7 more weeks of school

It's hard to believe that school will be over quite soon. 7 weeks can really fly by quickly, especially when we have another holiday coming up this week, and lots of activities to finish up the year. By the lord's grace I've made it through my first year of teaching. This past week was Enrichment Week. Monday we spent time preparing for the big photo scavenger hunt we were sending the kids on. Good thing we didn't plan anything outside that day because it was pouring! and traffic gets bad when it rains a lot here. there are accidents, it's almost impossible to get a taxi, and buses are more crowded than usual.

Tuesday and Wednesday was our scavenger hunt. the kids were divided into groups of 3 + an adult per group. We gave them a list of locations, and certain things they had to find or do at the location. The kids had to do all the work, and the adults were just there to keep them safe. It was a great experience! It forced the students to use their chinese, and it was the first time using public transportation for some of them. It was quite exhausting by the end of the two days, but well worth it!

Thursday we drove to a city just southwest of us, Tianjin. We visited a historical site, then spent too much time at the hotel trying to sort out problems. I almost thought we'd have to go back to Beijing. It's a long story so I'd rather not elaborate. Needless to say, after an hour of them saying no, we decided to leave for awhile so they couldn't waste more of our day. As we left they said everything was alright. This is just how things go here. Regulations for having passports have changed and there was a lot of miscommunication between the travel agent and our staff member. Anyways, we got to stay at the hotel....which was alright....but I've learned a lot planning this past week and will be better prepared for next year!

This weekend has been great for relaxing and doing some things outside. We played some badminton, went to the park, did some biking to the art district, and just had a good time with friends. This week we only teach 2 days, then we have May holiday! We're planning a camping trip to the great wall with some friends for 1 night. We're also making our plans for summer. we hope to volunteer with some camps, travel, and take some chinese lessons.

Along with the warmer weather comes the return of some nasty smells. We certainly didn't miss them in the winter....but more smells seem to come out of our drains when it's warm. Gross! I also think I inhaled a few small flies today while we were biking.

Bye for now!