I didn't wait 9 months to post again. See, I'm making an effort.

Okay, this is the beginning of my 5 1/2 week trip around southern China and Thailand. I was hoping to have two weeks of R&R before beginning this trip, but the gods decided against it. Instead I had an insane two weeks, the opposite of the retreat I'd salivated over in my dreams. Oh well! There's always the beaches of Thailand to do that for me. At least I can hope.

I flew into Kunming from Lanzhou today. I left a frigid (a high of 19 degrees) and snowy (first snowfall of the season!) northern China and landed to a comfortable 60 ish degree southern China.

I came to Kunming last winter holiday, and I'll be retracing my steps a little bit again this year. This was only a 12 hour stop before continuing north to Dali, Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge (which I was too sick to hike last year), and fingers crossed for Zhongdian, or Shangri-La (don't worry mom, I'm taking pictures for you). I'll try to keep you informed of anythig interesting that might befall me.

*Beth, if you're reading this, it's good to know the Bollywood world is surviving without me. I'm starved for it here in China, though I did find a copy of Speed with Zayed Kahn and that was awful. It was awful even for Bollywood. I also found Krish, though that's waiting for me when I return back to my apartment. I'm so out of the BW loop it's not even funny.

Yes, I'm still alive.

Yes, I'm still in China.

Yes, I remember I have this blog I've neglected for nearly a year now.

It's Christmas today, my second in China. Christmas in China, as I know I mentioned just a couple of blogs ago (since it's been that long) is rather surreal. Tonight I went to a dinner with a few of my other foreign friends at a hotel for an All You Can Eat Buffet, which included turkey! A real turkey. It also included rather interesting performances from some "dancers" from a local club who were scantily clad. Earlier in the day I taught two classes--the first time I've ever worked on Christmas day.

It's easy to get homesick this time of year. I don't know that I'm homesick, but I can definitely use a break. So as I was sitting at my computer tonight, I decided I would finally create that California Playlist for my iPod that I've thought of many times.

So here's what's on my list for you other proud Californians (some choices are far too obvious):

"California Blue" by The Orange Peals

"Winding Road" by Bonnie Somerville

"California" by Phantom Planet

"California Girls" by The Beach Boys

"A Long December" by The Counting Crows

"Going to California" by Led Zeppelin

"California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & The Papas

"Californication" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Dani California" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers

"California Stars" by Jeff Tweedy

"California" by Rufus Wainwright

"Piazza, New York Catcher" by Belle & Sebastian

"Hotel California" by The Eagles

"California Love" by 2Pac, featuring Dr. Dre

"California Sun" by The Dictators

"Nothing Left To Lose" by Mat Kearney

"Back to California" by Sugarcult

Did I miss anything I need to have on this list?

To everyone who celebrates, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I'll be back writing about my Winter Holiday adventures in southern China and Thailand soon!

~ Angie

I'm still planning to share more about my trip to Yunnan and was in the process of doing so when my computer died on me. And the computer that was in my apartment when I arrived is older than me (if we're counting by computer years, that is). So I'm surviving on the kindness of the other foreign teachers at my school until I figure out what to do. Sad thing is, despite the fact that I'm obessed with the internet, I really do need it to plan lessons, as it's my only English-language resource.

So far the semester is going really well. I'm currently teaching four classes: two sections of British and American Literature to Junior English majors, a listening class, and an oral English class. There's a rumor that I'll be given another class--an elective Listening & Speaking class--but it's anyone's guess when / if that will happen. Other than the daunting task of attempting to teach the entire English and Amercian literature canons in one semester (I attempted to do Chaucer and Shakespeare in one day in a three-hour class. I didn't quite work, so Shakespeare gets bumped to the next class), I'm having a great time teaching literature and actually feel qualified to do it.

In other news, I've recently broken my bowling high, jumping from a 162 to 170 and am averaging 140.; I experienced my first famous Lanzhou sandstorm yesterday; with the tortillas my parents sent, I made my first quesadilla in over 9 months (it was divine!).

Pictures say a thousand words? Here's my Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) in pictures:

This little boy, a relative of my friend Wu Yu (see below) became my best friend. He let me light firecrackers with him and invited me to spend the night at this house. I named him Charlie.

Burning "paper" in honor of ancestors.I guess it's a Spring Festival tradition, and it was a nice tradition to experience. This is the grave of my waipo's husband. My host family asked me to throw some paper on the fire because waigong (grandpa) was a very open person.

A little girl lighting firecrackers on top of a Meishan roof. This was easily the best part of my Spring Festival experience. I can't quite desribe what it's like to have a 6 hour, non stop, 360 degree fireworks show. The only way I can describe it is a pyrotechnic symphony.

Host sister, host mom, and me eating the midnight Spring Festival meal--complete with the obligatory dumplings. Yum.

Wu Yu and her husband Tony. After lunch with the family, we went bowling.

More of Wu Yu's family. For two days these people welcomed me to spend time with them as if I was one of their family. The first day, nai nai (the woman to my right) hosted a majiang and tea day/retreat. The second day, ye ye (the man to my left) took us all out for lunch. Stay tuned for pictures from my Yunnan trip.

If you can ignore the constant noise from fire crackers the children continuously set off and will continue to set off until the Chinese New Year (around Feb. 18th), it’s been generally quiet since school ended a week and a half ago. But when you’re living on a college campus, this also means that everything shuts down until the students return in March. This means not eating my favorite shao kao or the 1 kuai jidan bing (an egg fried into a flatbread). But don’t worry. I’m not starving. There are plenty of noodles to eat and dishes to try. And then there’s always cooking, but…

The New Year started in grand fashion. After attending the best New Year’s Eve Party I’ve ever been to (thanks, Kari), at 4:00 a.m. New Year’s morning I made a trip to the hospital with Devon, one of the Lanzhou PCVs, who had been suffering from an intense pain in her stomach. So after waking up the PC doctor, Simon, Danielle, and I carted Devon to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning. And after a day of watching our friend in agonizing pain, she went in for surgery to remove her appendix. I think by the end of the day I had been awake for a consecutive 38 hours. The rest of the week I was basically all but living in the hospital, since I live close and am one of the few PCVs who possesses a cell phone, making communication between Devon and the PC medical staff in Chengdu much easier.

The rest of the month didn’t have anything nearly as exciting as an unplanned hospital visit. I slept too much, hung out with PCVs and Chinese people, fooled around with my guitar a bit, watched Desperate Housewives (seasons 1 and 2), watched a few movies, studied Chinese characters, and bowled way too much, I’m ashamed to admit. By the end of January, I was ready to be out of Lanzhou for a while, so our winter training came just at the right time.

Most of the PCVs in my province at a New Year's dinner for foreign teachers

Inside the studio, Cayce, Me, and UK Ben practicing to record "Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer" for a Christmas radio show.

Don't know what this is or why it's happening, but it was cool when I was walking through the square and ran into it.

You thought I was kidding about tai chi? Or my tai chi master smoking during sessions?

Jay and Christine phoned me this morning to ask me to come and take pictures with them in the snow. They're seniors and told me that it's never snowed this much while they lived in Lanzhou.

January 1st marks my six month anniversary in China. It’s been a crazy six months and one I probably can’t quite process yet. There’s a lot going on here I haven’t written about—things that have shaped my experience here dramatically. The first semester for me was all about adjustment: how to live, how to eat, how to use squat toilets, how to teach, how to get around. Now that I understand life here a little more, I'm going to utilize my time better--I guess that's my New Year's resolution. Though there are hard days and hard weeks, I can honestly say that I’m having the time of my life. Here’s what I know (or don’t know) after six months in China:

~ I’ve come to hate the word “Hello.” Not a day goes by that I don’t hear some stranger yell “HELLLOOOO!!!!!” to me from across the street. I’m learning how to ignore it and am trying not to get annoyed by it, but this is difficult to do, though the iPod helps. One of the first things I teach my students is how to greet someone in English, using any alternative to “hello.” So when they see me, they usually say “hi,” “how’s it going?,” “what’s up?,” “hey!,” etc. I like it better that way.

~ Being a celebrity of sorts definitely has its drawbacks (the constant hellos and stares), but I can’t deny that it also has its advantages (getting a table at a crowed restaurant, finding a seat on a standing-room only train, not often having to pay for a meal, etc). But still, I don’t envy the famous. It’s hard to be on 24/7. And as PCVs, that’s what is expected of us.

~ For the most part, the Chinese people are very friendly. I understand this anytime I’m with a student, the teachers in my department, or the local vendors in my neighborhood. I’ve already talked about the men from my favorite noodle shop who know me by name, but there’s a hair salon I pass often, and one of the stylists will run out of the store to wave hello to me. For some reason, this attention never bothers me. Maybe it’s his pierced bottom lip or his crazy hair. That reminds me, I need to get a picture with him.

~ Chinese food, real Chinese food, is amazing. And there’s still a lot I haven’t tried. Before I came to China there were only three foods I craved: burritos, cheeseburgers, and pizza. Now that I’ve been living in China, there’s a fourth: shao kao (bbq street food). I go to two different places regularly, and at each place they know just how I like it.

~ Learning Chinese is proving to be difficult, though I attribute most of this to my laziness. Beginning next week, the plan is to study a minimum of two hours a day, and by the end of winter break, to be up to four. I meet with my tutor once a week for 1 1/2 hours, but next semester I'd like to increase the hours, since I'm not using anywhere near the money I can for it. I'm also getting a guitar this weekend and will begin to learn Chinese songs, as a way to learn the language. Cayce tells me it’ll improve drastically once I travel and get out of my English-speaking bubble.

~ Privacy is mistaken for loneliness and there’s not a question that can’t be asked. The other week a student asked me: “Are you lonely?” “No,” I responded, “why do you ask?” “Oh, I heard that you were lonely.” I’m not. I’m also often asked how much money I make and asked on a weekly basis if I have a boyfriend. When I say no, the question is followed up by another: “Would you like to have a Chinese boyfriend?”

~ Even though I’ve lived here half of a year, people are still amazed I can eat with chopsticks. Never mind that I used them all the time at home to eat Chinese, Japanese, or Korean foods.

~ I must cherish the small victories: understanding Chinese, being understood when I speak Chinese, conquering my performance fears, finally mastering a tai ji move I’ve spent weeks learning, increasing my bowling average, successfully paying my cell phone bill, cooking, my students’ smiles and laughter, receiving the dish I intended to order, not locking myself out of my apartment, etc.

~ Understand that I’m experiencing things I would have never been able to in the U.S.: learning a rare form of tai ji from a retired master, being a momentary rock star, recording a song to be aired on the radio, walking into a room being greeting by applause and the click of camera phones, living with a Chinese family (for a brief two months), being followed around the local market by seven employees just to buy some crackers, etc.

~ The last six months would not have been what they are without the other PCVs I’ve met. I really do feel like I they’re family. So to my fellow Gansuren (Cayce, Kristen, Kari, Devon, Emily, Niffy, Thomas, Pierce, Simon, Ben B., Derek, Thad, Michelle, Stephen, Danielle, John, Erin, Nikki, Matt, Ben H., Katie, Melissa, and Clayton. And though they aren’t PCVs, Sharon, my Australian mate, and UK Ben deserve mentions as well), I can only say, however inadequately, thank you.

Most of us at Thanksgiving I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

My ever present slow internet connection is not inspiring me to blog as regularly as I’d like. It’s either that or life here has settled into such a normal routine that there doesn’t seem to be anything worth writing about. What am I saying? Though I may have established a routine, nothing is normal.

Let me catch you up on past events:

My weekend in Tianshui was fantastic! After spending nearly two months in Lanzhou, it was nice to get out of the city. Kari and I spent a relaxing weekend in the small city with Emily. We shopped, ate delicious hot pot, watched Pride and Prejudice, and even did a little bit of hiking. When I returned home, I felt rejuvenated, which is exactly what I needed to get me through the rest of the semester.

Thanksgiving weekend was next on the agenda. Cayce (and me, sort of) hosted our Thanksgiving get together the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I forgot to get a head count, but over 20 of us crammed ourselves into Cayce’s apartment for a nearly traditional feast. We had everything except the turkey, though the deep-fried chickens served as an adequate substitute. Before dinner, a few of us played a game of football in our school’s courtyard until the guards stopped the game, insisting that where we were playing wasn’t a playground. While it lasted, it was great. The students who walked by our game looked amused that so many waiguoren (foreigners) assembled in the center of campus to play such an alien game. The irony, of course, is that the ball we used, mailed to one of the other volunteers from home, was Made in China. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and this was only the second time I spent it away from my family, but even though I was far from home, away from my family, and deprived of my dad’s sweet potato pies, this was one of the best Thankgivings I’ve ever had.

December’s been hectic. Between finishing classes, the anticipation of Christmas and New Year’s, and becoming familiar with my life here in China, time is passing quickly. This week the majority of my classes finish, and then my last one will finish Christmas week. And then the semester break begins (I’m still working on those plans).

Though it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas as far as the weather is concerned, it doesn’t really seem like Christmas is a week away. A few store fronts have pictures of Santa, Christmas trees, and various Christmas-themed decorations, but there’s something strange about not being bombarded with Christmas songs everywhere I go or feeling the stress of last-minute Christmas shopping. Nonetheless, I’m excited about the holiday. It helps that my students are borderline obsessed with the idea of Christmas. And I’ll have plenty of opportunities to celebrate, as each night this coming weekend is booked with a Christmas party.

Not much else going on here. I’m looking forward to my nearly two-month break when I can finally do a little traveling!

Sorry if it's been a long time since I've blogged. I haven't had access to my page for nearly a month now. If you add that to my inherent laziness, you'll understand why I haven't updated in a while. But a lot has been going on here.

One night I was a momentary rock star, singing and playing the guitar on stage at a club. I was really nervous when I first went up since I hadn't played the song in four years, but by the end of the first verse, I felt like I was in my element. I wouldn't exactly say I rocked the house down, but my friends were proud of me, and so was I.

So far I've mastered the first 10 moves of a 75 move tai chi routine. My teacher is a retired professional in this martial art and hilariously smokes a cigarette while flawlessly performing the movements. He says if I practice regularly, in two years I will return to Meiguo (the US) and be an instructor. We'll see.

It's getting cold here, though Cayce tells me it's much warmer this year than it was last year. My semester is nearly over, and I will finish before Christmas, even though the semester doesn't actually end until mid January. Cayce doesn't end until the week after I do. So it looks like I'll have an 8 week holiday, which will be nice if I don't get bored. I do have a training to attend in Chengdu and plan on traveling for some of it but not for the whole thing. But I'm not complaining. If I'm smart I will use that time to lesson plan.

This weekend I'm heading to Tianshui, just four hours south of Lanzhou. It'll be my first time outside of the city, and I'm looking forward to break. And while you're all celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday, the PCVs in Lanzhou must wait to celebrate on Saturday. If it doesn't rain, there might even be a football game, but as I'm co-hosting the event, I don't know if I'll have the time to play unfortunately. Either way, I'm looking forward to spending the holiday with my PC family.

I have some pictures I want to upload, but my internet connection's been suspect the last couple of weeks, so I'll try to post them in the future. I guess this is what it means to suffer in the PC. Ha!

If I've been quiet this week, it's because I don't really have anything interesting to say. I'm just trying to adjust to life here, and I finally feel like I've reached the point when things are beginning to feel normal, with my days blending together in the business of work and life.

Three different people told me at different points this week that I look tired. (Why do people say things like that? They might as well tell me I look like a truck ran over me. It's almost as bad as the almost-compliment of: You look like you've lost weight.) Anyway, I guess I am tired. I don't know if my initial China adrenaline is starting to wear off or if it's because I'm teaching an extra class, but I have been tired all week.

I got an email last week from PC, informing me that all the China 12s in Gansu were getting flu shots. So they brought all but two of the Gansu volunteers to Lanzhou so we could spend an hour touring the hospital and to receive the injection. It was great seeing everyone again, especially since we had all assembled in town during the National Holiday weekend. And unlike the last time they were in town, all the China 11s were in Lanzhou, so we all gathered at Ben's (China 11) apartment for a Pink Party. And yes, I did wear pink and I looked fabulous. I went as a pink superhero, wearing pink thermal underwear, a giant pink plastic bag Emily converted into a cape for me, and superhero-ish pink sunglasses (my favorite accessory). I didn't think I'd have fun with the pink theme, and before I came to China I didn't even own anything pink, but it was a blast.

Teaching's going pretty well. I keep thinking I could be a better teacher, but I'm still trying to figure out this whole "Listening and Speaking English" class. It's difficult to find new and interesting ways to keep my students engaged while challenging their English ability. It's unlike anything I've ever taught, and it's forcing me to be more creative than I've ever had to be before. But my students still seem interested. They think I'm funny, anyway, which is probably why they keep coming back (they're taking this class as an elective). I think I completely shocked a class by falling to the ground playing dead. I don't think they've ever had a teacher do that in class before. I'm always looking for ways to surprise them and keep them off guard. They all think I'm a good actress, which I find hilarious.

Tonight I went to my first English Corner. English Corner is a bit of a Chinese phenomena, where a group of people, usually students, as they often take place on college campuses, gather to speak English. One of my students heads up the weekly gathering and invited me to attend. Though I was less than enthusiastic to spend my Friday night (7:30-9:30) at an English Corner, I knew I should go. It was a bit strange because it's the first time I've felt like a celebrity. Students clapped when I entered the room, and many of them pulled out their cameras and phones to take my picture. The organizers rotated me from group to group, giving each small cluster of students a chance to speak to the foreigner. And then at the end of the night, I was asked to give a short speech. I've never been good at improv, though I have improved after nearly four months in China. It was a good night--much better than I had anticipated. I was actually humbled by these students' eagerness to learn English, sacrificing their Friday night to the cause.

Afterward, Bob (my student) invited me out to try milk tea, since we had talked about it in class on Tuesday and I had not tried it. At the shop, the customers and proprietors kept staring at me and smiling, which I've come to accept as normal. But there was a group there playing the guitar, and since I have guitar disease, I asked Bob to ask them if I could play. After tuning the guitar, I played a bit of a song, singing for the crowd (Kristen, Nicole, Kim, Linsday--I guess you were right. I am an attention whore). They clapped when I was done, and that was the end of my night and the end of my week.

Hopefully my next update will be a little more exciting.

On Saturday night, Amy (from the FAO) called me to invite me to a wedding on Sunday. Turns out the groom, a coworker of Amy’s boyfriend, wanted foreigners to attend his wedding, and Amy made it happen. Knowing full well I was being used for my foreigner status, I decided to use them right back for a cool cultural event with, no doubt, amazing (and free) food.

The wedding was beautiful. The bride and groom entered the banquet hall, walking through a sparkling pyrotechnics display towards the stage, where an MC entertained the crowd by telling funny anecdotes about the bride and groom and forcing them to do a series of hilarious, and perhaps embarrassing, things for those in attendence. But other than the signing of wedding certificates, there's no official ceremony, per se.

Chinese weddings last a couple of days. On the first day, the bride's family hosts a small function, but as I didn't attend that part, I can't comment on it. The next day is the groom's family's function and the final part of the festivities. The groom's event is often larger, so more family, friends, and foreigners are allowed and encouraged to attend.

After signing certificates, they're proclaimed as man and wife, and the couple exits and we are served a copious amount of delicious banquet food. The couple re-emerges (and the bride has changed out of her wedding dress and into another, less official looking dress), going from table to table, toasting their guests. They even came to our table, and I took advantage of the situation by having a photo op with the gorgeous couple.

The wedding was actually quite the event, as the who's who of Lanzhou were in attendance. The bride is a successful business woman and the groom is a TV announcer. The MC was a local TV celebrity, and the mayor of Lanzhou and the governor of Gansu were also there. And, let us not forget the three foreigners: Gary, Paul, and Angie. I should really allow myself to be used more often. I had a blast! And the food was amazing, too!

left to right: Paul, Groom, Bride, Me (sporting my new Chinese sweater), and Charlie (the best man, who also works for the FAO at my school)

It's the end of my week-long, National Holiday break. Tomorrow (Sunday) I have to teach two classes. And then it's work, work, work until the semester break (sometime in January, I believe).

Autumn has been gorgeous here. The days are sunny and usually warm, especially if you're standing in the sun, and the nights are cold. The chilly nights are a reminder that winter is around the corner, and I don't know if I'm quite ready for that. They say it's the hardest time for PCVs in China, as the weather is unwelcoming, the honeymoon period is officially over, family and friends are celebrating holidays at home, and China remains China for better or worse. But I'm not there yet, and being in China continues to feel like a dream to me.

I'm slowing beginning to establish routines. I usually get up mid morning (no thanks to the night schedule I'm on), drink hong cha (red tea) and eat something breakfasty while I surf the internet. Then I work on Chinese or lesson planning, whichever has the priority at the moment, for a couple of hours. When I get hungry again (about 2:30), I walk to the Muslim mian (noodle) shop right outside my gate and eat a giant bowl of niurou mian (beef noodles), which I have never managed to finish. But I love going there because the food is amazing and they know me by name (An Ji, my Chinese name). Then I head back to my apartment and finalize lesson plans and then teach for a couple of hours. When I get home, I eat dinner--usually leftovers or if I've been to the market, something I can throw together--and watch a movie. This routine varies by the day. Sometimes I teach late at night; sometimes it's mid afternoon. A couple of times a week I teach in the morning, and Wednesdays are so busy and disjointed that a routine hasn't been established.

I'm also feeling more comfortable around the city and am getting to know the bus routes more each day. Much of my time is spent on public buses going downtown. I find that the bus is a great way to practice my listening comprehension, as they're usually crammed with people also taking the bus across town. [Note: Lanzhou is a long city. It is surrounded by hills/mountains on both sides, which means the city grew east-west. If I want to visit friends in another district (Lanzhou has four districts), it's possible that the trip will take two hours.]

Not much else going on here. I've been in Lanzhou for a month now and it's beginning to feel like home. I guess I won't really know until I go away for a few days, but otherwise it feels comfortable.

A night of western food (this was actually two weekends ago). From l to r: Kristen, Niffy, Thomas, Me, Pierce, Simon The following pictures are from the National Holiday Weekend

Michelle, Emily, Cayce (my sitemate), Niffy

Far in the background: John, Derek, Michelle, and Thomas' back. In the foreground: Kristen, Ben, Pierce

David (one of my new Chinese friends), Me, Cayce

The other night I was walking home after judging a speech competition, where 12 out 14 speeches were on "Unity and Diversity." Anyway, I have an hour and a half before I have to teach, so I'm thinking about eating dinner, surfing the internet, and relaxing, as it'd been a stressful 24 hours. I put the key in the lock, turn the key, and right as I'm about to give my door the obligatory shoulder shove, my key breaks and I'm left holding the base of the now severed key, while the lock has taken captive of the other end. I'm actually pretty calm about the situation at first, feeling shocked and mildly amused. I've always wondered what would happen if a key broke in my hand. And then it occured to me that it's already after 6:00, and all the school offices are closed. And worst of all, all the phone numbers I need in a situation like this are safely locked away inside my apartment.

I begin walking toward the Foreign Affairs Office (FAO), hoping someone is still there. I climb up to the seventh floor, knock on the door, and am greeted with silence and dark hallways. Not knowing what I should do, I head back to the speech competitions (they're still going on) to ask another foreign teacher if she has anyone's number from the FAO. But before I get to her, the organizer of the event asks if I had time to do more judging. I don't say much, holding up my broken key in protest. He gets the point and asks Mr. Wang to help me. Mr. Wang speaks some Russian but no English, so I'm not sure how this will turn out. After a few minutes and a few phonecalls, Mr. Wang manages to track down someone who has access to a ladder and power tools. Mr. Wang climbs into my apartment, unlocks the door, and we sit in an awkward silence waiting for the other gentleman to return. When he does, he takes apart my lock, dislodges the key, and both men leave by 7:00. At 7:20 there's a knock at my door. It's the lock man again. He's arrived with a new key and he puts my lock back on the door. After all this, I managed to get to my class ontime. Thankfully, I had already planned my lesson.

The next morning I have to wake up early for my language class. I needed to water Cayce's plants, so I leave my apartment in my pajamas, only planning to be there as long as it takes to water five plants. I'm on my way back to my apartment, fumbling for my keys when I realize that I didn't put the new key on my keychain last night. This time I'm panicking. I'm in my pjs, I'm locked out of my apartment, and I have people coming to my place in under an hour. I turn around and walk back up to Cayce's apartment to call someone from the FAO. It's 7:45. Amy tells me she can get me the keys by 7:55, but I need to meet her infront of the lab building. As it's my only option, I obey her commands. I remember advice I was given about clothing: you can get away with wearing anything, as long as you're confident wearing it. But can I really be comfortable walking across campus in my UConn scrubs and the newly acquired pink sweatshirt I bought for the upcoming pink party and only purchased it because of it's tacky hideousness? I'm already an easy target for stares and whispers; I don't need anything else to draw attention to myself. But I have no choice. I arrive by 7:55, but Amy is not there. So I sit and wait for her, as hundreds of students are walking by, hurrying to class. I even see a few of my students pass and try my best nonchalant "hello"s. Alas Amy arrives, and I hurry home trying to pretend that none of that happened.

I completed my first full week of teaching this week, and as I thought adjusting to my schedule is going to be difficult. I'm teaching 12 hours per week right now. I teach three different classes of "Listening and Speaking" or "Oral English."

Last night a group of four students came to my apartment to teach me to cook dinner. It wasn't that difficult, but controlling the wok was, which we found out when Leo almost started a fire in my kitchen. He wasn't phased by the giant flames, but I was. I was about to grab my fire extinguisher until I saw he had regained control of the situation. The food (five dishes plus rice) was amazing. I'm inviting them over again soon.

As dinner was finishing Cayce called to invite me out with some other PC people downtown. He was with Kristen and Pierce, two China 12s I had language classes with and thus saw 4 hours everyday during training. It was fantastic seeing them, as I haven't seen any of my training mates since the night I arrived in Lanzhou.

On the way home, Cayce wanted to eat some shao cao (I'm not sure of the spelling)--it's a type of bbq street food available until late at night, like the kebab stands in Oxford, England--so we stopped at a place near our school. We got into a conversation with two other people buying food, and they invited us to their bar just down the street. We decided we'd stop by for a little while as it was already late. They had a really cool bar. It reminded me a little bit of the tiki room or a Mexican-Chinese cantina. The guy and girl we met are cousins, and so they invited her father (who owns the bar) to meet us, and he proceeded to sing to us Tibetan blessings and they toasted us repeatedly. We stayed about an hour I'd guess and left. They were very friendly, hospitable, and warm and speak almost no English, so they'll be good people to practice my "Oral Chinese" with.

I've been in Lanzhou a little over a week now, and I haven't done much. I've basically been a hermit in my apartment, leaving only to teach, meet with school officials, hang out with my sitemate, or get food. I'm allowing myself one more week of this and then I'm forcing myself out of the apartment. There's a whole city I need to explore and a lot of Chinese I need to start speaking.

I began teaching last week but I really begin today. I have night classes, except for two classes in the morning. It's going to be weird adjusting to a night schedule since I've turned into a morning person over the last few years, but I must take what I'm given and adjust. I might pick up tai chi as a side activity, and I would love for someone to teach me how to cook. I've never been wonderful in the kitchen, but I've been able to feed myself and did learn how to cook a few things. But in China I have no oven and few western ingredients that I'm used to, so I'm a bit lost here. It's also strange shopping for food, since I have to go to a few markets to get the things I need. There are supermarkets in Lanzhou, but as I haven't ventured very far from my apartment, I haven't been to them. Needless to say, I miss my Wai Po and her food.

I've been spending the rest of my time watching movies on my new DVD player. I've also been watching the Chinese TV show I bought on DVD. I justify the latter action since it is in Chinese, so it's not exactly procrastinating. It's listening comprehension! I've also been learning new Chinese characters and will begin my language tutoring sessions on Wednesday. And there's always lesson planning to do.

Anyway, that's the update. Kurt and Sonia are venturing off on their PC experience this week, and I wish them the best. Those lemers don't have a clue that Sonia's coming to their island.

Where I lived in Chengdu (top two floors)

My language teacher (left) and class at Chunxi Lu, Chengdu

Another shot of the host family. (from l to r: Zhong Dian, Wai Po, Host Mom, Host Father's Cousin)

We're dinosaurs, of course--a language class field trip

Some of my Model School students. They treated me to Hot Pot. Yum!

Singing my token Chinese song

Some of my training mates after swearing in

Dujianyan Irrigation Dam (view from the bridge)

Grand Buddha, Leshan

Can't remember the name of the instrument (Wu Yu, some help please?), but playing it was a lot of fun.

Finally I'm able to get some pictures online. Stay tuned for more in the coming days. And I posted another blog a few hours before this one. Be sure to check it out.

An afternoon playing Ma Jiang. This was the day I gave Zhong Dian money to play with. She lost it all.

Host dad, Zhong Dian, and I eating dinner after visiting Dujianyan--world famous dam constucted in 3rd c. BC (or something like that).

My Waipo. I tried this shot a couple of times, but she didn't look at the camara either time.

Host mom, host sister, and I at the Host Family Appreciation Dinner last week. And you should know that it's not normal to have drinks with the meal.

I'm finally in Lanzhou, which will be home for the next couple of years. Right now I'm trying to find places to put my things and am avoiding cleaning the apartment. I've just done my first couple loads of laundry and am going to tackle the bathroom next. But the internet is a pleasant distraction, as I haven't had consistent access to it since I've been in China. There are 8 other volunteers from my group--the China 12s--and 7 from the China 11 group in the city. Last night a few of us got together in an impromptu welcome gathering.

I spent much of the day (after my 22-hour train ride) shopping for some basic supplies with my sitemate, Cayce. I still have some essential things to buy--like trash cans, floor mats, plates, bowls, fabric to cover my furniture, a stool, another chair, and a DVD player.

The swearing-in ceremony went really well. The ambassador swore us in and Christopher Hill addressed us (he's an important man, though I only heard about him the other day, I'm embarrassed to admit. But if you watch the news, you probably know who he is). He's also a former PCV.

I have a new address and phone number, which I'll be emailing to my mom and to Mountainside. If you need either, please email me and I'll get that information to you.

Again, thanks for your support. I'm going to begin catching up on all the emails I haven't yet returned.

Angie

Last night was our Host Family Appreciation Dinner (which I MCed, btw). It was bittersweet. It signifies the beginning of the end of our stay in Chengdu but the end of our training. Most of us are ready to begin what we came to do--to teach. Though I'm excited to be in Lanzhou and finally settle somewhere, I am sad to be leaving. I was really fortunate in getting the host family I got, as I have essentially become one of the family. They invited me to attend Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) with them, confirming my status as family memeber. I move out of their house on Tuesday. I can still remember the day I moved in. It's all gone by too quickly.

On the other hand, we swear in as official PC Volunteers this week! It's going to be a pretty big event. I'll be wearing a traditional-looking Chinese shirt I had made especially for the occasion! And then training is over!

The trip to Leshan last weekend was fantastic! 11 of 22 of went to see the Grand Buddha. And he is grand--70 meters grand. Well worth the trip. Though it was weird being in such a touristy area. We tried eating lunch before going into see the Buddha and were greeted with restaurant after restaurant attempting to charge us too much for food. One place even handed us a menu in English (the first time I've seen an English menu in China at a non Western eating establishment) with prices far too big for our PC budgets. Finally we found a place that made us food more in line with the amount of money we wanted to spend. Though that was also an ordeal, but it worked out wonderfully in the end.

Now for a tangent! I've become addicted to Chinese TV, which is funny considering I didn't watch much TV at home. I'm currently invested in Supergirl--their version of American Idol. But I'm also spending several hours each evening watching TV dramas. It started by sitting on the couch with the family, trying to integrate into the home. Then it turned into a way to improve my listening comprehension. I'd often take a book with me and read through it, not paying attention to TV all that much. But then I got sucked into some shows. So much so that I'll put off going to the restroom or taking a shower until there's an appropriate break. The other night my Wai Po and I were glued to the TV when the female protagonist of the show we're currently watching was diagnosed with cancer. ZD walked into the room looking at us with an amused expression on her face.

The way shows are scheduled here makes it really easy to get addicted. Unlike US TV shows, which will only show once a week over the course of several weeks, Chinese TV shows play every night for several hours over the course of a week or two. So from 6 pm until 11 pm every night, one TV show is playing on a channel. So by the end of the night, you're invested into the lives of the characters and are hooked.

The other reason I think I like Chinese TV dramas so much is that they often feature stories where the female protagonist is the romantic underdog (much like Bollywood, when I think about it). Western stories usually make the male protagonist the underdogs. But as a female, I'd rather see the girl victorious at the end than the male.

That's all for me. I probably won't write again until I'm in Lanzhou. I get there on Saturday!

I should begin this blog by apologizing for not replying to emails that you all have faithfully sent to me. The two hours a week I spend online is not enough for thoughtful responses. But rest assured, I will answer them. It just may take another month. I love reading them and feeling like I know a little bit about what's happening at home.

With just a little under two weeks until "swearing in" (when my training group officially become PC Volunteers), life is moving both too quickly and not fast enough. It's been great to be home with my host family. I move out of the house in a week and a half, and I'm already getting teary-eyed just thinking about it. Most of my fellow trainees can't wait to get to site. Me, I will be leaving Chengdu with a bit of sadness. But I've been invited back whenever I want to visit, so it'll be OK. They took me to a ballet last Friday night. Zhong Dian and I sat through "Tales of the Silk Road." It's only the second ballet I've been to, and like "Swan Lake" at Miami (good times with Linsey, Kari, and Dara) "Tales..." had me in tears at points. It was gorgeous--the story, the colors, the dancing... Scott, there was also plenty of "hip thingy" going on. I thought of you the whole time. But otherwise it's been mellow at home. My host mom is gone on a business trip this weekend and ZD has started school again, so it's been quiet but nice.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Leshan, which is two hours south of Chengdu and is famous for it's Grand Buddha. According to Lonely Planet it's the largest seated Buddha in the world. I've wanted to see it since I've arrived and with the host mom out of town and ZD at school (yes, on a Sunday), there isn't a better opportunity to go. It's turned into quite the event. There will be at least 8-12 of us in total going. I've been the one organizing the trip, which has been unusual for me, since I never successfully organize any type of outings--even at home in the U.S. But I'm unofficially in charge of the trip. Being in China has already changed me. I'm much more willing to put myself out there than I ever was at home. I guess I'm a bit more confident, if that's possible.

Update on the lip (and for those of you on MySpace, stay tuned for the picture). I talked to the doctor about my hives and lip, showing her the pictures. After she laughed at my photo, she thought it looked and sounded like a part of the allergy. So no bugs were getting fresh with me that night. Thank God. She thinks it may have been the final purging of the reaction, since that's the last break out I've had. I'm still on allergy medication for a couple of weeks in case any of allergy is lingering in my body.

That's all I can think of right now. Thanks for the comments in advance.

Btw, I'm craving In 'n Out like nothing else. The other night I saw a Pizza Hut commercial and my mouth began to water. ZD laughed at me.

Well, my site visit was hen hao (very good). I loved the reps from my university--they were more than accomidating! I have a "counterpart" teacher, who is a lot of fun and happy to help me around the college and town. And I was able to meet my sitemate afterall! He returned from his travels and invited me out to dinner with his friends. I ended up spending most of the rest of my time with him and his friends. He's been super and is looking forward to helping me settle in.

Great story: my last morning in Lanzhou, I woke up early to meet one of the Foreign Affairs Office people, Amy, for breakfast. She wanted to take me to a famous restaurant in town for beef noodles (a Gansu specialty). It's only open from 6am to 10am, so it had to be breakfast (different, I know, but that's another topic for another day). But as I'm waking up, I realize I can't feel my bottom lip. I reach down to touch it, and it's swollen. So I grab a mirror close from my nightstand and see that lip is 8 times its normal size. This sends me into a panic, and I almost call the PC doctors in Chengdu. I looked pathetic. But it was funny (and yes, I do have pictures). Luckily it went away by the time Amy and I reached the restaurant. Don't know if it was a spider or mosquito bite or an allergic reaction. Amy doesn't think it's a mosquito bite, as "mosquitos don't kiss lips." I guess I'll never know.

I've neglected you, dear readers. I'm sorry.

There wasn't much of a surprise with my site annoncement. I'm going to Lanzhou, in Gansu province (the northwest of China). I'm one of about seven volunteers living in Lanzhou. My sitemate is a guy from the previous year (China 11), but I'm not sure when I'll meet him. He's somewhere traveling right now.

I'm on my site visit this week. I stayed in my apartment last night. It's big--one bedroom, a living room, a study/office, kitchen, and bathroom. I'll have to get used to showering in the open, as there isn't an actual stall. I just stand in the bathroom and shower. Though it sounds odd, it's rather convenient. The only thing is my entire bathroom floor is wet after the exercise.

I'll be in Lanzhou until Thursday and then I'll be going back to Chengdu to finish training. It's a 22 hour train ride, but luckily I slept for 10 hours on the way up.

Other exciting things that happened this week:

1. I got a haircut! And it only cost 8 yuan ($1). It turned out really well. It was also the first time a guy cut my hair.

2. I broke out into hives this week. I don't know why or what is causing the break out, but it hasn't been fun. I'm hoping to talk to the doctor about it when I get back to Chengdu.

Well, that's all for now. I'll update when I get back to Sichuan.

I've already been here a month. I can't believe it. It feels like I've been here forever and it feels like I've just arrived. It's rather strange.

There's not much new to report. Training and Model School have taken up much of my time. But Model School is finally over! I should spend my time studying my Chinese because now I don't have a good excuse not to, but we'll see.

This week I played more Mah Jiang--a tile game like rummy that everyone plays. All the language classes at my training hub headed to the outskirts of Chengdu to play in these tea houses. I've tried playing with my Wai Po, but she and her friends play way too quickly for me. Zhong Dian taught me another Chinese game, "Fight the Landlord," which I like better. It's a card game you play 2 against 1, and she usually wins whenever we play. But she must be a great teacher because when I play with all my fellow PC trainees, I usually win.

Among Zhong Dian's many talents (and I'm not exaggerating, she has many talents) is her love of basketball. I know, it's perfect for me. We finally got out to play the other night, right after it had rained. I think she was a bit surprised how well I could play, and her mother thought I should now coach her. We shot around for a bit until it got too dark to play. But we didn't leave before I stepped into a puddle of water, slipped, and fell right on my butt. Is anyone surprised? And on the way home, my host mother told me that I should consider their home my home, and whenever I come to Chengdu, there will always be a place for me to stay!

This coming week is big. On Wednesday, they're announcing our sites and then Saturday we leave for our site visits. I'm probably heading to Gansu, which will be at least a 22 hour train ride. Luckily I won't be alone for the trip as most of my trainees will also be headed there. After we return, we're only here another three weeks before we swear in and officially become PC Volunteers. But I'm already sad about leaving here, as I've been really fortunate with the family I've been given.

An update on numbers. We began with 61 trainees. We're down to 58. 3 people have gone home so far, though no one from my training site has left.