Anshan Building Hotel

... book on Obama, a Clay High School yearbook, and a Clay Colonial blanket. Wang Yue, our event organizer, had a difficult time getting us out of the room and on to dinner. We had hot pot for dinner. Sarah got squeamish over the live shrimp being boiled alive, but everyone else enjoyed. The adult table of Chinese principals and staff would normally have had beer, but in deference to our custom of not having alcohol at school activities, they drank water. Tomorrow off to Shenyang.

... and I played table tennis with our hosts. Later, I taught an English class on common pronunciation mistakes. At the end of the day, we had a cultural exchange. We had been warned ahead of time to prepare a performance, so we sang Frere Jacques in four languages including Chinese. Aaron and Katie both sang solos. We sang the school song and taught the Colonial shuffle ...

... comes from mining building stone and from pears. The mayor is a parent of a student in HSHS, and also is the host father for Chloe. The mayor requested that I assist in making contacts with our Indiana industries to establish economic relations. I don't think he understood that I'm not really that influential. The mayor gave all of us jade bracelets. We took many group pictures of various configurations. The computer I am using is not able upload pictures, so those will ...

... group, so I must be brief. We are convening for a sightseeing trip. When we arrived at the school, it was full of students, on a Sunday. Our students were open-mouthed. The Chinese students were studying for upcoming exams. Music sounded (The Pachelbel Canon) to change classes. Katie asked me if I would change the bells to music. I responded, "If students come to school on Sunday I will."

... our dictionary usage. The food is wonderful and it's nice to have a surrogate family. This routine is repeated on Saturdays and Sundays, except I get to be lazy in the morning/afternoon and do whatever I want, then head over for dinner. Plus conversation is a lot easier because Shuang Shuang is there to translate, which is a big help, believe you me. On Saturdays I bring my computer over to their house, and my Chinese family gets to talk to my ...

... with classes, but with the family as well. On Friday it was a Chinese ballet dance class, which lasted an hour and a half and was mostly stretching....owie. Normally it wouldn't be too bad, but in China, teacher comes and stands on your legs or pushes on your back, to make sure your stretching to the limit...once again, owie! Sunday I went to have Chinese lessons with my aunty Liu, or Liu yi as I ...

... my water heater, I am happy here and finally starting to settle in, I am up to the point where I can have short conversations with Chinese people, in Chinese! And I also found myself a friendly policewoman who wants me to call her Aunt Liu and cook me food and has decided she will teach me Chinese while I teach her English, it should be interesting...oh and we are going to exercise together as well. He he, well I miss everyone and hope all is well....toodleoo!

... have to bribe participation in class with the promise of games. Chinese students are worked so hard in their other classes that my time with them is almost like a recess, a chance to relax and have fun. I am hopeful that this means i can be seen as a friend to them more than as a regulator or stern teacher, but am saddened to realize that I will not be able to form many close relationships with my students. Each kindergarten class has about ...

Our day started as usual at 7:00 am. Yue met me in the hotel lobby for breakfast. My breakfast has fallen into a pattern: fried rice, several bean dishes, dumplings filled with vegetables, coffee and juice. Lihua joined us after breakfast. We departed for Anshan, to No. 51 Middle School. First, we attended an English class. This was a bit of a squeeze for the seven of us, since the room already held 70 students. The English teacher started by holding up photographs and asking ...

... The students applauded when I entered the room. The teacher used recitation and choral response to elect answers. Students would stand to give their answers. After she finished, I took the class. I gave them our student newspaper with articles on the dance team, Thespians, and the robotics team winning honors, and also passed out Clay pins. They applauded again. "Questions?" I asked. Students wanted to know if I would be attending the Olympics, and what ...