April-May 2011, (Pictures to follow)
Here’s to the first blog of 2011. Well my trip back to Canada was wonderful! I got to see all my friends and family for longer than I anticipated. I arrived in Calgary on January 18th 2011 and was scheduled to go back to China on Feb 10th 2011. Due to visa troubles I was held up until April 15th 2011. As I write this I am on the plane heading back to China.
I gorged on delicious, fattening foods that are not as accessible in Wenzhou and by doing so have gained 10 lbs. I would like to say it’s been worth it, but most of the time the richness of the food upset my stomach.
My visits were nice; I got to spend a couple weeks with my grandparents, a couple weeks with Nea, a couple weeks with my mom, and a couple weeks with my brother. I went for coffee frequently with my friends and was able to see almost everyone; us girls even managed a girls night in all the hustle and bustle.
Because of the hold up on the visa I had a wonderful time and was very grateful for the delay.
Now, on my way back I am looking forward to concentrating on my language learning this year and enjoying many more massages. In fact, that’s one of the first things I have planned on doing as soon as I get back.; shower, massage, then food! YUM I can’t wait!!!
I’m now on movie number two out of a possible six, I’ve read a bit of my book and even napped a bit. Hopefully the trip will go by quickly and I will fill in the rest of the details when I arrive.
So back at it…
School:
School is good. I work 20 hours a week not including my lesson planning time. The kids are grade 7 and 8 and most of the time fairly well behaved. The school was just constructed so still looks clean. I get a free lunch at their cafeteria if I choose to go. I’ve taken a few pictures to show you. I get to choose 4 items from the food they have prepared, then they give me a fruit and I go to collect my soup and rice. Overall I’m pretty happy with it.
Food:
Oh the food! How I have missed thee. It’s so delicious! I’ve had BBQ, noodles, lots of rice, veggies of all kinds and a few select meats; I’m still careful on that.
Weather:
The weather has been nice so far, a couple really hot days as a brief reminder of the days to come but that’s about it. I definitely am not looking forward to the summer heat.
Other:
As far as the rest of my life is going, so far it’s just been catching up. I’ve had my feet massaged and plan to go for a hair washing/cut soon. I’ve gotten into the rhythm of my lessons for the most part and have my daily life all organized. I start my Private lessons soon too.
I bought a mixer the other day. It’s meant to puree anything! I have been making tons of soya bean milk and am getting pretty good at it! ^_^ I also bought a printer which should help me with my lesson plans and worksheets. I’ll have two months off of school for summer vacation, but I have already filled one of them with extra work. I was originally planning to use those months for a Chinese course but the offer was too good to pass up. It’ll be three weeks of work, 6 days a week, 6 hours a day for 15, 000 rmb. That’s about 2,238 Canadian dollars. How could I say no. It’s not set in stone yet, but it was pretty certain last I talked to them.
Okay, so that is all for now… I’ll write again at the end of the month.
Julia
