What's going on

It appears that a month went by and I haven't written anything here. People ask why there aren't any photos or updates. And I have thought about this question - and really, the answer is that I am just living my life, the same as everyone back home. Okay, that sounds a bit casual because everyone back home thinks I'm living an adventure. In reality, just as my friend described his life at lunch (go to work, go home, have dinner, spend time with the family, go to bed, wake up, do it all over again) my life is really the same. It's just the context that's different. I'm still working, planning for school, stressing out about the same stuff. Socializing with different people, working with different kinds of kids, going to different places. That's all.

So you're still asking where I've been for the past month? In my work life, school has seemed to ramp up a bit (or maybe I have) I gained two new boy students after Chinese New Year - one German who doesn't speak English and one "American" (by passport, not by birth location) who speaks enough English. About three weeks ago, I got two more boys because one teacher went on maternity leave and they decided to split her class among the existing teachers on the grade level. Finally, last Monday, I got a new girl from Finland who also does not speak English. This brings my class back up to 18. I got back the same number I lost to the recession. It's been a blur, but work has been busy.

I've been doing more weekends away, as I originally wanted to do upon coming here. It's just that the weather has just started to get nicer, which is ample motivation for getting out. Nanjing was nice, but a still a bit gray that weekend. So we went to do what we have done anyway - visit all the memorials and museums. Will have to go back on a nicer weekend to make up for all the outdoor activities that we missed.

The weekend before last, a bunch of us went to Hangzhou. It was lovely weather, but the flowers on the lake were not in bloom yet. I don't think that happens until summer. Perhaps another mid-June weekend trip.

And as for this weekend, we have one day off for Qing Ming Jie. Readers will remember that I won a flight to Qingdao in a raffle during the school's Chinese New Year dinner. So I figured I would cash in on that while it's still valid (expires June 1) We have 10 days off in May for Labor Day and I am planning for Xinjiang. So excited! I have never been anywhere like that!

Photos will be on Flickr.