Toasty toes on a cold day

Receiving packages in China is a wonderful, much-anticipated event for us here. Although several packages that were mailed to us between December 1st and February 1st seem lost in a black hole, other packages have arrived. That includes amazing chocolate from my Mom and "toasty toes" from my aunt.

Today is the third or fourth day of cold and rain here. I'm sort of losing count, and it's supposed to be raining until next Thursday at least. If that happens, it will be raining for 12 days straight. But I'll try not to dwell on it! I should be thankful that the drought is ending here.

So I'm back to teaching in the classroom with a winter coat and gear on. But it seems that my extremities aren't as frigid anymore! I've got self-activated and self-heating "toasty toes" inside my shoes now. Those are little packets that outdoorsmen wear to stay warm. Maybe a Nanchang school building isn't as rugged as a Montana mountain, but I'd almost argue that it is. I mean, it is freezing cold in the classroom, you still have to go to the bathroom in a hole in the ground, you have to hike (up endless stairs), and you have to battle wild animals/students. :)

There isn't too much else to report from here. One of our recent lessons has been about "honesty." It's been a fascinating lesson, probably because it's been so bizarre. I think that my students understand the concept of honesty, but they think every situation has an exception to it. I've discovered that the majority of them think it's sometimes okay to cheat on an exam, or to sometimes not pay bus fare, etc., due to a variety of reasons. In China there are definitely a lot more "gray" areas.

It was also interesting to listen to my students and their logic. I asked the question, "Why is honesty important in society?" My favorite answer: "Honesty is important in society, because honesty is important." OR "Honesty is important in society, because honesty is important in society." Then I would reemphasize the WHY part. Most of them could not come up with a reason, so I made sure to supply them with a variety of reasons, which they seemed confused about.

So we will be teaching until June. We found out, though, that we have two days off for a holiday between now and then. My favorite is that we will have one day off in April for tomb-sweeping day. This is important in China, because everyone goes to clean and pay their respects at their relatives' graves. I'll keep you posted on my plans for this day. :)

Well, how can I be thinking of you? I'm sure you have good/strange/frustrating days too. Have a blessed Tuesday!

P.S. The funeral music finally stopped playing after one week!