Back

I safely made it back to Phoenix last night. While a piece of my heart is (and will always be) in Chengdu, I can honestly say that it is good to be home. Thanks for reading my blog, and letting me share some of this experience with you. See you soon

Goodbye Chengdu

I leave Chengdu tomorrow. I can’t say I’m happy about it, but regardless I am going to board a 3 pm flight and head back. Instead of focusing this blog on the fact that I am devastated that I can no longer: teach three days a week from 8-12, eat hot-pot whenever I want, sit for hours at a tea house reading, playing cards, and writing; and have it be exactly what everyone else is doing, eat at the nicest restaurant in town for what it costs to go to Chili’s in The States, sit and chat with world famous authors from all over the world at an exclusive literary festival, and be the center of attention all the time I will instead focus this entry on what I am looking forward to when I get home:

Boneless Skinless Chicken

Spinatos

Magazine Club

Laughlin

Wipe-out Wednesday

Postinos

Cheese

PCDS

Yoga

SEED

Not having to pay for LOST

Of course these are the things on the short list…I’ve missed you! See you soon!

Locked In

I’ve been locked out of a lot of things in my life. My apartment, my house, my car etc…I have never (until this moment) been locked in my apartment. Apparently, when someone locks a door from the outside here in China, it cannot be opened again until someone one unlocks it from the outside. In short, when Keith and Chuin-Pei left the apartment this morning, they locked the door behind them, locking me in. Not to worry, Christine called the guard from downstairs, and he went next door to their window, and I threw him the key from my window, and he let me out GOOD TIMES!

Week of Tears

The P.C.D.S. group has arrived! It is wonderful to have them here. I am glad to be passing the weekend with Keith and Jun-Pei. They are staying in my apartment with me, and the atmosphere is that of family. I was very impressed with the way they handled a fully scheduled day after their long trip. They got a bit tired at the end, but were lively and talkative for most of the day! KUDOS! Today we are going shopping with Vicky. Since Vicky is one of my favorite people, I think we should will have an amazing time. Monday, I teach a full schedule in the morning, but I think the group will spend a good portion of the day at the school. Both Keith and Jun-Pei will be teaching a class, and then the group is scheduled to make dumplings together in the afternoon. I also think that at some point they will go to the Panda breeding center.

As for me personally, I am feeling a bit unfinished in my experience here. I need more time. But, alas, I don’t have it. So instead of feeling sad, I will embrace life and enjoy the time I do have. I have plenty of goodbyes to say this week, and they will be tearful. I have met such wonderful people here and have formed friendships that I know will last even when I return to the States. Actually, with some of my Chinese colleagues and with some of my new friends from Phoenix, New York, Germany, and Australia, I feel as though I will simply be keeping in touch with family when I leave.

Don’t misunderstand me. I have missed the States and my friends and family. I definitely have friends in the States that are like family to me. One consistency in my life is that no matter where I am, I am constantly surrounded by incredible people. I am humbled by the fact that my life is filled with as much love as I allow.

Brightness

As my departure nears, I become increasingly sad. Then I decide to focus on the moment, and all is well. I have been in China for five weeks. In this short time, I have become overwhelmingly comfortable in the lifestyle here. I know that this is largely due to my adaptable personality, but it is also because these people are amazing. Their culture is rich with friendliness, hospitality, and character. Character comes second to family here, and I truly feel as though my content of character is what makes or breaks my success in the eyes of the people. They’d rather hear about the desires of my heart than hear a list of my accomplishments. I appreciate this more than I can put into words. Are there things I dislike? Of course there are things that I dislike (no place/person is perfect), but do they outweigh the things I love? NO!

In the past, I have been told that I “bring brightness.” Apparently here in Chengdu, I have “brought the Arizona sun with me.” (or so I am told) We are in our 7th day of perfectly sunny weather. (I am also told that 7 days in a row of sun is extremely rare.) It is beautiful, everyone is out and about, and I am sipping jasmine tea in the shade writing. I am completely relaxed, refreshed, rejuvenated, and happy.

Next week my beloved Chengdu students will be practicing and fine tuning their scenes for performances the week after. I am hoping that the P.C.D.S. group that is coming to visit will be able to see some of the performances. I was very pleased to hear that some of my former students will be coming with the group. It will be nice to experience Chengdu with them.

The writing club was canceled last week due to St. Patrick’s Day. I am told that it will be happening this Wednesday evening, so the update about that is on it’s way.

I am still just soaking it all in and loving it! I’m missing you all, but I’m so happy!

Peach Blossoms

Today was glorious! A full day was spent with all of the Senior 1 (10th Grade) teachers. We drove out to the countryside to bask in the sunshine near the peach trees. The peach blossoms are various shades of pink. Combined with the trees and other plants, these blossoms make the village unique. The mountains are covered in spotted hues of pink, red, yellow, and green. We played cards, hiked, ate snacks, and had two meals together. We even managed to keep most of the conversation away from school and our students. Apparently, they get together a lot as a team. They remind me of the  7th Grade Team back at PCDS. I miss you all something fierce! Anyway, you are probably wondering where all of our students were while we were all playing in the mountains on a Tuesday afternoon. Well, all of our schedules were changed, and as it turns out, there are no English classes on Tuesdays! WOO HOO! It means that I have five classes on Mondays, three on Wednesdays, and four on Thursdays (all are still held between 8:00 am and 12:00 pm). They actually asked me if this schedule was too difficult for me! Can you believe it? They thought teaching three days a week from 8:00-12:00 would be too difficult? I’m being spoiled people!

Tomorrow the students will actually have scripts in their hands for the scenes they have chosen to perform. I can’t wait for our first “rehearsal!”

In other news, tomorrow night I have been invited by my American teacher friends to attend a special St Patrick’s Day dinner. I will go to the dinner and then attend my first writing club event. (Update on this to come.)

Other than that, I am still “living the life” and “loving the moment.”

blog error

I typed up a beautiful account of the weekend, the first day of scenes at school, the writing club I joined, the literary festival news, and how I am loving every second of being here. Then, it got erased! I have no energy to retype it right now. Sorry, maybe I will  tomorrow after I return from an outing to the countryside with my fellow Senior 1 teachers. It should be beautiful! The peach blossoms are said to be in full bloom! Until then, rest assured that I am wonderful!

Short Stories, Games, and Literary Festivals

We just finished reading, The Lover of Horses by Tess Gallagher. It was a positive experience for us all.

I think the students found the vocabulary challenging. By the time they finished reading, I think they felt very proud of themselves for figuring out the words and persevering. They really enjoyed the story and the themes/ questions it raised. Their favorite was the question of: “How much of us physically, mentally, personality, thought process, etc…is made up for us by our parents?” They had many discussions and debates on the issue, making class time exuberant.

I felt a little weird about the amount of reading and homework I was assigning. I know it took a the students a long time to read the story. Especially since they had so many new words to look up. In the end, I felt okay about it. The other teachers assured me that I was assigning a normal amount. Seeing the looks on their faces after they completed the story, understood it, and made some unique observations about life and themselves was all the affirmation I needed.

Tomorrow, we are playing Jeopardy to review some of their new vocabulary words. We are playing for fun. I already gave them a quiz last week, in which they passed in overwhelming numbers.

Next week, I will assign the scenes that they will perform during my last week here.  I found a book of short scenes from plays and novels that they can memorize and perform during class. I will even teach them  theater terms, blocking, and maybe even some stage combat! It will give them good speaking practice to memorize and perform a scene in English. I think we are all looking forward to the upcoming unit.

Last night, I attended an international literary festival that is being held at my favorite coffee shop/library/bookstore/restaurant. Throughout the month, there will be authors, poets, and lyricists from all over the world. They will be speaking, singing, and holding discussions and workshops. Last night the speaker asked for a volunteer to read one of his poems aloud for everyone. Being the chronic volunteer that I am, I raised my hand and was chosen. I didn’t even fall off the stage! It was a blast, and I can’t wait to attend some of the other events this weekend.

I am loving it here, but I am also missing you all back home in Phoenix and Colorado as well. I hope you all know how much I love and appreciate you.

SPIN: For Jodi, Jose, Katie, and Shelia

The best way to try to understand spin class in Chengdu is to picture Richard Simmons cycling through the 80′s. But instead of Richard Simmons as the instructor, picture Jodi’s Chinese twin. (With random bursts of singing and endless talking, she was just like Jodi, but in Chinese.) The room includes black lights, colored lights, spotlights, and a disco ball. The bikes are on risers, (like stadium seating for cyclists) and there is that weird confetti wallpaper. (Don’t pretend that you don’t know what I’m talking about.) Anyway, that’s right people, I felt like I was in an 80′s nightclub.

The workout was intense though. Even though the instructor had Jodi’s personality and looks, she had Jose’s drive. She made it seem like no big deal as we headed at full speed through our 6th and 7th gear changes. She even gave us a three-minute warm-up.

Shelia would be proud that she ended on time, and Katie would be disappointed that she started late. Apparently, these people only give the instructor one hour. If we start late, people will still get up and leave at the hour mark even if the class is not over. In fact, people just get up and leave whenever here. I saw a few people get up and leave half way through.

I forgot to mention how easy it is to understand spin class in Chinese. Of course, it didn’t hurt that every now and then the instructor would turn the spotlight onto me and say, (in perfect English) “Okay…one more gear…and STAND UP!” I, of course, was the only person in the room who could understand this command, so I would do this alone…in spotlight…for about fifteen seconds until everyone turned to look at me to copy the action.

Jose would be proud that she ended the stretches with his customary bicep flex. (What, is there some kind of international spin instructor school somewhere?)

She did not bring cookies for us to eat at the end like Jodi sometimes does. But, she did offer to take me to a bakery afterward. I took a rain check.

WHAT A BLAST!!

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about. Head on over to Foothills Revolution and take a spin!

For those of you who know exactly what I’m talking about. Can you believe it?

My Life

Life is life no matter where I am. I am doing a lot of the same things I would be doing in Phoenix. I am teaching, going to the gym, doing yoga, finding a cycling class, eating vegetable stew for dinner (when I’m not being taken out by my wonderful colleagues), watching LOST, and loving every second.

My point is: While I am in China, and I am seeing and experiencing new and different things (riding around on a moped for one); overall, life is life, and I can  make this life what I want no matter where I am.

What matters most is that this is a decision that I make. I choose to live a happy and adventurous life. Will things always go positively? NO! But, in the midst of things gone wrong, there is the decision: What kind of life do I want to lead? And it is in this decision that I can find peace.