Hello everyone!
I realize that it has been over a month since I have written a blog update! How embarrasing... I could say that I am just sooo busy doing awesome things, that I haven't had time! This is partly true, but mostly I am just terrible at writing blog entries! I apologize. I will try to improve. :)
I will give y'all a quick summary of my last month here. I have done many things and have many updates, but I will not bore you with an entire novel! Here is a summary of my month in China:
I started teaching towards the end of September. I am teaching non-English majors, and they are all freshmen! They are so adorable. Most of their English is quite impressive! This makes it easier to teach them some more complicated topics, and deeper issues. So far, teaching has been pretty fun. I still get kind of nervous before each class, but it is getting easier each week.
At the beginning of October, we had a break for the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. We got a week off! It was so fun. I did some traveling during this week with my other teacher friends. We went to Dalian for a couple days. This is a city up north, with some nice beaches. We did some sight-seeing here, but avoided the water (Chinese beaches are a little different...just saying.) We also traveled to Beijing during this week. Beijing is so awesome! I will probably be visiting the city about once a month. I like to go there when I'm feeling a bit homesick. There are a ton of Western-style restaurants (including Starbucks!!) and also some of my favorite retail stores (i.e. H&M.) I was also able to do some exploring and shopping around the tourist areas. I got some good stuff at the Silk market, but learned that I'm not a huge fan of bartering...so much pressure!
The rest of October was fairly routine, consisting of classes, English corner (a club), lunch with students, Saturday nights at our favorite coffee shop Tony's, and hang out times with the team and students.
At the end of October, we threw a Halloween party for the students on campus. We had over 200 students come! It was so fun, but intense. We did some dancing, scary stories, games, and trick or treating around campus. The kids loved it. I was in charge of decorations and music for the night. I made a large paper tree, and some cute bats that hung from a string (just to name a few.) Kelley and I also made a couple Jack-O-Lanterns for decoration. My mom sent a large fake pumpkin to carve! I was so excited. Haha. I also dressed up as a tree for Halloween. I didn't have a costume, so I took advantage of the leaves on campus and made a necklace and bracelets of leaves. I also made a nest in my hair! Complete with leaves, twigs, and a couple fake eggs. The kids were a little confused, but I was proud. However, I ran out of time, so I had to wear the nest in my hair during my last class of the day. Needless to say, it was hard for them to take me seriously that day. Overall, Halloween was a huge success!
Last weekend, I was privelege to take part in a basketball tournament! Don't be fooled by the exclamation point. I was not that excited about it. The staff was asked to be a part of the tournament, and I might have been guilted into it...oh well. I think they learned REALLY fast that not all Americans are good at basketball! This week, my boss/friend Dane came to visit from America. He visited our classes and spent time encouraging us and taking us out to dinner! It was a great time. I was a bit nervous to have him visit my class, but it went pretty well.
So there you have it. A summary of my last month in China!! I am sorry for the abundance of words...I tend to do that. I will try not to wait so long next time!! Also, my roommate Kelley is SUPER good at blogging!! She has an excellent blog that shows the last month in pictures and words. There are lots of pictures of me in her blog, so you should check it out! Especially since I have been so bad at updating my blog...haha. Enjoy: http://kelleyschinasong.blogspot.com
