(re-post from jenderle.modevia.com)
Quick note: So I stayed up to watch the start of the Chiefs game. I'd just like to say isn't technology great. Think of what can all be done now. I could never keep in touch with people the way I do from halfway around the world. And internet phone, for 2 cents a minute (its free if you call from the states to the states!) (skype.com). I'm pretty sure that is the greatest thing ever! And I can show you guys so many pictures and tell so many great stories about China, instantly! Ok, but with all this technology I still have one request. I could watch all the Major League Baseball I want on the internet, but I can't get one NFL game or college football game! I don't get it. You think they could make a lot of money. Oh well, someday. For now I sit and watch the stats update. The stat thing can be a little confusing sometimes. At the beginning of the game the Chiefs quarterback fumbled and on the next play it said the back up QB made the throw. I thought we had lost our quarterback, but they had only made a mistake. Come to find out in the morning, a little after I went to bed, Trent Green did get hurt!!!! Great! And the Chiefs lost! Don't think I will stay up again for something like that. Anyway I apologize to all of you who could careless about football or technology and will now talk about this country that I live in that is called CHINA!
Today is Monday, but it feels like sometime in the middle of the week. I worked on Sunday again. We had a long weekend, having Thursday, Friday, and Saturday off. The other teachers and I were planning on going to Hangzhou to visit a friend, but that got messed up because I had to work on Sunday. The three of them were going to go on Saturday but they couldn't get a ticket until 4 30 in the afternoon. It must have been a busy weekend for bus trips to Hangzhou, I guess it is heaven on earth! On Sunday the four of us journeyed down to the park that is the middle of Hangzhou. Since Wenling is close to the Ocean, it was called the first city to see the new sunrise of the new millennium. So this park was built for the millennium celebrations. There is a large ancient Chinese style pagoda, or pavilion as one of my fellow Chinese English teacher keeps correcting me, that sits upon the hill over looking the park. Across the park, there is another pagoda that sits upon another hill. The park has a rock formation with waterfalls. There is also a beautiful metal piece of artwork that looks like three birds. At night the park is lit up with lights and packed with people. Many activities go on in the park like weekly dances and concerts. This is where we saw the Michael Jackson impersonator/pop singer. One of the big supermarkets is located next to the park along with one of the biggest fast food chains in China, KFC!!! From on top of the large pavilion you can get a great view of Wenling. It is quite majestic with all the hills surrounding it. The weather is usually cloudy, reminding me a lot of Seattle when I went out there this summer, with thin clouds and usually a foggy overcast feel. No big towering storm clouds like back in the Midwest.
You might be wondering about the title of the blog. Some of the other teachers and I were talking about one of the main questions during the interview process for China. "Are you changeable? Are you ok when things change quickly?" Well the Chinese certainly change things on you quickly. I had some time on Sunday waiting for my last class of the day, when the bell (and Kenny G music) started 5 minutes early. The Japanese teacher who sits in front of me in my office and I both hurried our things together for class. I raced to class only to find a teacher there telling me class had been canceled. All the girls had to go practice for some type of performance. Earlier in the day, I was teaching my Senior 2 students, my oldest students and planned on teaching about adjectives that had a positive or negative connotation, you know like the difference between "social" and "annoying." Well, I quickly found out that they had either never been taught or had forgotten what an adjective was. I figured this might be important to explain the difference in the words. Along with adjectives they didn't know what verbs or nouns were either. I quickly scrapped my lesson plan and went to teaching about these things. I think I'm pretty changeable.
I got back to school and one of the other teachers really wanted to go out to eat again. So we journeyed down to a restaurant that is a nice 15 minute walk from the school. This place seems to be quickly becoming one of our favorites in Wenling. They had live music, and in English, including "Rain Drops Keep Falling on my Head." Every time you go eat there, they give you a stack of coupons for a free coffee when you buy a meal. The coffees are usually about $3 American and the food is about the same. With the coupons it is a very nice deal. They also have some western food on the menu. I think they like us there, since every time we go in there they give us more and more coupons, first 4 then about 6,. Last night I think they gave us about 12. I bet they don't mind having the Americans eating at their restaurant. I have to finish preparing for classes. I'm also finishing uploading pictures. Someday I will put captions to all my photos, who knows, I may start tonight! Zai Jian!
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