Show Time!

After a long day of moving and rehearsal for a performance, I was exhausted. I went to the on campus store to get something to drink before heading back to my apartment. As I came out I stopped to watch the freshman on the field do their military drills. I soon heard "Abr?" I turned to see an old student and some new ones all standing with their guitars. "What are you doing here?" I asked. They told me that each department was going to put on a little show for their new freshman students and they were going to play the guitar. Sweet!

I decided I'd go back and grab my camera and find my self in the audience enjoying the show and taking a picture or two for my old students.... ha!

I thought it was everyone in front of everyone but they had divided the departments up. The English freshman were all gathered around a few of my old students were there with the show of songs, skits, and such. I walked up and got to see many students for the first time so we were both pretty tickled to see each other... then it hit me. "Oh crap...!"

I forgot that as the foreign teacher, if you come to the performance, you give a performance. It dawned on me about 30 seconds before one of the students turned to me and said, "will you sing a song?!"  At that point the other 5 or 6 students around all cheered and clapped. (At this point there is no getting out.... ever).

Three minutes later as I'm talking to a student about their summer, I suddenly hear 80+ students chanting my name to be in the middle of the circle and do a performance. Well...show time! I greeted them in Chinese and they all flipped out. I introduced myself and told them I might be their foreign teacher, they flipped out again. I prepped them with the song I was going to sing "Country Roads" and encouraged my old students standing by to sing it to.  We sang and I was closing it down, then I heard "Hai Yo Yi Ge!" I didn't pick it up right away until someone said it in English "One more! Do another!" I was able to pass on that one, encourage them and bid farewell.

The rest of the night was much easier as I could just talk to students and take some pictures. Below is Yvonne the one who sang "Baby" by Justin Beiber last year in the video I posted. She's the reason I got the camera and came back to support...she's the reason why I got to perform twice in one day.

Lesson of the day: You go to a performance, you have a performance prepared.