What are we doing?

I've been asked a number of times what we are doing in China so I thought I would devout a blog entry to that very answer.

Tammy and I work for Yew Chung International School in Qingdao China. Yew Chung is a network of International Schools based out of Hong Kong with schools in various cities in China as well as Silicon Valley USA. The school in Qingdao is the newest school and is in its 3rd year of operation. We are temporarily housed in a set of residential "villas" while our new campus is being built. The school is geared toward the children of foreign business expatriates working in China. Because of the proximity of Qingdao to South Korea, many of the school's student body comes from Korea

Tammy and I were initially hired to run the boarding program at the school. A small number of the students live at the school in "the dorms" (which are actually very nice apartments) and Tammy and I's job is to be the parent, teacher, mentors to the kids while they are staying at the school. On Friday afternoon after school the kids go home to their homes for the weekend and return to the school on Sunday nights.

However, the Year 1 & 2 teacher (what in America we would know as Kindergarten and 1st grade) position has still not been filled so Tammy and I have been asked to step in to that position as well. We share the duties with the class' Chinese co-teacher (every grade gets taught in both English and Chinese so that the children develop fluency in both languages).

In addition to that Tammy teaches secondary Art and I teach secondary Citizenship as well as Information Technology. (Again, for those in America, Secondary is what we would call middle or high school. Primary is elemenatry) Although the work load is pretty heavy between the two jobs, Tammy and I are excited about the new skills and experience we are receiving. Teaching secondary Citizenship...wow.. am I in my element. (Just asked the kid who in the last class asked me what the difference between a Democrat and a Republican was)
Likewise Tammy has REALLY enjoyed researching and teaching her secondary Art class.

Oh, and things are a little more formal and professional than what we were accustomed to in Boulder. As a teacher, I wear a tie to every class

Steve at 42

Last week I turned 42!! For the last couple years we have had an outdoor movie in our backyard to celebrate the occasion. When I turned "40" a couple years ago we watched City Slickers. Lets face it, there is nothing funnier when you are turning 40 than watching a movie where Billy Crystal is turning 40. Last year, in the midst of the Colorado Rockies making their historic run for the National League Championship, we watched Field of Dreams.

This year we had hoped to start the outdoor movie tradition now that we are in China. Especially with the new LCD projector we were given by our friends at church before we left. However, the typhoon of activity at the school while getting ready to start the new academic year meant our outdoor movie premier will have to be delayed.

As busy as everyone was at the school, Tammy still wanted to do a little something for my birthday. She organized a bunch of refreshments and rented a couple of tables down by the beach. As the sun set, we sat with new friends and co-workers and raised a toast in my honor to another year...this time in another land.

First Visitor

Yes, the waiting is over. The red carpet has been rolled out and the envelope has been opened indicating who is the first friend to come visit the Hackmans since their journey across the ocean 7 weeks ago. And the winner is: Michael Mann.
Michael is a good friend of ours from Boulder and we have been part of the same church together for the past 3 years.

He was on business to Shanghai and our hope was to get down to see him. Rumor has it there is a Toys R Us in Shanghai and Gabriel is begging us for a trip there. Seems there is a chronic shortage of Star Wars action figures on the streets of Qingdao.

Well, we've been having visa problems that the school is working on (as well as all of the new teachers) so we were not able to get down to Shanghai. "Never mind," says Michael, "I'll come up and see you all"

We've had a good time together the last couple nights. Yesterday, Michael got to see what our two hour church journey involves. Afterwards, we took a trip to the bootleg DVD store. Everyone who visits us has to experience it. You knock on the door and they peek and let you in. Inside there are all local Chinese Dvds and music Cds. You ask for English movies and then they point to a written piece of paper that asks in English, "Are you a reporter?" After a "no" they slide away a bookshelf revealing a small door into a VERY small back room...filled with the latest English movies and TV show seasons selling for a fraction of the cost of normal retail.

We take advantage of our Sunday afternoons in downtown Qingdao as it has a few more things for expats than where we live in Huangdao. One of those advantages is a local Mexican restauraunt Michael was happy to help us find. Our searching was rewarded with some pretty decent chips and salsa and although the burrito I had would never challenge Chipoltle, in the middle of China, it was delicious.

We topped the evening off by coming back to Huangdao and taking a lesiurely stroll along the beach. Thanks Michael for being a familiar face in a new land.

School Starts

We have had a whirlwind here for the last few days. Our job here at Yew Chung International School is to be the Boarding Supervisor / Teachers. The school has a developing program to deal with what it feels will be an increasing amount of kids who live at the school Sunday night through Thursday night (and go home to their parents on the weekends). In addition, we are required to teach up to 4 hours a week as needed. Presently Tammy is covering for some Art classes and I am teaching Citizenship for secondary. However, the school was not able to get a year 1-2 teacher (what Americans would call Kindergarten and 1st grade). In the interim, Tammy and I are now Primary (elementary) school teachers as well. We are in a flurry of activity cramming years of needed schooling and experience into a number of days.

Well, school started yesterday and we are still alive...barely! Gabriel in the mean while is haveing a great time...as well as some struggles. He is the only native English speaker in his grade which is making it hard to connect with his classmates. They all speak Korean and Japanese. However, he does have some "western" friends that are a couple years older than him. Also, the five boarding kids we have (all Korean) are older (15-16) and have started to take him under their wing. (teaching him to play ping-pong really well) Gabriel also has a private Chinese teacher at the school and we are thrilled that he is getting to learn Mandarin at such a young age.

As for me...I'm going to bed now or I'm going to fall asleep at the keybooaooxodd zzzzzzz(snore)zzzzzzz(snore)