Office Hours

Life here is such that I am not always able to post blogs as often as I would like. There is a computer in our office, but as it turns out it is so slow that by the time I've loaded this page it's time to go to my next class or meet with the next group of students, etc. Usually I type out what I'm going to say and save it while I'm waiting for the site to load. So it may happen that one day I post like 50 blogs at once, but they're all about random unconnected events that have happened over the past month. Anyway, here's one that I wrote several weeks ago, but it gives some idea of my life at present:


Last week I was utterly exhausted. In case I haven't posted my weekly schedule yet, allow me to do so now. I teach 6 classes this semester, for a total of 12 hours, and I should have at least 4 hours in my office each week. So far so good. Well, last week with all the extra appointments, I ended up staying at school all morning Mon., and all morning and afternoon Tues., Wed., and Thurs. That's not really supposed to happen. I could barely concentrate by the time Thurs. rolled around, and I had such a headache! The really annoying thing is that the students haven't learned just yet that they need to sign up before they come to my office. That's something I've been complaining about today because yet again no one has signed up until the last minute, and here I am in the office waiting for the one group of students I have coming when I could be at home grading all these journals instead. I know I'm here for the students, but sometimes I really just want to be selfish and get enough rest, you know?

The way I have my office hours set up: on Tues., 2:00-3:30 is supposed to be the time for classes 3, 4, 5, & 6 to come in small groups for specific questions or speaking practice. Each group should have 3-6 people and can sign up for a 15-min. slot. On Wed., the same time is reserved for classes 1 & 2. Also on Wed. I have a time set for some "free talk" when any of my students can come in for as long as they like, and that time is 3:30-4:45, giving me just enough time to get ready to catch the bus. It's not really so bad, and I think the set-up (with some small groups coming for 15 min. at a time, and only one hour for the really big group) helps the time go by. It still just gets to me when they constantly ask me the same questions again and again. I mean, you can only answer the question "can you use chopsticks?" so many times before you go certifiably insane. For more information about the kind of questions that can commit you to a mental institution, visit the website angrychineseblogger.com and go to the section about "what not to say in China" or "how not to answer questions" or something like that. Of course, to understand the full scope of what this guy is saying, you'd need to experience it first-hand, but you definitely get the idea of what it's like. :)

Another annoying thing about my office hours is when some students from other classes (not my students, in other words) try to sneak in. I know they just want English practice, but I get tired enough just talking to my own students for hours on end without trying to placate students from other grades or departments. There's one guy whose English is already pretty good, but he keeps wanting to come in to my office hours. I've had to tell him a few times that these times are reserved for my own students, but that hasn't really stopped him entirely. Last time he tried to come in he said something to the effect of, "I think all men are created equal." Nice try, buddy, but that doesn't work on me. No, really, he's a very nice guy, I just for him to respect my students' time, and I will also be happy to respect his. But such is the life of the foreigners on campus. We're here for show. ;) Actually, we've been invited to sing a song at some big "party" that the school is hosting for like, 3,000 people. They want us (me, Oliver, & Beate, the other two foreign teachers here) to sing one English song and one Chinese song. Of course, I'm sure they're expecting some kind of pop English song, and they want us to sing a Chinese song like we're some monkeys performing for them...man, I sound bitter or something. I'm not really, I promise....but I bet they're going to be surprised when we start singing in German from the Ars Musica in 3-part harmony. (I'm sure they'll clap politely after we finish Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen and sit in eager anticipation of "My Heart Will Go On"....which I'm sorry to say, but they won't get) I'll let you all know how that turns out after the fact.