Dear Parents,
My name is Agnes Weiyun He. I am Assistant Director of YiB 2007, assisting Bonnie with matters related to language and cultural learning in both classroom settings and field trips. I am also a parent of two children enrolled in the YiB program. I’ll be known to the children as He Laoshi. During the program, I will be sharing with you my dual perspective as both a teacher and a parent.
After much anticipation, the day has finally come. Everyone checked in Beijing No. 4 High School (thereafter “SiZhong”, as the school is known locally) in the afternoon today, some freshly arriving from the States (Bonnie met those arriving today at the airport; please see her separate message), some having been in BJ for a few days with family, and a couple of others coming from the local area. SiZhong is located close to the center of the bustling city. We stay in the International Wing of a 5?-story grey dorm building on campus. Everyone except me live on the 2nd Floor (I’m on the first floor). The boys occupy the rooms to the left of the staircase; the girls’ rooms to the right. Gong Laoshi is the head teacher attending to the students’ non-academic needs. As we arrived in the afternoon, she greeted everyone with big smiles, and distributed toilet paper, bath towels, soap, and toothpaste to each room. As she met the children, she told them how happy she was that they came and said, “I like you!” Her room faces the staircase so she can watch both ways. Bonnie and Jenny live on the same floor as the students; so does Tian Laoshi, a local male teacher who appears to relate to the boys quite well. Ruiduan is the student counselor; she has two assistants, May and Shannon, who are older and wiser than most other children. The entrance to the building is guarded 24 hours a day. I spoke to the guard briefly before I retired to my room. The guard assured me that no student may leave the building without the teacher’s written permission. So, even though our building is adjacent to a bustling street, and despite some on-going construction close to our building within the campus, we should be reasonably safe.
We had dinner at a restaurant a couple of minutes’ walk from our dorm. I am not yet certain whether that restaurant is affiliated with SiZhong. It sounds like we are going to have breakfast there tomorrow also. The food was plenty and in very much Chinese style. Bonnie encouraged everyone to taste every dish and framed it as “an opportunity to take risks and face challenges”.
The children quickly made friends with one another. Younger girls were playing with each other soon after they met. The boys were running and chasing one another in the hallway after dinner. Everyone returned to their rooms by 8:45pm.
Bonnie and I are trying to figure out how to get reliable internet connection. This message cannot be posted or sent at the time it was completed. But I am hopeful that this is but a short-term technical difficulty.
The local teachers are full of praise of our children. They all compliment on how independent and resourceful the children look, each carrying their own luggage and backpack. “These kids look so cool!” the teachers remarked. And I concur. With their positive attitude and “cool” disposition, I have every reason to expect that our children will have a most rewarding and enriching experience this summer.