Another week is on the books. The days were quite hectic with meetings and flu shots and the business of mid-term test season. We had to make sure we coordinated pick up times for exams and go through what seemed like endless discussions about marking rubrics and expectations. Even though I haven't finished my marking, I have many hours left in the day to try and find some motivation to attack at least one stack of ESL paragraphs. Oh joy. Oh bliss. If my Friday night wasn't exciting enough with my self-motivated Mandarin lessons on tape...
The bus ride out of Daheishi yesterday made for quite an interesting ride. Being a passenger or driver in China is an adventure in itself. You never know what kinda crazy stuff is going to happen on the roads here, as it seems like it's pretty much every man for himself. As I was listening to my new Mandarin tutorial or my IPod, mumbling phrases like "Excuse me, can you speak English?" to myself like a crazy person, our bus driver started blaring the horn. Although the horn honking isn't something particularly intriguing anymore, the voracity with which the bus driver was honking was enough to get everyone's attention. He also hammered on his brakes and quickly proceeded to engage in a yelling match with a man who was stopping our bus in the middle of the road so a work truck could turn into a parking lot. This was instantly met with more yelling from the truck driver and the man who was stopping the bus in the street. Every 10 seconds, the energy of the yelling increased and the kids started chattering louder and louder. Suddenly, the bus lurched into "park", then engine was cut, and our bus driver was off the bus and face to face with the man on the street. The kids could hear the yelling and started laughing nervously while crowding the windows to catch a glimpse of the near-fisticuffs that were about to turn into an all-out brawl. The few Chinese teachers on the bus jumped off and attempted to intercede as diplomats in order to help bring some peace to the situation, but the pushing, shoving and yelling didn't slow down. As the only remaining adult on the bus, I attempted to calm the kids and get them away from the front door as they jostled for position near the front. The shoving continued as words were exchanged.
After about 5 minutes of snarling and chest-puffing, the two parties separated and our bus driver returned in a huff. At least no blood was shed, but the kids were wound up like toys after this, and didn't exactly settle down for the rest of the 60 minute trip. They were pretty rowdy for the rest of the trip, and it sure didn't help that they saw a truck who'd lost a load of light standards (which were strewn all over an intersection) and an accident involving a motorcycle and a van. Let's just say my mastering of "Can you help me?" in Chinese didn't exactly happen.
The time in Kaifaqu was fun and low-key in comparison. I hung out with some new people, ate some absolutely delicious Korean BBQ at a place near the An Shung market, and was able to wander the streets without forcing D&M to spend time with me. Well, a LOT of time with me, anyway. I know they like the company, but I also know that for 4 or 5 weekends in a row I've been keeping them occupied, so I hoped this helped to give them a bit of a break.
In work-related things, I'm still hoping that some sort of position comes up at the high school sometime soon. There's been rumblings about one or two random jobs popping up here and there around the high school campus, and being as isolated as I am, I'd love the chance to see a new area of the city and meet some new people. I don't mind the quiet out here, but after a month of quiet weeknights, I'd be happy to try something new. I think I have some A.D.D. tendancies and they're beginning to shine through just a bit right now. But I'd be content to stay out here, knowing that I might be heading to Beijing in a few weekends and winter break will arrive before I even realize it. Lots of other things on the plate to keep me going.
I still haven't purchased a camera, but that will be my first task next week once the November paycheque comes through on the weekend. Until then, I'm simply burning the strange and beautiful images of red sunsets and cabbage-filled transport trucks into my brain until I can start snapping photos. For now, though, dinner calls.
T
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