Dance Monkey, Dance!

Matt and I are finally at our post in Guyuan and have finished our first week of teaching! We both have about 16 - 45 minute classes that we teach every week. I will be teaching Junior I (10-11 year olds), Junior II, Junior III and two sections of Senior I. Matt is teaching 14 sections of Senior I (the same lesson 14 times a week!) and some special sections of Senior II and Senior III. Right now I am not too keen about my teaching schedule, I think that I will just have to get used to it though. My classes are really spread out - I will have a first and second period (first period starts at 7: 50 AM) and then not have anything until 3:35 PM.

As expected, Matt gets a lot of stares - sometimes it is like a parade of one walking down the street. Many think that I am Chinese, but are curious how I am an American. Korean movies and television programs are very popular here so many want to learn some Korean too (unfortunately I can't help them out with that).

Guyuan is really nothing like I expected - we aren't as much in the boonies as I though we would be. We can get most things that we need but dairy products are difficult to come by (what a change from the artery clogging cheese central!) It also isn't as ugly as I thought it would be. There are some really neat hills that surround the city. The pollution here isn't bad either because there is no real industry around here.

We are trying to get used to the city and find our way around. The director of Foreign Affairs at our school has been really helpful - she introduced us to all of the market vendors and told them not to cheat us and that she would be checking up on them. We have also found the Guyuan version of Kentucky Fried Chicken, which will be nice for the very necessary french fry fixes. We have also found the pee nook - you just know it when you find it (y'know frothy and smells like pee) and also found excrement row (hopefully you realize it before you step in it).

Our apartment is pretty sweet! We are off of the street and have a metal outside door which leads to a nice little courtyard. On one side of the courtyard is our kitchen and a storage room, on the other is our living quarters. Our first floor has a nice living/dining room area (they gave us a huge TV and new furniture) and our bathroom with HOT water, western toilet and washing machine. Upstairs is a very large master bedroom and our study.

I don't think that either of us really expected to be so worn out after a 12 hour work week, but it's Friday night and we are both just beat! I think we are just going to try to hole up in our apartment this week and watch some movies. Except on Saturday, we have to attend a party for all of the new English teachers. We were told that we will need to perform - the "funnier the better". I know that we were warned that this would happen and we were expecting it, but when you are actually asked, you really do get that sinking pit feeling in your stomach and feel like you are there more as a form of entertainment. AND the list of requests for this "party" keeps on growing - "funny" performance, sing a duet, sing solos, play a game with them and then go out dancing. Right now, I just want to sleep.

DANCE, DANCE, DANCE, MONKEY! Okay, we'll do their little "dance" this time....