10 months down

I can officially say this is the longest time yet that I have lived in another country. When I first went to Guatemala, I thought four months would be forever living in a strange place.. but it flew by. And now, 10 months in China has done the same. The longer I live here, the more I want to learn (culture, travel, language..) and the longer I want to stay.

There was a conversation at a dinner recently that struck me in a peculiar way. Four of the eight people there were from Texas (two were living there, the others, in Shanghai), so the conversation naturally turned to that at one point. Discussing rodeos, small towns, places "in the middle of nowhere," driving on interstates, work life in the U.S., understanding (and being annoyed by) conversations around you, etc..

My progression of thoughts during the conversation...
"That sounds really strange..."
"Oh ya, I guess that's the country where I used to live. I remember all that.. vaguely. Seems a bit surreal."
"Is my life here really that odd? It seems so normal now."
It made me feel slightly uncomfortable just discussing it, which caught me off guard. That life seems so foreign now when I think about it.

The school held a bazaar as a fundraiser today.. It mostly consisted of vendors, Korean moms selling lots of delicious food (I think I like gimbap better than sushi..), Japanese drummers, games, and drawing for prizes.

some of my students..

more of my students.. these three snuck into the computer lab during the Bazaar.. thankfully parents could get after them and not me:) They do look a little guilty..

"It's cute." 

I've been keeping busy working on my Masters lately.. It's crunch time now that the school year is almost over and my students are the participants in my research. My research proposal was accepted and now just trying to carry it out and keep careful records for my results. Ahhh... can't wait to be done.

After the bazaar I went to the Foreign Language Bookstore I've been meaning to find. It was another surreal moment. "Where am I again? And why are there English books everywhere?" But it was wonderful. I love being surrounded by books. Especially ones I can understand. I'm already making plans for after I finish my Masters and can read for pleasure again.. Right now, time spent on the metro is my reading time. Ten minutes here, thirty there.. it's better than nothing. Although playing sardines on a crowded train is not exactly conducive to a quality reading experience.

I'm working on a food post.. pictures are taking forever to upload. And there are lots. Coming soon.
And after that? I've also been meaning to create a Chinglish post. Coming at a future date..

the value of money

Every day I find myself converting RMB to USD.. USD to RMB... What's the current exchange rate and its latest trend? From a candy bar to a Chinese painting, I calculate what it would cost at home. It really can become dizzying. Despite the constant conversions, I feel like I'm losing my sense of the value of a dollar.. in America. Here I can get so much for so little. Ex: My landlord finally brought the school my utilities bill from the last 9 months (August through April) for my small apartment and it was ¥1,565.40, currently about $241.14USD. $27 a month? I think I can handle that. I know when I go back I'll have to stop myself from constantly converting. "How much would that be in RMB?" I don't think I could buy anything. Way too expensive. Not to say there aren't ridiculously expensive things here.. but the possibility to live cheaply, yet well, is much greater (note: not taking into account housing.. not sure about that..), even in Shanghai, one of the most expensive cities in China.


5.5 weeks left of school! Loving the good life in China but it'll be nice to have a year of teaching behind me.