School Days and Holidays

(The road in front of my apartment. The metro is going to change transportation in China.)

This past week (3 days) of teaching was tough. Some weeks are like that.

Last Sunday we had to teach to make up for Wednesdays class. I taught Sunday and Monday. (I don't teach on Tuesdays). On Wednesday, I was delighted I was able to sleep in. My home phone rang, and I didn't bother to answer it because, hey I'm on vacation! I heard my cell phone buzzing (it's on vibrate always), but again, why should I answer it? Well 5 minutes later, my teammate Andrew pounds on my door. I answer it in my pjs, and he's like get some clothes on, we missed class. We have to be on the bus in 10 minutes. Sigh. So I scramble, but we make it. Apparently (but unapparent to the 2 foreign teachers), our holiday starts on THURSDAY not WEDNESDAY. My bad. I missed the first class, but in the second class, the first 2 phrases they learned were "I messed up" and "I blew it." I called the Dean in the afternoon and apologized for inconveniencing her and the other teachers. She understood it was miscommunication, and informed me that we will indeed, make up the class.
Andrew, Mandy, and me at Hot Pot
Walking around Mandy's "small" town (pop. 6 million)
October 1st is China's Independence Day. Andrew and I went out with a colleague. The whole day I thought we were driving around in a Porsche, but it ended up not being one (shows you how much I know about cars!). Our colleague invited us over to her parents house for lunch. This is another cultural misunderstanding. I always think we are actually going to eat at individuals house when really we go out to eat. We ate hot pot, and I do believe it was my favorite hot pot ever. I recogonized a lot of what was put in the pot, and the seasonings were terrific. That afternoon, we went to a tourist place (I told my mom China Town and she just laughed but it really was like China Town!)
Doesn't this look like a legit China Town?
Walking across the bridge
Afterwards, we went to a Monastery.

I totally committed a faux pax because I took a picture of Budda. Apparently, you should not take pictures of Budda. I always obey the signs, but because I didn't see one, I thought it was okay. One of our colleagues' friends says it's like going to a cathedral and not being able to take pictures of Jesus. Andrew then says "You can take pictures of Jesus." I then explained that a lot of times you can't take pictures to protect the artwork, not because it's unlucky. I of course apologized. There was this design on the wall, and you are supposed to walk towards it with your eyes shut. If you touch the design, you will have luck. I missed. Sigh.


Next week, we are on holidays because the solar and lunar calendar ended up making the Independence Day and the Midautumn Festival fall right next to each other. Don't get me started on the rules, but I am forbidden to travel. I will spend this upcoming week cleaning and visiting some sites around Chengdu. My host sister is also coming home, so I will make another trip out to visit the homestay family.

More of the Same

Chengdu

This week was uneventful. Last Saturday night, a group of volunteers ate hot pot. One of the perks about going out with volunteers who have been here for a year (or two) is that they know what to order. After dinner, we went dancing. It was a first for me for going out in China. And what an experience it was! They played techno music. I had a great time. This was the first weekend of many weekends dancing to techno music.
I asked all of my students to write me a letter, telling me about themselves, what they want to accomplish, etc. My favorite quote from a student was "I like your smile and voice. It's so beautiful and dainty." That just made me smile! I made a good first impression on some students, and not so much on others. Another favorite quote, "I will try to like you." Gee, thanks kid!
Last Thursday was "Teacher's Day." 3 of my classes gave me cards! I also received a cactus. I also got some cough drops. It was really sweet of them.
I am a strict teacher, but I think my students are finally getting the message. I don't play games. During one class last week, I took 6 cell phones in 1 class! Today I only took 2 cell phones. They are learning. (No cell phones, mp3/4/28 etc., or electronic dictionaries.)
I observed the dean today. It amazed me at how respectful the students can be. I think next semester, I may incorporate the Chinese tradition of standing to greet the instructor. It really seemed to set the mood to respect the person at the front.
My teammate (Moose) and I were planning on getting out of the city this weekend and going to the mountains, but the weather forecast is rain and more rain.

Yes, there is a Hooters here.

Swear In Picture!

I just received the volunteer group picture!

Here it is, China 15 along with Ambassador Huntsman

Back to School

The 2 Kathleen's before Site Announcement

Most of my stuff! How did I get everything over here?!

Family Appreciation Dinner


Mathide and me
Peace Corps Staff

Denise (roommate in SF) and me

I started teaching this past week. It is so different being in the front of the classroom and not in a desk!
As most of you know, I have a 50 minute commute to work each day. I tried talking to the other teachers, but it's either a)too early for conversation b)they are intimidated speaking English to me c)they can't speak English. I was hoping to make friends on the bus, but it looks like that is not going to happen.
I have 1 freshman class and am going to enjoy teaching that class. My classes have (on average) 50 students. My freshman class is a class of 20. I came 20 minutes early to the first class and all my freshman were already there!
I am working with some amazing people and feel so blessed to know them!

I began tutoring this week. My tutors' name is Joe, and he is extremely nice.

I currently do not have water. I was informed last night that our water would be cut from 11-5. Silly me, I thought that meant 11pm-5am. WRONG. 5 pm. So, basically, I am waiting for the water to get turned back on so I can shower! I could go get water from a nearby faucet place, but it really is a challenge carrying up the buckets of water 4 flights of stairs.

I finally got water! But this is what it looked like...

College football starts today! I will be cheering for my Auburn Tigers on the other side of the world! WAR EAGLE!

Chengdu

TIC! (This is China!)
Oreos and Dr. Pepper?! I don't think I'm in Mali anymore...

This is hotpot. It's very famous in the Sichuan region.

Yes, that is blood (my mom ordered it to put in the hotpot)

The panda and me

Wen (my host sister) and me at the Panda place

My friend Becca (she was in Ethiopia) and me

Mom, me, Dad after our white water adventure (no paddles!)

I apologize for not updating sooner. Facebook and blogspot have been blocked, so I’ve had a few obstacles to jump through.

I, unfortunately, cannot be as open with my opinions. I refuse to sugarcoat anything, but some things may be omitted.

Let me back up….

America was WONDERFUL! I had so much fun! I put on 14 lbs in 3 weeks. I didn’t weigh myself week 4 because I really didn’t want to know. I saw a few friends, talked to all of my friends in the states on the phone, visited my brother and my sister-in-law, and ate way too much! My Dad had some surgery, so it wasn’t all play. I was chauffeur and personal assistant for a few weeks.

I sat beside a young professional looking guy at the airport in Dallas. After he pulled out his Peace Corps notebook, I asked him where he was going. Turns out, we were on the same flight to SF together. I prearranged a bus to take me to the hotel. It was a wonderful hotel! I wish we stayed there for a few nights.

The flight wasn’t bad at all. I requested a window seat. I sat beside a Native American who was on her way to study in China for a few weeks. I didn’t realize that there were 2 flights from Beijing to Chengdu, and I ended up missing the flight because I was in the bathroom, changing to “business casual”. I was a bit concerned about getting my bag, but TIC, and I had no problems.

The hotel was nice enough. My roommate is great. Her name is Denise and this is her second time doing PC. She was a volunteer in the 70s in Thailand. She brought her group picture. It’s absolutely priceless. The first week or so was a lot of protocol. Apparently (unapparent to me), appropriate shoes in Mali are not appropriate in China.

My home stay family is incredible! I had language classes in Chengdu University, but lived off campus. My Chinese mom and dad gave me their master bedroom because it had the western style toilet. I keep on putting myself in their situation and am continually in awe of their hospitality. My sister is going to LSU this November, and I am hoping that she will go to South Carolina and spend Christmas with the Cannons.

I will be teaching at the Sichuan College of Education in Chengdu. I really thought I would be leaving the city so I was quite surprised at my placement. When I went there for site visit, I was highly impressed with the staff there. The staff was professional, friendly, and helpful.

I also stayed in my apartment during site visit. While my apartment has accommodations such as a washing machine, refrigerator, hot water in the kitchen, tv, dvd, etc., there are aspects of my Malian apartment that I miss. I miss my wonderful porch, rooftop, and my Malian neighbors.

I begin teaching in September. Business Oral English and Writing are the 2 subjects. I will also be giving a lecture every other Monday on culture. If anybody has suggestions for appropriate culture based themes, leave a comment on the blog! I have this semester outlined for the cultural Mondays, but any suggestions for next semester would be appreciated.

Today we moved out of our homestay family and are staying in a swanky hotel! I'm pretty sure it's a 4 star. The beds are absolutely incredible! I am going to buy new sheets for my apartment!

More pictures tomorrow (En shallah! It's so funny because random French and Bambara words come out when I attempt to speak Mandarin.)

In San Fran

So, I made it to San Fran safely! I am stunned that some peoples' parents are here....really?!

Anyway, my blog, gmail, and facebook might all be blocked in China, but we are looking aways around it.

More later!

On the road again...

My month home was probably one of the fastest months of my life! I leave for San Fran tomorrow morning and then on to China on Tuesday!

Some highlights of my trip home include: visiting my brother and my fabulous sister-in-law and going to a symphony on a lawn, visiting my aunt in Texas, taking Kramer to the park (twice), margaritas with friends, hot chocolate with former neighbors, sending two packages to Mali for Sikasso Kaw, presenting a slideshow about Mali to my church and a community college, shopping with mom, dining and shopping (and ICE CREAM!) with gramma, shrimp and grits with my uncle...needless to say, I had a hectic and quite enjoyable trip home.

I will continue to update weekly, and hope that I will be able to continue to write about my life overseas.

Right off the airplane (my dad isn't photogenic...he looks this way in all of them, but i like to think he was smiling on the inside)

Kramer and me