Back to Work (10-12)

Back to teaching this week. With an extra day on Saturday to make up classes from last Monday, as that was not part of the official holiday. I couldn’t complain about that, since having the extra day off enabled April and me to leave earlier and miss the huge crowds at Jiuzhaigou. Now we will teach for three months with no holidays. It’s actually good to be able to get into a regular, uninterrupted routine. I’m feeling more motivated.

Last Friday we all met Ying, a woman who is part of Dale’s host family. She has a center for after-school and weekend classes and for teacher training. The purpose of the meeting was to introduce her to the British teachers so they can potentially work for her, as having foreign teachers is always a benefit. Ying is a pleasant young woman with excellent English, as she got her Master’s degree in Australia. I enjoyed meeting and chatting with her even though we—Dale and I—cannot work for her.

Last Saturday April and I joined Dale for an outing with a man his host family introduced him to. Since his wife and son were along, only Dale could ride with him and he had asked another friend to go to drive April and me. The destination turned out to be Jiezi ancient town, about an hour out of Wenjiang. Most of the town was destroyed in the 2008 earthquake and has been rebuilt in the original style.

First on the agenda was lunch. They ordered several special local dishes. My favorite was fresh tofu, which is melt-in-your-mouth soft. It was served with a broth. Afterwards we walked through town to climb Fengyi mountain. Dale and I joined the two men while April joined the wife and son to walk around town and do some shopping. The mountain wasn’t anything special, but it was a good walk with trees and fresh air for two and a half hours. 

One special aspect of the trail was gates over the path from time to time. 















Visibility from the top wasn’t great, which seems to be my fate on mountains here in China, but we could see a bit of the valley. 

Just past the top is an old temple that is interesting. After touring the temple, we caught a minibus down the mountain. This was good, as I was tired. The walk wasn’t especially challenging, but I had walked a lot for three days in Huanglong and Jiuzhaigou earlier in the week. 

Once we met up with the others, we had a light supper of two noodles dishes and another dish of fresh tofu in sauce. It’s always nice to have people who can order such local specialties for us.

Saturday Dale arranged a KTV/karaoke night. He invited all of us and about some students, about a dozen of whom, mostly girls, joined us. Several of the girls are my students. He had reserved two rooms; so we split the group. At first the girls were shy about singing. They took a bunch of photos with me. As time went on, they became more comfortable and sang a lot, mostly Chinese songs. We teachers took our turns and sang, too. As usual with such occasions, the 2.5 hours was longer than my interest level. I found myself missing my Thai karaoke friends. For me, karaoke will always be about Thailand and my friends who sang along as my backup. I did “Yesterday Once More” and “Take Me Home Country Roads,” my standard contributions. I kept thinking about “Beautiful Sunday,” but I can’t imagine singing it without my friends.

Mike and I walked back with the students. When we got to the girls’ dorm, a couple hugged me, and then they all ran over for a group hug. I’ve been told that I’m very kind like students’ grandmothers. So it felt like a good-night hug like they would give their grandmother. That was sweet.

This has been a week for massages. On Sunday I went for a body massage. When I walked down the street, I didn't see the place. When I walked back up, I saw the tables. The women were different and the clock is in a different place, but the purple curtains and tables are the same. Also, the price was 50 yuan, instead of 40. But I decided to try it anyway. The woman was quite good, and I liked what she did. The massage was 50 minutes, thus the higher price. When I left and walked up the street, I glanced in the shop next door, and it was the massage place I had been to before. The tables have been moved to the other side and are hard to see when walking by the door. When I was waiting to cross the street, the woman recognized me and ran out to greet me. Of course, I couldn't do more than that. And I felt a little guilty about having just emerged from her neighboring competitor. I think she didn't know that and wanted me to go for a massage.

Friday I went for a foot massage, since feet are not included in the body massage and my feet were needing one. I’d seen a place in the shopping area nearby that looked like a foot massage place, and it was. It was OK but not as good as the woman I’d been to before. The cost is the same, but it’s only for half an hour instead of an hour. However, it’s more convenient, as it takes about an hour to get to the other place. So where I go will depend on how much time I want to take.