Well, it seems I am famous here in Suzhou. Last weekend two friends and I went out on Friday night. We were walking and saw a group of around 40 middle-aged women dancing on the sidewalk. It was kind of like Tai Chi except they were dancing and there was music. Anyway we stopped to watch and dance. Some women came over to help us and all of a sudden one of the women starts pointing at me. They find someone who speaks English so she can tell me they recognize me from TV. (You may remember from my last post I talked about how I lost my wallet and ended up on TV. It seems these women saw that program.) They were happy to hear I got my wallet back.
I am going to be on TV again, although I am not sure why. Last week a mother came in to make moon cakes for the autumn festival with the kids. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mooncake (The ones we made tasted like hamentashen.) Somehow a TV show found out so the mother is coming in again today and we are doing it all over again, except this time we are going to be filmed. At least this time I know I am going to be on TV so I dressed up. Plus it is picture day so I get to kill two birds with one stone.
Last week, in celebration of the beginning of Fall, I had the class make pumpkins and I hung their finished product all over the classroom. Note the cute parochial school-type uniforms.
In theory we have a vacation coming up. In reality it is more of a re-juggling of schedules. I do not have to work Oct 1–Oct 8. October 1 is National Day, which is the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and the whole week is what is called a Golden Week, when most of the schools and businesses are closed. Although they call it a week-long vacation, I am really only getting 3 days off. Right now it is Sunday morning and I am waiting for my kids to come back from music so I can teach spelling. I should be sleeping at this time on a Sunday. After the Golden Week we work over the following weekend to make up some more days. I am not focusing on that part, I am focusing on the fact that in a few days I am going back to Hainan. In my opinion it is the most beautiful place in the world. It is an island in the South China Sea and the Chinese version of Hawaii but, at least based on the last time I was there, less built up and more natural. Of course, being that this is China there is a very good chance that now it is unrecognizable. One example of things changing is that what was the big bar street last time I was in Shanghai has been knocked down. It now has another Western looking shopping center. Isn’t it wonderful that China is picking up some of the better aspects of America? Soon I will be able to get off the plane and not know if I am in Shanghai, Phoenix, or LA.
I should probably get going. My kids just got back and several of them seem to have acquired fruity-smelling markers and erasers over the weekend which they now feel like shoving in my face. If I don’t stop them I am going to have a pink and purple mustache for picture day.
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