2 weeks off!

High school reunion with Kirk in Beijing!

The cover of my soon to be released rap album...

This is who I was dressed up as. Unfortunately, you can't see all of Kevin's tattoos!

Nathan's first China train.

Kirk, Nathan, and I at the Great Wall.

The LSU fan club in Wuhan! Lesley and Camille are in the front wearing purple.

Hey everyone. Hope you're all doing well. My last few weeks have been great. I had two weeks off!

During the week of Oct. 24, Senior 2 students went on a field trip. They call it social practice. Basically, they go hiking, sleep in a barn, and visit different places (army base, farms, prison). I've asked some people questions about it, but I can never get too much information from them. I think it's mostly an opportunity for the students to see people who live very different lifestyles from them. They usually like doing this because they don't have homework for a week. I can't blame them!

The very next week, my students had mid-term exams. Because we have so many students (about 500), the Chinese English teachers give these to the students. While I had a lot of time off, there wasn't too much time to relax. I almost felt more busy with traveling and running errands than I usually do! However, I had a LOT of fun.

We spent both weekends hanging out with the other teachers from Huangshi. The first weekend was at their place. We had a Halloween/dance party one night. We all dressed up, learned The Wobble, and watched The Nightmare before Christmas. I dressed up as another member of our team (Kevin) who has a lot of tattoos. I still have some temporary ones that I haven't been able to get off yet!

The next weekend, the Huangshi group came to Wuhan. Two of the girls (Camille and Lesley) went to Lousiana State University and are die-hard football fans. If you don't know them, think of me with IU! They wanted to watch the LSU-Alabama game. I was excited to watch a big game with some fans, and a bunch of our other teammates joined us too. I had about 12 people crammed into my small living room cheering on the Tigers. I was mostly rooting against Nick Saban! LSU pulled it out in an exciting boring game (you know what I mean if you watched it).

During both weekends, we had a great time of fellowship. We talked, sang, pryed, and studied the Book. Our team continues to amaze me with its unity and desire to know the Father more. I've really enjoyed getting to know Him better through them.

Kirk Ransom, Nathan, and I also went to Beijing for a few days. Kirk and I have been there a few times, but Nathan had not, and we all wanted to get away from Wuhan for a few days. I think this was my 4th time to visit. I really love the capital city. It feels like my 2nd China home. We were also able to visit one of my high school friends who teaches there and who is also named Kirk (Lacy). I was able to meet some of his students and sit in one one of his classes for a little bit. When we used to play backyard football in middle school, I never imagined I'd later be sitting in on his class on the other side of the world!

My first year of teaching here, I shared an office with a Chinese English teacher named Molly. Kirk and I have gotten to know her and her family pretty well. They just moved into a new home, so they invited us over for dinner. They have a really nice house, and we had a great time eating Molly's Chinese cooking and getting to know them even more.

Honestly, there has been a lot of other stuff going on these past few weeks, but that's just a short summary. Have a great Thanksgiving!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18