Sweet stuff

(Eating our favorite 3 kuai dumplings. Someday I'll work on having better posture).
(Spring cleaning in the alleys on our way to lunch. From Jodi's camera).

This week at Blue Sky, my innocent little students are learning about this crazy American holiday known as "Valentine's Day." And it has turned out to be one of the best classes ever. They hang on to my every word. I also gave them some great Valentine lingo, such as "BFF (Best Friends Forever), Sweet Stuff, Be Mine, Your Secret Admirer."

Then I passed out some nice paper and crayons for them to make their own Valentine cards for part of the class. I don't think they have ever had the opportunity to color and be creative in class. They were going wild with excitement. I told them I'd like to send them to my friends, i.e. supporters, in America. They thought that was even more exciting--that some American would be reading their thoughtful words.

Girls and boys alike spent a painstaking 25 minutes creating those works of art. They look like first-graders drew them, but I think that makes them even more special. One girl wanted to glue something to her card. I didn't have glue, but I had a cheap kind of Scotch tape in my bag, which I handed to her. The girl, "Cherry," just stared at the tape. She and her deskmate whispered about the tape and just poked at it. Then I realized they didn't know how to use tape. Who would have thought? So one of my accomplishments for the day was teaching two Chinese college girls how to use Scotch tape, which apparently hasn't made it into mainstream Chinese society.

Later today I went rollerblading, since the weather was so pleasant and I didn't have office hours. I found the source of the funeral music, which is STILL playing!! People are still sitting around mourning this woman. Instead of getting annoyed, I just felt sad. Their parting with that woman was final. Of course they'd mourn for days; they don't think they'll ever see her again.

When I got back from skating, I sat down on the ground in front of our apartment building to take off the rollerblades. The little two year old boy who lives in our same building, Yi Fan, was just standing there staring. Then he quietly walked into the doorway and brought back my shoes for me to put on. Agh, he's so cute!

For dinner, I headed to my favorite noodleshop. For four kuai (about 75 cents) I can get a big bowl of noodles, greens, and a few stringy pieces of beef. The people in the shop are so sweet, and again I reminded myself that I really have to buckle down and learn more Chinese these next few months. I'm pretty sure Chinese is easily one of the most diffucult languages on earth, but that doesn't mean I can give up.

After dinner I wandered down the street and bought a quarter of a pineapple on a stick for one kuai (15 cents). Mmmmm....

Time to go study the Word with my team!