Day 2 at BHSFIC begins earlier.\u00a0 My classes on Friday start at 9:50.\u00a0 The hour commute means I have to be out of the apt. earlier than usual, especially if I need want to arrive in time to set-up the classroom ahead of the students.\u00a0 I\u2019m not carrying my clarinet today, so the load is a little lighter.<\/p>\n
I arrive about 9:20, and start setting up.\u00a0 After getting the music playing, I realize there\u2019s no projector.\u00a0 I start checking around and there are none to be found today.\u00a0 Many of the rooms have mounted projectors.\u00a0 The few projectors that are not mounted are all in use so I\u2019ve got to do some quick adjustment of my lesson plan.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got a lot of musical excerpts, but they\u2019re so much more interesting with video.<\/p>\n
I check roll today, calling the students\u2019 first names (in English).\u00a0 They each stood and told me their last names so I can begin to work on pronunciations.\u00a0 After roll, we start some simple rhythmic instruction, and we do some early rhythmic reading.\u00a0 The students seem to get the hang of it, but listening to the whole group counting in English is pretty interesting.\u00a0 We\u2019ll build on this as the school year proceeds.<\/p>\n
When I the finish the 2nd<\/sup> class, it\u2019s lunch.\u00a0 The opinion of the faculty is that the food at the IC campus is better than the main campus.\u00a0 I fill up and start planning my afternoon.\u00a0 I have to figure out how to get to the foreign passport office, then back to the main campus to meet, Amy Song, who\u2019ll be helping me set-up a bank account.\u00a0 With advice from several sources, I head for the subway.\u00a0 Coming out of the subway, it\u2019s a long hike to the office.\u00a0 I find it, and pick up my passport with my long-awaited \u201cyear long\u201d multiple entry visa.\u00a0 It basically means I can \u201ccome and go\u201d as I please for a year.\u00a0 Most of the paperwork we\u2019ve been doing since we started this whole process in January was to get this document.\u00a0 SUCCESS!!!!<\/p>\n I walk back to the train, travel to my next stop, and walk to the main campus.\u00a0 Amy meets me and we go to a nearby Bank of Beijing branch to set-up an account so I can be paid.\u00a0 Since payday is next week, this is an important<\/span> job.\u00a0 One hour later, I have an account.\u00a0 We head back to the main campus business offices to complete more financial paperwork with my new visa and bank account, and by 4:30, I\u2019m finished.<\/p>\n Judy\u2019s school is \u201cunwinding\u201d as a group at the Drum & Bell Bar after school today.\u00a0 It has a rooftop patio and overlooks the courtyard between the Bell Tower and Drum Tower we visited a few weeks back.\u00a0 They\u2019re traveling from school on a bus.<\/p>\n I catch a taxi to meet them.\u00a0 It sounds so easy to say \u201ccatch a taxi\u201d, but I have to try and give directions.\u00a0 He seems unable to read the Chinese address on the information I have, and no matter how fast or slow I say \u201cDrum and Bell Tower\u201d, he isn\u2019t getting it.\u00a0 I finally pull up a map on my iPad and a glimmer of understanding shows up on his face.\u00a0 He drops me off close to the historic sites, and I start wandering through the ancient neighborhood looking for the group.\u00a0 I finally find them and. join them on the roof.<\/p>\n It\u2019s another gorgeous evening and we enjoy ourselves, sitting in the middle of all this history, meeting more of the very international<\/span> faculty at BISS.\u00a0 There are so many unique individuals with interesting stories about their international teaching experiences and destinations.\u00a0 Much of the talk is about everyone\u2019s destination for the October holiday.\u00a0 We hear talk about Bali, Mongolia, Phillipines, and Hong Kong.\u00a0 Our Yangtze River Cruise is beginning to sound \u201ctame\u201d.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s going to be a great way to start off our travel experiences.<\/p>\n We drag ourselves home and quickly get to bed, looking forward to a lazy Saturday morning.\u00a0 I feel as though I walked all over Beijing.\u00a0 My knees are screaming at me.\u00a0 As I tuck the blanket under my neck, Judy laughs and tells me it\u2019s 8:15.\u00a0 I was asleep by 8:20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Day 2 at BHSFIC begins earlier.\u00a0 My classes on Friday start at 9:50.\u00a0 The hour commute means I have to be out of the apt. earlier than usual, especially if I need want to arrive in time to set-up the … Continue reading