Well, I missed a couple weeks there, but there wasn’t much to tell.  I’ve been busy with school, and gotten to meet some really cool people as I stay out here, and finally got a toaster oven and a blender (it’s amazing)!

 Starting with the obviously most important part, I got a toaster oven and blender online from the Chinese version of Amazon.  Grand total $26 with shipping.  I have gone from a banana a month to 1-2 bananas a day ^_^  Of course, I also have gone from 0 cookies/day to 3… which is probably less healthy for me.  So delicious.  This has elucidated one of the really awesome parts of China’s economy.  A pound of decent Bananas goes for .37- SOO much cheaper than Hawaii (which is from $0.99-2.00 depending on where you buy if I recall correctly).  Restaurants in China are not as proportionally inexpensive though.  Most nice sit downs are about the same price as in America (10-30/person), but I do most my cooking at home and save plenty (though I still spend as much as a two normal Chinese family do on food).  I asked my students at my summer camp if they knew how much they spent, and a few of the kids knew and many said their parents spent less than 100rmb ($16) on groceries every week.  I spend about 200rmb a week on groceries, ice cream, and other fancies (kebobs, beef soup, and lots and lots of bread).  Most of the cost comes from protein heavy foods (4 eggs a day ($1/lb,) and a couple boneless chicken breasts ($2/lb)).  Vegetables are very inexpensive and I have, because of this, begun to eat them more often.

 In school, I’ve been trying out a phonics curriculum to help with pronunciation (I’m not sure what China normally does for reading, but I think it is only for literally reading, and not for reading out loud).  So it’s going well, I think they are picking up some new stuff and making a better foundation for their spoken English.  I am struggling to find out how to spur students to take class seriously without punishing them for not participating, but (probably half of them) don’t really want to be there.  I can understand since they don’t get to choose their classes and all their classes are with the same group (they take classes by major, so each 40-60 student class has EVERY class, elective, sport, etc. together).

 Anyway, one of my classes (Business English) has a pretty neat set up.  They have my class twice a week.  I think that’s a really cool idea (because normally 2 hours, once a week, is not sufficient… especially when homework is all but ignored).  It’s given me a lot more time to work on their speaking and spreading out the boring stuff in between more interesting, less educational, activities.  The semester moves forward.

 I’ve gotten a couple weekend jobs (to pay for my lavish lifestyle), and they have been pretty cool as well.  They are with 3rd-6th grade kids at afternoon schools.  The pay is good, the kids are fun, and the administration is what it is. 

Some things to come, I will be going to the state capitol tomorrow (I think) to get my 3rd physical this year (I am obviously defect), and receive my ‘expert’s certificate’.  >_>

 I’ll also be going to Shanghai, and then a war museum that my Grandfather’s brother was held at during WWII as a POW when the Japanese invaded China (which, to the Americans, was on the 18th and is very similar to December 7th for the Chinese).

 Anyhoo, that’s about everything for now.  I’m having fun biking, swimming, playing flute, reading, and teaching (sometimes I guess).