On Friday, October 14^th, JESIE had a special delegation arrive from Tibet.  This delegation was composed of teachers and 30 students between the ages of 7 and 12 from across Tibet.  They had come on a big adventure to Nanjing to see a special place in China, and to have the chance to enjoy classes with foreign teachers

Some students came from the Tibetan countryside and some from the city.  Some had never travelled outside their villages before, so coming to Nanjing was a step into uncharted waters.  Their trip gave them the chance to make friends from other parts of Tibet, but most significantly, it was the opportunity for many of them to actually meet and speak with a foreigner in English.   Even some of the teachers had never had the chance to sit in on a class conducted entirely in English

To take up the challenge of providing the most awesome experience possible for these special visitors, the staff of JESIE, and six foreign teachers busily prepared for this Tibetan Open Day.  Val, Kelly and Christine each took on the first three classes, teaching Grades  4, 5, and 6/7, while Morgan, James and Kathleen tackled the three following classes.  Lesson plans were made, PowerPoints developed, and flashcards laminated for the big day. 

By 8:30 am, everyone had assembled and were busily preparing classrooms at 205 Shanghai Road; the teachers awaited the students in a state of high tension as their bus approached the College.   Then, suddenly, it was all smiles and greetings as the young entourage swept up the stairs  in full traditional dress, and with sparkling eyes, rosy cheeks and delighted grins.  Even before the Open Day activities started, everyone wanted photos!  And so it began C with students participating in fun lessons on fruit, actions, animals in Tibet (and Morgan with his aptly named Tibetan whispers activity), ways to get to school, body parts and the skeleton dance, and taste (with actual taste tests).   The students had a blast, the visiting teachers had fun watching different ways to use English in a classroom (they were jiving to Dem Bones), and countless pictures were taken by everyone involved.  When asked how they felt, students replied Were very excited!  Well, guess what!  Everyone at JESIE were super excited, too!