One Month and Counting

Today we will have been in China for one month. One month, can you believe it? It really seems like it's been longer... but all the same, I am glad that we have two more months left.

This week I finally started teaching. That means that I am preparing all of the materials, lessons, and activities, then teaching the class, but the original teacher of the class is in the room observing. It has been really good to get some classroom experience and to hear the feedback of the other teacher. What's more, I think I'm pretty good at teaching ESL. Not to say that I don't have a lot to learn... but it feels really natural, I don't get nervous in front of the classroom, and it's very satisfying. I hope I will continue to love it for a long time and will become the kind of teacher who leaves an imprint on students' lives.

Last weekend, Justin bought a really large spinning top and a big whip. The idea is to wrap the whip around the top, then yank on it really hard to get the top to spin. Then, when you see the top wearing down, you crack it with the whip to make it keep going. All the old grandpas play this in the park, so he has been going there just about every day to crack the whips with them. I haven't personally witnessed this, but you can just imagine a young white man in there with all the gramps and a crowd of people gathering to watch him try and fail or succeed. Justin said that the crowd roars when he gets a good whip crack in. It's a good way to have fellowship with people even without knowing the language. You can read more about this on his blog: http://blogs.briercrest.ca

The speed in China is set to "mosey". On the sidewalks there are people walking, arms crossed against their backs, in a sort of mosey "Bill Jack" sort of way. At first it was kind of annoying getting stuck behind them and feeling the need to walk faster, but now I see that their pace of life is much slower than in the U.S. and I sorta like it. I should say, however, that on the roads, it's another story. When you step inside any vehicle, the speed is immediately set to "ramming".

Moving along, the hospitals are an interesting place in China. Last week I woke up with a bladder infection... not sure HOW that happened (and ladies, yes, I am aware of the appropriate procedure to guard against such evils), but anyway.... there I was in the middle of the night with an unmistakable problem of an embarrassing and unusual kind. I tried unsuccessfully not to imagine us spending the rest of our savings on a Chinese hospital and doctors... and I tried SO hard NOT to imagine me trying to pantomime "bladder infection" to the doctor. Oh my. I tried, but like I said, was unsuccessful. So needless to say, neither Justin nor I got much sleep that night and we had a snapping session in the morning. All was well soon enough when I went in to the school, told the director what was going on, and she promptly sent me to the hospital with one of the Chinese teachers as my guide. WE found that a doctor visit, needed test, and medication came up to a grande total of about 15 US dollars. Amazing, isn't it? Not only that, but we were in and out of there in less than an hour and a half. It pays to know someone in China, I guess. The bathrooms in there were another story. Considerably less than amazing.

We leave for Kunming in about a week. Stay tuned for more.