May 1-18, 2010

May 1-18

It looks like I will be doing blog entries twice a month. I was assuming you guys were getting sick of reading them, but it sounds like you're still interested. ^_^ which is nice to hear.

Ok, so since I last left off…let’s start with weather:

Weather’s been good (for me anyways) it’s been cloudy and rainy averaging about 20 – 22. It was really warm today and very muggy which wasn’t very pleasant.

School is still going ok. I have a routine in my lessons now which is reassuring and I have no more crying kids either, almost all my lessons are at main school and I have even had a fairly consistent schedule for the last few weeks. ^_^ ha ha ha.

Chinese…as usual, is coming along slowly but I am learning more and more. I have even decided I will try to learn the local language; which is going to be tricky, it has sounds that are really hard to wrap my tongue around.

May has been really busy! I went to a mountain the first week of May for a hike. The whole trip there was foothills with lush forest or rice patties; I tried to take some pictures to show it, but not all of them turned out. The trail we hiked was really nice with a very pretty river and waterfalls at the bottom. The trail itself was man made using logs in the forest area and rebar in the rock along the river. The forest was different to walk through because it wasn’t as dense as ours; there was lots of bamboo and then some variation of a normal tree…my apologies for the vague description, my tree knowledge is very limited. The river at the bottom was very clear and PACKED with people; luckily the farther you walked up stream, the fewer people you saw. About two thirds of the way through the trail it started to pour rain and we all were drenched by the time we got back to our hotel. For dinner we had a meal that was made entirely of things that could be collected from the surrounding forest; it was fantastic. On that note when we originally got to the hotel to drop our stuff off before our hike I saw some chickens locked in cages, assuming this was going to be out dinner tonight I tried not to feel too bad for them. Sure enough when we got back from our hike there lying in buckets of water were the chickens…killed, plucked, and ready to be chopped up for dinner. I got one ok picture of this. Well that pretty much sums up my mountaineering adventure, it was nice and I want to go back. ^_^

Next event I was lucky enough to partake in was a Chinese wedding. This couple was catholic though so it started in a church like any of our weddings would and then moved to the grooms house (his parents house really). We arrived before they did so when they got there I got to see the fireworks go off, they were showered in confetti and they dowsed in silly string before even getting into the apartment. Once they were “home” they went to the bedroom to see their new bedding and I think to take a breather but I’m not really sure. The new bedding was all red with matching pillows; I think it’s supposed to bring them good fortune in their marriage. Once they collect themselves the new bride will hand out tea and snacks to the guests in the house. The guests, which, at this stage are neighbors as well as family members, get to snoop around the house to see how wealthy they are. Family and friend leave to go to the hotel for the festivities. The bride and groom are greeted with more fireworks and a dragon. I missed this part because I was with the grooms mother who insisted on sweeping the apartment before leaving. Once we were at the hotel you give your red envelope to the bride and groom along with your best wishes and find the table you’ve been assigned to. Anna and I sang LOVE by Nat King Cole and my knees were shaking; it was very embarrassing but I’m glad we did it. The Bride changed out of her white dress into a beautiful red one and the couple started their rounds. They go to each table and do a cheers with the guests. The couple’s parents or best friends are there to refill their shot glasses as they go, but they had to go to every table to do this…there were about 30 tables at this dinner. Halfway through the bride changed from her red dress into a green one. I’m not sure on the custom behind this but I know that changing into a green dress is a Wenzhou thing. The dress changes are something to do with good fortune with babies I think. Anyways, the wedding was very cool and when dinner was finished and the couple had made it to the last table (the groom’s best friends) pretty much everyone got up at once to leave. It was very strange to see so many people leave at once. At this point the bride and groom, or in this case just the groom since the bride doesn’t drink, will play drinking games with his friends until he cannot stand up anymore.

Well, I think that pretty much brings me to present day. ^_^ I am having lots of fun and have been especially grateful to be able to have this experience.