Greetings faithful blog fans:

Apologies for the long sojourn, school has been busy, internet has been spotty and my life has been full. This being the case, I've worked up quite a backlog of bloggable topics. Let's see how far I get this evening.

The mysterious sickness has disappeared and my appetite is back (in full champion force, I might add). I'm back to experimenting (sounds like I'm on drugs, doesn't it?) and am for the most part enjoying the variety of flavors, snacks and miscellaneous foods. My current favorite are these sweet shish-ka-bob type treats. Usually they use a sour type of cherry, but I've also had tomato and seen kiwi and pineapple as well. Basically they're these fruits on a stick that have been dipped in some sort of sugary candy coating. Think fruit lollipop. Delicious and cheap! And the most wonderful thing is these vendors are everywhere. I love the immediacy of food in China. I needn't walk far before finding someone selling something out of a cart that I'd be willing (and more than happy) to eat.

I attended a Chinese wedding recently. My friend David (from Britain) and his Chinese girlfriend were married in the traditional Chinese style. Chinese weddings are not so much a ceremony and reception as they are more like dinner and a show. The wedding I went to was held in a large banquet hall and people all had seats around round tables.

The bride and the groom then enter and a master of ceremonies entertains the crowd, jokes around with the bride and groom and leads the couple in their vows. To me it seemed very informal and not nearly as meaningful as what I'm accustomed to in Western weddings.
After the vows and rings, the food was served and the bride came back in a different dress. The first dress was white traditional, the second was red and gold stripes on top, and a red flower petal-like skirt...odd. David and Jade then went around to each table to collect money envelopes (no gifts, only money at Asian weddings) and offer cigarettes and good luck charms to each guest. At some point Jade changed again into a pretty blue dress and the couple finished their rounds.
I was at a table with a lot of other foreign guests and when we realized that a) there was going to be no garter or bouquet toss, no dancing and no cheesy reception band music and b) that the beer was free and c) that it wasn't even noon, we decided to do our best to make it a little more "interesting." My cohorts weren't very "lihai" as far as their alcohol tolerance goes so our binging lasted for little more than a bottle's worth. Oh well, still entertaining and the food was ok.

Shahim, David and Steven--Three of my buddies


The "date" with Weige's (WAY-guh) family turned out to be one of the best things I've done since I've been here. I arrived about 10:30 Saturday morning and didn't leave until 8:30 Sunday morning. Yes that's right, they didn't want me to leave. We went swimming, ate lots and after dinner, they told me I could stay the night. I know, it sounds ridiculous and crazy and just plain weird but I must remind you, this is China, and as one of my friends so eloquently put it, China is big and random. The whole time I was with them, I had two trains of thought running through my head. The first, that of the practical American, saying things like this is so weird, you've met this guy twice and your spending the night with his family, this would never happen in America, etc. etc. etc. The other (and more persistent) was that of the well-adjusted laomei saying things like yeah it's a little strange but not that weird considering this is China and I'm actually having a really good time and they sure do seem to like me and I really like them and I'm quite comfortable and gosh, it sure is nice to be in a family setting once again. Weige's sister has a six-year old (Tiantian) who thinks I'm just all kinds of fun...we drew pictures and played with the guinea pig and read stories and had a grand time. His mother (Zhaoyi) is in love with me and his sister (WangDan) is very sweet.

This last weekend I went and spent the night again on Saturday. On Sunday, Zhaoyi and I went to a nearby morning market and bought all sorts of vegetables and snacks and then we went venturing into the city to check on the two other apartments the family rents. One of them was the apartment that Weige stays in when he's back here in Shenyang. Again, the little voices were saying this is curious and random, but not at all awkward or weird. Zhaoyi and I had plenty of chance to talk and she made it clear to me that if this whole me dating Weige thing turns into marriage and what not, she's so happy to have me as part of the family. But if not, she's happy that Weige has made a friend like me and that regardless of my relationship with him, she will consider me as a daughter. Wow. I went back for dinner on Monday night after classes and we were going to go swimming but it got to be too late so we just took a walk and got some groceries and had a delightful time laughing and talking and just enjoying each other's company. I'm blessed to have found caring family and friends here.

Getting out and meeting people not associated with school and work has been really good for me, both from a learning Chinese perspective as well as a mental sanity thing. At one point last week I was so frustrated with students and people I call "language leeches"...they call me up and want to meet with me to "teach me Chinese and practice English" It ends up being small talk (which I hate) and mostly in English. Extremely frustrating and draining. I've found some friends who either speak no English or who don't expect me to help them practice their English and I've been putting up boundaries for the leeches. Getting into more of a routine has also helped my sanity and I'm becoming more disciplined as far as my schedule and doing what I need to do to take care of myself.

Language is becoming less of a barrier and I've basically gotten to the point where I can survive without much of any trouble. That being said, however, new situations are still a little tricky, such as trying a new restuarant or buying clothing or something I've never bought before. I'm getting better at this and more confident just going in and doing what I need to do but it still can be really uncomfortable. (I had a major success recently when I was able to walk into a sports store by myself and buy a pair of sports pants so that I could play outside even though it's cold. The relief and the sense of accomplishment I felt at this may seem minor but it truly was momentous as it signified that I can now basically obtain or procure whatever I need here.) The biggest reason for the unease though is the stares I get from surrounding people. They are generally only curious but just the same, at times it can be unnerving, obnoxious or just plain irritating. As a foreigner, I'm used to drawing people's eyes, and it's something I thankfully generally don't notice anymore. I went to dinner with one of my friends this evening and then went and walked around the night market and he commented on how many heads I can turn. I find it entertaining to watch my friends' reactions when they go somewhere with me. They're not accustomed to the looks and stares. Zhaoyi commented on it the other day too after being asked for literally the 50th time as to who I was and why I was with her. Welcome to China, I guess.

I'm getting more comfortable with lesson planning. I'm beginning to really own my classes and I'm figuring out what works and what won't. My students are really enjoying me too. One of my business students today told me how much they like my class and that they appreciate that I'm not like other foreign teachers who just make them play childish games. I try to make class more meaningful and I think it's starting to pay off. Part of me feels like if I wanted to, I could be a really good teacher and I'm starting to embrace that and figure out my style.

Part of making class more meaningful is by introducing a sort of service learning component...which at this point means arranging a trip to a local orphanage. I met an American who's in charge of an orphanage and I'm so excited about going to help wherever I can. I'm headed there on Friday to check it out. I mentioned it to some of my students and some of them are really excited to go as well. I even have a couple of students who want to spearhead some other service projects which makes me so excited!

It's late and that's everything I can think of at the moment. All in all at the moment, life feels right.