HANGZHOU HAPPENINGS

时间：2007-03-05 00:00:00 来源：平和英语作者：Sandra Lee

HANGZHOU HAPPENINGS

杭州平和，春天的消息

Spring has sprung
The grass has riz,
I wonder where
The winter is?
( "riz" is a made-up word meaning "risen")

When I was a child in New Hampshire , this is an old and silly poem we used to say when the snow melted and the icy blasts of cold air were replaced by warmer winds and the first signs of green grass and tree buds.

小小筷子，也是教具

It's true we didn't have any snow here in Hangzhou , but it was very cold compared to Zhuhai and I was finding myself day-dreaming about Hawai'i !

I realized quickly that having the right clothing and bedding made all the difference. Just as I got used to wearing at least three layers of clothing, we all were amazed to wake up the other day to find the weather warm and pleasant and the layers began to be taken off until we were all down to one.

Emma给了我惊喜

We usually eat our meals at the restaurant next to the school, but that day we walked to another one which is further away because we just couldn't resist being in the sunshine and warm breezes.

Besides the construction all around us, we have been busy with GLVHZ Salons and English Corners. We had a Salon in Hangzhou then we packed the van with Ping, Gordon Kerr, James Yi, Denny Wu, two volunteers, Alice and Lily, and me, and off we went; first to Wenzhou then to Ningbo. Everywhere we were greeted warmly by former students and people had lots of questions about our two schools.

Emma从Level 2B升到Level 6B我的班里

In Ningbo I was speechless (for once!) when my former student, Emma Yu came up front as I finished and gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. It was a great surprise ?C I love flowers and remember Emma as a very motivated and intelligent student, which is, of course what teachers love best of all!

Gordon was a founder of the school with Ping and he gave us many laughs both at the Salons and in the van as we rode along. His teaching methods amuse and inform at the same time and we all learn from him. We are so grateful for his support of the Hangzhou school.

风趣幽默的Gordon

James, Johnnie Gao, (a volunteer) and I went, on the weekend, to Shanghai to join an English Corner of all former GLV students. They have the tiny dynamo, Jessie Dai as their Director of the Alumni Group and in the midst of her unbelievably busy life, she manages to do all the work which is involved in getting everyone at the same place and at the same time.

Attending the Alumni group were: Olwyn Ma, Helen Zhong, Fiona Chen, Katherine Zhou, Eddie Jin, Bill Cai, Jannie Guo and Hans Zhu brought his teenage daughter, Allison. It was a lively group!

英语角谈笑风生

James asked Allison a question which horrified me. He asked which parent she liked best, Mother or Father. I protested but was told that it is a common question in China . In America we would consider that a child who was asked that question would be put in a terrible position! So we spoke English (ONLY!) but I got a lesson in Chinese culture.

After the meeting Fiona and Katherine took us to a bookstore which had quite a few English books, then Bill treated us all to a delicious dinner. We had a wonderful time in Shanghai and I want to go back as soon as I can.

浸泡中感受文化差异

Last night Arthur, Johnnie and Jenny Xu, (another volunteer) and I, went to a Hangzhou English Corner at the "Innocent Age"cafe. It has a real coffee house atmosphere and books and magazines in English are there to be enjoyed. The owner, Jane Zhu is a former English teacher and it was fun and interesting to be there.

We have several more English Corners to go to in the next few weeks and it's a great opportunity to get acquainted with "locals". Hangzhou is called "The Most Beautiful City in China "and it may very well be, however, having moved many times in my life, I know it is the people who make a place beautiful. So far everyone has been friendly and welcoming and I think we will have many friends here.

Aloha,
Sandra Lee