Finally... an update... :)

so now I finally have permanent access to a computer (unless the power goes out… which is a common occurance) because I broke down a bought a laptop. It was super cheap so I guess it wasn’t really “breaking down.” But anyway…I tried updating my blog twice but the computer was all in chinese so I guess I must have hit a wrong button or something. Oops! Well! So much has happened!! Me and Ji Hye bought two puppies from an underground market (I know….*cringe*) but they are so cute! And they seem to be healthy. I love china! There are so many fun things to do and different things to try. My favourite so far is trying all of the “dirty” foods that street vendors sell out of little carts on the street. They’re so interesting and so yummy! (and so cheap! 2 RMB for a meal which equals roughly 15 cents.) they do sell some realllllly gross looking things though.. I can’t believe some of the things people eat. Half-developed-baby-chickens that-are-just-coming-out-of-the-shell on a stick, (almost everything is sold by 3’s or 4’s on a stick) and chicken heads, and lamb heads, rotten eggs, deep fried chicken skin.. the list definitely goes on.… and the last couple nights we went to the night market. That’s super fun too. This place come to life with cool things like that at nightfall. They block off a few streets and set up a couple hundred stands selling everything from squid on a stick to really cute shoes. I went and ate at a real authentic Chinese restaurant. As soon as you walk in the doors there are tanks upon tanks of live sea animals… like octopus and star fish, and other things that I didn’t even recognize. They put them there so you can see that your food is “fresh.” And your teacup is filled with flower pedals and mushrooms and some other weird things and this guy in a chinese style pajama suit comes with this strange kettle thing with a LOOOOONG spout and fills your tea cup from a foot away from the table. I was so scared he would miss and pour hot water all over me… but it’s actually quite a skill they have. The way that they eat every meal here is SO extremely huge and communal. It’s all “Dim Sum” style. This is when you order a few different things and they all come on separate plates that are HEAPED with whatever you order, so you end up having 10 different plates on your table LOADED with food and everyone grabs their chopsticks and digs right in. no one has a separate plate. The only thing you don’t share is your teacup. It’s really cool.. but reallllllly easy to over eat.. But that is Oh kay. the other day I had some time to myself so I set off on a walk to practice my Chinese (I started studying Chinese last week.. it’s soooo interesting…) i went walking by the beach and it’s SO beautiful. I got some great pictures. There is a little place where they have carnival rides everyday, and there are so many intriguing statues and architecture and fountains. At this particular part of the beach there is no sand… just stairs and overflow platforms. When the tide is low every one scurries around the stairs to see what was left there. They find things for dinner like various kinds of seaweed and starfish, and crabs, and sting rays. It’s really neat to watch. And there’s always old men sitting (or squatting) on the stairs with their fishing poles hanging wayyyy out over the water. I went to this coffee place too and instead of chairs they had hanging benches. They were hung by flower vines. It was beautiful. And sooo relaxing. There was a kung foo competition downtown, but I only got to see a little bit of it. Haha.. and there was a “Chinese Idol” try out here by my apartment in front of the super market. That was fun. Those people could sing! Of course I had NO idea what they were singing about but it was nice anyway. And I guess karaoke is a HUGE deal here. So one night Jenny took me and her family out for dinner, and everyone decided to go to karaoke at the Tomato Bar after. I was kind of nervous because I figured that it would be singing in front of a whole bar full of people. But it’s not like that at all! There are private rooms down many hallways and in the room is a table, a semi circle leather couch, and a karaoke machine. So you just sing with the people you come with. It was fun! I was sick so I didn’t sing (yeah that excuse works every time….) But I’ve taught 5 classes so far!! I love it! I love teaching! I wasn’t so sure about the teaching part when I first got here, but it’s fantastic. And I guess the students love me so that’s a bonus! (I also haven’t had to assign any homework yet mwahahahahahaha) the kindergarten class is kind of a handful but.. what do you expect from a bunch of 6 year olds? I teach every age from 6-18. three of my students are Jenny’s kids. I don’t start teaching them until next week though. but guess what?!?!? Jenny wants to send me to a Little Fox (that’s the name of the school) conference in Korea in September! Isn’t that great?!? Just me and Ji Hye will be going. That’s going to be a good time. I’m excited! Well I officially start my teaching rotation in 6 DAYS!!! I can’t wait. Actually what I REALLY can’t wait for is when I can walk down the street without everyone staring at me like I have three heads! You can definitely tell they don’t get too many foreigners here….that and my skin isn’t reacting to the humidity too well so my face looks like a pepperoni pizza with extra pepperoni so I can’t wait for that to clear up……well… until next time!!!! ZAIJIAN!! (goodbye)
(OH!!!! And my new phone number is;
13184187971… you have to punch the country code in first.. and I’m not too sure what that is right now. It’s a cell phone so you can try texting me too!!)
OH... and my encoding on this page is all in squares so i don't understand any of it. and under Encoding in my toolbar there is no english whatsoever... does anyone know how i can change this?