Halloween definitely did not feel at all like a holiday being in China this year. We taught our students about it for the two weeks leading up to it and they seemed to have some fun, but it is a pretty weird holiday to explain to foreign people- "Oh yeah, we dress up in creepy costumes and encourage children to demand candy from strangers!" Hmm. I can see why my students looked at me in confusion. As it was just another day on the trip for us, we woke up yet again at 7am and went downstairs for the standard hotel buffet breakfast. It was fancy, delicious and we definitely were full by the end of it. We ended up sitting with another older Chinese couple (not in our group) at breakfast and they immediately tried ... read more

We woke up around 6:30am, probably the earliest we've set our alarms for since being in China (other than the whole training in Beijing thing...) as we rarely have to teach before 9am. It's a tough life. It was a bit chilly outside, so being up that early and showering on the balcony sans hot water (we still haven't figured that out) wasn't the most fun, but it had to be done. We'd quickly packed the night before and once we were ready, headed out to the front gate to hop on the bus with everyone else at 7:30am. We knew it was a trip for Senior 3 teachers, and soon realized that 4 of the leaders of our school would be joining us as well. We don't know their exact titles, but they're pretty much ... read more

We were planning on skipping our Chinese class on Friday to get a head start to Hong Kong, but were informed last week that our first exam would be postponed, and rescheduled for that same Friday. Plans change, we're used to it, or at least unfazed by it! After taking the exam, and finishing class off by learning how to say certain body parts (Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes!), we were off to the metro, taking a subway to the border crossing. No problems getting into Hong Kong, and figuring out the transfer stops along the way. It took a bit over two hours to leave from class in Futian and arrive at our hostel in the Tsim Sha Tsu area of Kowloon Island. Staci booked a stay for two nights at the ... read more

A few days ago at lunch, Harry asked us what time we'd be back at school from Chinese class. Class is in downtown Futian from 3-4:30, and we've been staying lately to have dinner with friends before heading back. It seemed like the natural start to a question of asking us to be somewhere, so we said “Not sure...we can maybe come back right after class...why?” (Note: Maybe is the favorite word of Chinese people. Maybe you will come teach an extra class tomorrow? Maybe you will do this for me? When we come back to the states, we're going to find ourselves saying 'maybe' all the time!) It turned out that our school was holding the first round of English speech contests and they were hoping we could be judges. So, being the dedicated teachers ... read more

Wednesday morning, we slept in pretty late, packed our things and checked out of the hotel by 11am. We asked Lily if we could store our belongings there for the day- a hotel worker opened a door and pointed to another door. Upon opening it, Jimmy was confronted with a bed and a sleeping Chinese person. Naturally, we'll just shove our luggage in here and not disturb this persons slumber... The four of us headed out to get breakfast, once again at Jimmy's Cafe. Jimmy, Cali and Martin weren't feeling the greatest after their epic night of drinking, but I happily enjoyed my hashbrowns feeling just wonderful (don't worry, I stayed sympathetic, we've all been there). We were all tired and sort of out of things to do, especially given their hungover state and my injury. ... read more