I apologize that I didn't take any interesting photos this week. Some interesting things did occur, however. I'll start with last Sunday. In the afternoon, there was a knock at my door and I opened it to find one of my private students (eight-year-old Amy) and a teenage girl. This girl introduced herself as Amy's sister and I soon learned she was actually her half-sister. Shelly, as she told me her English name is, stayed for an hour. At first she stood looking embarrassed in my living room and said, "I want to make friends with you." I was surprised when despite her limited oral English abilities and obvious discomfort, she was able and willing to open up and share a lot with me. She's a Senior 3 student (equivalent to an American senior in high school) at my school. Sadly, Senior 3 students do not receive oral English classes because they are preparing for their college entrance exams and this exam tests them on English grammar but not spoken English. 

Shelly shared about her family background, some conflict she's had with her father, and her hopes and dreams. She must be very artistically talented because she showed me an acceptance letter from the best art university in China. She studies acting. I felt for her when she told me that her father loved Amy more than her, but she was glad that at least her grandma loved her best. She fears that her father won't let her go to the university she was accepted to. 

It will be interesting to get to know her better in the future. She invited me to eat at her grandma's house next Sunday and to go to cinema sometime. 

On Monday, I was surprised when Mr. Wu invited me to dinner at his home, after he had just treated me at a restaurant two days prior. I had a wonderful time with him and his wife again. It's funny to watch them interact. His wife doesn't speak any English and only understands "Hello" and "Thank You". Mrs. Wu is a great cook. She made a traditional noodle dish and I watched her slice the homemade noodle dough. It was really good! Before the meal, as before, Mr. Wu treated me to fruit. This time after consuming a banana, three-fourths of an orange, and two jujubes I told him that I wanted to save room for the noodles! After the meal more food came out. Even though I had said, "wǒ bǎo le" (I'm full) three times they offered me more fruit, which I didn't take, but I couldn't refuse the walnuts, cashew kernels and raisins. 

On Tuesday I had lunch with my student Drogon and his parents. He came to my office on Monday afternoon and said that the music teacher told him about my piano skill. He then asked if he could learn from me! He invited me to play the piano at his home after the meal. However, we ended up eating at a restaurant. I instantly liked his parents. His dad speaks only Chinese, but I could tell he was quite humorous, and his mother is an primary school English teacher.

They waited for Drogon and I at the restaurant and had ordered way to much food, because they wanted to make sure I would like enough of the dishes. One interesting food I had was what they called “corn bread”. It was sweet corn glued together with a very sugary translucent substance and sliced in triangles like pizza. Drogon's mother invited me to have lunch with them everyday and to travel with them during the holiday. Before I was done eating, Drogon got up and said he had to go take a nap so that he wouldn't fall asleep in class later. Most of the people here take a nap of between 10 minutes to an hour in the afternoon. I knew that but it still seemed weird to me.

Thursday night I returned to the mini hot pot restaurant with Erika, Bob and Todd. While we were waiting in line to pay for the food and go to our table, a young woman in front of us turned around and said, "Hi! Do you remember me?"

I did. We met on the bus maybe a month ago. She told me she had had several foreign friends in the past but recently had not had the opportunity to practice English. We talked until the bus reached my stop. A few seconds before that she asked for my phone number. I didn't mind giving it to her but I don't have my number memorized and I couldn't reach for my phone in time. It was in the bottom of my bag, underneath my groceries (in China, ever since the 2008 Olympics, customers at supermarkets have had to pay for plastic bags. If I can fit everything I buy in my bag, then I don't ask for a plastic one). At the restaurant, Angel was very happy to get my number.

After dinner I went to Vanguard, the largest supermarket with imported food, because Bob told me they had been selling margarine for the past few weeks. I was excited to find it. I also found some Chinese Herbal Jelly that I picked up on a whim. The ingredients intrigued me: water, cane sugar, grass jelly, honey, tuckahoe, taraxacum, honeysuckle, liquorice, tortoise, mint, lohankuo. It's supposed to have cooling properties according to TCM.

Friday night brought me the opportunity of eating a home cooked meal at Jane's house with Erika and Todd. Bob drank a bit much the night before so he didn't show. While Jane cooked, Erika taught Todd and I to play mahjong, a popular game that was born in China. I've seen retired people gathered together to play it on the streets.

Saturday might as well have been Monday. My school ran the Monday class schedule, so I had to teach five classes, after which I was simply ready for a nap. I wasn't ready for one in the afternoon when I was compelled to take one, however. Drogon's mother called me during a break between my classes to invite me to lunch again. She said her son didn't know. I took the bus after my last class at 11:10 and met Drogon's dad who walked with me to their apartment, which turned out to be quite close to mine, near the vegetable market I shop at. The three of us were eating when Drogon walked in after his last class at noon. He stood and stared for a moment, obviously very surprised to find me in his home. However, after the shock wore off he was glad that I was there so that I could play the piano for him. After I played one he insisted on another before his nap. Then his mother said I could rest on the bed in that room and after Drogon went out she closed the door.

The reason for the extra school day is International Labor Day on Tuesday. We have Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday off for it.

Tomorrow (Monday), I'll go to the Yellow River Stone Forest with Drogon's parents and on Tuesday I'll go to Lanzhou with Erika and Bob. So, I promise to post some beautiful photos!

Finally I have a chance to post some photos of my students in class! On Tuesday Erika observed me while I taught class 9 of my Senior 2 students, and she took some pictures. I used the song "Every Breath You Take" by The Police to teach my students this week. They were all very excited to listen to a song in English.  After listening to the entire song, I taught them some new vocab from the lyrics, had them work in groups to answer a few questions, and at the end taught them the chorus so we could stand and sing it together. 

The lesson went very well in most of my classes. During my last class on Thursday, however, we had some outside disturbances during the group work portion of the lesson. The wind started howling, and we could hear doors banging open and shut. The students on the side with the windows pulled back the curtains to see that the sky had turned dark and dust was swirling around. Then there was lightning and a deluge came pouring down. Most of the students couldn't help staring at the unusual weather. Just like back home, here it is a very dry climate and it rarely rains. It was still raining when it was time to go home and I got soaked as I walked to the street from the school grounds. 

After my classes on Friday I enlisted Lisa's help with getting a haircut. She took me to a place very near my home. It was incredible that the cost was only 20 RMB ($3.16), and they even washed my hair before and after the cut!

On Saturday afternoon, Erin helped me bargain for a new pair of walking shoes. She was able to get the seller to lower the price to 90 RMB down from 128 RMB. After I bought the shoes, Erin came with me to have dinner with Mr. Wu. He had invited me again and when he heard of my plans with Erin he invited her too! This time Mark the English teacher came again, but another of Mr. Wu's best friends, whom I had never met before, was the fourth member of the party. It seems like almost every male teacher Mr. Wu introduces to me is his "best friend"! During the meal, this best friend, another Chemistry teacher, received a phone call. Mr. Wu, Mark, and Erin started laughing after a few seconds. I asked what was so funny and they told me that the Chemistry teacher had told the person on the phone that he was having dinner with "a foreign friend". 

"He's very proud," Mark told me. 

It still feels strange to be someone who gives another person status here!

Introducing the song with the help of the smart board

Students discussing in groups 

Monitoring

My students waiting for the chorus. Can you believe how many of them have myopia?

Last Monday night I ate out with Jane, Erika, Todd and Bob for Bob's birthday. Almost every dish in the restaurant included plenty of various types of hot chili peppers. I don't like spicy food so I picked around the peppers. I'm not sure if it was from this food, but the next morning I became very sick. I called my school and said I suspected I had food poisoning. Although I didn't believe going to the doctor would help, I asked my colleague and friend Lisa to take me. Why? Earlier when I caught a cold the school thought that I wasn't really that sick because I said I didn't need to go to the doctor.

The experience was worth it. We took the bus to Lisa's family doctor, an elderly practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine. When we walked in I immediately caught a whiff of all of the herbs stored in little lockers. The elderly doctor and a young doctor both examined me. Lisa acted as the translator. They had me stick out my tongue first. Next they scrutinized both of my palms, drawing their fingers along my skin. After this the old doctor left and the young doctor took my blood pressure and had a nurse prick my finger to test my blood. Finally the young doctor had me lie down while he patted my stomach in several places to test for pain.

My diagnosis was "a weak stomach". The doctor prescribed both Western and Chinese medicine. Additionally, he told me to abstain from cold foods like ice cream, to avoid eating raw vegetables, and to make sure not to drink any cold water. I think this will be the first time that I will completely ignore my doctor's orders.

It's impossible to order cold water in restaurants here. The Chinese believe that it's bad for your stomach and they always drink water that's just been boiled. I've been told that they still drink hot water in the heat of the summertime.

The cost of my visit plus the medicine totaled 30 RMB, which right now is about $4.75. Plus, I did not have to fill out any forms and only waited about three minutes.

After I paid for the medicine Lisa invited me to have lunch in her home which is just across the street. She said apologetically that if my family had known I was coming, they would have prepared a meal that was more special. I considered the purple porridge they served quite special enough! The unique color came from purple potatoes. Besides this they served several side dishes and steamed buns. I was very satisified after the meal. Lisa's parents and grandfather invited me to come again.

On Friday night I had a wonderful new hot pot experience. Bob and Erika took me to a restaurant they've eaten at several times before. When you walk in it's just like going to the supermarket. You pick up a basket, choose your pot with whatever soup base you want (we all chose tomato) and then pick out all the vegetables, noodles, tofu, fish, poultry and meat you desire. You then pay for it and area shown to a table. There is a table where you pick up your bowl to put your food into after it's cooking in the pot. All of the condiments, such as vinegar, minced garlic, chillies, etc. are there for you to choose from and mix in your bowl. They also have complementary juice, oranges, cucumber, two types of clear soups, and some type of chip-like side. The food was really good! Across from us were two English teachers and their friends, who introduced themselves and requested a photo with us. There were also about five other people who came and took photos of us secretly throughout our time there, but when we saw them we were happy to pose.

Saturday I was supposed to meet two of my students at the school to go have dinner. I was a bit late. Maybe they left before I arrived. I waited for half an hour. My friend and colleague Lisa invited me to have dinner with her and her friend Wing (who has helped me with my computer several times). But as we were leaving the school Amanda, one of the music teachers called Lisa. She speaks very little English and wanted Lisa's help to invite me to dinner. So the three of us went to Amanda's house. After eating Amanda insisted that I play the piano. It's been so long since I've practiced so I didn't play so well but everyone complimented me anyway.

On Sunday afternoon I took a walk to and around the nearest park to my apartment. It's quite small but still contains a lot of beauty. I look forward to the summer, when everything will start to bloom and turn green here in Baiyin.
 

I should have posted this last week, but after these photos took two hours to load I was too tired to write about them. From April 2-4, I had three days off for Qing Ming Festival (or Tomb Sweeping Day). The Chinese take this time to travel to their ancestors' graves, clean them, burn spirit money, and set out food offerings. 

Unfortunately, I did not know exactly which days I would have off until the Friday before. So I did not have time to plan a trip. However, I enjoyed some things around my city.

On Saturday the 31st I made rice cooker chicken for dinner. Yes, you can cook chicken in your rice cooker. Isn't it a great idea? I found myself wondering if this was possible after I picked up three chicken drumsticks at the supermarket and was pondering the easiest way to cook them. Through a Google search I found http://bits-of-taste.blogspot.com/2010/09/rice-cooker-chicken.html. The recipe posted there is simple but I adjusted it to make it even simpler. The first time I made it I  placed the chicken in the rice cooker pot, sprinkled it with Mrs. Dash, and added some green onions. I turned the machine on, and in 20 minutes it was done. Oh my goodness. It was SO good! Maybe it tasted better to me because until that point at home I had eaten only vegetarian meals with soybean sprouts and tofu being my source of protein. The chicken was so tender and delicious. I was extremely satisfied. When I made it the second time, I decided to create a vegetable medley. Why not cook my vegetables in the same pot? They turned out great.

Wǒ ài wǒ de diànfànbāo!  I've used it to cook rice, lentils, millet and pearl barley. It's the easiest and most forgiving appliance I own. Oh, did I mention I'm learning Chinese? Jane, my foreign affairs officer, gave me my first two lessons during the long Qing Ming Festival weekend. We're working on pinyin right now.

On Wednesday of that week, two of my Senior 2 students took me to a few places around Baiyin. Their English names, chosen from a list I gave my students the first week, are Isabella and Victoria (They're both Twilight fans). We went to Jinyu park in the city where families were strolling around and flying kites (a popular hobby here). We also enjoyed a little kiddie roller coaster ride.

After leaving the park, we walked across the old center of town to a plaza where the KFC is located. Numerous vendors of socks, jewelry etc. were selling their wares. There was some type of advertisement going on and little children were leaving the plaza with inflatable 1000 ton hammers. Some young Chinese were handing out fliers for a company that takes wedding photos and a booth selling drinks had a speaker that repeated "Huānyíng guānglín! Huānyíng guānglín!" over and over. The pungent smell of stinky tofu permeated the air, but there were other types of street food available that did not offend the nose. 

My students treated me to my first taste of street food. It was fun to watch the elderly woman make it for me. She poured some batter on a hot griddle and then used a tool to spread it into a large, thin circle. She then cracked an egg and spread it on top, before flipping the crepe over. Then on the other side she spread a type of thick soy sauce, crushed two of some kind of chip, added a sausage split lengthwise and finally a Romaine leaf. To finish she rolled up the unique sandwich into a square. It wasn't too bad.

That evening I played badminton with Erin, a student from Erika's school. Her English is incredible compared to her peers. 

Rice Cooker Chicken

Yum!

Some died chicks being sold at the plaza

Statue of the founders of Baiyin at Jinyu Park

A view of the park from above in the roller coaster ride

Isabella and I

The artificial lake in the park

Erin and I at a private badminton and ping pong gym

My School's International Women's Day Dinner

Here are some more photos Erika shared with me.

Giving a toast with my chamomile tea

A duet with Erika in the karaoke room after dinner

Serving my pineapple and raspberry filled cake

My lovely fellow teacher Erika is sharing her photos with me. I did not have my camera on several important occasions and so here are some of her photos. The first photos are of the celebration I had with the other foreign English teachers.

L to R: Bob (from England), Thomas (from Washington), Erika (from  Michigan), Me.

Yummy dumplings!

The following photos are of the welcome dinner for Erika and I with the Baiyin Experimental School leaders. They were going to hold the dinner earlier, but because of a conflict postponed it. Before my last class on my birthday Lavender informed me that they would have the dinner that night so they bought me a birthday cake!

Lavender helps me open my cake

Jane (my FAO) with Erika