Abby and Ricky
Hi everyone!
I hope you are doing well in the United States! Brad and I have had a fun and tiring week in Langfang. Next week we will be off from our classes for the National Break. We were surprised to find out that we had to "make up" the classes that our students will miss during their "break." Such a concept would be unheard of in the U.S! So some classes doubled in size, and in other places we had to add extra classes. Shannon, Newt, and I will all be teaching classes on Saturday morning, while Brad had to teach classes of 70 students for four hours straight on Thursday and Friday. When it's all over though, we will leave on Saturday for a week long vacation in Qingwandou and Beijing.
Brad and I went out on a double date Wednesday night with Abby and Ricky, a young couple from one of my classes. Although I had invited them to dinner, Abby played the part of host, ordering 7 large dishes for the 4 of us! This is Chinese custom. Needless to say, there were lots of leftovers! Also in typical Chinese fashion, Ricky paid the bill before Brad and I ever saw it, despite our insistence that we pay for the meal. After dinner, we walked outside and across the street. Just as we reached the other side of the road, we heard a car peel out behind us, and then a large bang. As we later figured out, a car of four drunk men sped up in an area full of pedestrians, hit another car (which kept going), swerved and went over a hedge, hitting a streetlight and knocking it over onto the bike lane and pedestrian sidewalk. The car was totaled. It's amazing that no one was hurt! We ran over to check it out since we were so close, but were quickly shooed away. The Chinese find car accidents very embarrassing, and discourage onlookers. It's too bad their embarrassment doesn't lead to better driving, since most drive like maniacs.
The rest of our lives are falling into a more predictable routine. Brad runs every day but Sunday, I run about four mornings per week, and Shannon runs in the afternoons. We have "family dinner" with just the four of us on Tuesday nights, and "student dinner" with kids on Thursday nights. We touch base with one another and regroup on Wednesdays and Sundays. Our lunches and other dinners are spent with our students, or enjoying simple American fare in our apartment. Brad usually spends at least one evening a week playing sports with "the guys." He is currently warming them up to the idea of playing board games with him (Settlers, Puerto Rico, etc). He is also working on convincing the Western campus to allow him to run an English Club or Square Dance Night there. Around the apartment Brad washes and hangs the laundry, and I do the trash and dishes. I mop the whole apartment once a week, and Brad picks up the daily supply of bottled water and yogurt. We are enjoying the slower pace of life, and all the new discoveries we are making each day. We miss you and think of you every day!
Love,
Jess and Brad
I hope you are doing well in the United States! Brad and I have had a fun and tiring week in Langfang. Next week we will be off from our classes for the National Break. We were surprised to find out that we had to "make up" the classes that our students will miss during their "break." Such a concept would be unheard of in the U.S! So some classes doubled in size, and in other places we had to add extra classes. Shannon, Newt, and I will all be teaching classes on Saturday morning, while Brad had to teach classes of 70 students for four hours straight on Thursday and Friday. When it's all over though, we will leave on Saturday for a week long vacation in Qingwandou and Beijing.
Brad and I went out on a double date Wednesday night with Abby and Ricky, a young couple from one of my classes. Although I had invited them to dinner, Abby played the part of host, ordering 7 large dishes for the 4 of us! This is Chinese custom. Needless to say, there were lots of leftovers! Also in typical Chinese fashion, Ricky paid the bill before Brad and I ever saw it, despite our insistence that we pay for the meal. After dinner, we walked outside and across the street. Just as we reached the other side of the road, we heard a car peel out behind us, and then a large bang. As we later figured out, a car of four drunk men sped up in an area full of pedestrians, hit another car (which kept going), swerved and went over a hedge, hitting a streetlight and knocking it over onto the bike lane and pedestrian sidewalk. The car was totaled. It's amazing that no one was hurt! We ran over to check it out since we were so close, but were quickly shooed away. The Chinese find car accidents very embarrassing, and discourage onlookers. It's too bad their embarrassment doesn't lead to better driving, since most drive like maniacs.
The rest of our lives are falling into a more predictable routine. Brad runs every day but Sunday, I run about four mornings per week, and Shannon runs in the afternoons. We have "family dinner" with just the four of us on Tuesday nights, and "student dinner" with kids on Thursday nights. We touch base with one another and regroup on Wednesdays and Sundays. Our lunches and other dinners are spent with our students, or enjoying simple American fare in our apartment. Brad usually spends at least one evening a week playing sports with "the guys." He is currently warming them up to the idea of playing board games with him (Settlers, Puerto Rico, etc). He is also working on convincing the Western campus to allow him to run an English Club or Square Dance Night there. Around the apartment Brad washes and hangs the laundry, and I do the trash and dishes. I mop the whole apartment once a week, and Brad picks up the daily supply of bottled water and yogurt. We are enjoying the slower pace of life, and all the new discoveries we are making each day. We miss you and think of you every day!
Love,
Jess and Brad
