All's well in the 'Chang

Ah, I love warm/hot weather! This is when I thrive! All of a sudden it's a pleasant 88 degrees outside and inside. But it's even better, because the watermelon lady is back to doing what she does best--selling watermelons! Her little cart is once again stacked with slices of watermelon, and she once again is smiling brightly. I try to buy fruit from her about 5 times a week, which is good for "guanxi" (relationships).

After dinner today, there were a bunch of students hovering around buying watermelon slices she had already cut. I handed her my one kuai as she turned around with her gigantic knife and smashed open a huge, juicy watermelon. Then she merrily handed me a gigantic slice, twice as big as the others. It's all about that guanxi!

So I happily munched on it as Jonathan and I stood talking to one our team's favorite Chinese friends. The watermelon dripped all over my feet and face, and I deposited all the millions of watermelon seeds on the pavement. Lots of students milled around, as the last glimmer of sun slipped beyond the hazy horizon. Sounds poetic, doesn't it? Well, I think this is when I'm most content--just talking to friends, gnawing on some fresh fruit in the summer heat--all without a care in the world.

Anyway, thanks so much for your thoughts! I'm back to my chipper self after finally getting some good sleep last night! Life doesn't seem so tragic and bizarre when you get sleep...

So today I was much more motivated in teaching, being with people, and studying Chinese. And the class sizes are slowly increasing again. Today I had about 35 students in class, which is encouraging.

Here's a few things happening this weekend:
-I finally get to continue the study with my special student, after a few weekends that were interrupted by visitors, random activities, or holidays. Maybe you can lift her up? Ever since she became a sister, countless distractions have been thrown at her. For example, she told me yesterday that she now has a boyfriend, who she doesn't even really like and who does not believe the same things she believes.
-Jodi has been diligently preparing for a "spring fling" dance of sorts this Saturday on old campus. We have invited our students and we will teach them some dances. Hopefully a lot of students will come, despite the heat and the fact that they will have to climb 9 stories to get there.
-We have fellowship on Sunday, and then another team in our city will be visiting our campus for some additional fun and fellowship.

Have an amazing weekend!