Greetings From China

Greetings from China!
If you are reading this then you truly have a great interest in quality literature!! :)

Sadly, blogger is blocked by the Chinese firewall or something to that effect. So, I've created another blog for all of your viewing interests!

Please follow me as I attempt to live here in Wenzhou, China for the next 9 months or so. It's been a rough week and a half, I'll tell you, but the e-mails from family and friends has meant a lot! Don't be afraid to post a comment or two, but remember that I'm 15 hours ahead - 16 when Daylight Savings Time hits you guys. The Chinese don't believe in Day Light Savings or different time zones apparently. At 4 a.m. the sun rises and it's pitch black by 7 p.m.

Here's the link: http://travelingteacheradventures.tumblr.com/

I miss you all terribly - family, friends, fellow teachers and my students from NHS!
Keep in touch!!

Jaime

Blogger's Blocked!

Well...here in the other hemisphere, blogger is blocked. So, I've updated my blog via tumblr. If you are at all curious about what I'm doing, please check out my new page:

http://travelingteacheradventures.tumblr.com/

Cheers...I'll see you in a few months.
Jaime

The long haul...

Hello all,
Home again and I must say that this California weather is seriously lacking. The fabulous three weeks spent at Stanford have finished - it was a marathon to be sure, but I've taken away some great memories and lesson plans. The kids were fairly well behaved, although there were definitely some evenings when a couple of us chaperones stayed up until 1:30 - 2 a.m. "Go to bed...NOW!" seemed to be the most prominent mantra.

I was surprised to see just how many students increased their SAT scores; one in particular increased her score by 250 points. Another came into camp with a 2,050 and left with a score over 2200! For those of you who are not SAT savvy, that's pretty good!

I am now enjoying the last couple days at "home" - and will be visiting grandma and grandpa this week to drop off the Hannibal "man-cat." There are still so many things to do from the basic buying deoderant and tampons to shopping for walking shoes, suitcases, textbooks and immunizations. Oy-vey!

I hope I can see all of you before I go, but if not...please don't stay angry at me for a year!! :)

Oh...and...if you want a post-card, please send me your physical address. As soon as I get mine, I will post it so that all of you lovely pen-palls can send me mail! I LOVE MAIL!!!!!

Jaime
P.S. Good luck to Chrissy, Joe and Bridgett (Joe's Sister) for Sunday morning's half marathon)

Summer Fun at Stanford - Part deux!!

Here are some great photos taken at camp. Last Thursday we went to the Kimche factory - I didn't even know what it was....spiced radish in a hot sauce! Yum!!

Frist, the Napa cabbage is cut up, covered with salt to drain the liquid out and left to dry. Then it's cut up and put in a vat and combined with spices, green onions and a whole boatload of other good stuffs. 

Once mixed up, the kimche is scooped up into plastic containers, chilled in a huge freezer and then sold! After scooping up the kimche, it is absolutely imperitive that you horse around! :) Our middle schoolers had no problem with this!!

At the Kimche factory - it tastes like SPICY radish fabulousness!

What do you do with a plastic glove? Of course you put it on your head!

 Below: students doing a pre-assessment. Some students had very little English skills, so it was necessary to see where their reading and writing levels were.