Shell in China

Last Saturday was a busy, fun-filled day. It all started on Tuesday when Ruth, one of my braver students, asked me if I would like to climb a mountain with her and her dorm mates this weekend. I told her I thought that it sounded like fun and I gave her my phone number and told her to call me if they made plans. (Partially I thought this was a good idea because I have been in China long enough to know that when my students say they are going to “climb a mountain” they really mean they are going for a hike. It doesn’t matter how many times I pantomime climbing a mountain and explain how that is different from hiking, each Monday they still tell me about their weekend mountain climbing! )

Sure enough, on Friday night I got a call asking if Thad and I wanted to go. I said we would love to and we would meet them at the school gate at 8AM. (The school gate is the meeting point for EVERYTHING that goes on around here.)

Spring has sprung here in rural Gansu and the farmers are hard at work in their fields. Everything was bursting with color. The peach trees were in blossom with vibrant pink flowers; the pear trees were blooming an innocent white and the all through the fields the green sprouts of various veggies were starting to show through the dirt. It was a nice walk out of town and back. Not only did a get to see a bit of new countryside, but it was a great opportunity to talk and interact with the students outside of the classroom. I think doing these kinds of outings with the students is the best way for them to improve their spoken English. It gives them real situations in which to use what we learn in the classroom!

Saturday night was another adventure in and of itself. The five foreign teachers here at Longnan Shizhuan all got together and invited our tutors out to hotpot. The group of ten (five foreigners and five Chinese department students) met where else but the school gate! We walked into town and had hotpot at our favorite hotpot restaurant. The hotpot tables are made for eight, but we squished together and put all ten of us at one table. It was cozy, but good for chatting. The evening was a lot of fun and more than a little confusing at times, as the conversation was a mix of those of us learning Chinese and those who were learning English. I think that more than once our waitress was baffled, but we held a decent conversation throughout the meal and had a good time. CHINGLISH was definitely the name of the game on Saturday night!