Week 22 - Buisness as Usual

Jan. 18, 2015

    Class this morning went well. I had regular class for 40 minutes then a demo class for the science class I will be teaching that involved a giant mess. The kids mixed starch with Laundry detergent thus creating goo. Add some colors and ta-da instant kid enjoyment. And due to the use of soap instead of a water base everything came off rather easily. A success from what I understand, the kids apparently really enjoyed themselves. After work it was a bit of trial getting myself out of the house for a quick basic supply run and bubble tea. Jesse and I did manage it. Homework took a surprising amount of time. I had 30 characters to memorize for class the next day. I had already studied them some but to really get them I write them over and over while muttering under my breath. Like most people learning Chinese I look like crazy person muttering things and messing with tone, it can be rather amusing. Dinner involved a little bit of finagling due to the small kitchen. Cassidy needed to feed Brennan and herself, and I needed to make enough food for to have leftovers. Tuesdays are crazy busy days so I try on Sunday and Monday to make enough food that I won’t need to do anything except heat things up in a microwave. Everything fell into place in the end. We just finished cleaning up and now I need to get ready for bed, class tomorrow!

Jan. 19, 2015

    Class went extremely well, though it was a bit strange to walk out without homework. I don’t know why but Yin Laoshi is lightening the load significantly, in my opinion. It might be because there are so many people in our class, harder to grade homework efficiently. But after class was over I was done for the day. I don’t have work on Mondays which is lovely, considering the madness that will be Tuesday. I managed in a run which was nice, though air quality is still sketchy. Then as an apartment we managed to all walk to Trust Mart together. I have finally purchased a coat that is thicker than my hoodie. It has a bunch of pockets and after having worn it all evening is quite warm. Overall, a good decision, though finding something that fit was a little bit difficult. My body type isn’t exactly typical for China, thus I went to the men’s section as sizes run larger there. Once home, I made up dinner. Our food has become much spicier as of late which is kinda awesome, our vegetable lady gave us some peppers and they make life great. Now I am off to bed early as I didn’t get too much sleep last night, hopefully the morning won’t come too quickly.

Jan. 20-21, 2015

    Well the last two days have been a little strange. I am supposed to another demo for the winter science class, though I find it unlikely that more children will sign up. And to be honest that is not such a bad thing. It means I get nearly a six week break from working. I think Jesse and I are going to do some traveling in that time (weekend trips, climbing some mountains). The last regular day of school will be this Sunday, so I should know by then what’s going on. Class is going well and I find myself speaking Chinese more and more. I was able to improve a little in class to discuss my hometown and the changes there in. I’m not too sure about the once a week conversation class. I originally took it because the teacher last semester was incredibly difficult. But the teacher changed, and now she is far too nice. The class isn’t even real conversation either, it’s memorizing weird paragraphs and then showing off our memorization skills. The teacher didn’t even correct me when I said ‘light’ instead of ‘wait’ (first tone, third tone), how can I get better if she doesn’t tell me when I am wrong? So we will see if I keep this class or not. Mostly, right now, it’s a matter of setting up routine, and having a regular schedule. It should be interesting to see how this semester plays out considering how the start was so different.

Jan. 22-23, 2015

    Life’s gotten pretty busy for some reason. I had to do a bunch of running around in between classes on Thursday. Then I came hoe and past out on the chair much to the surprise of everyone in the apartment. Then at work I needed to plan out a demo class for the science class. I am at the point where I think they should just cancel the class, then I can have a real full break. I doubt that will happen though, so oh well. It will be good money in the end. Enough to survive the break for sure. Friday was a conveniently lazy day, almost too lazy. With no class in the morning and nothing until the evening I spent most of the morning making lunch. I did however receive a care package from my father. In it was coffee, cookies and dark chocolate. It was a purely magical thing. The cookies brought both Cassidy and Brennan to almost tears. Thank you Dad! Normally Fridays are an off day for me from work, but this particular day they wanted me in to do another demonstration. This time with household items, the kids got to decide what got mixed with what. Mostly household items are made specifically so they don’t react with one another, but the kids loved it anyway. Overall it was a fun class, but I don’t know if the kids will sign up and give up two weeks of their winter break. Returning home, Jesse and I made a quick jaunt out to the noodle shop for dinner, then home for a movie. It’s now 10pm and I am off to sleep (woo college life on a Friday!). Good night!

Jan. 24, 2015

    Today was surprisingly busy. I went on a run in the morning, the air is so nasty right now. I really fear for the effect on the people who have to breathe in it all their lives. There was also a quick run to Trust Mart for a new water bottle. My last one grew a pair of legs and wandered off. The longest part of the day was work. I will in fact have my science class, which means I need to start properly planning out each day. To be totally honest, I’m not really sure what we are going to do. I suspect some pretty intense usage of science videos, at least initially.  I had a new student and a usual he couldn’t speak a word of English. I don’t know why they always put students like this in my class, my kids have been studying for over a year they can speak a little english as least. So class was a little bit difficult, but we managed through. They all the teachers and the TAs had to stay and make a video saying Happy Spring Festival. It took forever and got way out of hand. Two of the foreign teachers played a joke saying the could speak Swedish to say Happy New Year, but they sounded like the Swedish Chef. It was totally culturally insensitive, but inexplicably funny. I got to say Happy New Year in Japanese which was fun, if a little strange. Jesse and I had to run out because we just wanted Chinese food instead Western food. People got a bit mad that we left but the both of us were done with people. We returned home and now one more day of regular school.