Wet

Hi
I've been a little sick the past couple days. Began as the sniffles, then moved to my throat, then to my chest making it hard to breath, and now my body aches. The weather is so strange these days. Every morning there is a very thick fog like a giant cloud covering the earth making everything wet. Today I played a little ping pong with my students and the tables were all covered in a layer of water. It's great breeding grounds for mosquitoes and mold. Perhaps part of the lethargy and low energy I've been feeling has been alergic reaction to these surroundings. The air is so wet. The humidity has to be like 100%. And it still manages to feel cold. It's kinda gross to feel soggy all the time.

This week I am reading some Aesop fables to my students, and then having them tell me some Chinese tales. I wasn't sure how it would go, but I'm finding they really enjoy telling their stories and I enjoy hearing them. It's a nice change of pace from playing games.

Every day I take the bus to school. The school owns to buses, but they are not the type of school buses that you might be picturing. They look more like tour buses, and are very cushy. Sometimes Brenda and I share similar class times and ride together. But when I ride without her, I find company from the Chinese teachers who speak English. They are a lot of fun and I really like them. We talk about many things such as the weather, differences between China and the US, students, travel, food, and school going-ons. Today the bus smelled like rotten milk, though, and it was not a pleasant 20 minute ride to the new campus!

The new campus is coming along nicely. It is still strange to me that they allow classes to go on while there is construction all around, but hey we're in China. Every day there is more noticeable progress. It will be quite impressive when it's finished. Already the school is much larger then the Crown College campus! The way they do construction here is amazing. About 90% is done by hand. They have very little modern equipment that you'd see in the States. They mix cement by hand, and sift dirt by hand, and build scalfolding out of bamboo. It's pretty amazing. I will try to get some pics for you to see.

Suday I went to HuGuangYan Lake with a couple of my students. I had a nice time talking with them as their English is great. We talked about politics, religion, science, and history. They are very bright.

Tomorrow is International Womens Day. I've never really heard of this holiday before, but the Chinese take advantage of it. All the female teachers get the afternoon off to go to a park to have a BBQ.

I am homesick. I'll admit it. And when I feel like this time seems to go really slow. So I hope I get over it soon. It helps to think of the unique things about being here that I will miss a lot in the States. For example, I will really miss the street markets with fresh vegies and the funny ladies selling their things. They always tell us the names of the vegies and try to get us to buy, and make fun of our terrible Chinese, and their laughter is like this great choir that lifts your spirits and puts a big smile on your face. I will miss them so much. And the vegies are so fresh and SO cheap, it almost feels like stealing.