I started the sex. ed. unit this week and I will continue teaching it next week. 10 days of sex. ed. The boys have been looking forward to it all semester! However, they were not very interested about the sex. organs of a female. They only wanted to know where the penis goes or some of them already knew all about it... I did not want to hear any of their personal stories. They were more excited when I taught them about their sex. organs, erections and masturbation. Maybe they were embarrassed that I was teaching them sex. ed. I use a lot of humour and they love it!
On Thurs. it was the BIG Day! As you know from the previous post, I bought condoms for each of my students and bananas. By the middle of the day, I started running out of condoms. I think some of my students took some of them with them or other students from other classes took one.... I gave the boys a hand out about how to put on a condom and we discussed about it. One of the students jokingly said, after using the condom, wash it and hang it to dry and another student said keep it as a souvenir. I had to tell them not to use it again and I tried showing them it is hard to put it back on and their semen might still be on it. These are the kind of boys I teach... We all laughed about it. I also told them it's not too expensive to buy more. I taught the boys how to correctly open a package of condom and check the expiry date. Then I showed them how to put it on a banana (penis). They were shocked about the size... In all 4 of my classes, when I finished showing them how to correctly put it on either clapped or said that I was a pro. You might even see a video or a picture of me showing them how to put it on correctly...
It was their turn. The lubricant on the condom that I bought smelt odd and it got all over the place. Some of the boys started taking out tissue to hold the end of their bananas and showed their classmates they did it correctly. I allowed the kids to explore a bit. A student tried wrapping it around a large water bottle and it did not work. A kid told him his penis is definitely not that big and another one said maybe his is. Some of the boys started blowing their condoms into balloons. I just had to make sure the students knew the difference between a rubber birthday balloon and a latex condom. I told them to not use birthday balloons as a condom because it is not the shape of a penis and it won't protect them. They laughed so hard that some of them fell to the ground! A few of my kids filled the condoms with water. Two boys filled it up to a size of an adult cat curled up and brought it into the classroom. They were impressed about how strong latex is. I also showed a picture and talked about the female condom. Overall, it was a good day and I was exhausted. However, all my students were engaged!!! I also learned a lot about the Chinese culture of what they tell students. For example, if a girl uses a tampon, she is no longer a virgin because the hymen might be torn. I guess they do not want girls wearing tampons. Tampons are not very common here at all. Also, if a female has her period, she cannot drink or eat cold things or she will die.
The boys are learning a lot and having some fun too. Thank you boys! Next week, they will be watching "Juno" and learning about STI/HIV/AIDS. I will post some of their sex. ed. questions on my blog sometime next week.
Next week is going to be crazy but festive. I do not get two weeks off for winter vacation. I will be attending a staff Christmas party tomorrow night, the English Corner Christmas party on Sun., wrapping Christmas gifts for an orphanage with the Outreach group, supervising at the student co-ed Christmas party, Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas breakfast and many other festive gatherings! There is a lot of Christmas spirit here but it's not the same as back home... I MISS YOU GUYS!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Shopping for Condoms in KFQ
I went into town this afternoon and my main purpose was to find 120 condoms. I found a sex store! Thank goodness the sign was in English, "Adultstore". Hmmm.... I wonder what is inside. So I went in, the first thing I noticed a 4 year old boy in the store... okay... He was playing with his age appropriate toys, such as trucks. His mom owns the store. I had a hard time telling her that I needed 120 cheap condoms because they are only for showing the kids how to use a condom on a banana/carrot/cucumber. I think the number of condoms that I needed shocked her. I played charades and used my limited Chinese skills and it WORKED! I came out with 120 condoms. Each box had 10 condoms and each box cost me less than $2.00. 20 cents per condom??? hmm... As she was looking for the boxes of condoms, I looked around the small shop. The shop had many different sex toys. They all looked very cheap and not in very good quality. So I only bought 12 boxes of condoms. When I was about to leave, she asked me if I wanted anything else and I said, "No, thank you." She then proceeds to take something out of the drawer; she took out birth control pills. She had several kind of Chinese brands. I quickly left! I will be teaching my grade 10 boys how to use a condom on Thurs.
They thought I would show them porn in class... They were a little sad that I said no and they can watch it on their own time. They have very good questions. I had a good laugh. Maybe I'll post a few of them in a few days.
They thought I would show them porn in class... They were a little sad that I said no and they can watch it on their own time. They have very good questions. I had a good laugh. Maybe I'll post a few of them in a few days.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Quick Summaries ....
I am so behind with blogging...
November 29 - December 5:
- In Planning 10, I taught the students the different steps in solving conflicts. I gave each group a different scenario and I said they could bring props if you want. Some of the scenarios were stealing a cell phone out of a classmate's bag, fight after a basketball game, parents not happy with school marks, etc. One of the skits was a group of friends are smoking, drinking, not doing their homework, and will probably be kicked out of school. Again, forgetting that I am in China, two students brought a cigarette, lighter, and a can of beer to class. There is no legal age here for those products but there are school rules. They started acting and then took out the props, I was shocked but I let them keep going. The students in the class were laughing their heads off. One of the students opened the can of beer and one just lit the lighter but not the cigarette. Thank goodness they did not start drinking the beer and smoking in my classroom.... Next semester, I think I need to change that scenario!
-At the school, the students eat all their meals in the cafeteria almost 7 days a week. The cafeteria has 4 floors. However, students can order out of school grounds. The delivery people can only pass food through or over the fence on one side of the school grounds. The students and delivery people have a system. They give the money, they get the food and then they leave. There are many different businesses though but they somehow figure it out. I will take a picture sometime this week. On Dec. 2nd, I was one of the people purchasing food over the fence, even though I am allowed to leave school premises. We had an office pizza party so I ordered in. The pizza here is not the same as in Vancouver... It's not very good. The delivery guy had to deliver food to students at the same time so we met at the fence. I felt like I was violating school rules. In addition, I was too short to grab the pizzas over the fence so my co-worker and students helped me. There are bars so the delivery man couldn't slide the pizza of that size sideways without tilting the pizza to one side.
- Erin and I went into Dalian City on the weekend. I went to "Olive Garden". It's not the same as in Langley and in the States. However, it was a nice venue and the food was not mad. I ordered a lunch size pasta and it came with pumpkin soup, salad and a coffee and I ordered a dessert, tiramisu for about $12.00 CAD. I will definitely go back =)
December 6 - December 12:
-On Sat. I went into Dalian City on my own. I had to go pick up my wool pants that I got made and a few Christmas presents. I did NOT get lost and I didn't have to take the taxi either =) I resort to taxis if I'm lost here in China. I instead took the train into the city and then I took the trolley. I find it fascinating that the trolley is in the farthest lane from the curb. People get off and dodge traffic to get on to the curb and people on the curb would dodge traffic to get on to the trolley. Remember, I told you before even standing on the curb is not safe here in China.
- On my way home from the city, people were selling long johns on the side of the street in black garbage bags! They are only $2 CAD per pair for the thin ones. Let me know if you want a pair! On the train back, someone brought a clothes hanger and she hung her grocery bags on the hanger to the bar. That's an awesome idea. Why didn't I think about it earlier???
- In the evening, I went to KFQ in the Hong Mei area, where a lot of Korean people live, for a Charity Concert. It was put on by a grade 12 student at Maple Leaf. She is a very talented young lady. She plays the violin beautifully, can sing, organized and has a huge heart! There were Korean food, bake sale (thanks to the Maple Leaf teachers), Christmas card sale (thanks to the Outreach Club at Maple Leaf), and great entertainment. I witnessed the Korean break dancing and dance off. WOW! There were a lot of talented youth that performed from dancing, rapping, singing, playing an instrument to throwing a stick around and hitting someone in the face (a teacher from Maple Leaf). I had a fun night!
It's snowing here, windy and in the negatives.... I guess I should start wearing my long johns. Tomorrow I start teaching 120 grade 10 boys sex. education. Any tips? I'll keep you posted!!!
November 29 - December 5:
- In Planning 10, I taught the students the different steps in solving conflicts. I gave each group a different scenario and I said they could bring props if you want. Some of the scenarios were stealing a cell phone out of a classmate's bag, fight after a basketball game, parents not happy with school marks, etc. One of the skits was a group of friends are smoking, drinking, not doing their homework, and will probably be kicked out of school. Again, forgetting that I am in China, two students brought a cigarette, lighter, and a can of beer to class. There is no legal age here for those products but there are school rules. They started acting and then took out the props, I was shocked but I let them keep going. The students in the class were laughing their heads off. One of the students opened the can of beer and one just lit the lighter but not the cigarette. Thank goodness they did not start drinking the beer and smoking in my classroom.... Next semester, I think I need to change that scenario!
-At the school, the students eat all their meals in the cafeteria almost 7 days a week. The cafeteria has 4 floors. However, students can order out of school grounds. The delivery people can only pass food through or over the fence on one side of the school grounds. The students and delivery people have a system. They give the money, they get the food and then they leave. There are many different businesses though but they somehow figure it out. I will take a picture sometime this week. On Dec. 2nd, I was one of the people purchasing food over the fence, even though I am allowed to leave school premises. We had an office pizza party so I ordered in. The pizza here is not the same as in Vancouver... It's not very good. The delivery guy had to deliver food to students at the same time so we met at the fence. I felt like I was violating school rules. In addition, I was too short to grab the pizzas over the fence so my co-worker and students helped me. There are bars so the delivery man couldn't slide the pizza of that size sideways without tilting the pizza to one side.
- Erin and I went into Dalian City on the weekend. I went to "Olive Garden". It's not the same as in Langley and in the States. However, it was a nice venue and the food was not mad. I ordered a lunch size pasta and it came with pumpkin soup, salad and a coffee and I ordered a dessert, tiramisu for about $12.00 CAD. I will definitely go back =)
December 6 - December 12:
-On Sat. I went into Dalian City on my own. I had to go pick up my wool pants that I got made and a few Christmas presents. I did NOT get lost and I didn't have to take the taxi either =) I resort to taxis if I'm lost here in China. I instead took the train into the city and then I took the trolley. I find it fascinating that the trolley is in the farthest lane from the curb. People get off and dodge traffic to get on to the curb and people on the curb would dodge traffic to get on to the trolley. Remember, I told you before even standing on the curb is not safe here in China.
- On my way home from the city, people were selling long johns on the side of the street in black garbage bags! They are only $2 CAD per pair for the thin ones. Let me know if you want a pair! On the train back, someone brought a clothes hanger and she hung her grocery bags on the hanger to the bar. That's an awesome idea. Why didn't I think about it earlier???
- In the evening, I went to KFQ in the Hong Mei area, where a lot of Korean people live, for a Charity Concert. It was put on by a grade 12 student at Maple Leaf. She is a very talented young lady. She plays the violin beautifully, can sing, organized and has a huge heart! There were Korean food, bake sale (thanks to the Maple Leaf teachers), Christmas card sale (thanks to the Outreach Club at Maple Leaf), and great entertainment. I witnessed the Korean break dancing and dance off. WOW! There were a lot of talented youth that performed from dancing, rapping, singing, playing an instrument to throwing a stick around and hitting someone in the face (a teacher from Maple Leaf). I had a fun night!
It's snowing here, windy and in the negatives.... I guess I should start wearing my long johns. Tomorrow I start teaching 120 grade 10 boys sex. education. Any tips? I'll keep you posted!!!
Monday, November 29, 2010
First time being very sick in China
Fri. night was nothing! Sat. I was pretty good.... Sun. was the WORSE. I woke up running to the washroom and throwing up. I am NOT pregnant!!! I either had food poisoning or the stomach flu. I tried to drink water and then I threw up again. I even had Pepto Bismol for nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea. It stayed in my stomach for a little while but then that came out too. I had to stay hydrated so I had little sips of water throughout the day and slept all day. I was either really hot or had the chills. I did not have any solids the whole entire Sun. I really wanted my mommy =( I am a big baby when I am sick. My parents were concerned of course because I haven't been so sick for a very long time. I couldn't even stay awake for 1.5 hours before I got dizzy or a huge headache. Today, I stayed home and woke up at 9am and slowly started eating solids again because I was too weak. Then I took another LONG nap. I have so much work to catch-up on....
Thank you for all the caring people who came to my rescue!!! Catherine, the ginger and honey water stayed down and the Sprite did too =) I had the chicken breast for dinner today. Thank you for all the phone calls and knocks on the door. Also, thanks to people who offered to cook for me =) Will, thank you for offering me an oatmeal cookie, I promise I will try it next time. We will have a bake off!
Thank you for all the caring people who came to my rescue!!! Catherine, the ginger and honey water stayed down and the Sprite did too =) I had the chicken breast for dinner today. Thank you for all the phone calls and knocks on the door. Also, thanks to people who offered to cook for me =) Will, thank you for offering me an oatmeal cookie, I promise I will try it next time. We will have a bake off!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Food Poisoning =(
I've been in China for almost 14 weeks. I haven't had food poisoning until LAST NIGHT! Let's start in the beginning. I had quite a long week because the Ministry inspectors from BC were at our school and I was starting to burn out. Yesterday, we went into KFQ for the evening and went for dinner to celebrate that we had survived for the week and to be with Anjali. We went to the East Hotel for dinner. Before dinner, I bought a very big loaf of banana bread for $2.00 (15 RMB) =) We were going to order something for A La Cart but we decided to go for the buffet because there were many different options for the buffet. The buffet was about $18.00 (115 RMB). You can just see from my pictures of the variety of food. There were pastas, soup, potatoes, pizza, turkey, sashimi, fresh oysters, mini crabs, scallop, all sorts of meat and you can pick the ones you want barbecue, etc.
After dinner, I was so FULL. I went to buy a few things and walked around a bit. I even had a cup of Toffee Nut Latte at Starbucks. However, around 9:15pm I felt like I wanted to vomit. I ran outside with my stuff to get some fresh air. Our school shopping bus was going to pick us up at 9:30pm but I was not in any good condition to go on the old, smelly, cramp, and no air circulation bus. Carrie, Catherine, Anjali and I took the taxi home instead. I was holding a plastic bag the whole entire way. The taxi driver was amazing, not like majority of the China taxi drivers, I was able to hold it in the whole way home and then I had to use the washroom at home... I will spare you the details. I haven't felt that horrible for a VERY long time. Today I just relaxed and did barely anything. Not sure if I'll go back to the East Hotel for dinner anytime soon.
After dinner, I was so FULL. I went to buy a few things and walked around a bit. I even had a cup of Toffee Nut Latte at Starbucks. However, around 9:15pm I felt like I wanted to vomit. I ran outside with my stuff to get some fresh air. Our school shopping bus was going to pick us up at 9:30pm but I was not in any good condition to go on the old, smelly, cramp, and no air circulation bus. Carrie, Catherine, Anjali and I took the taxi home instead. I was holding a plastic bag the whole entire way. The taxi driver was amazing, not like majority of the China taxi drivers, I was able to hold it in the whole way home and then I had to use the washroom at home... I will spare you the details. I haven't felt that horrible for a VERY long time. Today I just relaxed and did barely anything. Not sure if I'll go back to the East Hotel for dinner anytime soon.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Another Relaxing Weekend
On Fri. night we had a ladies night and we watched "Leap Year" on Sui Ki's L shaped couch. I do not have a couch at my place =( Catherine, thank you for the delicious 4 layers nachos dip. It was so nice to just relax and watch a movie with the ladies.
On Sat. I slept in a little and then I went out to the market to get some groceries for the week. Erin and I played "Love Jenga" again. It is definitely a good ice-breaker game. I'll let you decide on what some of the actions/comments asks you to do. Pictures attached this time. I ordered ice-cream again =) Does anyone know what ti zi is? It tastes like taro ice-cream to me. In the evening, I did go back to school to get some work done. There is just not enough time in a day to get everything done so I have to stay late at school or go in during the weekend. Anjali and I are in the same office so we work in the evenings together and we walk each other home. On our way home on Sat. night, we walked home before the campus lights went out at 10pm, we saw a man riding his bicycle and holding a flashlight with his left hand for his front bike lights. At least he had lights on!
Today, I woke up early and went into Dalian City with Anjali. I went to the tailors and I am getting 3 wool dress pants made. I gave him a pair of dress pants I have now and he measured me and told me that I have lost weight so he can't copy the one I gave him =) I walk a lot here and go up and down many flights of stairs each day. At 11am, we went to a church in Dalian for worship and also for a Thanksgiving lunch. Thank you for inviting us ladies! After lunch, Anjali and I hired a driver to drive us to IKEA, Metro and home to buy some groceries and more furniture for our places. I need to stop spending money at IKEA!
I do not have a lot of time off during Christmas and New Year's here so I will not be coming back to Vancouver, Canada. However, I do have a long weekend from Dec. 31st- Jan 2nd. Here are my options: go to Harbin, China for the ice-sculpture city festival and the temperature is usually around -30 or go to Sanya, China, on Hainan Island, where it's going to be hot and sunny. Sanya supposedly is the beach paradise in China. I might go to Harbin because I think it might be a mild winter so it'll be a good winter to go but the ladies will be going to Sanya and it'll be much warmer. Any input?
I promise I will start catching up with my emails...
On Sat. I slept in a little and then I went out to the market to get some groceries for the week. Erin and I played "Love Jenga" again. It is definitely a good ice-breaker game. I'll let you decide on what some of the actions/comments asks you to do. Pictures attached this time. I ordered ice-cream again =) Does anyone know what ti zi is? It tastes like taro ice-cream to me. In the evening, I did go back to school to get some work done. There is just not enough time in a day to get everything done so I have to stay late at school or go in during the weekend. Anjali and I are in the same office so we work in the evenings together and we walk each other home. On our way home on Sat. night, we walked home before the campus lights went out at 10pm, we saw a man riding his bicycle and holding a flashlight with his left hand for his front bike lights. At least he had lights on!
Today, I woke up early and went into Dalian City with Anjali. I went to the tailors and I am getting 3 wool dress pants made. I gave him a pair of dress pants I have now and he measured me and told me that I have lost weight so he can't copy the one I gave him =) I walk a lot here and go up and down many flights of stairs each day. At 11am, we went to a church in Dalian for worship and also for a Thanksgiving lunch. Thank you for inviting us ladies! After lunch, Anjali and I hired a driver to drive us to IKEA, Metro and home to buy some groceries and more furniture for our places. I need to stop spending money at IKEA!
I do not have a lot of time off during Christmas and New Year's here so I will not be coming back to Vancouver, Canada. However, I do have a long weekend from Dec. 31st- Jan 2nd. Here are my options: go to Harbin, China for the ice-sculpture city festival and the temperature is usually around -30 or go to Sanya, China, on Hainan Island, where it's going to be hot and sunny. Sanya supposedly is the beach paradise in China. I might go to Harbin because I think it might be a mild winter so it'll be a good winter to go but the ladies will be going to Sanya and it'll be much warmer. Any input?
I promise I will start catching up with my emails...
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Motorcycle Ride
I went for dinner with a few colleagues, Carrie, Jim, and Cole, at the American School near where I live for a buffet. Every week there is a different theme, this week it was Western theme. The potato salad and apple pie were delicious! There was a lot of cinnamon. Thank goodness it was not red bean. Sometimes I think some of the pastries have cinnamon on it but it's red bean. It's not the same....
Jim and Carrie both own motorcycles. Cole rode with Jim and I rode with Carrie. I know I was too scared to ride on one in Vancouver. I rode on one in China instead! I did not have a helmet on either and it was freezing cold. I thought I was going to take the taxi home so I was not dressed appropriately. I held on to the back part and just went for a ride. We went around the corners very slowly. We lost Jim and Cole for the last part because we were busy talking and followed another motorcycle. Carrie found a way home. It was fairly dark so we drove slowly to make sure we were actually driving on a road. We drove along the beach and it was quite nice. The small white bridge is lit with fluorescent green lights at night and there are many big sculptures on the beach, such as a crab. Where we live, we conserve a lot of energy by turning the lights off quite early and there aren't a lot of street lights. The sun starts setting around 3:30pm. Overall, it was a fun ride home and I might ride on another motorcycle in the near future.
Jim and Carrie both own motorcycles. Cole rode with Jim and I rode with Carrie. I know I was too scared to ride on one in Vancouver. I rode on one in China instead! I did not have a helmet on either and it was freezing cold. I thought I was going to take the taxi home so I was not dressed appropriately. I held on to the back part and just went for a ride. We went around the corners very slowly. We lost Jim and Cole for the last part because we were busy talking and followed another motorcycle. Carrie found a way home. It was fairly dark so we drove slowly to make sure we were actually driving on a road. We drove along the beach and it was quite nice. The small white bridge is lit with fluorescent green lights at night and there are many big sculptures on the beach, such as a crab. Where we live, we conserve a lot of energy by turning the lights off quite early and there aren't a lot of street lights. The sun starts setting around 3:30pm. Overall, it was a fun ride home and I might ride on another motorcycle in the near future.
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