Second Week in Huai Hua

Monday, February 23rd
So I haven’t written in my journal for a few days. I have been busy preparing lessons and teaching them. And on top of that I have been really sick too. So those factors combined have made me lazy with my journal writing. My goal is to write in my journal everyday. Today I had two classes. But before we get to classes I must mention that the gate to our apartment was shut and we couldn’t get it opened. Before we never closed it all the way. But some shut it and we couldn’t get out. Elvis and Mike and I were all trying very hard to get the darn thing open. We just about gave up when I get my key out of the lock and Elvis tried his and it opened up. My first Monday class is excellent. They seem to understand what I say and they seem to very much enjoy my class. I tried something new. I had the class study in class and I assigned them numbers one through three. And I had two people from each group present in front of the class. It worked well. We finished up New Zealand. I showed them three short video clips. One was of some Maori dances at the Polynesian Cultural Center. One was of the Haka from a PBS program I believe. And the last one was a tourist video of museum. I also showed them pictures and they seemed to like that. During lunch I talked to Taylor and the family in Pennsylvania. Then I talked to Kristen on skype for a while. I wrote an email to Ciera. It was simply a reply to an email she had written me earlier. It was very good to hear from her. And I also texted her. She never called back, that punk! Oh well, maybe one day she will write back. I guess her and Jessa are having a rough time where they are at with no toilet and being sick. I wonder how all the girls are doing in these conditions. Its good for them, I’m sure. I also downloaded QQ today. It was good to practice my Chinese character reading and writing. But I don’t know how well I will like it in a few days when everyone of my students wants to talk to me. Jenny C got mad at me today when I was talking to Bobbi. She called me a bunch and told me she always tried to talk about something “serious” but she will never tell me what it is. Finally she told me that she wants me to participate in some kind of broadcasting interview or something. Bobbi asked me about racial discrimination in China. He seemed to be in favor of affirmative action. So I tried to talk some sense into him. It was a fun conversation. I also wrote President and Sister Elmer about my journeys and my experience in Hong Kong with Elder Hong and at the Hong Kong temple. Later Mike and watched the first half of Tames Bono Thunderball. Oh one more thing, I saw a GLK 300 today on the way to school. Its really odd, there will be a really nice LS460L in the midst of all the tractors and bikes and strange three wheel rickshaw looking trucks. It typifies the ginormous wealth chasm between the rich, even by western standards, juxtaposed to the poor Chinese farmer. I watched a Rueters Business News Asia podcast today that talked about this exact issue and they said in China you have “the affluence of the lifestyle of Europe next to Chinese peasants that are living in poverty like those in sub-saharan Africa” or something to that effect. While most people for the most part here seem to be pretty middle class for China, you still get the poor people and the very rich people and the differences are significant.