My 50th blog entry

Congratulations, my blog followers, this is the 50th blog post of this blog! I'm proud of you, if you've made it this far.

Yesterday I know that I sounded pretty meloncholy. I think that's okay to be that way sometimes, especially if you're sick. I was feeling pretty down, and it was helpful to get rest and remember Psalm 27. (Maybe you can look it up in your spare time).

Our team continues to drag, especially with the health issue. Hopefully everyone else will begin to recover soon. I think we're in the worst part of it now, so it should get better.

Today's Thursday and it was drizzly once again. It is so strange how the dampness is beginning to permeate everything. I've had clothes hanging up to dry for about 4 days now, and they are as wet as when I first took them out of the washer! Every piece of paper I touch seems a bit soggy and limp. My hair is getting curly, which is wild. Even the keyboard I'm typing on right now seems clammy. Maybe the sun will come out and dry things up soon.

Apparently the rest of the sports meet may happen next week. So we taught classes today. All my classes were good, although the students seemed pretty tired and quiet. We talked about "sports and staying fit" and the upcoming midterm exam, which I have yet to create... I also talked for a minute about the U.S. presidential election results, which they didn't really seem to care about. That's understandable, I guess. U.S. presidents come and go, and China remains.

And then when I walked into my afternoon class, everyone gasped in admiration and said, "so beautiful!" It was like the first day of teaching again. I was confused for a minute and then I realized they were looking at the bright-colored scarf my friend had given me from India. I'm glad they appreciated it.

A couple students were sort of unruly, so I made them sit right up front, where I stood most of the time. Then one kid kept playing with his cell phone, so I took it and told him that he could get it after class. I glanced down at his phone and noticed that the background on it was a grainy picture of Hitler, of all people. It was sort of bizarre.

After class, I got to talk to the student I had mentioned in an earlier post. She is still homesick but she lights up whenever I talk to her. She came with me to English corner outside, which I've secretly nicknamed "prison," and she stood by my side smiling at me the whole time. At one point I glanced down at the ground, where I had placed my bag and saw her quietly rearranging it so it wouldn't be so near a puddle. She's very sweet and I still want to hang out with her once I recover. She is one of the students that the Father seems to be directing me toward.

Today English corner didn't seem bad at all. I think a lot of students didn't come because of the drizzle, which was nice. I was mostly surrounded by a few of my own students, so it was pleasant getting to know them better. Some of their English is so good! Sometimes my students frustrate me a lot, but most of the time I love them a lot. It's like I look at them through eyes that aren't mine. I just try to think about what the Father must see when he looks down at them, and how much He loves them.

Thanks again for your diligence in reading this blog. I hope it's doing a fine job at describing some of life here. Have a wonderful Thursday!