Say What . . . . . . ????? (Oct. 2016)

Oct 7

Oct 7 Say What . . . . . . ????? (Oct. 2016)

Brigg and Janet

I've always been a bit of a "sign junkie," much to the pain of my family, who often have to wait for me while I read through any posted information. This habit (or fault . . . ?) was rewarded recently while we were in rural (only 23 million people!) northwest China touring the ancient silk road. Now don't get me wrong . . . I greatly appreciated the fact that most signs contained, in addition to the local Uyghur language (a variation of Arabic) and Mandarin Chinese, some English words. But come on, you have 1.4 BILLION people here! You can't find just ONE English proofreader? I'm officially offering my services! Anyway, gotta love it! Some of my favorites:

Thought of you here, Quinton (we looked, but couldn't see any of the ancient folk)

We were quite reassured knowing all hotel safety measures were in place and evacuation directions clear. And while we're on the subject, take a look at the next picture--our hotel staff made sure we were well prepared for ANY disaster!

And don't forget the drinks! (apparently "on the house"--we stayed at some pretty classy joints)

This next one was great--I looked and looked and couldn't see grass or flowers anywhere (I guess someone already picked them)

And finally just a couple of examples of the translations--not really sure what we were seeing in all the museums, etc. . . . . . . . .

Oh, well . . . . It's all good . . . . U Smile!!!!

We’re Back!!

I can’t believe it, but at the invitation of PKU and with the encouragement of BYU, we returned to Beijing for the 2018-2019 teaching year.

Brigg continues to teach some of the most popular classes on campus — this, at least, according to many of my students who are hooked into PKU social media during registration time. It seems that there is continuous chatter about how to get into one of Mr. Steele’s Business English classes. The students have an allotment of “points” they can use to “bid” for priority in registration, and many students report using ALL of their points just to get into one of Brigg’s classes! He teaches these Business English classes on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and again on Wednesdays at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

I continue to teach four sections of Critical Thinking/Academic Writing — Tuesdays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and again on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Both Brigg and I teach a section of Oral English for English Majors on Tuesday mornings at 8 a.m. We enjoy teaching the same course, although in different buildings, and have even switched things up on occasion, sharing our “expertise” with each other’s classes.

We were asked this year if we would teach an additional children’s oral English class, available only to those affiliated with PKU. We were told that this was a request from parents who wanted to enroll their children, but only if we were going to be the teachers. I know! Flattering! How could we refuse?? So we’re teaching the same Grade 2 class we taught last year (with a few new faces) on Wednesday evenings, but we’re also teaching a group of “beginners” (mostly 6-year-olds) on Monday evenings. We’ve had a lot of fun sharing American culture with them, including the carving of Halloween jack-o-lanterns in October and the decorating of various holiday-themed treats.

I continue to tutor my 9-year-old Thomas as well, sometimes twice a week. He loves to come to our apartment even when not having a formal lesson just to play games or read stories. Brigg has to hide his treats, though, because Thomas eats EVERYTHING he can find!

We love our continuing relationships with our former students and friends, especially our BYU China Teacher colleagues, who are our “family” while we’re so far from home!

Hi.