Good morning Hong Kong. It’s my birthday today.
It is Friday in Hong Kong. It is slightly overcast. My friends and family back home should be finishing up Thanksgiving dinner. This is my first Thanksgiving in Hong Kong. It is my birthday today.
It was an insanely busy day yesterday. I taught four English classes at a local high school in the Lai King area of Kowloon. My lesson yesterday dealt with “characterization”, and the story we read was about a 200 year old Vampire who longed to be normal again. It was an interesting discussion with Form 1 (6th graders in the US) students about the characteristics of vampires. Apparently there are differences between Chinese and Western vampires.
Back in the Eureka offices I had to put on my manager hat as me and other colleagues talked about how to develop our teachers. We concluded that extraordinary teachers are rare but that at Eureka we should consider baseline expectations about how our teachers should manage their classes. I just thought back to the Bronx in 2003 (my first year of teaching) and how I struggled with classroom management in the beginning. It really is a stance you develop and an attitude. It is hugely important. Just as lawyers have to learn in law school how to “think like a lawyer” teachers develop over time a stance and approach to students.
My day ended with friends taking me out to celebrate at a McDonalds in IFC. They booked the place in advance and about thirty friends came to celebrate my birthday along with other friends with birthdays in November and December.
Congrats on your new blog and on celebrating your birthday/Thanksgiving in China. I see that you really had a blast. As for this blog, I’m happy that you’re now starting to blog again. It’s been long overdue. I look forward in reading your posts.
As far as Chinese vampires vs. Western vampires, I would really like to know the difference. I could use those ideas for a short story or something. Make that another post in your blog. You should have no shortage of topics to write about.
Happy Birthday!
I have read about celebrations at McD’s in HK. Occasionally, they have had a wedding reception there. Continuing my streak of ugly-Americanism, I have been pleasantly surprised that McD’s is a legitimate food establishment outside of the United States. It does make sense that they do not just serve mediocre schlock, but they do put a great deal of effort into delivering the best meal possible.
In a strange way, McD’s is probably one of the first restaurants to bring gourmet-specialty coffee to the masses. They do import good quality coffee and in the US, it is medium roasted to retain the flavors rather than dark roasted for mixtures like lattes and cappucinos. Anyway, do you have any pictures of the celebration at McD’s and also, how does it compare to the meals in the US?