Well, we made it to the end of the semester and the end of winter camp. We're exhausted, but here are a few highlights from 3-1/2 months of work and adjustments:
-We can ask for beef, chicken, lamb, pork and duck meat at the market in Chinese!!
-We can get ourselves home with a taxi in Chinese (this is actually quite difficult as our school is a ways out of town)
-We took Chinese lessons ;)
-Biking on the streets of Beijing. Anything goes.
-Stories from the classroom. Here's one: In my sixth grade class (Chris'), we were learning prefixes such as trans-, sub-, and inter-. I was asking students for examples of words that used these prefixes, and one truly innocent student raised her hand and emphatically declared: "Intercourse." I fell on the floor laughing, in my head, but maintained my composure. Of course, no one else had any idea except for the TA.
-Students putting both fingers in their nostrils simultaneously. No shame.
-Watching where you put your feet because people spit everywhere.
-Finding a church we really like and hopefully a small group soon.
-Finding a Chinese guitar. 750 RMB.
-Celebrating our first Christmas and New Years away from home... It's not quite as special here as it is in Europe/America, but we still had a good time. Hamburgers for Christmas Eve, presents, etc. Petra, Chris' TA and our floormate, had her first Christmas, so that was really fun.
-Being so tired we could barely talk straight... not that that's different from the norm for me... (grace). But thank G for a break!
-Taiwan in 8 days!
-Putting on 2 plays each for Winter/English Camp, a lot of work, but worth it. They did great.
-Having to take over 4 science classes a week 2 weeks before finals (for grace). Not fun.
-Being taken out to lunch at a hummungous Chinese buffet - amazing food experience!
-Fireworks! This is what Chris is looking forward to in the next few days leading up to Chinese New Year.
Overall, we're really happy here. Communicating is an adventure, but I love that (grace) and I love trying to figure out "how to fit in." We both love discovering new places together. We're hoping to explore the city more in the next few weeks as well as enjoy some good restaurants. Thanks for reading our adventures, we love your comments! (Hopefully we can post more often now as we think we have a better connection.)
Happy Chinese New Year! (Haven't learned that one yet...)
