Kelly and I have a swim coach. He’s technically our school’s swim coach, but he spends at least a much time (if not more) giving us instructions as he does with the few students who randomly show up to “practice.” (Ok, he’s also so attentive because we’re closer to his age, and he’s asked us more than once, in broken English, if we have boyfriends.)
Other than that, he’s a great coach and a really nice guy. Apparently he was an Olympic swim coach before coming to THIS. He doesn’t know much English, but it gives him a chance to practice, the kids a chance to interpret, and me a chance practice my Chinese “Phrase of the Week”, even if it’s “Bring me a pot of tea.” It’s also another place that we get to use our Chinese names while we still can.
One of the strange things about my school is the allotment of resources. In some areas, we don’t have the things we need. I’ve been trying to get black construction paper for months now, glue sticks that really sick, and a pencil sharpener that isn’t shaped like a puppy or fish, never mind books in English. On the other hand, we have an Olympic swim coach for a scraggly pseudo-team, and we have practice in a gorgeous, Olympic-sized pool.
The pool is giant, and divided into two sides. On the other side there is daily diving practice. Six and seven-year olds do the most finely executed dives, summersaults, and backflips off of the highest boards I’ve ever seen. These are the diligent Chinese children I had half-expected to find in my classroom.
Even though we just started going in the spring, we’ve somehow become THE teachers of the swim team. There are pictures of us, decked out in suits, swim caps with goggles on our heads, which are apparently being used in the yearbook and for the schools’ advertisement!
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