Well, it’s been BUSY.
I guess that kind of goes without saying…the ends of things often seem to be busy.

These past couple of weeks have been absolutely packed full of lasts….
Last trip within Guangxi (Beihai beaches….lovely!), last dinners at the usual restaurants, last lessons, final exams….

I’m really quite sad about leaving! It’s heartbreaking that I’ll probably never see most of these people again.
Except for Kate, that is- I’m planning on seeing her again at some point, fortunately.

This morning, the school is giving me a ride to Nanning where I’ll spend the day before catching an early flight tomorrow. Many of my students and friends from Yizhou have promised to “see me off” at the car. It seems to be a tradition here- just saying goodbye isn’t enough, you need to actually wish the person good luck as they’re driving away. I think it’s going to be absolutely heartbreaking and wonderful.
Unfortunately, my camera has broken (apparently a common thing for the particular camera that I have…there seems to be a design flaw) so I’ll just have to remember it.

I should be getting ready, so I should go.

zai jian!

My blog is getting spammed like crazy every day.
I get loads and loads of comments about stuff that I really don’t care to get messages about. Ugh.
Good thing I moderate all the comments before they go up otherwise you’d see 29 comments a day about getting cheap prescription drugs.

In other news, my Nanning photos are now up. Huzzah for that! I’m actually keeping up to date on one small part of my life.

Next week Kyle and I are going to Vietnam for a few days. I’ve managed to rearrange three of my classes so this week I don’t have my usual Friday off and next week I don’t have my usual Monday off. I’ve got classes all morning tomorrow and then afternoon on Monday. However, it’ll be worth it to have an extra day in Hanoi.
I’m really excited. I thought Hanoi was quite lovely last year, but there were a few things we missed…well, many things that we missed. It’ll be great to get to see what we didn’t see before.

As far as things go here, we’ve got what apparently seems to be Yizhou’s spring right now. It’s a strange mix of heavy rain, cloudy skies, and warm sunshine. Sometimes one of those will stick around, but often we get all three in a day which is, to say the least, confusing.
However, it can stick around for as long as it wants! I definitely prefer this to the summer weather that’s just around the corner.

Kate and I are having an Easter egg hunt with the students on Friday. This could either be amazing fun or a colossal mess. We’ve brought in eggs for the students to dye at lunch and those are the eggs we’ll be hiding. We did the coloring bit last year, but this is our first attempt at hiding them. Unfortunately, it has been raining/drizzling non-stop for two weeks now, so it might have to be inside. I hope that’s not a problem with any of the administrator-types.
We’ve also created a “silver egg” (couldn’t find gold paint/nail polish) that I’ve put 3 yuan in. They students are incredibly eager to find that one.
I’m looking forward to seeing how this all turns out.

I have been teaching lessons about Easter this week.
It’s quite amusing to see the students confused the idea of the Easter Bunny with Jesus’ crucifixion. I think they finally understand that those are two separate concepts though. Goodness, at least I hope so!
For grade two, this is my second Easter with them, so they learned quite a bit last year…and I must say, it was appalling to see how much most of them had forgotten. I guess that just goes to show how useful my teaching is!
I’m sure it’s probably largely because the entire idea of Easter is something utterly foreign to all but my two Christian students.

Speaking of Christianity, one of my students came to my apartment a couple of times last week and she was talking to me about how she is considering becoming a Christian and she really finds prayer comforting. Of course, given my position, I really couldn’t continue much of a conversation along those lines, but it was a fantastic thing to hear.

All of this talk of Easter has been causing me to develop Easter candy cravings!
I don’t miss Peeps so much, but man…. I sure miss those Reeses Peanut Butter Cup eggs, the little Candbury mini eggs, and the Cadbury creme filled eggs.
Mmmmmmmmmmm…….

I hope that you’re all enjoying those for me.

Kate and I are heading to Liuzhou on Saturday to celebrate Easter with 8 other foreign teachers. The two of us have been put in charge of a Saturday service…so we’re doing a modified Easter Vigil before dinner. Should be interesting. I think it’ll be nice.

Here’s a little Easter quiz that Kate wrote….
See if you can get all the answers:

Easter Quiz

1.What does Mardi Gras have to do with Easter?
a. It’s the first day of Lent.
b. It’s the last day before Lent.
c. It’s the mid-point of Lent.

2.What is the origin of the word ‘Easter’?
a.It was a deity associated with rain and agriculture.
b.It was the name of a spring goddess
c.It was a mythical beast crucified by its herd.

3.What’s the difference between a rabbit and a hare?
a.Rabbits are more often seen in daytime.
b.Rabbits have shorter ears and legs.
c.Rabbits are born covered in fur and their eyes open.

4.Which US president did the first White House annual Easter egg roll?
a.Calvin Coolidge.
b.Theodore Roosevelt.
c.Andrew Johnson.

5.How is the date for Easter calculated?
a.The first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.
b.The second Sunday following the harvest moon.
c.The tenth Sunday after Epiphany.

6.On how many dates is Easter observed?
a.1
b.2.
c.3.

7.What day was Jesus crucified?
a.Good Friday
b.Holy Saturday
c.Easter Sunday

8.Which of these did NOT happen on Maundy Thursday?
a.Last Supper.
b.The feeding of the five thousand.
c.Judas betrays Jesus.

9.What happened on Palm Sunday?
a.Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey.
b.Jesus washes his followers’ feet.
c.Jesus eats the first Easter egg.

10.What kind of Easter egg would Kate like this year?
a. Smarties.
b. Crunchie
c. Mars bar

Two posts in two days!
Now I’m making progress.

It’s yet another dreary type of day here. Last week it was all sunshine and cerulean skies peppered with white, fluffy clouds. As soon as Thursday afternoon crept up on us, so did the rainclouds. Most days since then (it’s Monday afternoon here) have been plagued with gray skies, sprinkles, and showers. Naturally, this is the kind of weather that is conducive to staying indoors and getting things done…right?

Alas, it is not always so for me. Somehow, I find the endless thick clouds distracting and melancholy. Therefore, instead of staying in and actually making progress, I’m staring at book covers and pondering the existence of the word “towards”. (That dilemma is solved, thanks to my trusty friend www.dictionary.com- Usage Note: Some critics have tried to discern a semantic distinction between toward and towards, but the difference is entirely dialectal. Toward is more common in American English; towards is the predominant form in British English.)

There are things to be planned and finished. There are things to be sent, taken care of, and applied for. I am certainly well aware of these things. They eat at my inner stomach lining like soft, black leeches with sharp teeth. I know I need to take care of them, but I just can’t seem to get myself to move. Perhaps this is what it feels like to be a sloth in a tree. (I was always terrified those creatures as a child…photos in science books made them look mean and dirty)

The cracks in my bedroom floor tiles are getting worse. You know, I’m not sure I’ve mentioned them before. Sometime last term, a tile developed a crack. Then it began to spread. When I came back from the holiday, the tiles had begun to move up as though some force was putting pressure on them from below. It’s really quite strange. Mary (co-teacher/friend/waiban-foreign affairs assistant) was over here today to take a look at it, so I’m expecting that it’ll get fixed sometime in the near future. It’s certainly not life-threatening, so I’m not terribly bothered about it, to be honest. Mostly I just think it’ll get worse and it’ll be more work for the school if I just let it go. For now, I just avoid those two tiles (which are unfortunately directly behind the chair I’m sitting in at the moment.

Here’s a sign of how behind I’ve gotten with my emails. My dear friend Cynthia sent me a link to download some music ages ago (I honestly don’t know the exact date) and I didn’t bother to download them until last week and I didn’t even get a chance to listen to the album until today.
I’ve certainly been missing out. It’s an album by Alela Diane called “The Pirate’s Gospel” and it’s absolutely fantastic. Highly recommended. Perhaps a bit behind the times, but recommended nonetheless.
Now playing: Alela Diane - The Pirate’s Gospel
via FoxyTunes

I just got word that a fellow Amity teacher was “was injured in an unfortunate encounter with a dog” recently. He’s now in the hospital being treated and he got the lovely rabies injections. Ugh! Scary thought. I suppose I ought to be more careful than I am currently when it comes to animals.

I think I’ll end this post with a photo from my trip in Sumatra as a tribute to sunnier days.

When I feel stressed out, sometimes I suppose that my mind tries to find something else to distract me.

For example, for the past couple of weeks…maybe the past few, I’m losing track of time these days…. I have been stressed out about a variety of decisions that needed to be made. (I’ll explain some of this soon when I can say more for sure)
This explains why I haven’t been posting here at all. It’s not due to a lack of significant events or extraordinarily dull days (something either amusing or frustrating happens here on a daily basis, to be honest. I’m certainly not short of material); it’s just because I have been too distracted to even think straight.

That’s where the problem started.
My tooth began to hurt.
When I ate something sweet, it seemed to hurt. I kept thinking about cavities. The more I thought about it, the more it hurt. Therefore, it seemed logical to me: I must have a cavity- maybe three or four! The pain increased. I Googled tooth cavities and examined my teeth in the mirror. I was absolutely certain that I saw one and then another two possible cavities further back in my mouth.
If you know me at all, you know that I am absolutely terrified of needles. I couldn’t really tell you why, I just know that the sight of one, even on television, makes me sick to my stomach, weak in my knees, and more than just a little shaky. It’s embarrassing. Truly embarrassing.
(Does anyone else out there have crazy fears like that, or is it just me?)

Well, I’ve had one filling my whole life and I hated it. I really hated it. The needle in my gums was by far the worst part. I had no idea they were going to do that. So, needless to say, the idea of needles and a filling in China worried me. I could just leave it until I get home, but what if it got worse?

Kate finally suggested that I talk to our friend/co-teacher/new waiban’s assistant, Mary (not her real name, that’s just her English name) and ask her to take me to get my teeth simply looked at. Kate is so smart sometimes.
So Mary and I headed out to the dentist. About four or five yuan later, I was sitting in a dentist’s chair and a Chinese woman was poking around my teeth and explaining things to Mary. I, frustratingly, could not understand a word and also couldn’t ask for a translation when I had a metal stick-thing in my mouth. Somewhere at the end of her comments, I heard “mei you” which I took as a good sign. (It means “don’t have”)

Turns out….absolutely nothing wrong with my teeth.
In fact, they clean teeth there, but they recommended that I not even bother with that because my teeth don’t even need cleaned (not what I’d hear from a dentist in the States, I’m sure). She just said there are some spots in the back that could develop into cavities if I’m not careful, but to be honest, I’ve heard that for years. (I guess these things don’t get better)

Funny enough, my toothaches seem to have disappeared since then. Odd, eh?

I guess that just goes to show how ridiculous I can be when I’m under stress.

More later.
This time I really promise.
(If any of you believe me anymore!)

—————-
Now playing: AIR - Alone In Kyoto
via FoxyTunes

I’m cccccccold.

The mornings and nights here are extra chilly.
Truly told me last week that this winter is going to be colder than last winter.
Oh no!

I’m on a search for more layers and thermal underwear.
However, I don’t think I’m going to have much luck at all in those departments.

I’m in for a long, cold, winter.
Especially when I travel to Tibet in January/February.
I hope I survive.

Thanksgiving has come and gone…

I spent lots of time shopping, cooking, and baking on Thursday.
Thankfully, people came early enough that everyone could lend a hand when it came to putting it all together.

We had wine, juice, chicken (we bought it already cooked), cornbread, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, honey glazed carrots, cranberry sauce, dried cranberries, stuffing, bread, salad, cookies, brownies, pumpkin bars, apple crumble, and my biggest accomplishment- pumpkin pie. It was my first ever attempt at pie crust or any kind of pie. I don’t have any real measuring tools, so I just had to guess at amounts, and I also have a tiny toaster oven- not really the ideal size for pies! I’m not going to lie- it turned out pretty well, I think.

So Thanksgiving was great. There were 8 people over here and we ate lots and talked even more. I had a fantastic time.

Today, our regional conference began. The meetings and such are all starting tomorrow, but everyone arrived, had dinner, and then went out to Liu San Jie Square this evening.

The Square has changed a lot since last year, as has all of Yizhou, but I think I’ll save that for a later post. They still have bumper cars though, so that’s a load of fun. I’m terrible at driving those things!! I’m glad that Kyle was willing to drive. It was a good time.

Anyway, so we went out for tea, coffee, and juice afterwards and it was a good time. However, Kate and I were really enjoying ourselves and she hadn’t even finished her drink when everyone decided it was time to go, so we headed out. Unfortunately, I really really really enjoy having lots of people to talk to- but since we’re hosting the conference, we stay at home and they all stay in a hotel. I have to say that I’m really quite depressed that they all get to hang out in the hotel and talk while I came back here alone, like most other nights. I’m now used to having this apartment to myself, but for the most part, I don’t enjoy that. I like being with other people a lot. I’m on a strange line between extrovert and introvert…I don’t like being the center of attention at all, I like to avoid that, but I feel happy being involved with a group of people and I have discovered in the past year that I actually get incredibly offended and sad (no matter how hard I try to control these emotions!) when I feel as though people are having a good time while I’m alone and not enjoying being by myself. It is, I know, something that I need to adjust to, and for the most part I have. I just feel like a blog on the internet is somewhere that I can vent these frustrations. I don’t know why I think that, but whatever.

I’m full of energy after spending time with people all day and not ready to sleep at all, so I’m making the brownies that we need for our snack during our meeting tomorrow. Kate and I forgot to bake them earlier today, so I figured I’d just do it now since I can’t sleep at the moment.

Tomorrow morning, I’ve got to get up and prepare some things for breakfast and bake some blueberry muffins.
After this weekend, Thanksgiving and the conference will be over and I’m pretty sure I’ll have used up all of the baking mixes I have here. That’s kind of a disappointment because I can’t get any more in Yizhou.
However, it’s great to be able to share good meals with other people. It makes it even more enjoyable, I think.
I love the combination of good people and good food. You really can’t often go wrong with that.

P.S. In the market today, I saw them grab a dog by the neck with some metal thing and grab a bag- they beat the dogs to death in a bag before preparing them for cooking. I almost cried. I know the dogs are for eating, but I’ve never watched one as it’s about to be killed. Absolutely heartbreaking.
I suppose I feel that way about all animals, but I don’t often see them as they’re about to reach their end- especially in such an utterly brutal way.
I will never forget that.

In a couple of days, I’ve got to cook something that’s kind of like Thanksgiving dinner. Thankfully, Kate is helping out. Who knows how this will turn out? I really don’t know. Well, there will be food and that’s what really matters.
Thanksgiving is all about hanging out with people and eating anyway. Mmmmm… my mouth waters at the thought of a Thanksgiving meal.
Last year, we were at Pizza Hut in Nanning for Thanksgiving. Certainly not traditional in any way. Ugh.

This weekend, Kyle and I had some engagement photos taken by an older woman who lives on the 4th floor of my building. She’s a photographer and she’s pretty good at it. She just got a digital camera the day before taking our photos, so she used digital and regular film. My friend/coteacher, Mary also came along and took some shots with her digital camera. I’ve posted all of the photos here on Flickr.
Also, I have some pretty sweet photos of Kate and I and I am doing something for Kyle’s Christmas gift. (ha ha) But those photos have to be kept hidden for the moment. If you’re interested in seeing them, email me (hunt.megan@gmail.com) and I can email you an invitation to see them on Flickr.

In other news…. wedding planning is going… well, I guess.
I bought my dress. Well, I picked it out and paid the money for it, but my mom had to do the actual ordering at the shop. Once again, if you’re interested in photos, send an email because I can’t post them where Kyle will see them.
We’re also coming up with a list of potential songs for the ceremony (we’re thinking about not going completely traditional there) and also for reception. If you’ve got any suggestions, I’d love to hear them!
I also just spent what I consider to be an obscene amount (although it really isn’t) on makeup that I ordered online. I figure that I need some nice stuff since the stuff here is really cheap and horrific and I’ll be needing to have decent makeup for my wedding anyway…might as well get it now. The sad bit is that I realized that even though I just spent a lot, I don’t really have all the makeup I’ll need. It’s like a vicious trick. You can never quite have everything you need without spending loads of money. I do love makeup though. I can’t wait to be back in the States where I’ll be able to try some on and just buy nice makeup without having to wait my entire lifetime for it to arrive! It’s supposed to get here on December 26th. A Christmas present to myself, I guess. I haven’t worn makeup in ages (as is sadly evident in the engagement photos where I happened to be wearing…none! What was I thinking??) So I’ve decided that it’s really necessary to have at least a little bit of nice stuff so that I can put it on and feel good about the way I look.

In other news, the regional conference is this weekend. Since we’re hosting it, all 14 Amity teachers/friends of Amity will be arriving and spending a short time here. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again. Hopefully they’ve all got good stories to tell and interesting teaching suggestions.

That’s all for now!

P.S. I had completely forgotten that ‘My Fair Lady’ is nearly 3 hours long…and I showed it to my British Literature class yesterday. (They’re studying Pygmalion this week) Ugh. Torture. Pure torture.
And then, after it finished at 5.35, I then had to go home, get some things done, then go back to show ‘Back to the Future’ at 7.30 for film club.
I love films, but 5 hours is complete overkill. I was not particularly happy last night.

I forgot to mention in the previous post…
When I was visiting Melinda at her teaching practice, I asked her when she was going to be home again and when I could visit my little kitten, Maeby.

She informed me of some terrible news.

Apparently Maeby went missing a couple of days ago.

I’m really quite sad about this. I know that she didn’t live in my apartment (not since the flea incident at least!), but I visited her at least once a week and it was really great to have my own little kitten to play with and to watch as she got bigger and bigger.
So if anyone in southern China sees a little calico cat with a red collar and a bell, please catch her!

I hope she comes back….

This past Sunday, Kate and I went and visited Lizzy, a student from the Chemistry Department, at her teaching practice.
Lizzy is particularly interested in English, so she spends a lot of time asking us questions and hanging out in the English library or cooking in Kate’s apartment.
During the last year of their education here, all of the students are required to go out for teaching practice for 5 weeks. It’s a bit like student teaching back in the States, although, to be honest, these students get a whole lot less practice in!
Lizzy had found a lot of students who are extremely interested in English and we went to a classroom to introduce ourselves to them. What followed afterwards was a flurry of photographs and “Hello”s.

After that, we walked around the city a bit, it’s Luo Cheng, a city that seems to be similar is size and development to Yizhou, but Lizzy told me that it’s actually considered to be a part of Yizhou. We saw a new building at the best middle school in town (not the one Lizzy’s teaching at). The classrooms looked really impressive (at least for schools in this area). We also saw some statues and the outside of what is apparently a museum. We didn’t go inside, but I thought it might have been interesting.

Monday morning, I met up with one of my former students, Melinda.
She took me over to XiaJian, an area of Yizhou that’s about 15 minutes from here if you take a bus. I got to see the school she’s at and meet some of the friendly teachers in the English Department. This school is significantly smaller than the one in Luo Cheng, but the surrounding area certainly is much more beautiful here.

After seeing the school, I got to see where the students who are doing their practice are living. They have rooms in an empty building where 4-6 of them sleep and live together in each room. I think Melinda said that there are 20 of them in the building. It doesn’t seem too bad, except that they only seem to have one working shower and Melinda said it doesn’t have any hot water! I don’t know how well I’d deal with that.

On the plus side, they are very close to the Liu San Jie Resort, a place that I think is quite beautiful. If I didn’t live in Yizhou, I’d love to spend a night there. The rooms look really comfortable and the grounds are gorgeous. It’s really quiet and peaceful. Over here, in the bustling bit of the city, we don’t get that kind of peace. Well, the best I get is climbing up the little mountain/hill at White Dragon Park near my apartment. However, I can still here the cars, loud music, and pig squeals from up there.