Lucky Cricket: 2014 - Year of the Horse

IT'S "MAH" YEAR!

That is a pun that is funny on a few levels. I will explain them.

1. "Mah" is horse in Chinese

2. And it really is my year! Horse is my Chinese zodiac.

How exciting, right? Actually I don't know. I should research if that means I have good luck or something. Probably or something else equally wonderful.

The actual Chinese New Year doesn't start for another week, and we get a month off of school. I plan to do some traveling :)

Time to GTHO of WENZHOU! YAY!
I have not left the area since I got here.
I've got the same stir crazy eyes as this pup here.

Last week was a lot of fun. First, on Monday morning during our weekly morning meeting at 7am, everyone ran around the school for New Years. I'm still not entirely sure why. But I stole pictures from the school website, which if you want to check out yourself you are welcome to here. Sometimes I'm on it :)

I'm in the back somewhere...

I'm on the far far right super tiny

"One of these things is not like the other....one of these things just doesn't belong...."
This is just a random picture of me with Grade 3 teachers on that trip a few weeks ago.

We had a school talent show for New Years Eve, and I was graciously volunteered by another teacher to sing. Yep. But I had a good time! I got to get my make-up did, my hurr all did, even hid behind a curtain and surprised the students, which brought the house down haa. They kinda lost their minds.

Some students were shocked

Some fangirled real hard

Some were like "shuh- MUUUUUH???"
which is "WHAAAT?" in Chinese.

^^^But most did this ^^^

Here's Nancy before...

Right after I walked out!

Just doing some hand gestures...you know you know...

So while you were all asleep, I was just over in China, doing a lil performance. One teacher has a video and I'm working on procuring said item.

I did however, take videos of others performing. I sadly didn't get the trick yo-yo professional, he was grade 3, and awesome. I was so mesmerized I didn't think to record it, haa.

This is the school song!

Some teachers have it as their ringtone and I am totally jealous.

I was supposed to be a part of this but I only made it to one practice because they met Monday afternoons when I had class. And I don't know enough Chinese. They tried to include me, but the lyrics where in characters instead of Pinyin :( I'm illiterate

So this is the headmaster just standing in front of everyone to make sure he gets the perfect shot. But everyone does stuff like this. For programs, shows, street performers, that church service I went to, when people see me at the mall they pull cameras out and do this, too.

I just thought that it was great I got an example on film.

This is one of my grade 2s. Everybody got make-up for the performance and they dressed in normal clothes. It was only seeing them like that I was like...OH. You really are 17. They look like babies in their baggy school uniforms and ponytails and sans make-up faces.

Grade 3 MCs. Prom Ready, haa.

This is hard to see, but these girls wore the robes with long sleeves

and waved fans around. It was so Chinese and traditional

and beautiful and wonderful!

Some classic Chinese music with girls doing calligraphy in the back. When it was over they showed us what they had been writing. I think it said "Happy New Year" or something. I don't know. I'm illiterate :( haa

This skit has snippets of English in it and I thought they did a good job. It was about a basketball team in the locker room at halftime, that much I understood.

This is a kid doing Gangam Style. Because why not.

The kid in the beginning is one of my favorites, he sits right in front and always talks to me. And that song is super popular here. BAH BAH BAH BABABABA.

He's in class 10, which I teach in a lecture hall with class 11 and 12, so any student interaction is very appreciated. Most are too scared to speak since the class is so big.

And the rest of the kids are class 10, too! Michael Jackson is so huge here. They love him. Way more than most teenagers in America. The moonwalker was the best!