The daily adventure

-just some photos I like

I think I just wanted an excuse to put up more pictures, but I guess I’ll write a bit too! This has been a very Chinese sort of day. I was up this morning at 7 and rode my bike for half an hour to the English teaching school. It was rush hour, so I had to ride dodging all the cars, bikes, scooters, motorcycles, horses, buses, and so many people! I ride there with Mr. Pye and pray for safety every time we go. You have to be alert at all times, but for the amount of different “vehicles” on the road, everyone seems to know what they’re doing.
We arrived at the school for breakfast- “arquai”- a really good type of fried bread with sesame paste on it, and milk- it comes in a bag that you poke a straw through to drink from.
Classes went very well. I helped Mr. Pye with the first class, and then I taught the second. Each time I teach my Chinese students, I think I enjoy it more. At first it was hard to help the kids understand what to do every time I gave directions. I’m more used to teaching them now, and they’re more used to me, and we have some fun together. :) Because each class is an hour and a half long, we break it up with a game or two in the middle. Their current favorite is bingo- they think it’s the greatest thing!
After class, Mr. Pye and I did some souvenir shopping. Shopping here is always interesting, and I’m getting to enjoy it more and more. Most shop owners expect (and even encourage) you to bargain with them. I hold up an item and ask them how much it is- do chao chien? (I apologize to anyone who knows Chinese: I have absolutely no idea how to spell anything!) Then they tell me by punching the price into a calculator, and hand the calculator to me. I say, “tai guela,” (too expensive), erase the price they put in, and put in what I think it should cost (usually about half of what they tell me.) They usually shake their head and put in something in between. We continue with this until we both agree on the price. By the end of this process, we are both smiling and I’ve found a good deal- at least I think I have.
We finished our shopping excursion by stopping at a food market with a very unusual mission- I wanted to find a small bone to use for our class’ Passover celebration this weekend. (it’s symbolic of the lamb that Jewish families had to sacrifice on Passover) It was interesting trying to explain what we were looking for and even more interesting when we found it, and then had to carry it back home with me! (I asked for an extra bag to put around it, it was so gross!)
So that’s been my interesting day so far. This evening KIA is putting on their spring drama production, and I’m sure that will be interesting too (though in a different sort of way!)