Spring Arbor, China

Hello again everyone. As usual, I lost track of time and waited too long for an update! So, here it goes.

National Day (October 1st) is basically China's July 4th. It celebrates the day that communism came in to power. We had about 5 days off. Rebecca and Mandi went to Shanghai. Cory and Lara went to her hometown. Kirk, Daniel, and I couldn't really make up our mind if we wanted to go somewhere or not. We finally decided to take a train trip to Lu Shan, a mountain a few hours away. In China, you can't buy train tickets more than 10 days in advance, so during peak travel times buying tickets is crazy! Needless to say, we waited too long and there were none available. We didn't really care and just hung out with some of our friends that we don't get to see often.

After vacation, we FINALLY got our schedules worked out with the school and everyone's happy. It's nice to get back into a rhythm. Just in time for a week-long vacation next week! The Senior 2 students (juniors) that Kirk, Daniel, and I teach are hiking to the countryside to experience the "real world," so the three of us are planning on traveling to Fenghuang (Phoenix City). I don't really know anything about this place, but maybe I'll see Steve Nash!

Yesterday was an interesting day at our school. Our group (Zhong Relations) was started by a couple who is connected to Spring Arbor University, the school in my hometown. Over the past few years, our organization has built a relationship with SAU as well as our high school. Now these two schools have reached an agreement to try to send Wuhan No. 1 students to study at SAU! I'm excited because I think it can be a great connection with a C school. Plus, I might be seeing some of my students in Spring Arbor in the future!

Some SAU staff visited the school yesterday to take a tour as well as give a speech to interested students. It was cool seeing the president as well as some other staff members I know from home, including my Mom's boss!

Two other quick notes. My uncle is still not doing well and probably does not have much time left. Also, I had my phone interview with Teach for America. There were A LOT of technology issues as we talked. I could barely hear my interviewer for the first half of the interview. We finally got it worked out. I thought it went okay, and figured it could go either way. Unfortunately, I found out a few days later it didn't go the way I was hoping! Oh well. So I guess I'm still a free agent after this year with the option to re-sign!

The first day of class, I have my students fill out a sheet with various information. At the bottom, I give them the option to ask a question about me or America. I'll leave you with my favorite English names and questions (some serious, some funny)!

Favorite Names
Frozen
Nith
Castro
Eating
Mr. Bean
Nothing
Silence
Ehome
New York
Shevchenko
Fuke
Joker
Soil
Sure
Z
Gilbert Artest (Named after Gilbert Arenas and Ron Artest. Two CRAZY NBA players.)
Icy Roc
Pfizer
Tragedy
Sherlock Holmes
Cloud Strife
Jacky Spitzer Godot
Caviar
Snoopy
Sonic
Thunderboy
Big Sea
Zooney
Son of Dragon
Elysion Laflanzie
Rnbaye (His favorite soccer team is Bayern.)
Viper SB
Geasy (pronounced Gassy)
Jack the Ripper


Favorite Questions
Do you have a girlfriend? (The #1 asked questions both years)
Do you like Mr. Bean?
Why don't you find a girlfriend quickly? You're handsome.
Come on! Try your best to teach us!
Do you like Lady Gaga?
What's your favorite bank?
Do you want to marry a Chinese girl?
Is it true that almost every high school student has a love affair?
Do you like your girlfriend?
To be or not to be?
What if there is no church in Wuhan?
Could you take me to America?
I want to know more about chrch. I'm also a C.
Who is the most beautiful girl in America?
Why are you so handsome?
How many girlfriends does an American boy have? What about you?
Do you like the person who sits on my right?
What costumes do you love?
Who do you admire? Obama or Jsus?
Is there a real God in the world? Or just in everyone's mind?
What's your favorite sentence in the Holy Book?
You can choose a girlfriend from Grade 1.
What is the meaning of mankind?
What do Americans think of octopus?
Life is boring, isn't it?
Hello, stranger. How do you do?
Love and sex. Which is more important in marriage?
What makes you become a C?
When will you have a baby?
Aha! How do you think about gay?
How to become taller? It's terrible to be short.


As I finished up this post, my dad told me on Skype that my Uncle Tom just passed away. Please be thinking of him and all his family and friends. He was a great man.