Last minute photos before we say goodbye...

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With some trial software I put together this panorama view from right outside of our fifth story apartment (that's 80 stairs up and 80 stairs down) here at the school campus. Not much of a view, but many days and nights have been spent just looking out over our school campus, listening to the dull roar of the students as they take their ten minute breaks, the rattling and pounding of the cafeteria right below us, along with the occasional barbecue on the balcony and more than a few glasses of wine, just taking it all in. One night while barbecuing some steaks a freak storm drove in and within a minute or two began pounding us with hail the size of nickels, we had to open the window for fear it would break the glass. Great memories here on this balcony.

Day and night fireworks explode here and the balcony offers us some of the best views in the night sky. Every day since we have been here in DanYang there have been fireworks, most during the daytime. The Chinese use them to celebrate many things but most of them are to announce the grand opening of some store of some kind. Some are so loud I have had to interrupt my class because of the explosions.

As we count the days down until we leave (12 days to go now before we are on the fast-train to Shanghai), we are trying to grab pictures of some of the most amazing things here, things that we see almost every day if not two or three times a week, such as the things for sale at the newest supermarket in our city, the French-owned Auchon (pronounced Awson by two out of three taxi drivers).

All of these are taken from inside the sparkling clean (er, sometimes!) supermarket. Live eels! Live, and dead, fish! Live crabs! Live turtles! Live snakes! Whole ducks and pigs and fresh sausages...and you would not believe the smell even if I could describe it. Let's just say we have literally wretched while shopping here...many of the things for sale we have no idea what they are. After a year we are completely baffled by at least 70% of what is for sale here, but we have learned to find what we like and buy often to stock our tiny fridge. It's been fun, other than the time it took 43 minutes to find a bag of sugar, and we still have not found a roll of aluminum foil.

Two weeks of classes left and it will be an emotional two weeks for us both. Jennifer has been asked not to tell her classes that she is leaving, for political reasons having to do with the scheduling of teachers at her school, they don't know when or if they will be able to replace her. And last week I explained to my IUP Class that I will be leaving to go back to the USA because I have been here a year and my Mother is sick so I have to leave a little early. They had bunches of questions and I answered them all as best I could.

I thought it went well until I realized that some of the students were crying, and by the time I left the classroom for the day all of the ten girls were huddled together sobbing, comforting each other...I've never been a teacher of kids so I had not idea what to expect but I certainly didn't expect such dramatic emotions from my Chinese students. The boys, thank goodness, didn't shed any tears but they were practically crying too, asking when I would come back, telling me the next teacher will not be any good at all, why can't I stay, etc?

I was crushed, and proud at the same time. It's very difficult to tell if you have any impact on Chinese students because, like all Chinese, they are experts at hiding their feelings. I was stunned at their sadness. Apparently they have enjoyed my teaching as much as I have enjoyed being their teacher. And I know, as they do, that their replacement Chinese teacher will not be anywhere near as enjoyable, but it will take three more years before they take their IELTS and we learn if either of us was effective...of course I have given all of them my email address and I plan on keeping in touch with them as they grow older and head out into their new world here in the Middle Kingdom.

Peace.

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