Summer of Service

I just wanted to post a short entry about a shining moment I had with some of my Dragon students yesterday...

Monday morning, I taught a lesson about shopping that I modified from Leslie's design. The students learned some vital vocabulary such as "shopper", "bargain", "fixed price", "expensive", "to purchase", etc. They also learned some phrases such as "How can I help you?" and "That's too expensive! Can you reduce the price?" Then, we did an activity in which there were 6 different stores for them to buy DVDs, household good, food, candy, sporting goods, and notebooks using fake money (Dragon Dollars). My students went crazy. They ran around the room bargaining for goods and yelling at each other with thier new english phrases.
Later that same day, I went shopping with 5 girls from my class. They were so excited to take me out into Jishou and show me the good places to buy clothes and food. They commented on my style, saying, "American style is much more relaxe than Chinese style. You always wear comfortable clothes. Never too girly." I didn't know whether to feel complimented or offended but I loved hearing them discuss fasion, a topic they never tire of talking about. The girls, (Melody, Michelle, Liah, Lilly, and Sherry), also picked out clothes for me to try on. Needless to say, the tiny Chinese shirts and dresses they selected were snug. They kept saying, "Oh, this is too small for you. Let's try to find a larger size." I felt like a monster in these tiny little clothes and I couldn't help but wonder where less than petite Chinese women find clothes to fit them. In the end, the girls bargained for a shirt for me at the local market. They had a great time using thier Chinese skills to help me out.
The greatest moment of the day happened when we went to buy Bubble Tea, one of my favorite new treats in China. After the girls helped me order my drink, my student Michelle insisted on paying for me. I told her that this time, I would treat them but I needed to know how much the drinks cost. I expected her to turn and ask the waitress in Chinese. Instead, she unexpectedly caught herself speaking English. "How much does this--" She looked at me and laughed. I never thought I would see the day when one of my Dragon students, the lowest level of students, would "accidentally" speak English. The waitress just gave us both a confused look. Michelle switched back into Chinese and asked the price of our drinks. Honestly, it was one of my proudest moments as a teacher.

-Betty