I've been sick with a nasty
"Chinese" cold, which is why it has taken me a while to write, but I'm
recovering. I do feel very separated from regular life.  In a way, it's sort
of nice, to be away from the day to day worries and responsibilities (like
paying bills and hassling with the health insurance company).  It's amazing
how being on the other side of the world gives you a whole new perspective.
But, I officially got homesick for the first time.  When you are sick and
exhausted, the only place you want to be is home with someone who loves you!!

Have you seen the photos that Chris put on our web page?  I had sent three
rolls of film home with my principal (she and her husband only stayed in
China for 2 and 1/2 weeks).  He had the film developed and has begun to put
them on the web page.  My Chinese hosts were amazed to see it!!

Yesterday my students wrote short commercials for various products, ranging
from diapers to toilets (I must tell you that these were the only two items
marketed for excrement).  Some of them were hysterical.  One student,
selling a toilet, sounded like a used car salesman (with a strong chinese
accent), using such lines as "the most comfortable . . . you can read on it,
listen to music on it. . . everyone needs one . . . come and get one!!"
(Remember that western toilets, which you sit upon, are not commonplace in
china). Then the class played "Price is Right." It was very difficult
because they do not have a sense of the value of the american dollar.  Even
when they compared it their their chinese yuan, the cost of products here
are very different from in the U.S.  They usually priced the clothing much
too low, while other items such as medicine were priced too high.  Anyway,
we had a lot of fun while practicing English, learning about American
products and the value of the dollar.  By the end, each class was quite
lively,  shouting their advice to the contestant:  "HIGHER!!!   . . . .
LOWER!!!  . . . $19.99!!!"

Today, groups played a game of concentration with pictures of fruits and
vegetable on cards.  They were very animated, squealing and clapping with
pleasure whenever they found a match.  Of course, they had to name each item
in English in order to win the pair.  One students told me was laughing at
his classmates' enjoyment of the game and said to me,  "They like to play
games! They are very child-like!"  They have written in their journals about
how playing games and participating in interactive activities is a new way
of teaching English for them.  Some of them are looking forward to using
these methods with their students in their classrooms.

The past two afternoons, I have been teaching them country-western line
dancing.  We've been learning "Achy Breaky Heart."  They especially like the
moves of shaking the hips.  They are very good dancers and have excellent
sense of rhythm (Much better than most Americans, I think).  We noticed when
visiting the schools that dance and music are a part of each student's basic
education.  And it really shows.  They pick up the dancing rather quickly.
It's a lot of fun.

Now I will answer some questions that people have written:

  I have not been learning any Chinese artwork or crafts or songs.  But I am
learning Tai Chi and some VERY basic language.  I also hope to learn some
cooking before we leave.  We have visited several temples, with beautiful
gardens.  We attended a performance of traditional Tang dynasty dance and
music (about 300 years ago).  It was amazing!!  We also watched a musical
performance of Tang dynasty music at a tourist location of Tang dynasty
tombs.  It included bells, chimes, and an ancient string instrument (I
forget the name of it).  We have been learning chinese etiquette, and they
tell me that I'm now very good at chopsticks (they joked that I have
"graduated").  I explained that nothing gets between me and food . . . food
is a great motivator.  Once during our first week here, we were at a
restaurant eating dumplings (what are referred to in the U.S. as "pot
stickers").  I went to dip the dumpling into my dish of vinegar and lost my
grip on it (between the chopsticks) and it fell into the dish.  SPLASH!!  I
spattered vinegar all over me and the two people sitting on either side of
me!!  Luckily, I was not the only one who did this.  We all got a good laugh
from it!!  Everyone serves themselves from the dishes on the turntable in
the center of the table.  You do not have a large plate, only a small saucer
and a rice bowl. So you must continually help yourself to more as the
turntable rotates. And there are no serving spoons.  You simply use the
chopsticks you are eating with to serve yourself.  So you might say, there
is a lot of "double dipping."  It took a while to get used to this idea, but
now we don't even think about it.  We definitely share each other's germs!!
It is more polite to lift your bowl or saucer up to your mouth and scoop the
food into the mouth rather than try to lift it from the table up to your
mouth and slurping is absolutely acceptable (this is hard to get used to).
Rice is always served at the end of the meal, as is the soup (to help aid
digestion).

I do not really know if I'm losing weight.  I can't really tell.  But I know
that the food is much healthier.  It's fresh and contains less meat.  They
cook with oil, but it is very light.  I can tell my complexion is better and
even though I'm sweating like a pig some days, my body odor is almost
non-existent.  And I know this is also due to the diet.  (Sorry if this is
just too personal for some of you).

I can't quite count to ten yet, only four, then I get mixed up.  But I'll
master it before I leave so I can teach Stephanie and David.

And I have never heard any Chinese people say, "Ah, so" as they do in
american movies.

Shopping in Tianjin . . . there are street vendors lined up and down the
streets selling most anything you can imagine.  They have very fashionable
dresses and clothing.  The Chinese women dress very nicely everyday:
dresses, dress shoes, and often times hats and sometimes even short gloves.
It is also very common to wear little nylon (pantyhose) anklets or
knee-highs with the dresses.  It looked rather funny to us at first, sort of
like a grandmother fashion in the U.S.  There are also food vendors on the
streets.  Last week we took a trip to the supermarket.  It was not too
different from American supermarkets, except that they sell everything from
clothing to electronic equipment, in addition to food.  I took some pictures
in the supermarket that I will share with you. We were buying food to make
American sandwiches for our classes.  It was actually a French supermarket,
where we were buying American food, in China!! We were quite a site:  four
American women with two Chinese hosts piling into a taxi with bags and bags
of groceries (to feed 80 people).  Needless to say, people stared!!  We also
went to a department store.  The clothing was considerably more expensive
than what we have seen in little shops. When you buy items on the street or
in the little shops on the street, you must bargain.  But in the supermarket
and department stores, there is no bargaining.  My students have told me
that the quality of items in the department stores is much better than that
of the items sold in the little street shops.

Both parents usually work.  And you probably know that there is a one-child
policy in China now.  If a family has more than one child, they must pay a
hefty fee.  The employers often have a daycare facility at the workplace for
the parents.  Even at the schools, the teachers may bring their toddlers to
school with them and leave them in the daycare on campus.  Usually at 3 or
4, the children begin attending "kindergarten."  Then at the age of 6, they
enter grade one.  Many families have grandparents living with them, who care
for the children during the day.  The children begin formally learning
English in 3rd or 4th grade.

I think I already answered the questions about what I am teaching . . . but
please let me know if you have more questions.  I love getting the
messages!!  And answering questions helps me to write about my experiences
here, which I will save and, I'm sure, cherish in the future.

Say hello to Ginger!!  (I miss Nikki!!!)

Welp, I'll close for now.  Marlene and Lucy are waiting to use the e-mail.
More later . . .   Sally