T-minus one week and counting!

I have been trying all day to wrap my head around the fact that I will be leaving for China in only one week from today and have found it to be close to impossible. During most times of the day I would say that I am equal parts excited and terrified about this adventure. It is, however, not an entirely steady balance. Right now for example, I’m hanging on the terrified side of the scale. Not to worry though, I know I’ll bounce back to the excited end in a few minutes or hours (…or days…). At the very least, I know that I’ll be meeting some very interesting people over the coming months. I’m looking forward to meeting the other volunteers, the Chinese teachers, and perhaps most of all, the students at my school.

Speaking of the students and my school, I should probably give you the run down on that. I have been assigned to Zhuzhou Number Two Middle School, also known as Er Zhong. As the name suggests, the school is in Zhuzhou, Hunan. Zhuzhou is a city of about three and a half million people located southeast Hunan about 45 minutes from the capital of Changsha. The city is known throughout the province for its industry and is one of the most polluted cities in the area. There are no tourist attractions in Zhuzhou itself, which means there will be very few everyday people who know even a little English. This will not only give me a more authentic view of the Chinese, but also make most every conversation a challenge. I’m sure things will get easier over time, but I’m nervous about the first few weeks.

I don’t have any information on what grades I’ll be teaching at this point. All volunteers teach middle and high school, so I can be sure that I won’t be working with first graders. I did read, however, that in China middle school begins in the fourth grade, so there is the possibility of teaching a group of pretty young students. I’m not sure if I would prefer the younger ones or the older students, but I guess the point is moot as I don’t have a choice. I should know at the end of August, following a few weeks of orientation, what my grade assignments will be.

I think that I will leave it at that for now. I hope you are having wonderful summer and feel free to check back for updates as time goes on.

Ashley