Do-Re-Mi with 11 year olds...

Some of you know that on Monday I had a job interview with an Educational Foundation here in Hong Kong to become a Native English Teacher. I had the chance two weeks ago to speak with a Program Manager named Ben, but this in person interview was to be with Grace, the director of the program. The interview went beautifully and Grace asked if I might consider a different position, as she has been looking for a manager of their music program. I have included a picture of Sycamore Street and the front of the program office here.











Of course I was interested! We decided that I would return on Wednesday to give a music lesson to students so that Grace could see me in action. I was to work with up to 20 P6 students. This means they are about 11-12 years old. Needless to say, I had to think quickly, with less than 48 hours and nearly no resources. THANK GOODNESS for the internet!


The class was today, and I prepared a lesson in Solfege, the syllables to name musical pitches. We learned the hand signs associated with the notes and created a semi-choreographed sing-a-long with instruments. You may remember the scene from "The Sound of Music," when Maria teaches the children to sing. Instead of feeling like Maria, though- I felt more like Anna Leowens (of another Rogers and Hammerstein, "The King and I"). These Chinese students called me "Miss Emily," which reminded me so much of the Thai students calling her Mrs. Anna. They are all uniformed and incredibly polite.

Toward the end of the lesson, I had the students gathered around and we were talking about the sounds all around us in everyday life. They asked me "Miss Emily, what music do you sing at home?" (I should mention, that one slide of my PowerPoint was of the USA, and Washington State. I told them that we grow lots of apples and have very tall mountains, so they knew a bit about me). So, I told them that I sing in church choir. They didn't recognize this until Grace shouted to them the Chinese word for "church." Then there were "ahhhs" of recognition. One girl shouted, "Like Jesus!" "Yes, like Jesus!" and other said "And the Bible?" "Right again!" And one last one said, "The Father, the daughter and the Holy Spirit!" "Um, close! The Father, the SON, and the Holy Spirit!" When it was time to go, one girl approached me and said "Happy Easter, Miss Emily! Do you like Easter eggs?" "Yes, Cindy, I love Easter eggs. Do you like them?" I asked. These kids were GREAT.

Through the magic of PowerPoint and iTunes downloadable music, I was able to create a music lesson! And Grace loved it! YES! She invited me out for Dim Sum with some of the other staff, most importantly the man known as "S.K." who is the head of the organization. Apparently S.K. is semi-retired, and only comes in certain days, so I was lucky to meet him. He was SO helpful, too, as I'd never been to Dim Sum. As he helped me to tea and Barbecued Pork Buns, he asked if I knew the "Academy Award actress from the film Titanic." "You mean Kate Winslet?" I replied. "Yes! Yes! You look like her!" I knew I liked this guy...


Over the next leisurely hour, I enjoyed discussion of the history of the organization, and stories of staff travelling for recruitment. Such fun! I am promised to hear back about the position the week of April 20th. So I'll keep you in the loop there...





I took some pictures for you all today. Above is the main entrance to Serenity Park, where Brett's apartment is located. Next is the "subway" (not to be confused with the MTR). A subway in Hong Kong is a passageway which allows you under a street, to avoid crossing the traffic. This is the one nearest Brett's place, which you use to head to the MTR station.








One of the MTR, which is how I keep getting around Hong Kong. I'm sure it resembles many other cities, but I wanted to share!