English Club: Let the Crazy Begin!

Our neighbors must think we’re crazy.  Twice a month, if they happen to look out their peepholes, they’ll see us toting chairs down the hallways to each other’s apartments, carrying mass quantities of cookies and ranch.   They’ll definitely see dozens of teenagers depositing their shoes at our door and entering our packed apartments, ready another crazy English Club at Shi Yi. 

English Club is a highlight for teachers at Shi Yi.  Once a month, we hold a party for the juniors (7^th-9^th graders) and one for the seniors (10^th-11^th), inviting our favorites and office regulars to our apartments for food and games reminiscent of an 8-year-old’s birthday party.  Whether it’s pin-the-candle-on-the-birthday-cake, limbo, or good ol’ relay races, our students eat up the games and the chance to hang out with us outside of the classroom.  And we might have more fun than they do.  We give each party a different theme, often based on holidays, so in November we did pilgrim skits, in December we sang Christmas carols, and in March we decorated Easter eggs.  It’s just awesome how our cultural traditions gives us the excuse to share Father’s story with these kids we’ve grown to love. J

After English club, a few kids will stick around to chat, pass around the guitar, clean up, play basketball, or beat their personal best in the art of hula hooping.  When the last kids trickle out of the room, we tote all our chairs back to our own apartments and reward ourselves with naptime.  Without question, all the cooking, organizing, and and piñata construction is worth it when a previously shy students hug you the next day and says, “Yesterday was the most fun party ever!”