I am on my final interview for a job that, so far, sounds great. Tomorrow I meet with the founder/CEO to interview, chat him up and prove I can teach when necessary. My first lesson is from a book they provided. The second is a topic, any topic, of my choice. Decisions, decisions! My initial thoughts were gender, Chinese New Year, maps, yoga or travel. When I asked Rob he immediately responded: “women in Afghanistan”. It is supposed to be light and entertaining, so I regrettably nixed this and my initial musings on human trafficking and women’s issue. For confirmation I was headed in the right direction I emailed two of the best teachers I know: Tae and Maggie! They consistently come up with creative, dynamic lesson ideas. They would, without a doubt, know what’s up.
Maggie responded: “Those instructions sound very PiA (Princeton in Asia for all your laymen)! Just from what I know of you, I would say:
- Something about maps or map-making. If it’s a younger class, you can do a lot with making creative maps. If it’s an older audience, it might have to be more sophisticated.
- How to make dumplings, like we did with Lucy’s family?
- Something about spirituality, maybe? Not in a religious sense, but along the lines of meditation, attaining inner peace, etc. Maybe it’s not easily teachable, but I feel like it’s something of interest to you and could incorporate your travels as well.”
Maggie is an awesome friend. She just sees you and understands. Her suggestions were exactly where my head was.
Tae then responds: “How about how to buy train tickets in China? I like this one because it’s relevant, since it’s CNY [Chinese New Year]. You can talk about how CNY is the biggest human migration at present time, and talk about how impossible it is to get tickets. So how do you beat the system? THIS IS YOUR SPUTNIK MOMENT.
- How to survive not shaving your body for weeks with Ms. Jessica DiCarlo
- How to mime at a foreign McDonald’s and get what u want with Ms. Jessica DiCarlo
- How to teach nothing in five minutes and pass it off as a five-minute lesson plan ohmygodbutifyouteachhowtoteachnothingaren’tyouactuallyteachingSOMETHING!!?!?!?! with Ms. Jessica DiCarlo”
Now that right there is China friendship–people who love me despite my refusal to follow western hygiene norms….or perhaps because I developed an uncanny knack for communicating with McDonalds workers at the drive-thru in Dalian at 4:00am without using words. No really, they are the best and I am so lucky to have them in my life. Gosh I miss these guys!
Tae: “Another lesson idea: How to Make Chris Hildner Stay in Touch with You (You Can’t), a joint lesson by Ms. Maggie Glass, Ms. Jessica DiCarlo, and Mr. Taehoon Kim”
(Chris Hildner I hope you read this, though I doubt my blog is a regular read of yours when you still haven’t responded to our group email updates. Hint. Well not really a hint. Very direct.)
Anyhow, to wrap things up, Maggie left us with very person-specific lessons designed for our fellow expats:
“Creative Southern Vernacular
Advanced Russian: Emoticons, Shy Glances, and More
How to Dress Like an Adorable Anime Character
Increase Your Alcohol Tolerance In Only Six Months (team-taught)”
I understand this has little meaning or value to most who read it. but I’m hoping in the months and years to come we look back on these little email chains and smile (ps-hope it’s ok I posted it!). Love to you both and thank you again for the advice! By the way, I’ve decided to teach “Midnight McDonalds Miming”. Ok, not quite, but my lesson is about China!
