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Published: April 23rd 2007
The last couple of weeks have flown by! The days and weeks are moving quickly, we just finished Week 7 of classes. Now we are off for the May holiday. Everyone in China has the first seven days of May off for the Worker's Holiday. We at Aston have the last weekend of April off, in advance of the national holiday. The reason for this is that the schoolchildren will go to their regular Chinese schools this weekend so that they can have the first few days of May off along with everyone else. That's not really a holiday, now is it? Going to school all weekend to get a few days off the next week. In America, when it's vacation time, everyone including the schoolchildren, have the time off. Can you imagine if American children went to school as much as the Chinese students? In China, the regular school day for kids is something like 7:00 AM - 8:00 PM, with a 2-hour break for lunch and a break for dinner. Then a lot of them go to school on the weekend, like our Aston students. It's really unbelievable. They are always learning and studying, they make American students look lazy! Their school uniform is their PE track suit, they are out in full force for the midday break and in the evening hours.
The last month or so I've been sick off and on, along with my roommates. My body is getting used to the Jinan air (pollution and all) and, of course, the germs that come from working with children. I have had a sore throat, a cold, a fever, the runs, you name it! But don't worry, I'm okay. I'm just building up my immunity. When I return to the US my immune system will that much stronger than before! I have taken Western and Chinese medicine, all of it helps in its own way with the germ-of-the-week. I haven't missed any work, thankfully. My bad days have fallen during the week, so I'm pretty much okay on the weekends. I recently joined a gym, and went for the first time today (it was Pilates class - and yes, they teach in Chinese). I think a regular workout routine in addition to my weekly yoga classes will do me a world of good!
I've managed to cook a bit more the last few weeks. I just chop up the veggies and stir it all in a wok and voila! I have dinner. I even made garlic mashed potatoes the other night - and we don't even have a potato masher! They were oh-so-yummy! It's not difficult, just cook the potatoes and the garlic and mash it together with some butter and salt. I just never cooked like that at home! If it wasn't pre-processed food that only took 10 minutes or less to make, I wouldn't bother. But here in Jinan I have lots of time to experiment with food. I still go out to restaurants a good deal, since it's easier to have someone else do the cooking, but it's good to know that I can cook up a meal from fresh produce if I need or want to!
Since we have the next 10 days off for the holiday, I'm heading to Beijing for a week. Yippee! I plan to see all the tourist sites of course, including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the Great Wall. I just hope I make it there, I hear the train stations in China are a bit of a zoo. I hope I don't end up in Mongolia! Stay tuned for updates on my adventure!
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kat in mpls
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Sickies -- all of us!
Hi Zabe! I have been super-sick too! A month of a terrible cough. Hopefully May looks better :) I miss you -- keep in touch! Can't wait to hear about Beijing!