The First Day

We had a busy first day at GaoXin No. 1 High School. We all met at 7:30 and then the students were assigned to a classroom, most with their host brother or sister. Two Saugus students are in the same classroom, but with 60 students in the average class they are not close together. Then the students spent about 2 1/2 hours with their Chinese classmates taking such classes as math, science, geography or Chinese Litterature before coming down to our classroom for our special Chinese language classes. (Chinese students stay in one classroom all day with the teachers revolving depending upon the schedule.) We have two periods (40 minutes each) of Chinese language in the morning and then one more after lunch with two different young teachers taking turns teaching us.

Shortly before the end of our second class yesterday we were told there was an "emergency" and that we needed to leave immediately. We left - to join the assistant principal (but really like an assistant superintendent) for a lovely lunch in a private room in a fancy hotel. (We were met at the door by hostesses in long evening gowns.) We ate many delicious dishes topped by Peking Duck! Then Madame Wang gave each student a school uniform (which all the senior 1 students - the equivalent of 10th graders but in a 3-year high school) wear daily. She asked them all to wear the uniforms today for our welcome ceremony and speeches. All of the kids were delighted and amazingly enough they all fit - even the tall Aurelien!

After lunch we had time to discuss what had happened the first night with our host families before our afternoon Chinese lesson followed by one period of paper-cutting. (Some of us are better at it than others... but it was a good experience.)

Our classes end at 4:30, but the regular students don't leave until 6:00 or later so many students stayed at school until later to go home with their host families.

The computer that I use here is extra slow, so I'll post this now and try to add more later. :)