Four Day Weekend!!

Hiya Hiya,

Things are rolling along here in Zhanjiang. Wednesday was Teacher's Day in the Middle Kingdom, which is a fabulous holiday if you ask me. The students gave us a lot of really nice gifts, and one of my classes even sang me a song. Wednesday night some of my students came over to my apartment to hang out, which was awesome. We had a lot of fun.

All week I kept telling my students that the only reason I am able to be a good teacher is because I have great students. But I also owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the many important teachers in my life. Whether it was Mr. Stoltzmann teaching me about God's love in the sixth grade (and beyond), or S. Mara Faulkner teaching me about the joys of literature in college, or Zhang Lei teaching me Chinese in Jilin, or my dear, dear Mommy teaching me everything else my whole life long, I want to take a moment and thank everyone who has ever taught me anything in my life. I owe you all so much.
This weekend is the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. It's kind of like a harvest festival, based on the Chinese lunar calendar. The moon has been getting fuller and fuller all week in anticipation. The big thing to do this weekend is eat lots of "mooncakes":

月饼

I really like the cakes with fruit inside, but sometimes they sneak meat or vegetables inside, which is just gross.

This afternoon the Foreign Language Department is hosting a BBQ picnic at a local park for all of their teachers in honor of Teacher's Day. It should be really fun. I'm excited to meet some more of my Chinese colleagues here at ZJ Normal. It also means I get the day off. That, combined with a day off Monday for the Mid-Autumn Festival means a four day weekend!! And yet I'm not even the biggest beneficiary of this scheduling windfall. David only has to teach one day next week! What a bum.
Rumor has it there will be some badminton action going on at the park, which will give me another chance to school Ben in the Ways of the Birdie. He has not yet been able to back up his talk with his racket. Perhaps today he will redeem himself.
Speaking of sports, a few days ago David and I discovered the Teacher's Leisure Lounge. It's only a three minute walk from our apartments. They have 麻将 (ma jiang) tables, Chinese Chess tables, and most importantly, ping pong tables.
We've played every night since we discovered them, and it's been a ton of fun. Right now I'd have to say we're about evenly matched, so the games end up being really close. David is probably the better player of the two, but I can certainly hold my own. Although I doubt either one of us would stand a chance against this ringer...

(Or is that "pinger"? *rimshot* Thankyouverymuch!)

Saturday night Kevin DiPalma, 4th Year Maryknoller, is taking everyone out to an Inner Mongolian Restaurant. Aside from the good food and even better company, I'm really excited to meet the guest of honor. Mr. Shang is considered by many to be the most knowledgeable men in all of Guangdong Province, if not all of China. I've heard nothing but rave reviews from anyone who has spent any amount of time in ZJ. This year Mr. Shang took a teaching position in Guangzhou, so he's not around as much, but he should be able to come home occasionally. And when he does, I plan on taking full advantage of his expertise.

On Sunday, to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, a group of our students is coming over to make and cook 饺子 (jiaozi/dumplings) with us.
That is guaranteed to be a good time. There have been those who have criticized my jiaozi making skills in the past (*ahem* Holmes...), citing the relative lack of "beauty" in my folding technique. In my opinion, it doesn't matter what they look like, as long as they all taste the same. The debate rages on...

Today David and I had lunch with our new Chinese tutor. Liu Laoshi is a very respected member of the faculty here at ZJ Normal University. It seemed like everyone who entered the restaurant came over to wish her well. We are both very fortunate to have her as our laoshi (老师). She is from Hainan Island - 海南岛, a place we are thinking of visiting this coming National Day holiday, the first week in October. It will be good to be back in a classroom setting for Chinese. I remember more than I thought I would, but I still have a lot of work left to do.

Well, I'd better go get ready for our picnic. Have a great weekend folks. I know I will... ;-)

-高占阳