random stuff

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So since I wasn't able to get online in the week before Nanjing..I have many updates which by now are already old, haha..but here they are anyway..

Monday morning I woke up and my left eye was swollen almost shut. I wasn't that surprised because I've been waking up with one of my eyes swollen every few days, and then the swelling goes down by the evening. I've been thinking about what it could possibly be and the only thing I could think of is that its from a mosquito bite on my eye (since i have a ton of bites) ...but first of all it doesn't really itch, and second thats just weird, lol. So anyway, my eye was soo swollen that I called Mickey (since he's the only one that answered their phone) and said that I'd have to miss my class, and that I'd make it up. He said that was fine since they're my older kids anyway, and that he'd call the primary school and tell them. Then, a little while later Carol called back and told me she'd meet me at the nurse's office. I got there and the nurse said my eye was normal besides the swelling and that it must be a mosquito bite, lol. weird, I told them that i get bit a lot at home too but never on my eyelid, and Carol said "oh, thats very common here" LOL. Not sure if i believe that since I haven't seen anyone else with a swollen eye here...But the swelling went down and I bought some bug spray, and I've been fine until this morning, lol..yea my eye's swollen again but its not that bad, its kinda funny cause the kids never say anything about it..its basically the only thing they don't ask about, lol.

Saturday and Sunday we had to teach since we were off for the whole week after that (they are seriously crazy about school here). After my classes on Sunday I went out to lunch with 2 of the Chinese English teachers. Sharon, who's the 1st grade teacher, and May who teaches 4th grade science in English (pretty cool). We went to a buffet restuarant and it was really good. Not like the buffets at home at all, haha. There was a salad bar and a sushi area, and some random dishes, and then there were barbacue and stir fry stations. You put everything you want cooked on a plate and then put a little clip with your table number on it. When its finished cooking, the waiters bring it to your table. Oh, and there were also some really good desserts which are pretty hard to find around here, we ate soo much! After that May invited me to come with her to get our hair washed at a place across the street. It was fun, and funny, lol. When it was my turn the lady told me to sit in the barber chair, I looked at May and to make sure they knew I just wanted it washed and she said she'd told them. So I sat in the chair and picked a random shampoo from their choices, and then the lady just put some shampoo on my head and started shampooing my dry hair..then after a little while she added some water with a little squirt bottle and kept shampooing. She didn't stop for at least 20 min, lol..and the whole time they were all talking about me. At one point May said that they wanted to know why my hair's black, and she asked if its because of my Israeli genes, Lol. I told her that Americans have all different color hair..Eventually she washed out hte shampoo in a normal hairdresser sink and then she attempted to blow dry it or something. I'm not really sure what she was trying to do but she gave up and told May to tell me that she's sorry but she's never worked with such soft hair and she doesn't know what to do with it, haha. it was fun though, and i'll definitely have to go back again.

I spent most of the day on the the Monday before we left just hanging around..and then around 4 I went to the park and finished my book! 😊 very exciting since I don't even remember the last book that I read for fun and actually finished, lol. Then, I was walking around in the park and one of my students, Trudy (well, thats her English name, lol) saw me and came over to say hi. She's in 6th grade so I was acually able to talk to her which is cool, and she had her new puppy with her who was really tiny and cute. After we were talking for awhile aI asked her what her favorite restaurant was, since we're always trying to find new good places to eat. She immediatly took out her phone and said I will ask my mom if I can have dinner with you, lol. A sec later she hung up and said that her mom said that she should bring the dog to her grandfather, ride our bikes to her house and take a cab to eat and that she must pay for my dinner! lol. I think anywhere else this would be strange, but not in China, lol. Without much of a choice I followed her to drop off her dog at their family's door store, and then take our bikes to her apt. building. We took a cab to a "western" restaurant which basically means big pieces of meat with some gravy, but I got chicken and it was pretty good. We talked and ate, and then walked around by the restaurant for a few min. until her mom called and said that she was nearby and would drive us back. Her parents pulled up in this brand new looking black Lexus, and they were both dressed like they were out of a magazine! So funny, lol. Until then I had forgotten how expensive the school I teach at is and that families that can afford to send their kids here have to be pretty wealthy. I had assumed that her parents would speak pretty good English too, since her's is better than other kids in her class, and that they'd talk to me...but they didn't really say anything to me, just hi and bye in Chinese.

Soo..then we went to Nanjing and I already told you all about that, so here's a few more short stories to give you a real sense of Chinese culture, lol.

On Sunday, some of Candice's 8th grade students came over to our apt and hung out and cut up fruit for us before their classes on Sunday afternoon, which was fun. Then they wanted to teach us a game outside so we went to the playground area. I was just standing there while they explained the game, and I heard someone calling my name..it was a teacher screaming from 3 floors up, lol. She told me that I was missing my class! Totally confused and shocked I told her that no one ever told me that I was supposed to teach on Sunday..and she said well, yea we're on a Tues. afternoon schedule, lol. So I ran back to my apt to call Carol, but she didn't answer..so I got my stuff and winged it with 2 classes, lol. Yesterday, I showed up at my first class and the kids were all confused that I was there. Then, the techer came and told me that the Primary school has exams all day and that I wouldn't have any classes. I asked if even the 1st grade had it and she said yea, so I left, lol. I hung out all day and then went to drop off my lesson plan for Carol around 3:15. On my way my phone rang and it was Sharon, telling me that I was missing my class! I happened to be right by her office and went and talked to her. She said that is wasn't my fault and that no one knew that the lesson wasn't going to be canceled until the students came to the office and said that the testing teacher was finished and that they didn't have a teacher.LOL so all of the teachers went to their last class, except me since I wasn't sitting around there and therefore didn't know about it. By then there was only about 15 min of the class left and I offered to just go anyway but Sharon said notto bother, and that she;d tell the student leader of the class that it wasn't my fault, LOL. so funny.

Then, last night I went to tutor for the first time (through Flora's thing). Fabrice had been scheduled for 2 tutoring lessons everyday and didn't want them so he gave me 2, one tues and one thurs. He gave me the address and phone# and told me how to to get to the apt. by bus. It was going well, wel, I was really close to finding the apt, when Jane called. She;s in charge of the tutoring schedule and she told me that I was at the wrong place and that she'd be there soon to take me to the right place, lol. Kind of used to this stuff by now I stood and waited for someone to recognize me(i've never met jane before. lol). Finally 20 min later Jane and her mother and sister and neice and nephew arrived, lol. She came with me in a cab to the right place and dropped me off with the mother of the kids I would tutor. Luckily, it turned out great! It ends up that I was tuturing 2 girls that I teach at school, sisters, one's in 5th grade and one;s in 1st and they're both really cute and nice. I just talked to them and helped them with their english hw and worked on some english workbooks with them..it was fun though. And their apt is so nice! and they gave me cake, and i get paid, lol. hopefully tomorrowing tutoring will go just as well 😊

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