Final Exams

You thought Common Core tests were bad?  Listen to this:  Monday afternoon I was told to report to the gym, which had been converted to a testing center.  It was a huge cavernous facility, big enough to house a football field, or about 6 basketball courts side by side.  (But there were no basketball hoops hanging from the ceiling). The barren tables were set up 40 rows across and 15 down.  My writing class was assigned row #18.

Other proctors passed out the exam papers and answer sheets.  Then the students proceeded to write test essays for the next 2 1/2 hours.  Yes it was cold, January after all, so everyone was bundled up in their coats.  We teachers wandered up and down the aisles, making the students nervous, and observing their efforts.  One student was caught cheating with a cell phone--possible grounds for dismissal.  It was a cold, sterile environment.

I wanted to write a memoir on my cell phone but was told to put it away as there were cameras watching on the wall.  I nearly went nuts for 2-1/2 hours--no reading a book even.  I could have crocheted a whole hot pad!  Some students finished early and left, but about half were still writing (in black ink, no less) when time was up.  The professors swooped down the rows, grabbed up the answer sheets, and voila!  Everyone is finished.

Now I get to grade them, and poor Tim has over 200 essay exams with his combined classes.  When the Dept. head handed them to Tim she said, "I'm worried you cannot finish grading these in a week". (Duh!). She's allowing him 10 days.  So generous.  I guess I'll be helping.

On a side note, I previously assigned a project to my Culture students.  Each chose an American city and wrote a brochure or 2-sided flyer about important sites and famous landmarks for that city, complete with pictures and captions.  I gathered them all into a booklet for each class.  When I showed them to the Dept. chairman she was astounded.  She couldn't believe the students did such excellent work--publication worthy. She was absolutely amazed.  Obviously they are not project-based with assessment.  Only see how long the students  can survive a long, boring writing exam with no breaks.

Next week these culture students take a 100-point exam written by yours truly.  The class was finished on Dec. 1, but no, I couldn't give the test until the appointed time during final testing weeks. It has true/false, multiple choice, and matching questions along with some short essays.  Yes they do these by hand and I grade them by hand.  No such thing as a scantron answer sheets!

New Years in Beijing

Once we finished teaching classes on Christmas Day, we had free time until after New Years.  So Diane suggested we take to bullet train to Beijing.  We managed to buy train tickets and find the station so off we went.  She insisted we stay at her favorite Dragon King hostel.  That was our first "hostel" experience and it wasn't too bad.  It was in a native Hutong neighborhood with old traditional dwellings and narrow streets.  We had a private room with a bathroom ( yes Western toilet).  No toiletries and a pretty thin towel, but reasonably clean and good American food--cheap.

First day we met up with Marilyn Hadd and off to the American Girl Doll store.  We suckered for a couple of dolls and lots of little clothes.  Tim was a good sport and picked out shoes to go with each and every outfit.  We've never really spent much time in a doll store before. We did more shopping and found La Bamba for delicious Mexican food!

New Year's Eve day we booked a tour to the Great Wall, a different section than we've been before.  Nice bus ride and a beautiful clear sunny day.  I about suffocated in the tights and long underwear I brought.  Could hardly make it up the hill in all my sweaters and coats.  One young fellow had pity on me and offered his arm as we were climbing steps.  His name was Salvatore from Sicily.  He had beautiful blue eyes.  Tim is jealous!  They really think I'm an "old senior citizen" around here, and need lots of help so I don't fall over or expire!

We rode a cable car higher up the mountain to the wall; Tim climbed the wall to the top for a couple of hours.  Diane and I climbed a little, took pictures, and basked in the sunshine.  Later we came back down on the cable car and enjoyed a tasty lunch.

New Year's Eve found us at Tiananmen Square which was already closed.  Evidently celebrations in China wait for their lunar new year.  We walked down a quiet street a couple of blocks from downtown.  We stumbled onto a McDonalds and ate their famous fish burger and a peanut ice cream sundae.  Then We headed back to the hostel and enjoyed homemade dumplings with the Internationals.

Friday we followed Diane to the Pearl Market. Oh my, 2 malls 8 floors high with electronics, pearls, scarves, and every knick knack imaginable.  Tim bought some fun Gifts, I loaded up on scarves, and we bought me a beautiful translucent pearl necklace, bracelet, and earrings.  I picked the exact ones I wanted (pricey of course) then watched her string them for me.  We also ate a great lunch at The Brown Door which is frequented by Foreigners and airline employees.  Then we took the subway to an Acrobat show,  It was quite amazing, and we enjoyed it very much.

Before we returned home on the train Saturday, we headed 2 Metro stops to the Lama Temple.  They burned a lot of incense, but it was quite an astonishing place.  Almost a mini Forbidden Palace.  There was a statue of Buddha made totally of one piece of sandalwood that stood 35 feet high.  There were people bowing to all sorts of ornamental statues, but no Dalai Lama today.

The fast train home  took 4 hours and 15 minutes from Beijing-- only one stop.  It travelled over 200 miles a hour. Pretty sleek.  We brought 2 small duffle bags to Beijing, and returned with those plus 2 very large zip bags.  Good thing we weren't flying.  Dennis L. And Vik B. Would have rolled their eyes!  We're glad to be back.