"T" in Tennessee!

Still About Birthdays......

A very dear friend of mine here in China, Jeanette, celebrated her birthday today.  Last night, Seven and I took Jeanette and her daughter, Nicole, out for dinner at LaBamba in Wudaokou! That's right.  Mexican food!  It would be J and N's first taste of Mexican dishes.  I ordered up chips and salsa and some chicken quesidillas for starters and then we launched right into wonderful chicken and steak fajitas, with Seven opting for some beef enchiladas!

"What the heck is THIS, Teresa!  And I can't eat it with chopsticks?"  Truth is....she enjoyed it very much and enjoyed sharing bites with J and N.

Jeanette, the birthday girl, enjoys the steak and chicken fajitas!  The red container holds the warm tortillas and the small bowls are full of rice, refried beans, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream!  Just delicious!  Chinese are accustomed to restaurant meals where one shares dishes.  So Jeanette and Nicole were surprised to see 3 separate sets of fajitas delivered to us to eat!  We had such a great time together!

Seven purchased a beautiful cake for J and although that daiquiri looks as big as J's head....it really was a normal-sized drink.

Delicious fruit adorning the top of the cake included apple, peach, dragonfruit, cherries, pineapple, and star fruit!  The celebration of birthdays in China isn't a huge deal to folks as it is in the States.  Jeanette must have thanked me for her "birthday" at least 30 times!   So heart-warming.  And when we put candles on the cake and sang Happy Birthday very loud (to overcome the bar music playing), the nice folks at LaBamba abruptly turned off the music and blared a wonderful birthday song for Jeanette!  Later, when I inquried about buying Jeanette a LaBamba T-shirt....they kindly gave her one for free!  Lovin' LaBamba!

Seven, Jeanette and Nicole!

Remember when I said that I had joked with my students to make birthday cards for me and....oh yeah...please insert 500 RMB in each one?  Well, this week I was gifted with many special things.  Two of my students in my most advanced class did indeed give me birthday cards with 500 RMB inside! ha

This one, from Landy, contained 5 cardboard discs that had 100 RMB on each one....500 RMB!  Yeah!  Landy is one of more shy students so for her to pull off something so funny was SO GREAT!  She received lots of laughs and encouragement from me.

 Landy's BF, Nina, one-upped her by included 5 fake 1000 notes in her homemade card!  Classic!  It's so nice to see that my humor is rubbing off on these kids! ha  Is that a good thing?  Hmmmmm.

One of my boys in this class gave me this beautiful pashmina!  He waited until everyone had left to give it to me and quickly told me, "my father picked this out for you!" ha  Lovin' Issac!

Angel, in another of my classes, gave me a card and this gift:  a snowglobe featuring a black and white rabbit.  It's also a musical globe and plays a classic Chinese song.  Thank you, Angel!

Nancy gave me this beautiful bookend.  I love it!  Nancy is one of those great students teachers get the pleasure of seeing great change.  She was SO very shy a year and a half ago.  Now, she is much more vocal and enjoys chatting in English with me and with her classmates.  She is also a very gifted 11-year old artist.  I have told her several times that I would love for her to draw a picture for me. She totally surprised me today when she gave me these two beautiful works of art:

A wonderful pencil drawing and this:

Oh my!  So talented, Nancy!  I feel sure that one day I will say proudly, "I KNOW that artist!"  You can only imagine how blessed I feel to have such wonderful kids to teach. 

Recently, I bought a packet of small colorful strips of paper.  These strips are used to make cute little puffy stars!  As hard as I tried, I simply couldn't follow the Korean pictures of how to fold these stars.  So after enlisting the help of my students....I'm now a puffy star-making fool! I've made about 30 of them on down time at work and I hope to fill a glass jar with them very soon!  I'll be bring home lots of these colorful strips to continue my star-making in the States!

I made these while watching the last episode of Survivor: Micronesia on youku.com!  Pavarti wins!  Now I'm progressing to Survivor: Gabon! :)  I'm currently listening to Micheal Jackson and the Jackson 5.  That's right....his early work.  So sad to know that he has died, along with Farrah Fawcett (I was a young watcher of Charlie's Angels but her greatest role was definitely in the TV movie, The Burning Bed).  MJ was just 50....FF just 62.  So sad.  Both touched many lives.  As regular citizens, of course we don't KNOW these folks....but their art (whether it be acting or music or other artistic forms) touches our lives and therefore the end of their lives means a great deal to many folks.  R.I.P. MJ and Farrah.  Right now....MJ is singing, "I never can say goodbye."  He won't have to.  His music will continue on.  T.

Birthday Treasures....

I promised to post photos of some of the wonderful gifts I was given for my birthday.  So here goes.  First of all, I love all the folks I work with.  There's a couple, however, that I can't communicate with without a translator.  Ling is one of those folks but we have our own way of communicating and it works out well for us.  She's one of the Ayi's at our workplace.  She and another wonderful woman have the job of keeping our restrooms in tip-top shape, sweeping and vacuuming classrooms after a class, moving chairs from one class to another, mopping, cleaning up spills, etc.  Trust me...it's not an easy job and I have HIGH respect for them.  I had the pleasure of visiting Ling in her home once and admired a large framed cross-stitched hanging that she had made.  Little did I know that she would soon embark on making one for me.  I can't tell you how surprised and overwhelmed I was when she presented me with this handmade gift:

The center cross-stitched character, as well as the four on the very outside four corners means "happiness."  The interior Chinese characters are also signs representing good fortune. 

Ling wanted to have it framed for me but I convinced her that it'd be easier for me to transport to the States unframed.  I'll have it beautifully framed and it will be a true showpiece in my future living room.  I promised to send her a photo of it hanging in my home in the States.  As a fellow cross-stitcher I know how much time she invested in making this for me.  Do I feel fortunate to work with such wonderful people?  You can't even imagine.  She also paid me a compliment when she told me that when she comes to classrooms where I've just finished teaching....they are the cleanest of all! ha  That's because I MAKE all my students pick up pieces of paper, throw away empty water bottles, etc.  I've more than once told them that their "mother" doesn't work here so they must pick up after themselves.  I also make them straighten their chairs, etc.  It's so nice to know that my efforts haven't gone unnoticed and are appreciated by the Ayi's.

This is the incredible beaded peacock scarf that my student, Linda, and her mother, Melody, gave me.  What a beautiful scarf and I can't imagine actually wearing it because it seems like something that should be displayed.  The edges are beautifully beaded and there's beads woven all over the peacocks.  You might remember that it was with Melody and Linda that I traveled to Tianjin with to have a great visit and meal wth their family members.  Linda was also my roommate on my trip to Guilin, along with another student, Nicole, and her mother and friend, Jeanette.

Absolutely beautiful!

Is this cool or what?  This is the funky little pencil cup that student and friend, Nicole, gave me!

This is the beautiful etched jewelry box that the mother of another of my students gave to me for my birthday!  So very special to me!

 So cool!  Her name is Jane and although Lynn, my student/her daughter, is no longer attending classes where I work, I remain in close contact with them.  She prepared a wonderful "long noodle" birthday dinner for me in her home.  Lynn will be traveling to the States in early August to do her 11th grade school year in Bradenton, Florida.  You can be sure that Lynn and I will meet up in America in the near future!  Here's a couple of pics of the homemade long noodle dinner....oh, and you should know that on your birthday, eating long unbroken noodles is a special thing as it represents long life and happiness for years to come.

For homemade noodles, the noodle dough is prepared and oiled and with a pot of boiling water at the ready....one stretches the noodles out into thinner noodles as it's dropped into the boiling water.

Jane, of course, is an expert at stretching/thinning out the noodles.  She invited me to have a go at it! ha  I did....and almost immediately BROKE the noodle strand!  Oh oh oh...death to me, death to me!  She and Lynn just laughed and deftly squished the broken dough strand back together.  I decided not to tempt fate any further and let them continue with the preparation of the unbroken long noodle!

Once the noodles are prepared, you add soy sauce (or vinegar...I prefer soy sauce), small bits of onions, and many other delicious ingredients (I added the great pork, carrot, onion dish that Jane had prepared).  VERY delicious!  And yes....you just slurp the noodle (remember, it's all one long noodle to represent long life) into your mouth and break it off with your teeth when your mouth is full  I told Lynn that in America we don't "slurp" at the table but in China, it's perfectly acceptable.  So if you see/hear me slurping my soup at the table in America with my bowl raised up to my mouth......just ignore me.  It's a practice I've become accustomed to here in China...and one that I really enjoy!

This is the wonderful array of Korean stationary that my sister-in-paper-passion, Simone, gave to me for my birthday!  Love, love, love Korean stationary!  So cute!  I've been scoping out the best stationary stores in Seoul, South Korea.  Why?  Because on the evening of July 5th I am flying to South Korea (Seoul) and enjoy 3 days there!  I'm really looking forward to this adventure.  Roundtrip flight?  Just $300 USD.  When I was working for the University of Tennesee in Knoxville (before moving to Beijing) I volunteered as an English conversation tutor to many int'l students.  One of my students, Song, is Korean.  He is currently spending time in with family in Seoul and is going to show me around.  It''ll be my first country to visit outside of China while living here (other than my trip home last November).  I still hope to visit Japan before returning home (and reconnect with my college roommate, Yoko) but Yoko says she'll probably be in America at the time I hoped to visit.  Japan might have to wait.  But Seoul, Korea....here I come!  LL, T.,

Hospital, Cupping, Tragic Fire...and More!

Yesterday, Simone and I headed out to visit a colleague and friend, Jason, who teaches at another of our Kid's Schools here in Beijing.  He's doing very well after a surgery and being well-cared for at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in the Western Wing. :)  We took a small bag of only the MOST essential items....a monkey sitting on a chair to hold his cell phone, Mickey Mouse eye shades for when he doesn't want to see what the doctors are doing to him (ha) and a funky little personal fan!  He was most appreciative.  Jason is also a published author and loaned me a copy of one of his books which I'm now reading.  It's my first "zombie, but not really zombie" novel to read.  It's titled, Every Sigh, The End.  It was great to see what good care Jason is receiving and hopefully he'll be out of the hospital in a couple of days.

Interesting.....and just outside the hospital in their courtyard.

Jason throws down.....well, something! ha  And I'm sure that's coca-cola in that green bottle! ha

That's Jason's girlfriend, Jin Lu, sitting and Simone standing.  The room was huge and the TV included HBO!  Jin Lu showed us an even bigger hospital room just 3 doors down that was empty and it had a separate living room and a separate kitchen!  The Western Wing rocks! 

We started talking about the cupping procedure that Simone received the day before and she allowed me to take and post these photos!  Looks mighty painful to me but still something I want to try!  The procedure is designed to remove toxins from the body via small glass cups being put on your back and shoulder area (after the oxygen is sucked out with a match)....and it truly sucks the skin, folks!  Take a look!

There was no pleasure involved in this bruise!

 Wow!  Did I say I wanted to try this?  Maybe I should reconsider....

After spending a couple of hours with Jason and Jin Lu, Simone and I headed to our next destination, SoHo, for a late lunch at The Pizza Company and some shopping.

A couple of months ago I blogged about a huge building next to the new CCTV Tower going up in flames (it was still under construction).  Tragically, a firefighter lost his life.  The building was still being constructed so no people were inside.  We passed by it on our way by taxi to Guomao (Soho).  This is the first time I've seen it up close and took these photos from inside the taxi.

It seems to be a total loss and needs to come down but who knows. 

An interesting view of the new CCTV Tower.  Going to the top is on my list....

We had a great meal at The Pizza Company where we both satisfied a craving for pasta and cheesy garlic bread!  Delicious!  Then we headed to a small bookshop that has many, many varieties of journals and pens and all kinds of cool things.  Simone shares my passion for paper so we both bought identical blank journals and blank bookmarks that we intend to decorate ourselves and give as gifts.  I just love journals and have several that haven't been written in yet! ha All in good time....

After spending a few RMB in Jenny Lou's (supermarket that carries lots of imported western foods) we headed to the subway where we boarded separate lines to our homes.  It was a great day even though it seemed to be the hottest day in Beijing so far this year!  Until today...that is.  Today it was 39 Celsius!!!!  That's about 103 degrees for you Americans!  A co-worker told me it was an orange alert day....that is, stay inside during the hottest hours if at all possible.

Another of my "enhanced" views from my window.  Continuing to L my L in China, T.

Dinner Celebration at Ukrainian Restaurant!

This past Saturday night I was invited by some friends (Jeanette, and her daughter, Nicole) to go to dinner for my birthday.  Seven was also invited and we went to a wonderful Ukrainian restaurant where Jeanette and I had eaten once before.  She knew how much I enjoyed the meal and atmosphere.  This restaurant is amazing.  Ukrainian singers walk around and sing opera and traditional songs in their native language, accompanied by an accordian player.  It's great!  They can also sing songs in Chinese and the crowd just goes wild with clapping when they do that!

The singers changed into traditional military dress and were so amazing as they sang!

This is the DELICIOUS chocolate cake that Jeanette had delivered to the restaurant for me!  I am SO blessed to have such wonderful friends here in Beijing!  Honestly.....my heart is just filled with love for this country and its wonderful people!  Maybe I'm not such an unlucky individual after all....because how can someone have bad luck in life when they know and have such great friends!

These incredible singers just finished singing Happy Birthday to ME in Ukrainian and also Chinese! :)  I was so thrilled!  This is a birthday I will NEVER forget!

Oh my.....delicious mashed potatoes with gravy and succulent steak kebabs with onions and peppers!  Who loves Ukrainian food?  ME!

This incredible dining experience with wonderful singing, wonderful folksto share dinner with, a beautiful cake was made EVEN more special by being given a beautiful jade bracelet by Jeanette, who wore an identical bracelet!  So beautiful and I love it.  It's Hetian jade from Xinjian Province which is where Jeanette was born.  The beautiful carved jade beads are so beautiful and I just LOVE this bracelet and love the fact that Jeanette has an identical one.  I told her that this definitely makes us BFF's!  She's was like, "What?  BFF's?" ha  Seven translated and she was so happy.  Jeanette is a very special friend to me!

What an incredible evening this was for me!  Loving my life and all my friends, both young and older in China?  You bet!

As we left the restaurant to go our separate ways.....I snapped this pic of the CCTV Tower (ex-tower, as there's now a new CCTV tower) all lit up at night!  I left the restaurant with such feelings of love and gratitude and the realization that this is TRULY my home now!  You must know that moving back to the States in about 4 months will truly feel like leaving HOME for good!  I would have never thought that living and working in Beijing would end up with my feelings that this is truly a HOME to me!  I know I say it often, folks.....but I REALLY love living and working here.  Many folks have asked, "Well, why are you leaving?"  And the answer is this:  my mother is nearly 75 now and she has been a wonderful mother to me and my son and she is truly looking forward to me returning to Nashville to be near her and help her out with daily living.  Honestly?  I really look forward to being able to give back to her as she most certainly deserves.  So my leaving Beijing will be bittersweet.....I will miss my life here very much but I look forward to a new life in Nashville and being able to give back to Mom for all the help she has given me!  And you can be sure that there are many trips to Beijing in my future where I will reconnect with so many wonderful friends!  Now....if I can just find a JOB in Nashville! ha

Currently listening to a 70's CD.....can you say "Hooked on a Feeling?" ha ha....and looking forward to my next post where you will see pics of a friend in the hospital (sounds weird, but all is good), cupping photos of my friend, Simone, and pics of a badly burned HUGE building in Beijing!  LL in China, T.

Early Morning View From My Window!

One must only stay up until around 3:45 am to see the incredible views of sunlight that starts the day here in Beijing.  Here's a recent one:

I used saturation, color, and tint controls to bring out the green you see.  I'm very pleased with the results.  Living on the 24th floor is something I'm going to miss when I return to the States and most likely only live about a foot off the ground, if that! ha  "Where's the mountains, where's the views?"  There's always pros and cons to everything in life.  Living a foot off the ground means I won't have to worry about having to walk up 24 flights of stairs when the power goes out! :)  LL, T.

Birthday Celebrating Galore!

On my birthday, June 19th, I taught a couple of classes and then headed out with Seven to meet up with her mother at a restaurant near our apartment to eat long noodles!  The last time I ate at this restaurant we were celebrating Seven's mother's birthday!  You know....I don't even know her Chinese name.  I just call her "Mama" though she's not that much older than me.  They ordered up a wonderful array of dishes!

Wow!  The big bowl with the two egg patties on top is mine!  We also had roasted pork (though, as you can see, there's only one stick left! ha) and shrimp with cashews, cucumbers and carrots.  I am DEFINITELY going to cook dishes with cucumbers when I return.  I told Seven's mother how we never eat cucumbers hot and cooked in dishes in the States (not normally, at least) and that usually they are just included in cold salads.  Here in China, there are all kinds of hot dishes that include cut-up cucumbers.  I quickly got over my "Huh?" attitude and now I LOVE warm cucumbers cooked in delicious dishes!

This is "Mama."  She's great.  With Seven's translating help, we enjoy conversing.  On this night, she said, "Oh, Teresa, I don't want you to leave."  Awww...  She's a true "mother" who feels free to impart her motherly wisdom and it's always good advice.  She and Seven are very close as they lost their husband and father many years ago.  I have a LOT of respect for Mama.  She encourages me to take the bus instead of taxi's.  This is good advice. :)

After dinner, we walked down the street together to the bus stop (yep....the bus, not a taxi) where I would take the 851 for the 15 minute ride to my apartment.  Two young Chinese guys were walking towards us and as they passed one of them said, under his breath, "Oh my god!" ha  You see...I'm very big and tall and that always attracts lots of attention. :)  I quickly turned around and much to the amusement of Seven and Mama,  yelled (in English, of course), "I heard that!  I can always lose weight!  What are you going to do about your face!" ha ha  Okay...it was only very funny to me!

So fast forward to this past Saturday when I'd be teaching 3 long classes of wonderful Chinese teenagers.....all of whom (except for a couple) forgot about my birthday even though I reminded them at last week's class and told them I wanted them to each make me a card (and, oh yeah, include 500 RMB in each card...which they thought was very funny as that's about $75).

However, the wonderful things they wrote on the whiteboard during a break was just as special to me as cards filled with 500 RMB! ha  I must add, however, that it was the girls who wrote these messages, not the boys!

L to R, Cissy, Helen and Ealian....my Happy Birthday whiteboard creators.

L to R, Chris, Vincent and Ray....my slacker boys! ha  Teenagers across the world...same, same same! ha  Gotta LOVE Chris' face!  Love them all!

This is Gogoanne (sometimes we just call her Anne), our newest local teacher!  She was so surprised that we had arranged a birthday cake for her (June 20th)!  She started crying so it took a few minutes before I could get this photo without tears.  This incredible "cheesecake cake" was made by Wendy, who made my incredible birthday cake with M&M flowers!  Wendy now realizes that she's becoming the "birthday cake baking teacher!"  It was so sweet to see such genuine appreciation from Gogoanne!

L to R, Simone, Gogoanne and Ngachi (pronounced Na-Chi).  Ngachi is our newest foreign teacher.  She's American and from Maine!  Her parents are Chinese and I have no doubt she's going to make a wonderful addition to our teaching family.  She's also a newlywed as she recently married the love of her life, a Beijinger!  We now have American teachers from Tennessee, Florida, California and Maine!  What a diverse slice of Americana!

My last class of the day on Saturdays is my most advanced English speakers.  They're a handful! ha  Two of them presented me with wonderful birthday gifts (a beautiful beaded scarf and a funky little pencil holder that I will just have to post photos of later, both of which I adore).  So on the break I challenged them to draw "birthday" pictures on the whiteboard.  They weren't as creative as my morning class but it was appreciated just as much! ha

I should probably add that on the previous photo of the whiteboard creation....the girls thought I was 47.....I am, in fact, now 48!  Sigh.....  So on this day, I had promised the class that I'd provide pizza and drinks for them because I had lost a bet.  I bet one of my students, Linda, that I'd lose a LOT of weight by June of this year and if I did, she would have to eat a raw onion (she HATES onions!).  She was very wise to take that bet because if I lost...I was to buy them ALL something (hence, the pizza).  I definitely lost the bet! ha  So pizza and drinks it was! ha  I gotta quit making bets with my students!

George!

Nicole!  (after this class, I would be going with Nicole and her mother, my friend, Jeanette, to a great dinner at a Ukranian restaurant....but that's another post!)

L to R, Nina and Landy!  BFF's?  You bet.  Check out their identical arm positions! ha

Beautiful Cathy!

We moved to the "Activity Room" (no carpet, hardwood floors) for pizza eating while viewing a movie Nicole had brought starring Zach Efron!

They were very "into" the movie, even though they were only able to see a third of the movie!  I can guarantee you they'll beg me to see the rest next week.  And....I might give in. If I do....then they know they'll have to engage in a discussion in English about the movie.  These kids have learned SO MUCH by having to "discuss" different topics.  Their oral English has improved greatly through discussion.  Doing boring (did I say boring?) grammar exercises is something they HATE! ha  So I've taken a unique approach with this particular advanced class.  I believe I could write a great plan for teaching Chinese teenagers good English by watching movies and such in English and then having them voice their opinions and answer questions about what they've seen.  For more advanced students, it's a great tool to use that keeps them interested and creates a wonderful environment for speaking English on a very "real" level.  It's a great experience for me to see this....when they discuss issues in English.  Sometimes I don't think they even realize how very adequately they are using their English skills.

So my "birthday weekend" is just getting started so stay tuned.  Also, know that (with apologies to all my past employers) this is probably the first job I've had that I can say I LOVE!  It goes without saying how hard it's going to be for me to leave these kids.  As arrogant as it may sound.....my wish for them is that they find an equally crazy American to continue their English lessons!  Then again.....that might be a little hard! ha  LL in China, T.

Blog Stats!

Tonight, I checked my site reader and noticed that I have had exactly 9,999 visits to my "tinchina" site since it's inception when I first moved to Beijing.  Many of these visits are, of course, many, many repeat visits by family and friends.  But I'll let you know from which country comes my 10,000 site visitor soon! )  If  possible....I'll send along a little gift from China to that visitor! :) I've had visitors to my blog from over 27 countries.  That makes me happy! :)  Stay tuned.....

An Early Birthday Surprise!

Today at work, after our weekly teachers' meeting....I received a wonderful birthday surprise a day early (since we'll all be busy teaching tomorrow).

It's a beautiful and VERY delicious chocolate cake with chocolate icing!  And Wendy, a dear colleague, made it in her small portable oven which makes it even more special. :)  All those sticks aren't candles, but edible chocolate Pocky sticks! :)  YUM!  I'm a lucky birthday girl!

ha ha!

Who loves Wendy?  I do, I do! :)

Nothing like a birthday celebration to bring out the smile! :)

ha ha!  James pretends to SMASH the watermelon....because, ya know, we had to have some healthy additions to all that decadent chocolate! :)

This is my birthday pizza which I gave to myself! ha  I ordered from a Chinese restaurant so the pepperoni isn't quite like American pepperoni but still quite delicious! :)  And a bit cheaper than Papa John's or Pizza Hut.

This is my new favorite toy!  A cute little personal fan.  And you'd be surprised at how well it works!

Testing out my camera's "macro" photo abilities...this is the wonderful phone charm that hangs from my phone!  My friend, Jeanette, gave it to me and I just love it.  I love the Chinese knot and especially the laughing Buddha!

This is my trusy Nokia cell phone!  My friend, Hua (who lives in the States), has a cousin who lives in Beijing and Hua arranged for his cousin to purchase my phone for me before I even arrived.  The night I arrived in Beijing, September 3, 2007, Hua's cousin met me and my CM for dinner and gave me the phone already tuned to English and it was such a blessing!  I only paid 550 RMB (less than $60) for this phone and though it's just a basic phone (no camera or fancy stuff), it has served me well here in China!  Folks pay upwards of 1,000 to 2,000 for cell phones here ($150-$300) but I've found I need nothing more than the ability to talk and text.  Texting is HUGE here; much more so than in the States!  In China, you pay for and own your phone and then just pay for your "minutes" each month.  No one or two year contracts! ha  It's so much better, if you ask me, than having to deal with long contracts before you can switch carriers.  My current American cell phone doesn't even have an outlet for a phone charm!  What's up with THAT?

So my macro feature on my camera is still a little shady! ha  I was trying to capture the great "center of the cake" piece of birthday cake that I enjoyed (the one with the orange and blue M&M's!).  Still, you get the idea.

And before I forget....last night I returned home from work and ordered some food from a restaurant in front of my apartment.  GREAT herb-encrusted butterfly shrimp!  Yum!  So I headed back to my apartment in anticipation of enjoying a bit of DVD-watching time in front of the boob tube with my great shrimp.....only to find that the electricity for my building's elevators had been knocked out by a downed electrical line!  We had electricity in individual apartments because I could see lights on in apartments in my building....but no lights in the foyer and NO working elevators.  Remember....I live on the top floor (24).  So I had a personal dilemma....sit on the sidewalk and enjoy my great shrimp or trudge up 24 floors to my apartment where I could turn on the A/C and be comfortable.  Suffice it to say that I have learned that I CAN walk up 24 flights of very dark stairways aided only by the light of my cell phone!  You had NO idea how much I was panting by the time I reached my door! ha  I met some neighbors on the way up and they laughed when I told them, "pant pant....I live on the 24th floor!" ha ha I went straight to my bathroom and partook of a cold washrag on the face! :)  LL, T.

Bye to Alan and Skye at LaBamba!

This past Monday night, Alan invited a few folks to join him and his girlfriend, Skye, to share a dinner at LaBamba (Mexican joint).  We had a great time!  They'll do some traveling around next week and then leave Beijing to return to Australia in the first week of July.  Alan was my colleague for nearly a year and I learned a lot from his friendship.  We wish Alan and Skye the best as they return to the Land Down Under!  If I'm lucky....one day I'll visit Kang, Alan and Skye's home country!

Alan and Skye.  Mexican food is the BEST and especially when it's Happy Hour! ha

Alan recently told us a very interesting/funny story about traveling around in China and attempting to enter the city of Xiahe (currently closed to foreigners as there's many Tibetans living there and considering the recent troubles.....).  Suffice it to say, Alan did NOT enter the city of Xiahe and instead was kindly escorted out of town by bus by very nice policemen. :)  So I bought him this VERY expensive "leaving gift" of what I imagined his face might have looked like as he was run out of town!

ha ha ha!

Alan gave us cute little kangaroo keychains!  We love ya, man! :)

Some of my very favorite folks here in Beijing!  Safe travels, Alan and Skye!  LL, T.

Fun Times in Beijing with Friends!

I was determined not to stay in my apartment these two "off" days.  I heard that there was a huge new shopping mall very close to my apt. so on Monday I went there with Seven.  Both of us had no idea this great shopping plaza (complete with a Carrefour...French super-supermarket, KFC, McD, Pizza Hut, movie theaters, KTV, etc.) even existed until our friend, Christina (who lives nearby) told us.  You should know that this place is VERY close to my house and also Seven's house and has been open for nearly a year now but who knew! ha  This is just how things go in such a BIG city.  I have a little less than four months to spend in this great city and I would have been SO pissed if I had not discovered this great plaza.  As it stands, I'm still a little pissed that I didn't know about it until now!  There's a GREAT cinema that I could have been enjoying for MONTHS! ha  But...better late than never.....so off Seven and I went to check everything out.

It's called Wan Da plaza.....which in Chinese means a place where you can find and enjoy anything you want but I just call it the "Wanda" Plaza! ha

 

My "window shopping" accomplice, Seven.

This shopping center is 3 floors high so we traveled the length of each floor, went up the escalator to the next floor, traveled the length, etc.

This is where Seven and I had lunch....and what a GREAT lunch!  Seven had Lasagna and I had steak and veggies and we both enjoyed great mashed potatoes with bacon and cheese bread and ice coffee and mango smoothies (me).

You can be sure that I'll be returning to this restaurant in the future! :)  After shopping around we discovered the incredible KTV place in the Wan Da plaza.  KTV is what Chinese folks call "karaoke."  In China....you rent a room and enjoy your karoaoke with your friends...not the public, as in the States.  They showed us the Presidential Suite....and I was FLOORED.  Right then and there I decided that THIS is where I will be having my going away party in late September!  I can't wait!  With Seven's help, I discussed all the details with the employees.  This is going to be a party NOT to be missed! ha

Yep....folks can even practice their golf putting skills at my party! :)

This is where my friend, Wendy, will be singing some incredible songs!  She has a wonderful voice!

Today....(I'll get to last night's leaving dinner with Alan and Skye in my next post)....Simone, Seven and I met up and went to see the new Terminator movie at the Wan Da Plaza cinemas! :)  We intended to see the new Night at the Museum (Part II) movie on their IMAX screen but they said it "wasn't working." ha  We all wondered if that was because Tuesdays are half price! ha  Yesterday, the IMAX movie was working fine...today it's not.  I can almost guarantee you that tomorrow (when the cost of seeing that movie is full price) the IMAX movie will be working fine! ha  Whatever....we were ready to see a movie so Terminator it was!  We bought a big tub of popcorn ($3.00 and the American equivalent of a huge tub of popcorn would be about $7.00! ha) and off we went to the theater.  The movie was good......albeit VERY loud! ha 

As Seven and I entered Carrefour yesterday, we passed by a pet store and saw this cutie in the window!  I inquired and learned that this particular cat is not for sale but if I would like a full-grown cat such as this one....the price would be 7000 RMB (uh, that's $1,000 in US dollars!).  Such a beautiful cat and a breed I've never seen before.  So fast forward to today when I revisited and they had a cute little kitten of the same breed for sale for the bargain price of $525!  The kitten was female and she begged me to take her home! (I swear....she really did beg me!)

See what I mean?  You have no idea how hard I had to battle not emptying out my bank account and taking this little girl home with me!  Sigh......I really wanted her!  After the movie, and after viewing once again the great KTV room I intend to rent in the future....we left the Wan Da shopping plaza and headed up the street to hail a taxi.  We came across a bunch of folks practicing their waltzing abilities.  This is not an uncommon sight to me as many folks dance on the street corners nightly in my community.  But Simone was delighted to see this sight (there's no dancing on the corners where she lives).  So I took a few  photos for her (and her family) to enjoy. 

I used my flash and didn't really capture the waltzers very well but got a cute shot of Simone laughing!

 

Without the flash...you can see more of the folks dancing....and Simone throwing down double peace signs! ha   

Stay tuned because tomorrow night I'll post the pics of my last visit with Alan before he leaves Beijing, along with the story of his great adventure of trying to get into a "closed to foreigners" town in China! :)  LL, T.

Burnin' Confusion....UPDATE!

So....the very same co-worker who "poo-poo'd" my statement that a big fire was going on near our workplace, today told me that I was right! (ha! I already knew that!).  He said that his wife told him that the fire completely destroyed many businesses that sold second-hand items:  clothing, furniture, many things!  Very sad.

I have no intentions of EVER making fun of any of my wonderful students.  However, tonight I received an email from one of my students (whom I've been helping after class with an upcoming oral English exam), thanking me for my "bovine help."  This was very funny to me because he doesn't realize that I am indeed a "cow" here in China as I was born in 1961, which means I'm a "cow/ox" in the Chinese zodiac of animals. :)  But even as I was laughing...I read his next email where he wonderfully self-corrected himself and apologized for the "rude" word he had used and only meant to tell me how very "patient" I am.  That's right, folks.  I'm a GREAT vocabulary teacher! ha  But truthfully, you should know that this young 12-year-old boy has been my student for nearly 2 years and he was once a very shy boy who rarely spoke out in class.  A year ago he would have never emailed me for fear of getting his English wrong.  So, of course, I sent him a very encouraging response telling him that he shouldn't worry because I knew what he "lovingly" meant. :)  And just today in my class with him....I had to tell him to "stop talking!" ha  He is no longer a shy boy in class and is very outspoken, which is a very wonderful transformation for me to see.  Had I only taught these students for one year, I might never get to see the very REAL changes that I am now seeing in my second year of teaching them.  Love my life of teaching ESL?  You bet! :)  LL and my students, T.

Burnin' Confusion!

Yesterday, when I looked out my windows from the 24th floor I saw this:

It looks like a BIG fire to me.

Definitely a big fire....and as I rode into work even the taxi driver commented on the fire and we both agreed that the fire was coming from the Zhonguancun section of Haidian District (very near to my workplace).  So when I got into work I told a Chinese co-worker about it and asked him to get online and see what the "breaking news" was about this big fire.

Co-worker:  You know, Teresa, I'm sure you just THOUGHT it was a big fire. 

Me:  I'm tellin' ya...it's a BIG fire!  And I'm sure it's still burning.

Co-worker:  No worries, Teresa...if it was a big fire, we'd know about it.

Me:  I have PHOTOS!  The fire looks to be about a 30 minute drive from my apt. and it's very, very big!

Co-worker:  Okay...I'll check....but I'm sure it's nothing.

He checked.  He said he found no information.  And at this very moment...I still have no idea where this fire was exactly or any information about it! ha  I guess I'll never know....  Lots of black smoke clouding the skies and NO information about this fire! Oh well.......  I suppose I should just be glad it wasn't in my community.  Fires seems to be very rare here....despite the fact that folks build fires on sidewalks and small strips of grass, etc.  I've only ONCE in my two years here witnessed a fire engine blaring down a street!  Apt. buildings here are made from CONCRETE....ALL CONCRETE.....steel and concrete.  Perhaps that accounts for the lack of big fires.  It certainly keeps down the noise from neighboring apartment folks. :)  This is why I feel free to play my music very loud in my apartment! :) 

I also took this great photo at the same time as the "fire photos" from my apt. windows.  The landscape from my windows continues to change as more and more apartment buildings go up!

 LL,T.

Random Musings on a Tuesday Evening.......

Yesterday and today were off days.  I spent the majority of these two days with my close friend, my apartment! :)  And, of course, various DVDs and books.  Currently reading a couple of books, Agatha Christie's autobiography (thanks, Devon) and The Cinderella Moment, by Gemma Fox (British author).  Currently listening to Johnny Clegg (South African musician, with shout outs to Simone and Ianthe), and I have Jack Johnson up next (Hawaiian, with a shout out to Nick) and then The Carpenters' Greatest Hits (shout out to all you old folks! ha).  What can I say...my musical tastes are diverse in the extreme sense.  Yesterday, it rained nearly the entire day coupled with some rumbling thunder.  This is a bit unusual in Beijing.  I've recently watched the second season of ELI STONE (GREAT show) and I say second season because I bought a package that was supposed to contain both the first and second seasons....however, both DVDs were the second season! ha  My DVD man on the street, however, will gladly allow me to return it to him and choose something else.  I've also watched the first season of 30 ROCK and I really loved it!  Very funny and I love Tiny Fey and Alec Baldwin.  But, by far, the most important DVD watched this week was The Conscientious Objector.  This is definitely a MUST-SEE!  It's a documentary about Desmond T. Doss, the first conscientious objector to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.  What an amazing man!  He passed away in 2006, a month after his 87th birthday, in Piedmont, Alabama.  The documentary was made in 2004.  During World War II he was an Army medic who saved many, many lives in Okinawa without ever touching a weapon.  He suffered a lot because of his convictions to be a medic who did not carry a weapon, yet in the end proved to be one our bravest soldiers as he risked his life many times over to aid the wounded on the battlefield.  The documentary is very moving.  There's a lot I could say but....really....try to get your hands on this incredible documentary!  Ironically, in the same week that I watched this documentary about a man who refused to kill yet wanted desperately to serve his Country....I finished Ice Man, a book about perhaps the deadliest seriel killer of all time, Richard Kuklinski.  He was a contract killer for the Mafia and after killing hundreds of innocent people along with many 'bad guys," he was brought to justice and incarcerated for life. He also died in 2006.  It was a fascinating tale as told by Philip Carlo.  It was donated to our little library at work by Alan, an Australian, who received it from another foreigner living in Beijing.  I then passed it along to Tamara, who enjoyed reading it during her long flight home (and had also studied Kuklinski in her psychology studies at University).  Anyway.....definite irony.

This afternoon, I ventured out and enjoyed some time at one of my favorite coffee houses, the Gemini Cafe.  Pics you say?  Why, I'd be happy to oblige....

It's a wonderful little cafe!  The menu is....well, the drink menu has everything translated into English so no problem there...but the food menu (on the flip side) is solely in Chinese.  Tonight, I enlisted the help of Seven to order a delicious plate of spaghetti with meat sauce.

From my favorite table.....and this is....

....my favorite lamp that sits on my favorite table.  All the table lamps are different.  I love that. :)

As I walked to the Gemini Cafe, I passed a couple with their cute little twin boys in a double stroller.  They looked to to be about 10-11 months old.  One was asleep, but the other one caught my eye and smile and as he was strolled past me, he turned and craned his neck and kept my smiling gaze for a while.  So cute.  He was probably thinking, "Hey! My Mommy and Daddy haven't told me about people that look like you!  You are SO different!"  Different, indeed.  Isn't it great?  Without differences, our world would be so very booooring!  LL, T.

Student Adventure!

On Saturday evenings, I teach a class from 4:20 to 6:40 pm.  They are some of my favorite students (okay....ALL my students are my favorite students! ha) and my most advanced English speakers!  I can be having a very tired day....but when I meet these students....they bring smiles and laughter and it's a great end to a long teaching day! :)  Yesterday, they BEGGED me to go outside and take a walk to a nearby park.  I've done this before with them but it's been a long time.  So I asked permission from my Manager, promised to keep a good eye on them (when we cross the streets, I stand in the middle of street and DARE a car to even get close to us! ha) and off we went!  It's a great experience for me to walk with them to the park!  I tell them that they CAN'T speak any Chinese...but of course they start laughing and talking in Chinese which is when I start yelling, "HEY!  NO CHINESE...ONLY ENGLISH!" ha 

Skye....the boy in the blue and white striped shirt...was laughing but at what?  I don't know....ha

As we were walking along the street, we passed by some "ground level" apartments that had small courtyards, many of which had wonderful small gardens.  This one exhibited great grapevines with grapes growing!  I made all my students stop and look and pointed out the grapes.  They were all amazed. :)  You just have to stop and notice!

As we were walking along, we saw a bunch of stuff (Uh...junk) on a street corner where someone might be attempting to sell it...and saw this poor thing!  I just felt so bad for this little chicken.  I wondered why it wasn't "flying the coop" so to speak.  Here's why!

If you look hard, you can see that this gal's left leg is tied up by a string, preventing any escape.  So sad.  No one was around.  If they had been...I would probably have given them an earful about the humane treatment of animals....even a single, lonely chicken!  These feelings, however, come from an American point of view and many Chinese truly view animals as a means to an end....that end being the stomach.  As someone who enjoys the consumption of animals (well, it's true, ya know.....cows, pigs, ducks, etc.), it's rare that I see said animals on the street and at the same time think about eating them.  You know....I have a lot of respect for vegetarians...and enjoy veggie meals very much.  I have often wondered about the obvious health benefits of adopting a vegetarian lifestyle.  Perhaps I should re-consider a change in my dietary lifestyle. But (with apologies to all vegetarians)....the roasted duck here is SO delicious that I'm afraid I couldn't possibly consider such a change until I return to the States.  (I'm afraid I'm not winning any friends right now....so I should stop with the culinary thoughts and continue on with the adventure with my students! ha)

The "boys' had gone ahead to the basketball courts! ha  Back to front we have Linda, Cathy, Nicole, Nina and Landy! :)  Young girls with beautiful smiles and beautiful individual personalities!

So we walked down the stairs and there was a beautiful little girl enjoying the park with her father:

She was holding a little pink feather and was just so adorable.  So you know I had to go up to her and attempt a conversation with her! ha

Me:  Ni hao!  Wo jiao Teresa!  Ni jiao ma? (Hello, my name's Teresa. What's your name?)

Cute little girl:  Michelle!  (whaaaa?)

Cute girl's father: Yes, we know you.  Michelle is a student at your school!

You see....we have lots of students and I don't teach several hundred of them.  But they all know me as they see me often and have been seeing me for nearly 2 years now! ha  So I asked Michelle, "How old are you?" and she said "I'm fine, thank you!" ha  This is pretty common.  Her father corrected her in Chinese and she said, "3 years old." :)  Then her father told me that she's "3.5 years old."  Which, of course, brought me back to memories of my son when he would tell folks he was "4 and three-quarters years old!" ha ha 

A couple of the guys (and then later, Skye also joined in) in a "pick up" game of basketball!  Which left my girls feeling a little....

BORED! ha  So after taking a great photo of Skye attempting to throw the basketball up in the air and catch it.....

....the girls and I decided to take a nice walk around the park.  We came upon some men practicing tai chi!  This is a common sight in parks and apartment courtyards in Beijing but I remain amazed at the sight and love watching! :)

The guy in black was the tai chi instructor.

At first, I tried to take photos all "clandestine" and such but when I realized no one minded, I became a bit more bold. :)

So cool to watch!

I can only hope to be able to move like this in the coming future! ha (I won't be holding my breath!)

Landy attempts to follow the instructor's tai chi movements as Linda.....

.....goofs around a bit! ha

We continued on our little walk around the park and came across a man playing the "er hu," a traditional Chinese string instrument.  My students, however, said he "wasn't very good."  :)  We returned to the basketball court to retrieve "the boys" and I called out to them that they had "5 minutes." ha  Then, after said 5 minutes, I said, "Okay guys, it's time to go!"  They called out, "one more minute."  So....okay.  One more minute.  Then, "Okay, guys, come on!"  "One more minute!" ha ha  Don't ever think that ALL kids in this world aren't exactly alike! ha

It's great to be able to get some of my students out of the classroom and into the local environment!  It's an occasion for me to use a lot of "local" English with them and allows them to interact with me in English in a more "real" setting.  This is how one can really learn a second language! :)  LL, T.

I Scream, You Scream....

We all scream for ice cream! :)  Yeah....I'm full of childish sayings such as this.  So yesterday was the last working day for Tamara, one of our foreign teachers from Canada.  As I write this she's zipping across the skies toward her home country as she left Beijing on a 4:00 pm flight today!  In just a mere 8 hours, she'll arrive. :)

Thank you, Baskin Robbins, for making ice cream cakes in Beijing!  They are VERY expensive (a little over $60....yep, you heard me right, 430 RMB) but Tamara was worth it! :)  So, you see, not EVERYTHING is cheaper in China!  This cake was unusual because it was JUST ice cream inside, no cake layer!  The inside was delicious chocolate ice cream with chocolate chunks!

Everyone is preparing to sing "Auld Lang Syne" in CHINESE to Tamara! :)  Tamara and I both videoing the singing action.

Left to right, Simone and Christina, looking a bit pensive.

I don't remember what caused such laughter...but it must have been funny! :)  Left to right, Cathy, Wendy and Wishing!  Now for some cake-eating/spoon in mouth photos! :)

Our newest CR (Course Representative) Margaret (which I tend to call "Maggie") and Bill, from Florida, USA! :)

ha ha

 

Tamara!  So cute!

And we end with a little Seven cuteness! ha  Seven, who LOVES ice cream, was so excited that she was literally jumping up and down as the cake was being cut! ha  I just LOVE her!  We hate seeing a teacher leave us but it's inevitable for foreign teachers, as they return to their lives in their home countries.  However....the leaving cakes are great! :)  LL, T.

Beijing Slowly Wakes....

Taken around 4:00 am from my apartment.....

Cool, right?  LL, T.

Twist and Shout!

When I went to the States for a visit last November, I brought back several games.  One was the game, Twister! :)  I introduced the fun of playing Twister to my most advanced class last week and they had an absolute ball!  So much laughter and they were all speaking English while playing without even realizing it, which was great to hear!  Again, I have a great video which I hope to post to Vimeo.com sometime soon.  I am now going to several Twister photos which are mainly for the enjoyment of my students as I'll show them my blog this coming weekend.  Sorry for the redundancy of many Twister-playing photos! ha

They went wild with taking photos and videos on their cell phones!  Yep...they ALL have cell phones!

ha ha ha!

I had been letting 4 students play at a time but they decided they should ALL play! ha

Hey!  Look at me! ha  Don't even bother asking me if I love these kids! ha  When I return to the States, I'll most likely return to the corporate world.  I can't imagine having to take a job that doesn't include kids! I have such newfound respect now for teachers.  It can be a tough job but the rewards are great and to see a student turn a corner or come up to you and thank you or give you a note telling you how much they appreciate you.....PRICELESS!  I have learned many wonderful life lessons from my young students and they have learned just how crazy some Americans can be! ha  LL, T.

Young Students....

These are some of my younger students.  We have Open Door classes every now and then where the parents come in and observe for a while and can also participate in the class. 

I co-teach this class with Seven and she is preparing the students with an exercise before their parents arrive.  Seven is an EXCELLENT teacher and her English is great!  She gets more and more fluent every day (plus...she hangs around me a lot..ha..so she's learning lots of unusual words!).  These young kids are fun to teach!  Some of them have been in my class since I began teaching here and there's a big difference in our "conversations" these days and nearly two years ago! We can now have simple discussions where they converse freely in English and not just answering coursebook questions, etc.  It's great to experience seeing their progress.

This is 10-year-old Peter with his mother (whom I've taught since I first arrived) and he's just adorable.  Being a very extroverted boy, I can count on him for lots of classroom antics and he loves to answer ALL my questions, no matter who I'm actually calling on! "I'm sorry, is your name Rose?" ha ha

Seven will surely kill me for posting this pic (ha) but she's just so cute with her dimples and all! :)  I just love her and she has truly been INVALUABLE to me here in China as a friend and colleague!

Seven hands out course completion certificates.

The little girl to the far right is Rose.  She's a very shy girl so I love it when she speaks a lot and erupts into laughter at some of my own classroom antics! :)

This class is normally much bigger!  Several of our students moved up to TB classes (11-15 year olds) just before this class and a couple of students were absent.  The boy to the far left is my newest student in this class, Stuart.  He's 8 and adds a lot to our class! ha  His speaking abilities are far better than his reading and writing but we're working on that.

Everyone thought this was funny as I crouched down to make myself level with Seven and Shelagh. Shelagh is a CR (Course Representative) with us.  I've known Shelagh since one month after arriving in Beijing, when a former EF Manager introduced me to her.  She now works with us and is doing a great job.  Both Seven and Shelagh are very special to me and I call them my "Chinese daughters."  Since I have arrived in Beijing they have both married the loves of their life and are now happy married girls.  I have one other "Chinese daughter" who works with another one of our schools, Jojo.  Jojo is also a very special young Chinese girl to me; very sweet and caring (when I say "young" it's because they are all in their mid-20's).  Unfortunately, I'm not able to meet up with Jojo very often but when we do, we have a great time.  I'll miss them all very much when I move back to the States but rest easy in the knowledge that we'll communicate frequently via email and Skype. :)  Jojo and Shelagh frequently call me "Mom."  Seven, I'm sure, just calls me a pain in the neck! ha ha ha ha  But that's said with lots of love!  Seven is my one friend here who has seen ALL the sides of me.....frustration and all! ha  LL, T.

Tianjin, Part III (Finale!)

So after a great meal at the home of Bailey and Charlie....Charlie graciously offered to show me around the city.  I really wanted to see the Tianjin Port but this is as close as we could legally get:

There's LOTS of construction going on in the TEDA (Tianjin Economic Development Area) so we took more than one wrong turn and had to backtrack.  But doing so caused us to come across some interesting sights.

Cool! 

We finally made our way to the water....to the Binhai Aircraft Carrier Theme Park!  Upon entering, you see lots of fighter jets and places where you can pay to enjoy playing war games....called CS in China.  Don't ask, cause I don't know what CS stands for.  But it's manmade areas with hills and sand and such and folks enjoy it here.  I imagine it's much like playing paintball games.

This is our destination.  The Soviet aircraft carrier, the "Kiev."

That's right....it's an actual theme park! :)

Only me, Linda, and her cousin, Alyssa, would tour the carrier.  Charlie and Melody (Linda's Mom) stayed behind in the van for a little nap.  There were many things to do such as museum buildings and such but we just toured the carrier.  I honestly thought this adventure would be boring. I was wrong!  It was VERY interesting to tour this aircraft carrier and see all about life aboard.

ha ha!

One of the "control rooms" with lots of "Russian" mannequins.  The funny thing was this:  there was a big flat screen TV in this room playing "Red October" dubbed in Chinese! :)  Also funny....stupid me had no idea this was a RUSSIAN aircraft carrier.  I thought it was Chinese.  So I questioned Linda about the mannequins looking Western and not Chinese and she informed me, "But this is a Russian  carrier!" ha  I stood corrected! ha  From that point on....things made much more sense! ha

So interesting...this torpedo compartment!

Meandering around on the deck.

So we're ready to tour the upper decks of this interesting carrier!

We traveled up many STEEP stairs to the upper reaches of the carrier! 

Captain's chair!

Full speed ahead!  And yes....I said that out loud as I pushed the lever forward! ha

If I hadn't already learned that this was a RUSSIAN aircraft carrier....this would have been a big clue!

Yes, I'd like two large pepperoni pizzas, please!

More clues that this was a Soviet ship!  Made me wonder just how close this aircraft carrier actually came to U.S. waters.  This carrier was in active operation until 1993 and China purchased it in 1996.

A view of the "theme park" from the aircraft carrier.  I shot a great video of amphibious vehicles taking folks on rides from land to sea...circling the carrier. So you KNOW we had to do this! ha  I thought I had also taken a great video of us on the amphibious jeep...but my camera ran out of memory as I was shooting and I didn't realize that until too late.

I sat in the front seat of the amphibious jeep with the "driver/captain" as we circled the waters surrounding the aircraft carrier!

RR

Rear of the "Kiev."  What a great time we had. :)  If you ever get the opportunity to tour an aircraft carrier....trust me...it's NOT boring! :)  We joined Charlie and Melody, who had enjoyed a nice long nap...and headed back to their apartment, where we re-grouped and then headed out for coffee and a little dinner (for me, as I was taking the 8:00 pm fast train back to Beijing).  We went to a UBC coffeehouse which is a coffee house chain here in China and I have visited UBC's many times.  They have great food and great service....and they are much cheaper than Starbucks, which doesn't serve food.  We headed up to the top level of this UBC to the private rooms. :)

The waitstaff were overly attentive.....because, you know, they were waiting on a party with a foreigner!  I'm telling you....foreigners are treated VERY special in China.  Nearly two years of living here and I'm still amazed at the special attention foreigners receive here.  It is really amazing and at the same time....strange.  I guess you'd have to live here to understand the full impact of this strange and wonderful phenomena.  But...hey...I'm certainly not complaining.  It certainly makes foreigners feel very warm and welcomed. :)  Again, I can only say that there's a WORLD of difference in the way I am treated as a foreigner in this amazing country and the way foreigners are treated in America.

My delicious chocolate coffee!

As I've also said before...when you order an ice cream dish...it's never just ordinary ice cream in a dish such as it might be in the States...it's surrounded by delicious fruit, presented in a very fancy manner!  Linda and Alyssa shared this wonderful display of fruit and ice cream.

Bailey, Charlie, Alyssa, Melody and my student, Linda. :)  They took me to the train station for my 7:59 pm fast train back to Beijing.  I tried to convince them to just drop me off but they insisted on parking and coming into the train station with me.  As I went through the turnstill and up the stairs to the train platform I turned around and there they all were....waving at me!  I waved back and thanked my lucky stars for having experienced this wonderful day.  Thank you Linda and Melody for inviting me to spend a day with your relatives....and thank you Charlie and Bailey for welcoming me into your home, providing a meal I'll never forget, and taking me sightseeing.  I will never forget this day!  Loving LIfe in China, T.