as much of an issue. A cab driver assured Nicki that the spitting lady was probably not expressing disapproval of my existence. I’ve also seen the apparently angry guy from the elevator a few times, and he has been cordial. (He even said “good morning” in English to us recently.) I feel much more comfortable around our neighborhood now. It helps that I’ve been walking to and from the school almost every day; I think people are starting to recognize me, at least as “that foreigner with the neckties.”

The language challenges are still there, of course. Despite having no functioning Chinese, however, I have started to get familiar with Shanghai. It feels good to be able to find my way to things on my own, even if that involves relying heavily on map tools in English. I’m also developing a list of places in the city that I want to visit. Topping the list is Inferno, a bar and concert venue that seems to be the center of Shanghai’s metal scene. As soon as I see a promising show on a weekend, I’m going to check it out.

I’m adding to my list of responsibilities at work. In addition to teaching math, I’ll also be helping to coach badminton this year. I don’t know the sport at all, and I was only a mediocre (at best) tennis player in high school, but I was promised that the school would arrange for a proper head coach so that I can be an assistant and learn as much as possible myself.

I’m also doing what I can with college counseling here. One of my personal goals in this job is to ensure that our students are aware of the full range of college and university types in the U.S. When I ask them about their plans for college applications, most of them list what amounts to the U.S. News college rankings: Harvard, Princeton, MIT, etc. More power to the students who get into those schools, but I want to help our kids cast a wider net and to find institutions that will best fit their circumstances and needs. I’ve been in touch with some people at places where I have taught, and I hope to arrange some visits from staff at a variety of American colleges and universities to keep our students fully informed of their options.

Right now, though, my focus is mainly on figuring out how to adapt to a high-school setting. I meet with both of my classes every day, which is quite a bit different from the twice-or-three-times-a-week university classes that I’m used to teaching. I decided quickly that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with grading if I give daily homework assignments, so today, I gave my students their first weekly homework to do. That’ll give me a bit of breathing room to prepare lessons before the homework gets turned in next Monday. It might also give me time to blog a bit more frequently, so I’ll check in soon with more updates.