Dian Ye Hotel Anshan

... for our return to Haicheng Senior High School. I taught English to two classes. One striking thing to me is that teachers teach bell to bell (or music to music) with no down time for student socializing at the end of the period. We gathered in the meeting period for a question and answer period with the Chinese students and teachers. Gabe answered a question about what it took to build a robot and Ms. Yakym was asked her adivce on how Chinese students could improve their ...

... 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 ...

This weekend is a festival where Chinese pay respects and give sacrifices to their dead ancestors. Most government workers were off work today but schools went on. Juniors and Seniors are preparing for their university exams. We began our day at Haicheng Senior High School. Our students were exuberant about their host families. All had been given the royal treatment. We were taken by bus to Maifeng village, where the mayor and his staff greeted us in his office. Maifeng's ecomonic ...

... 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."

... for some doctoring. When we got there I was asked where my head hurt, and pointed to where I was in pain. Then I was taken over to the couch, sat down, and shown the needles. Then my darling "uncle" swabbed my face, and stopped to ask if I was scared. Liu yi asked me about 13805245 times if i was scared too. They couldn't believe that I wasn't terrified of the tiny little needles. But after giving blood I figured it really couldn't be that bad ...

... another home to go to besides my empty apartment. Monday the school took us to mount qianshan. It was stunning. climbing was exhausting but the views were absolutely breathtaking, and totally worth the trip. I love exploring in China, its much less safety coated than America. There were parts of the climb that were slightly scary, but the ascent was worth it. i felt like i was on top of the whole world.

... clothes whirl it around and knock out the water....doesn't always work that well. After a round or two of spinning the clothes are taken to my "kitchen" where there are two lines set up...for me to hang my clothes to dry. Chinese people usually hang their clothes outside....i know I'd lose way too much clothing that way...plus I'm enough of a novelty....I know my undies would get stared at like whoa....ha ha. Then I was shown how to work the ...

... kinds of vegetables and fish and meats....any kind of food you can imagine is available...except dairy products which are not part of the Chinese cuisine. A few days ago we spent the day walking around 219 park, the gorgeous park that is across the street from my apartment, it is huge and although i have spent many hours exploring it there is still so much that i have not yet seen, but i have found the zoo, the amusement park and many of the ...

Well not too much has happened since yesterday's post. After i left here we went back to my apartment and fixed my gas so i can *theoretically* cook, but i still think I'm a few weeks away from attempting that on my own yet. After that was fixed i went over to Dixon's place and we talked about Barack Obama and politics and multiple other things, (i never realized that the whole world is rooting for Obama, and if he doesn't win the world will think Americans are even bigger ...

... deeds?" Even though the debate was in Chinese, it was quite lively and entertaining to watch. We need to put more emphasis on developing our students' presentation skills. Another banquet was held tonight, sponsored by the Haicheng Bureau of Education. In attendance were the deputy mayor, and the head of the Bureau of Education, along with Anshan officials. More toasts all around. When I get home, I will be able to post photos. The story is only half told without pictures.