Travels and China

Ok so it has been a little while since my last post. Here is the short run down!

Classes have been happening. Many of my students are very shy and it is very hard to get them to participate, especially when it comes to speaking to someone who speaks English. They feel inadequate. I continue to tell them they will get better with practice. Some students have no problem talking with me and I imagine we will become friends.

We have two friends here in Danjiangkou that know our other American friends in Shiyan (a city about 1.5 hrs away). They have come and eaten with us last Sunday. We enjoy eachothers' company!! They are very sweet girls!!

Last weekend we went to visit our American friends in Shiyan. We had a great time!!! Not only was it great to see them and meet some we didn't know but we were able to eat McDonalds and KFC!!!! We ate there for almost every meal that weekend!! We also found a few American food items in their supermarkets there - m&ms, skittles, dove, snickers, and a few others! So I do not need candy sent to me - I can find it!!! (Chocolate chips and Marshmallows would be nice though!!)
We spent Saturday hanging out at one of the Universities. We (including some Chinese friends) broke into the field and played frisbee, football (american), ran around the track, and went to the pagoda at the top of the mountain! It was a lot of fun!!

A suggestion they gave us to get to know our students was to have an open house for them to come see where we live. So this week I have invited all my students to my apartment between 6-8pm. Many have come. Last night, Wednesday, we had English corner - in the students cafeteria. Apparently, as they told us, it is a place for the students to practice English and we are there to help. Well... It was actually more like having the foriegn teachers on display! I walked in and they crowd around me to ask questions and talk. It was a bit overwhelming at first. Evetually they calmed down especially when the other three walked in. Many of my students came and sat to talk with me. At one time there was a large crowd around the table I was sitting at, we ended up having a sing-a-long in a sense!! They sang for me, with me, and convinced me to sing a little for them! I sang an older song that some of you may remember from camp...
You know I try so hard to be like you everyday, but the one thing that I truly know is you gave your life away. To be like you and all you are well that's a lot easier to say...
They loved it and kept beggin me to teach them, I told them I would another time!

We have a holiday the first week in October. I think we may try to go to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Soldiers and to Beijjing to see the Great Wall. We shall see!! More to come!!

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