Bikes and Classes

Today as I was biking to the store a student of mine biked up next to me and greeted me with the customary “Teacher!” which is what most of my students call me. We chatted as we biked for a bit, and she mentioned that it was very hot out today. I agreed whole-heartedly (it was at least 90 degrees and very humid). She asked me why, if I thought it was hot, I wasn’t wearing a sweatshirt like she was. I was lost for words. I tried saying “but that would just make me hotter!” but I knew that she would be confused, because many people in Vietnam (girls, especially) not only wear long sleeves to keep their skin lighter, but also because it is supposed to keep one cooler. I can almost accept that, I encountered people in Israel with a similar point of view, however, I cannot accept that a sweatshirt of all things would actually help with the heat. Sweatshirts do happen to be very popular here with girls, though, so maybe it’s something that I should give a try?

I should probably make it known: I LOVE biking around this city. I don't get particularly nervous anymore, because I've realized that for the most part people actually know what they're doing, so as long as you don't do anything crazy yourself, there shouldn't be a problem. And there really aren't too many cars, just motorbikes, which don't go as fast as your typical motorcycle. I feel like the coolest person in the world when I'm zipping around on my bike. So cool, you guys.

Side note, I actually had three students swoop up next to me on their bikes while I was riding mine today. This is only odd because it happened so many times in one day whereas before it hasn't happened much at all. However, if you think about the sheer number of students I teach in a week, and the fact that everybody pretty much hangs around the same parts of town, it isn't too strange. I teach probably over 300 students a week. That's right, you heard me. So one of them finding me while I'm biking along probably isn't that weird.

For the record (I don't think I've ever actually said this on the blog before) I teach five different university classes. Two of these classes are Speaking and Listening 2 (also known as Broadcast English? Why does my class have two names?) for sophomores. S+L classes meet once a week, for about 2 and a half hours, and one class has around 60 students while the other has about 45. I also teach 3 Pronunciation classes for freshmen, each of which has at least 60 students, if not more. These classes can be rough because the freshmen have not had much experience listening to spoken English or even speaking it themselves, so I think they get about half of what I say. I also teach three nights a week at a private tutoring center, preparing students for a test called the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) which students typically take so that they can study at English speaking universities. Each of these classes has around 20ish students. So...math, it's a thing. That all adds up to a lot of students. A whole lot.