I've taught my last lesson for the day and am looking forward to having 5 days off. Tomorrow is National Day in China and we get a holiday to celebrate.....i have said that the Chinese love to celebrate any and all occasions!! Unfortunately we were not told till this week that we had 5 days off....apparently it can be anywhere from 3-10 days off depending on the school district....very strange way of deciding holidays and of course its done in "China" time!! All...

No one does Festivals better than the Chinese and they sure do have a lot of them!! Yesterday we celebrated the Mid Autumn Festival or as it is often referred to - Moon cake Day. In China, the moon symbolizes beauty and elegance – and a trusted friend. Ancient folklore brings us the story of the moon maiden which many students have shared with me and I'll give you a shortened version for those interested. Chang-O, a beautiful lady was the wife of the Divin...

Hi Everyone When we first arrived in China we were told we would need to adjust to "China Time" which basically means things will happen in their own good time.....quite different from western cultures where we seem to run everything by the clock. so I have been very good about learning to wait for things to get done....my school computer wont work but I'm assurred it will be fixed very soon (this was 2 weeks ago) so I wait patiently and thank my lucky stars I bo...

After the excitement of Teachers Day came the weekend....I still had not ventured into the city without my FAO (Foreign Affairs Officer) but Saturday night I was visited by many students who wanted to take me into town on Sunday afternoon - their only time off all week. Much laughter and hilarity ensued in my apartment as we made plans for the next day and I tried speaking more Chinese!!! The girls then wanted a photo with me with my hair down....needless to say ...

A slight delay in giving you an update due to several technological hitches - my computer wouldn't work and being so technologically challenged I couldn't do anything....and of course we work on China time so ho hum I've had to wait to get my netbook hooked up to the schools network (hope I got all that techno speak right Matt) Well I survived my marathon 22 classes this week with the highlight being Friday when China celebrated "Happy Teachers Day". What a day....