Subbing

I’ve taken a second job as a substitute teacher at my students’ international school, across the street. Having only six more weeks left in Hangzhou, I figured it would be a good use of my time and a nice form of supplementary income, especially considering it may help make up for some of the expenses of my PhD applications.

Today was my first run. One of the high school English teachers was sick and I took over her 5 classes – two Language Arts, one modern literature, one journalism, and one AP English course. All right up my alley. All a joy. All a piece of cake and each one a relief. Finally, to be in a real classroom again.

The downside is that (along with bad canteen food) I had forgotten at what an ungodly hour school begins. 8:00 am, which means I now have 16-hour workdays when subbing. School lets out at 3:00 and I walk back across the street with my student-roommates, where I continue to teach until 10:30 pm. I’m exhausted.

However, during lunch I was grateful for English conversation with other adults and faculty members. At the end of the day, though, the school got a little surprise when the weather decided to drench us with monsoon rains and winds. The sky went practically pitch. I’ve never seen lighting like that in my life, even during Michigan’s tornado season.

Tomorrow’s expectations are these: I have been asked to sub for the second grade teacher. This will be my first experience with elementary students. I’ve done nearly two years of preschool and kindergarten, two years of university-level, and now six months of middle and high school-age students. After tomorrow, I’ll have run the gamut.