EIL Intercultural Learning

I arrived late in the afternoon on my first day. I was met at the airport by Shelley one of the staff members of the host organisation in China. On arrival at the volunteer  flat(where all volunteers stay for thier introduction week) I met all the other staff and the other volunteers here.
The first week was a busy one. On Tuesday Daniel and I had an introductory course. We were told all about the host organisation and what will be expected of us. That evening we went sightseeing with Nick, a staff member.
Wednesday was similar we both had mandarin lessons in Min Hang Kindergarten.  I immediately fell in love with the kids and the kindergarten. I am very lucky as I now am teaching there as a few days later Jessie the head of the host organisation gave me the option of changing my placement and teaching at Min Hang. I jumped at the opportunity and am now well and truly settled in at the school.
On Thursday Daniel and I had Calligraphy classes in the morning and another sightseeing tour in the afternoon. It was great that the staff go to such lengths to show you around and welcome you to Shanghai. It makes the transition so much easier. I was lucky in that I had lived in China and Asia before and knew what to expect but obviously one will still come up against obstacles in a foreign country and Jessie and the other staff members will do all they can to help.

On Friday we had our last Mandarin lesson with Helen. This time we had it in the Kindergarten Daniel is teaching in ( we both live at this Kindergarten) so we got to see our accommodation and meet the kids at the school which was lovely.
We have the weekends free here and on the first weekend we stayed in the flat and we got to meet other volunteers who are placed outside Shanghai and come back for the weekends. We all got together and went out on Friday night. A night out in Shanghai is definitely an amazing experience. We all had a lot of fun and it was nice to spend some time together and get to know eachother better.
On Saturday and Sunday we chilled out went exploring the city and went to a park to bask in  the lovely sunshine! (Something I almost didn't recognise as it's been a long time since I've seen the sun and clear blue skies in Ireland!!!)
Moday saw the beginning of our real volunteer experience here in Shanghai. Daniel and I, along with the other volunteers, moved to the  Kindergarten accommodation. Monday morning I went to Min Hang kindergarten to watch another volunteer Tobi teach his classes and to get my timetable.

We had to work seven days last week as this Mon-Wed the 14th-16th was a national holiday and here it appears you have to work through the weekend in the week running up to the holidays!
My teaching began on Tuesday. I teach four-five year olds and love it. The teaching is amazing I'm really enjoying it. It's so rewarding when you teach young kids something and after a few days they remember and get it. I have four different classes that I teach three times a week. The teachers of those classes stay with me in the room and are very helpful when I need to explain something to the kids or they need to be disciplined.
All of the staff at the school are lovely and I'm really enjoying my time there. I try to make my classes as fun as possible and then I enjoy them too. The kids seem to learn far more when they are enjoying themselves.

Shanghai is an amazing city. It's steeped in history yet so modern and new. I really do think I came at the right time as everything has been updated and essentially, transformed, for the Expo.
The food is unbelievable. I worry that I'll turn into a dumpling before I go home! :)
Having lived in China before I can say that Shanghai is certainly a very different city to a lot of China. It is very western and at times even has a  European feeling because of it's history. For volunteers who may be coming here for the first time that is a feeling that perhaps they can take comfort in. Both Daniel and I have had conversations about how quickly we've settled in here and that we're both so lucky we haven't had many problems thus far. I look forward to it continuing that way.
As I'm sure you've gathered at this stage I'm thoroughly enjoying my time here. I've made some great friends and love the teaching aspect.
And the city itself makes the whole experience even better.
I will send on pictures in my next email. I have to take some of the school and the kids for you all to see.
There is still so much more to say and I've only been here two weeks but if I kept going any longer it would turn into a novel!
I'll email again soon. I hope you won't have to wait as long for the next one!

Kelly