You want things done right? Do 'em yourself!

So this past week wasn't too bad. Things at the kindergarten are about the same. No huge surprises except for the fact that I realize now more than ever that this country is bizarro world. Since the weather starting getting colder, I've noticed that someone was opening the windows in my office. Well it's not really "my" office but it's the room I use and my desk, teaching aides and books are there. So it kinda is my office. Anyway, I walk in, in the morning and the windows are open, ergo, the room is freezing. It's like I walked outside all over again. Now of course the first thing I do when I walk in is close the windows but then the room is still freezing for the better part of the morning. With me only being there in the morning, you could see why that would be uncomfortable for me. Anyway, my point is, I spoke to the teacher and told her that I'd appreciate it if they didn't open the windows in my office. It's way too cold for that and makes my life uncomfortable. In classic Chinese form, she told me that the reason why I felt that way was because I wasn't wearing warm enough clothes and it was necessary for them to open the windows in order to air the room (they like to blame you for things that are obviously not your fault, ie "the room is freezing when you walk in because YOU are not wearing warm enough clothes" Go figure). My position was....... WHAT THE FUCK?!! What I'm wearing is irrelevant and when I walk into the room, it's like I walked outside again. Then I told her that typically a room is aired out in the summer. This is when the heat can cause a room to feel/be stuffy and opening the windows can help to keep the air fresh. She then says that in the summer they keep the windows closed because they want to keep the hot air out. Anyway, we went back and forth for a while and then I ended it with "You know what? There's no point in me arguing it with you. You guys just do things differently and I unfortunately have to live with that. Now if you'll excuse me I have a class to teach" So summer, close the windows keep the hot stuffy air in. Winter, open the windows and freeze your 'nads off. So now, I'll just have to resolve myself to the fact that I will have to close the windows everytime I go in there.
Things at the middle school are, ma ma hu hu (so-so). They aren't THAT great but they aren't as bad as they were. The students, for the most part, are doing the assignments I give them. But where I really find my joy is with the kids from the Henan class. I see them on Tuesdays and they just make my day and in some cases my week. This past week they invited me to a party they were having on Friday evening. At first I was reluctant but they really wanted me there so I decided to go.

Friday 6pm

I get there and these students are beyond elated to see me. They all wanted hugs and told me how beautiful I was and how excited they were that I made it. The evening was pretty interesting. It was a mish-mash of games and skits and speaking Chinese and really bad English. They all admit that their English is bad but I admire how hard they try. They are just such a pleasure to teach and their enthusiasm for the language and for me, just warms my heart. After all the fun and games were over, I had to pose for pictures. I took so many pictures with these kids, I'm surprised I didn't go blind from all the flashes. It felt like being a celebrity. This one wanted a pic with me with her camera. Then that one. Then another one. Then another, and another, and another, and another and yeah, another. It just kept going on. We probably took pictures for an hour. It was exhausting but fun. Then I took a few pics of my own and then we all got to dancing. After a few turns around the dance floor, I called it a night. In my limited and broken Chinese, I told them that I was gonna head home, I loved them all, and appreciated and loved how much they loved me. I had introduced them to the concept of the pot-luck and that's our agenda for our next class. They'll bring the food and drink and I'll bring the music. It's our second to last class and I want to enjoy it. After that I'll give them a final exam and then they'll be off to Henan. I will miss them alot. However, time will march on and so will I.
On today's agenda, Klaver and I will be going to church. It's not a Catholic church, just your garden variety Christian place of worship but maybe it'll allow me the opportunity to feel normal for an hour and a half.

TTFN