Saturday, May 29, 2010

Returning to China

This will be our third summer in Beijing working with Chinese English teachers to help them improve their verbal skills. Every year is different and the opportunities are always a surprise, so we are looking forward to seeing what this year holds.

There are some things we know: We will leave on June 2nd and arrive in Beijing at 5:30 AM on June 4th. This is a bit earlier in the month than usual and we will be spending almost two full months this year. We normally arrive with the summer team at the end of June and spend two weeks in training before working with the teachers in a classroom setting during July. This year, we expect to spend four days in quarantine (probably reviewing the training) and then begin immediately with the three week June session. There will be a break while the rest of the summer team arrives and is trained, then we will participate in the July session. During that break, we expect to help with training as well as participate with the others.

Sorry, there are no pictures, but I know there will be lots when we get back and I will post when I can.

Even though we always go in the summer, this is a year round program. Because most Chinese teachers have a summer break, and most American students/teachers do too, the July and August sessions are larger and are considered short term. In addition, most months from September to June have the same sessions which are taught by about 15 year round staff.