HenHao

It was nice to have a couple days off of school. Monday was just a nice restful day. I did my laundry, and some cleaning. And how wonderful it is to have my phone fixed. I got to talk to my Mom and Dad, my sister Maia and my friend Lee... all in one day! It's great to hear familiar voices and chat, but it's also a little weird. I feel somehow like I should have fantastic things to talk about, but for some reason I can't think of much. Maybe it's just that I don't know how to express it.

Anyway, I hooked up with a couple of my students. The other night when I went to Sasa's to make and have dumplings, this other girl Nora was there and I noticed she was knitting a scarf. I got excited and told her how I would love to knit. So she was going to show me the shop where they have yarn. So we went there, but the owner of the shop was a very mean man. He would not lower his prices. I'm pretty certain it's because I'm a foreigner. The price is always double. We should be able to barter, but this guy would not budge. My sweet students argued with him for a while til the guy got sick of us and hopped on his motor bike and went home and left the other workers to deal with us. And of course they dont' want to get fired, so they wouldn't budge either. If I were alone I wouldn't just paid the money, but my students convinced me that maybe another time I could get it for half the price he suggested. We walked to GuoMao (the shopping mall) to meet up with Martin. He wanted us to show him to the post office to mail a letter. And I needed to pick up a package anywayl. I warned him before hand that going to the post office is always an adventure. But I don't think he got the hint. It's hard to believe from our Western mindset that going to the post office could ever be more complicated then putting a stamp on a letter and sticking it in a box. We were there for 45 mn trying to mail his letter... even with the help of my students! And this was a letter he was mailing within China! It's unreal. Another thing, they wouldn't let me have my package because I didn't have my passport. Martin bought us all icecream for the help and said bye. Then my students took me to another part of town, because they wanted to treat me to a special Guangdong food. This always makes me a little nervous when they say they want to treat me to something special... cuz usually its something really weird. Well, at least this stuff as weird as it looked, tasted pretty good. It was like a grey steamed rice patty filled with seeds, coconut, peanuts, and sugar.

I went home, got my passport, and headed back to the dreaded post office alone. I got my package, and decided to carry it back. I could've gotten a taxi, since the package was a bit heavy and large, but I didn't feel like dealing with the Taxi. It's about a 20mn walk back to the school. It was nice to get something from home. Thankyou Dara and Angie!

That night I had my Chinese lesson with Xiong Tao. I really enjoy it actually. I really should study harder, though. I'm able to help Xiong Tao improve her English as well, so it's great fun.

Tuesday I woke up early to hang out with my students. It was a lovely day. We walked all morning along HaiBin Park, the park that follows the sea side for a mile or more. We took a lot of great pictures. And had some really good conversation. As we were walking there was a couple guys I think were professional photographers snapping the park and the city. They asked me and my students to pose and act like we were walking along the park. Kinda silly, and the students were embarrassed. Dude, I'm so used to people doing stuff like this now, I don't even care. We walked a long way. They took me farther then I've gone before. We walked all the way to this new park near the navy ships, where many navy guys were walking about. It was a lovely new addition to the park. We saw a bride and groom having their wedding photos shot. There were these model thatchroofed cabins whose outer walls were done in seashells! It was so neat. We were pretty tired from walked by then, so we took a taxi back.

The rest of the day was nice a relaxing as well. I kicked back, took a long nap, did a little shopping, and watched a movie.

Now it's back to teaching. But this weeks lessons have been fun. I am first talking a little bit about Thanksgiving and then playing Taboo. It's a great game, getting them to talk, and think about explaining and defining words. Plus, they love the competition. Some of them really get into the game and wish to go on even after the bell has rung. What fun. Even my difficult classes can get into this.

This afternoon, Martin asked if we could take some pictures. He doesn't have a camera, so I've offered to email my pictures to him. He wanted to make sure we got one's he really wanted like classic Chinese culture shots. It was great fun. I'll try to post a couple. One is of students buying their lunch from vendors, and the other of me buying some vegies at the market. If you want more I can send them to you through email.

Well, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. It's still not decided what we are going to do. I think we might end up eating at a Western food restaurant. But we've been invited to go to a Chinese teachers new house by the sea and to hang out at the beer festival.... gee, sounds like a great time. Nobody feels like cooking though. I'm a little bummed. I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving. And when you bite into that turkey, eat that stuffing, yams, pumpkin pie, and drink that punch... think of me. And maybe you will REALLY appreciate that you have those things to eat, and that you get to share it with your loved ones. But I have many things to be thankful for, too. Like a heavenly Father who takes such good care of me, and has provided me with every thing I need and blessed me with many things above and beyond my needs. He is good.