i am not a very good updater. sorry.

so.. it's REALLY hard to write or even post pictures of what life here has been like for the past couple weeks.. it doesn't do justice to what it is really like. but i'll try my best...

hm. i've been teaching my sophmore classes about parties, american culture, special occasions... and decided to throw them a mini-surprise-american-class-party! haha.. we played common games/icebreakers- like the clothespin game and you cannot speak Chinese.. and i taught them the YMCA! it's a pity (that's what my students always say) that it was a hot day and all my sweat came back to life during the dancing.. haha

what's more? out the backgate (of the campus where i live) is alleys of street food vendors, literal hole in the wall resturants, pool tables... you get the picture. anyways there's a sweet old lady that sells slices of watermelon whom we go to often, and one of my teammates- laura buys watermelon from her almost everyday- the other day she was so excited to see us, grabbed our hands with her wet watermelon juice hands, and smiled with her missing teeth and GAVE us a watermelon for freee! she would not take the money and it was so so sweet of her because she needs the money more than we do, yet was SO generous and kind. :)

my other favorite place to eat is the noodle shop, where i go faithfully every week to eat lunch or "da bao" (take out) dinner.. my two favorite waitresses work there who are also students.. their english is very minimal but their smiles are bright and warm... my teammate laura and i were able to give them English names, Hannah and Joyce :) they're super sweet. please ask for more opportunities to get to know them and that the language barrier can decrease as I’m learning more Chinese everyday, sorta ;)

so.. there’s rats in our apartment building- such a comforting thought, especially when you are deadly afraid of them! Yep yep. I think this year is all about conquering fears of spiders next to my face (that happened last week), rats running around the apartments… yep. fun. here's some of standing on chairs in

I got a “new” old bike from a student’s friend… 50 yuan- which is like 8-9 dollars. Love it.. it’s a beauty and classic- all in one. It’s a blessing and a goal that I have is to be able to ride it with someone sitting on the backseat (all real Chinese people can do this, but I clearly cannot without eating it badly!)

In case you ever wanted to know where 12 hours of my week is spent.. right here in the office for office hours :)

nut. i was gonna post a few more pictures but blogger isn't permitting it at the time.
P.S. blogger is acting a little unsual with the large spaces in between things. sorry. enjoy the extra spaces!