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Updates...Oh China...

You know you're in China when...
-You see umbrellas everywhere at all times - the Chinese think the whiter you are the more beautiful you are so they carry umbrellas around when it is sunny to protect their skin from getting tan
-Bus drivers drive on any side of the road to save time - I was on a bus that got stuck behind some traffic. Instead of waiting, the driver decided to pull out of our lane into the lane of oncoming cars. Luckily, the Chinese expect for crazy stuff to happen while driving so at no time were we in too much danger.

Food to add to the list that I've eaten in China:
Pig feet
100 year old eggs (they aren't actually 100 years old, it's just what they are called)
Pig skin
Baby pigeon
Pig spine (well the meat around the spine)

Fun stuff that has been going on during my adventure:

Below you can see some pictures from Teachers Day. It was a true holiday, I even received those mass text messages from people saying “Hope you’re having a great Teachers Day”. Every school has a banquet and ships their teachers off to a nicer location (one of my friends got taken to an entirely different city to go on an overnight stay at a hot springs resort). Well Fuat and I went to the buses that were supposed to take us to the hotel and there weren’t any seats left. We were asked to stand in the aisle along with some of the other teachers. Then a man came over and pointed at Fuat and me and motioned for us to follow him. He showed us to a car and motioned for us to get in. As I was sliding into the car I noticed a briefcase and bag on the seat, someone ran over to move them and I looked up and it was the Principal of the school! It turned out that we were being asked to ride in the backseat of the state provided Principal’s car. So he sat up front while we were driven to the hotel. He doesn’t speak any English so Fuat and I mainly just looked out the window. It was a very nice car and an honor that we were asked to ride with him.

Due to the fact that most of the teachers at this school do not speak English, I eat most of my meals at my own table, unless Fuat is there at the same time I am. I bring my book and it’s really not bad eating alone, especially when you realize even if you did sit with other people you wouldn’t be able to communicate with them anyway. Well, this older gentleman has taken to joining me if he sees me sitting by myself. He doesn’t speak a bit of English but we do our best at communicating. The first day was great, he saw how I was using chop sticks and motioned that I was doing it wrong. He showed me how the correct way was and insisted that I practice. He would take his own chop sticks and pick up green beans really quickly and eat them, then he’d look at me like “now your turn”. I had a lot of fun practicing and have been trying to use them correctly ever since. Sometimes when we are sitting together he’ll find an English teacher to come over and translate for us. I think they get annoyed, but they play along for a little bit at least. I really didn’t understand his role at first in the school, because he seemed to command a lot of respect with the other teachers. They would bring him food and automatically do anything that he asked. I found out yesterday that he is the Director of all of the logistical portions of the school. So he oversees the housing, the cafeteria, etc. I’m still not sure if it’s his age, his position, or if he’s just really well liked that makes him so respected.

This past Wednesday, I got a group of us together to go play cards in central Shenzhen. We tried to plan for it early because unfortunately the buses all stop by 10 or 1030pm around here. The whole goal of every night is to at least make it part way home by bus or metro so that the taxi ride will be shorter and cheaper. Well Wednesday we made it to Xili, but I was still a half hour walk from home and it was late and dark. I’ve gotten used to the walk home at night, and walk along the street so that the path is lit. Plus, Shenzhen is a really safe area. But I didn’t really feel like walking all the way home that night so I got a motorcycle taxi! There are a ton of guys that just ride around on their little motorcycles and offer people rides for a fee. I hadn’t tried one yet and wanted to before I left China, so I figured why not take advantage of the situation and cross something off of my to do list. The ride was not at all as scary as I thought it would be. It was more expensive than a regular taxi, but it was worth the experience.