Boom: The Final "Good-Bye" Song

It's been a long, emotional and fun past 24 hours filled with lots of love.

Last night, both the academic and customer relations staffs were invited out for a dinner to welcome the new teachers and CRs and to say good-bye to Joyce, Marie, Cindy and I (and Nick in spirit since he's already off collecting data about water and plants in Tibet). We had a lovely dinner. We took up the entire second floor of a restaurant! The customer relations staff sang the "Good-Bye" song to us four girls and the "Hello" song to the new teachers and CRs which was really fun. Then, Laura made a sweet presentation to wish the four of us good-bye. The school gave me a picture frame, a small star certificate that they wrote on, and a luggage tag with Vic, the small star character that is most like me... She's a cuddly hedgehop that carries around a basket of flowers. It was really sweet.

Then, a few of us continued the night at a fun little imported microbrew bar in the nearby Hutong neighborhood. It was a rather warm night so we sat outside until the early hours of the morning. We laughed and giggled and cried at times and it was just perfect.

Today at work, James and Ryan helped me move all of my documents from my Word folder to the shared school drive so everyone will have access to my lesson plans. Then, I was able to place them on my own computer. I spent the rest of the afternoon finishing some last minute grading. I had an exit interview phone call to Shanghai. They were more interested in how I thought my hotel stay was then anything else!

I taught just one small star class this evening. it was with my hardest small star class that I've had all year, the violent one was there and all! I told the students that this was my very last EF class and that I wanted it to be happy. The happiness turned into a bit of craziness which turned into a bit of chaos, but it seemed like a fitting way to go out! The last good-bye song was extra sweet.

I spend the next hour while everyone was in class taking care of last minute things. I cleaned out my teaching supply box to get it ready for the new foreign teacher to use, cleaned out my cubby for Aminata and made a special cubby sign for her. I cleaned up my mug and dressed it up with stickers to bequeath it to James. Finally, at the last few minutes of class, I sat in the middle of the school where I could hear most of my friends singing their good-bye songs with the kids and dismissing the classes. I sat and watched as students were picked up, students screaming and running around, and the CRs and teachers talking to families and finishing up for the day. It is a moment I don't think I am going to forget anytime soon. Sometimes I just got so caught up in getting from one class to the next, from one task to the next, that I often forgot to just enjoy the madness a bit. I thought about my first afternoon and evening at the school observing Claire's class and worried that I would never find what I was searching for in China.

I went back to the office and chatted with the teachers about their last classes like normal, but it wasn't normal. We were all a bit stalling about saying our good-byes. I was able to give the few last letters I hadn't gotten out to my friends and made some tearful good-byes. I know my friendships will never be the same, but I like to think we're moving from one stage of our friendship to the next. One that can just be of friendship and the shared experience of working in the Enchanted Forest.

I helped Cindy clean out her cubby and she, Marie, King and I went to the Korean BBQ place for a late night snack. It was really nice to just decompress with them for a bit before I went home.

I feel really good about how I ended my time with EF. I didn't leave any of my unfinished business for anyone to have to work on. I am proud to hand over my classes to Aminata, save for the violent one's, and I know she will work hard for them to provide them with the English education that they deserve.

Most of all, I am so happy that I got to meet so many wonderful people who have taught me so much about being a good teacher, a more worldly citizen and a compassionate friend. I never imagined that I would be a part of such a community.

I am going to bed tonight sad that I am leaving my job, but my heart feels very very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very happy.

Gratitude

I have been busy writing good-bye letters the past few days to my friends that I work with. I just wanted to make sure that I was able to say everything I wanted to say to them even if I can't do it myself if I start crying.

I feel so lucky that I have been able to be on this journey with so many wonderful people who have taught me so much more about the world then I knew before. I know I will be coming back to the states a changed person and I am so lucky to have people in my life in Beijing that care about me and want what's best for me.

In a few of my letters, I just couldn't express how grateful I am to meet them and become their friend. Words just don't cut it sometime, but I had to try my best to say what I needed to say.

I only taught one class today. It was one of my High Flyer classes. We attempted to create a video on waste management. I brought out the dress up bins and the kids had way more fun playing dress up then actually doing their work. We barely got through the objectives I set for the class period, but part of me just wanted to have fun with them, which I did. Otherwise, I spent today trying to get all my administration work caught up. I don't want to leave anyone with any of my work.

I've been trying to take in all the little moments. My Mom told me when I was younger that when you really want to remember something you should close your eyes and tell yourself to remember the moment and that you usually remember it more clearly. I know that I have quite a few of those type of moments stored away because I followed her advice. I'm have been trying to do that this weekend as I take in the craziness of my crowded little school and staff room for one final weekend.

I only have two more days of work left. It sill hasn't hit me yet that this is really it. Maybe it will hit on Thursday when everyone else is at work and I'm on "vacation." Maybe it won't really hit until I go home.

All I really know is that I am one lucky girl

So Many Title Ideas...

It's been a whopper of a few days! Let's start at the beginning.

On Tuesday, I was suppose to meet a few of my friends for a day in Tianjin. Tianjin is a city about an hour and half bus or car ride from Beijing, but we were taking the bullet train which only takes 29 minutes! I made it early to our meeting spot, but then I realized I wasn't getting any texts back from my friends who are usually much more likely to be on time than I am! My phone has pretty much died, but everyone knows that I can hear when other people talk, but I can't talk back to them. Miles called and told me that they were beginning to worry that I wasn't there and he gave me directions on where to go in the railroad station. This began about 45 minutes of crazy panic. I kept getting calls from the other three telling me where I should meet them. The funny thing was that I was exactly where they asked me to be! Eventually, it all began to dawn on me, and later on I realized from them, that I was at the wrong train station. Miles called one last time with directions on how to get to the train station where they were at! I frantically made my way back on the subway to get to Joyce who had waited for me at the station. I felt so bad for wasting my friends' time! Joyce was so sweet and made me feel better about it all, and we got tickets to get on the train.

The bullet train was amazing. The inside was pristine and the time went by in a blink of an eye! A screen scrolled how fast we were going and that fastest our train reached was about 331 kilometers per hour or 205.65 miles per hour!

We reached Tianjin and met up with the boys. We took a rather spiritual taxi ride to a famous inside market and restaurant area. We had lunch and did a bit of window shopping. Then, we walked through a few neighborhoods until we discovered a cool outdoor market that had lots of beautiful statues. We passed a stamp engraver shop and Joyce and Miles told me that I really should get myself a stamp with both my English and Chinese name. We went in and Joyce helped write out my Chinese name and I wrote out my first name in my normal signature. The engraver told us to come back in an hour.

We continued to meander around until we found a bell tower. We were able to get up to the tower and we all took turns ringing the bell! It was pretty fun and we got to see a nice view of the city.

We walked back to collect my new stamp, which I hope I'll be able to use for a long time, and walked to the center of town. We first stopped in to a Disney English school to check out the competition. The people at the front desk were really nice and answered all of our questions.

We made it to the big market and had fun looking at the antiques. We made our way to a park that had some old military tanks and crossed a beautiful bridge. Tianjin has a lot more bridges and water compared to Beijing.

Joyce and I went back to the railroad station to get back to Beijing while the gentlemen continued their adventure. Joyce and I met up with Cindy and Stephanie for a hot pot dinner. We had so much fun giggling and catching up! Then, we went to Hou Hai to check out the rooftop bar that I thought would be perfect for our going away party. We got to Hou Hai and I just couldn't find it. The only time I had been there was with James and Miles during our stinky tofu adventure. The girls and I called up the boys who tried to help us get back to the bar, but we weren't able to figure it out. We ended up walking al the way back to the start of the area and wound our way back to bar! I was so excited to find it! The girls and I had a lots of laughs at the bar, but we decided that it wouldn't be a good place for the party. We each had a moijito that was not good and cost way, way more than normal ever for a bar. Plus, the owner of the bar told us that we were crazy for thinking the drink wasn't very good.

Yesterday, I spent the day with Marie and Sabrina. We went to the neighborhood that houses the university that Marie will attend next fall to study Chinese and acting. Sabrina was able to help Marie register. The campus is infamous for training the best Chinese actors. The halls are lined with portraits of the most famous Chinese theater, movie and television stars! We then went window shopping through the neighborhood. It was a really fun day.

Then, I said good-bye to the girls around six and went to Sanliturn. I wanted to pick up some movies to watch during my trip and then went to have dinner. After I paid for dinner, I remember putting my cute panda wallet back into my purse. However, as I was leaving the restaurant there was this big commotion at the front door involving two rather large Russian men. I thought it was a bit weird but I wasn't too concerned. I should have had my radar up way more! I followed one of the men down the escalator. However, at the end of the escalator, the man stopped right on the platform and I slammed into him because he was just too big to get around. I remember that his buddy was right behind me. I squeezed by and went to the bathroom. After I washed my hands, I went into my bad for some lip gloss and I realized my wallet was gone! I checked the toilet I had used, but it wasn't there. I went to the security place right outside of the bathroom and reported my wallet. Then, I went back to the restaurant and the wait staff totally took care of me. They searched the restaurant and talked to every single waiter and waitress on the floor. They even let me use their phone so I could call some of my friends to ask for help. Then, it began to dawn on me what had happened at the escalator and at the lobby of the restaurant. I had been had.

Luckily, they had only taken my cute panda wallet. I was able to take the subway home and still had my keys and ipod and everything else in my bag. I was able to get ahold of Stephanie on Skype and she was able to freeze my bank account! The creeps hadn't accessed any of my money! I was so thankful for that and all of Stephanie's help. She also was able to text Cindy and Joyce to let them know I was safe and ok at home.

The only way I can get a new bank card to access my money though is with my passport. However, my passport is at the visa office right now and there is no way for me to get it! Luckily, I had some spare money in my apartment and my friends have offered to loan me some money until everything works out.

I was upset last night, but I am feeling better about it right now. I feel really lucky that I wasn't hurt and that I have made such caring friends while I have been here. I could have been so much worse.

I like to think it's just one more interesting layer to my adventure.

Police Station Success!

I made it out of the police station this morning after 45 minutes of the police officer looking at me and talking in Chinese and me just looking back gesturing that I had no clue I understood what she was saying. I came in prepared with a note written by my friend Joyce in Chinese saying what I needed and how to get in touch with my landlady. At one point, "No hablo espanol" escaped my mouth! The police officer would just stare at me and my lease for awhile, then go help someone else, and then sigh when she saw me still there. I think she was hoping I would grow weary and leave, but I wasn't going anywhere, because that piece of paper is the last thing I need to see more of China! Now, it seems a bit hysterical, but when I was there in it, it wasn't too funny!

I taught a VIP student who will be going to the Princeton campus this summer for a special music and science camp. He had his own Visa meet this morning with the US Embassy. I asked him about the questions he was asked and he honestly told me that he didn't really remember because his interviewer was really pretty. Fair enough. He wasn't too into working on his writing or grammar today, so we close read a few Selena Gomez song lyrics, his favorite pop artist. Seriously!

I subbed in again for James's small star classes that he just inherited from Nick. In the middle of the summer, a bunch of parents decided that they didn't want me teaching their kids because they could get a male American teacher. I had to teach that special class tonight. The thing was though, the students were happy to see me and we had a really great class. It was really healing for me to have that moment with them before they left. I know I am a much better small star teacher than I was at the beginning, but it was nice to see it really was about the parents and not about my rapport with the students. It felt like a gift.

Oregon is to Avatar as...

I had a busy teaching weekend. I only actually taught two of my own classes. Aminata is starting to take my classes so I was able to sub for other teachers that are out. I taught a very low level elementary class and it was such hard work. This particular class was even more exhausting than most of small stars classes! I'm glad I didn't teach that level all year long. Many of the students couldn't even ask to go to the bathroom in English.

Today after my morning classes, I had to take a taxi across the city to Beijing 1 to sub for an older elementary class. The class was absolutely lovely and we had a lot of fun. I asked the students what they are doing this summer and seven out of eight of them are going on International adventures. I love how the kids get excited when they learn I'm from the states, but once they find out that I am not from California, Texas, Washington D.C., New York or Hawaii they quickly lose interest! I feel that I could be pretty good at promoting Oregon tourism... "It's somewhere between Los Angelos and Seattle, Washington...No, not where President Obama lives, the other Washington... No, it's not near the Mississippi River... Yes, we speak English in Oregon, too... No, there are not any wild elephants... No, my hometown is not as big as Beijing... No, I've never met a movie star... We do drive cars there....I have my own car... It's a 1995 Geo Prism...You're right, it is old and weird sounding... There are lots of forests and mountains and everything is really green... No, it doesn't look like Avatar... Ok... so not so much for the tourism, but the the line of questioning is pretty funny.

There was only one boy in the class and he was so excited because I was the first person he had ever met that has gone camping before. He is going for the first time in Canada this summer with his family. He's been doing his wilderness survival reading and probably knows a lot more than I do on how to survive getting attacked by bears. He was actually much more freaked out by the idea of skunks! So fun!

Two and Half Hour Lunch Breaks

EF is renewing my Visa and I am going to be able to travel in China during the month of June! I am getting so excited. Plans are still a little fuzzy, but right now I am hoping to take a train to Shanghai and spend a few days there, train trip to Chendu to visit the Panda Reservation and them meet up with Joyce and Cindy in Joyce's family's hometown in the South. Then, I'll come back to make a few last good-byes in Beijing and fly home to Oregon. Colleen's China Chronicle will be hitting the open road soon! I'm really excited!

Today, I had to go to the police office to get a new registration to renew my visa. My nice landlady sent me the address of the police station... the last time I was there I went there was in late June... so I took a taxi there. The taxi driver didn't have a clue about where he was going. He stopped and asked a grandma about how to get there and she and her grandson got in the taxi and directed him there! Gotta love Beijing! I first accidentally walked into the traffic ticket place and an older gentleman came up to me and said, "Ah, they got you, too!" Oddly, I didn't comprehend his English until I found a sign that said "Traffic" in English. I showed the man my residence registration and he pointed me to the correct building. I got to the building and found out I had just missed the residence people. They were out for their two and a half hour lunch break! Chinese siesta time, I guess!

Today at work was busy and fun. I am subbing a lot of James's classes this weekend because he is off to run the Great Wall Marathon. I taught an open door ceremony class for a class I used to teach but James officially took over as the only teacher right before the remodel. It was awesome to reconnect with the students and tell them and their parents good-bye. I even got some cute pictures.

Snow White

Yesterday, I had a fun day with my friend Wang Fei from Starfish. She invited me over to the new-to-her apartment that she is now living in before she leaves for school in Russia in the fall. We went to the market near her home and bought all the fixings for dumplings and made dumplings all morning! We bought pre-made dumpling dough though, and even though it looked a bit dry and old while we were cooking, they still tasted fabulous! Hopefully, I'll find some nifty International shop where I can buy pre-made dough in Portland.

Today was very busy at work. I'm trying to get everything sorted for my weekend classes. I'm mostly subbing for a teacher out on holiday while Aminata starts taking over some of my classes. I'm also going to be traveling to Beijing 1 on Sunday afternoon to teach a class there. Should be interesting.

In my last small star class of the evening, I learned that the students had learned that I was leaving. They weren't really asking about me going home, but they were really sweet to me. The girls kept saying I was a princess like Snow White! It was really cute.

"F" I'll give you a word for that, freedom... "D," I'll give you a word for that, dirty diapers.... "C" I'll give you a word for that, choking

Small Stars continue to amaze me.

Sunday morning I subbed in at Beijing 2 while a few other teachers at my school with empty time slots took over my own classes. My first small star class of the morning was lovely, but the second was awful! I had been warned that it was a rough class, but Laura told me later that they didn't give me the full details upfront so I wouldn't have the chance to say "no." Turns out, Beijing 2 has their own set(!) of violent ones! It was a rough class. One mother sat through the entire class just to make sure her own child didn't get hurt. It was awful. I couldn't keep any of the students engaged at all for more than a minute and a half.

Last night, I taught one of my small star classes that only has three students. One little boy really is not ready to be in the class and he looks like he is about to fall asleep, which I don't blame him for... a 7:15 start time for a class is late for a little five year old! There is one girl in the class that is just right on track, both socially and academically, and then there is Percy. Percy probably has a better vocabulary bank than I did at 10! I don't think he knows what the words mean in English or even Chinese, but he can spit them out! He got super mad in the first stage of the class for not letting him go first with an activity. He was upset through most of the class which quickly grew weary for everyone in the room, including Aminata who was observing me. Towards the end of most of small star classes I review the name and sound of the letters they have studied and show a flashcard that has a picture of something that starts with the letter in question. We were going through the letters and Percy kept on saying, "Letter," I'll give you a word for that... and it would be something pretty fantastic. While the other two children said "Pencil" Percy said "Pollution." While the children said "Mel (the EF bird friend of Roddy)" Percy said "Mind-Bending." It was so odd listening to the two different levels of English that I lost it and started giggling even though I didn't want to, which, of course, egged Percy on! Aminata was just stone faced through all of Percy's craziness!

Last night, after the Percy episode, we all went out to celebrate Nick's last week. His last day is Friday, but last night was the best night for everyone to stay out. We took over four tables at the Korean BBQ place and overwhelmed the nice staff with our order. We had fun sharing Nick stories and toasting Nick about his year at EF and with us. Half of us ended up going to KTV and singing out hearts out. It was a fun night out.

Lost in the In-Between

Transitions have always been hard for me. I would think that I would start getting better about them as I've gotten older and that I have spent a lot of my twenties transitioning from one place to another, from one job or school to another, but it's still hard.

I'm stuck in this in-between place right now.

At work, I'm training other teachers to take over my classes, which is great and odd at the same time. I feel lucky that I've gotten to meet the teacher who is replacing me and I can tell her about the history of the class and the strengths and weaknesses of the students. It's nice to know that it's not some random person, but an experienced teacher.

I still don't know what I'll be doing after I finish EF. I kind have been hoping to have some kind of job to come home to, but that's looking less and less like it will happen. I also have some travel ideas forming, but we'll see...

I know that everything is going to be okay, but I'm a sea of emotions, like when I go through all the feelings the little small stars can answer the question "How are you?" with!

I know with time that this, too, shall pass and I should just enjoy the ride.

Here's a few moments from this ride as of late!

-One of my higher level classes teaching my boss the importance of bringing her own set of chopsticks to a restaurant instead of using the disposable ones during her class's presentation today. So awesome!
-Non stop giggling over tea at a pizza hut with Cindy and Joyce Thursday night
-My favorite small star class giving me genuine hugs after they were told that I was going back to the U.S. Little Leo kept asking when would I be coming back...
-A crazy mother telling me that the computer was a better teacher than I was...
-Sending out my high flyer class into the school to ask English speaking adults about their favorite old school proverbs...Seriously... who wrote these text books! Listening to Nick and Ryan explain their choices for their favorite proverbs was pretty great... "I don't like getting up early and I don't want to be eaten." "I think it is important that you don't always stay with people just like you." Good sports.
-Waking up early to call employment opportunities at home and thinking about how they are just getting ready to go home yesterday!

And finally, drum roll please....

-An old dude smoking a cigarette in the gym!

Dumplings Anyone?

Marie and I took the long subway and bus journey to our friend's Sabrina's home this morning. It took us about an hour and 45 minutes to get to her place. i can't believe Sabrina has that commute every day to and from work!

Sabrina and her sister taught us how to make dumplings today! We made egg and leek dumplings. I learned how to make the dough and the filling and how to cook them and everything! It does take a few hours to get everything accomplished! Cindy arrived later in the afternoon for our late feast of a lunch. We had gotten some snacks and Marie's boyfriend had made a few dishes for us, too. We had a delicious meal and a good visit. Their apartment is pretty big, too, and they had a real kitchen table. It was really very kind of the girls to have us over and they were excellent teachers!

I can't wait to make dumplings at home!

Renmin University District

This evening I met up with my friend Stephanie in the Renmin University District. We ate dinner at a great restaurant that specialized in food from a Southern Province. It was so delicious. We had a few cold vegetable dishes and a big bowl of their famous noodles, tomatoes, peppers and onions dishes! So yummy! Of course, it was really lovely to catch up with Stephanie, too.

Then, we went out to walk around the shopping area, kind of like the Beijing equivalent of Eugene's 13th Avenue. We went exploring through the different shops and stands. It was a really warm night and a lot of students were out and about. I found it funny that their were a Subway, Dairy Queen and pizza places on the street just like in Eugene! Even in Beijing, college kids like what college kids like! I bought several sheets of stickers for my students and some trinkets to take home to my friends. it was a very fun evening!

Call in the Replacements

This past weekend wasn't quite as busy for me as it normally is. Two of small star classes were canceled due to the parents being nervous about their children being submitted to the "bad air" from the remodel. All of us teachers are blaming any mistake we are making on the "air."

We now have three out of the five replacement teachers for the five of us that are leaving at the end of this month and the beginning of June. A woman named Aminata is going to be taking over most of my classes along with Miles and Ryan taking one or two each. She is my age and from New York. She has been teaching special education for the past six years. She's lovely and my students are going to be lucky to have her as a teacher. She observed my two small star classes this evening. She actually made me feel better because she was able to pick out a few students who may have some learning/socialization behaviors that should may be checked out by a specialist. It was a bit of a relief to hear that news from someone. I have asked for help with this class and EF had not been able to give me much support. I had actually wished that the violent one was there today. I bet Aminata could provide a lot of insight into that special case. One of the little ones in that class that I can usually really count on to set a good example was acting very abnormal. He was touching the computer, hitting his classmates and not listening to my instructions at all. I kept him after the class for a bit to see what was wrong with the help of the TA translating for me. The little boy told us he just didn't want to be there today and that he was tired... It's good to be reminded that even the sweetest of little ones have their bad days, too.

I told my two highest level classes over the weekend that I will be leaving at the end of the month. Aminata is going to be either observing and co-teaching with me for the next three weekends so I wanted to be able to tell them on my own so they could be free to ask me questions. Both classes were sad to hear that I was leaving, which was really sweet, but also excited to learn about their new teacher. I had told my highest level students that I had big news to share with them and they were hoping I had found a Chinese boyfriend! They were highly disappointed! I am going to miss them a lot, but it's good to know they will be in capable hand.

I want to wish my Mom a happy mother's day! Wǒ ài nǐ!

Happy Mother's Day to all those women in my life: Joanna, my aunts and my mentors and friends, too, because it takes a village to raise a child (or a 28-year-old), and I'll take all the help I can get!

Boom!!!!! 1 Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A year ago today my Mom, Dad, Joanna, Crystal and Reilly dropped me off at the Portland airport to start my journey to Beijing.

It's amazing what a year can do...

I was thinking how crazy my first walk around the He Ping Le hotel was like. The smells were overwhelming, Mandarin sounded like one big yell, and I was just trying to not cry all the time. I was hungry and truly just exhausted from all of the good-byes and the mad rush of only really four days to move out of my apartment and pack!

There were so many moments where I wanted to get back on an airplane and turn back, but I am sure glad I didn't!

I had lots and lots of hopes going into this new adventure and many of them came true!

I am living in one of the most International cities in the world on a whole different continent.

I kept just one job for an entire year

I made lots of new friends and was enveloped by an amazing community.

I've had the opportunity to visit some of China's most treasured landmarks.

I was thinking today about how amazingly normal my day felt. I taught three great classes. I had a fun lunch with my friends. I went to the gym and picked up some groceries. I would have never imagined life feeling "normal" here in China a year ago!

I did do one thing that I have been scared to do previously tonight, though. There's an individual hot pot restaurant near my grocery store that I have always wanted to try, but was too nervous to because everything was in Chinese. I went in, picked out the tofu and vegetables that I wanted, actually understood how much it cost and could even ask where the chopsticks were! It was delicious! It was one of those small victories.

I think I lived a lot this year trying to go from one small victory to the next. I think that was maybe one of the many lessons I needed to learn while being here. I've learned to appreciate the small things much more and maybe have become a bit more patient and less anxious. Everything when I arrived was a small victory. I was reading a few of my first sets of blogs earlier this week when my friend Ryan suggested that I take a look back at the earlier me in Beijing. A year ago, those small victories were pretty huge,,,figuring out the subway... paying for electricity at the bank... learning how to cook for myself in a new country... crossing the street... Those are just a few examples...

Those small victories led me to live in the present a bit more. My year can really be defined by the quiet moments. The moments were I felt accomplished or just scared. The moments that I decided to be brave and try new things. The moments where I decided to let go of trying to control how a situation would go in my mind and just watched it play out. The moments where I shared a piece of myself or my past to help build new friendships. The moments when I appreciated a student as just one individual child. The moments where the only way I could respond was with a smile and I received one back in return. Beijing gave me enough noise to create the soundtrack of my past year so I could concentrate on those quieter moments, whether shared or by myself.

Of course, those big things, the "booms" and the facebook status worthy moments, and the post card sending tourist spots were all wonderful and amazing and exciting, but I think I did most of my Beijing education came from those quiet moments.

I only have about three more weeks left in this city. I hope it will be filled with moments of grandeur and lots of shared quiet moments.

Thank you for letting me reflect on all of these types of moments, my blog readers. Some of my best quiet moments have been writing in my little studio apartment and smiling thinking about who might be reading this in the future (or you know, really the past because most of my readers are from the states).

I really am a lucky girl!

Boom!

Thunder and Lightening and Narnia

I woke up in the middle of the night to a huge clap of thunder that scared me! I got up and watched the show from my window until I got sleepy again. The weather yesterday was pretty humid and it looked like it was going to rain all day. I woke up today to a drizzly sky, but it grew into an absolutely beautiful Spring Beijing day.

Today was the first teaching day for me back at my school. I now really appreciate my seven minute walk to work and the extra two hours of my day that I had because I wasn't at Beijing 2!

The school is still pretty disheveled, and if it was an American school or day care, there would be no way the school would be open to students/children! There is still a lot that needs to be fixed and there are still pretty dangerous tools around. Today, workers were replacing light bulbs everywhere and we were all ducking around the school hoping to not get anything dropped on our heads! All of our basic materials have found homes, but a lot of our own personal resources have no place to go. Right now I am sharing a little cubby space with both Miles and Nick for all of our supplies.

Before the remodel, the classrooms where all named after cities that EF has schools in such as London, New York, Rome, Cambridge, Los Angelos, Boston, Beijing, etc... Now, they are all adjectives such as magic(al), fantastic, laugh, courage... We knew that the rooms were getting new names but James, Ryan and I had imagined all the rooms named after science fiction/fantasy planets and ships... Narnia, Hoth, Enterprise, Millennium Falcon, the Shire, Serenity, etc... We lost!

My two small star classes were fun and it felt like we hadn't been away for the last three weeks!

Last Day at Starfish

Today was my last day at Starfish. I decided that since I only have a few weeks left in Beijing, I need to use my Wednesdays for a few last minute adventures and take care of moving matters. It seems like it was the perfect day for me to say good-bye. One of the women in my intermediate class left a few weeks ago to live with her boyfriend in the South. My other intermediate student, Wang Fei, had been taking tests to prepare her to go to school in Russia. I was scheduled to tutor my beginner student today, but when i arrived, so was so exhausted she did not want a class. Luckily, Wang Fei was around and we had some time to catch up. I had written her a letter because I thought I wouldn't get the chance to talk to her in person, but luckily I was able to tell her what I wanted to tell her in person. We both talked about our big life transitions. Wang Fei is leaving Starfish after three years of living in the shelter and working for the company. Today was her last day at Starfish and she will be moving out of the shelter at the end of May. She will be starting school in Russia in August. I'm glad I got to have my last experience at Starfish just chatting with her. I hope that we will be able to stay friends over e-mail.

I talked to the director at Starfish for a bit and she asked me to share what I have learned about the women at Starfish and their spirit with my friends at home. She gave me a blue starfish necklace and helped me take pictures with the women that were there today. I left pretty teary.

Tutoring at Starfish gave the opportunity to learn a little more about China outside of the EF bubble that I normally found myself in. I will be always grateful to my fellow Quaker, Jennifer, for introducing me to the women at Starfish, and giving me a different lens to see Beijing in. The women that I have met at Starfish have taught me so much about making changes in your life with joy and a lot of hard work. They have inspired me.

Tonight, I came home to a prostitution advertisement hanging on my door handle like I do a few times every week. I'm glad that Starfish is around.

The Great Clean

We arrived back at our school at 10 this morning. The workers were still working away, but we had a lot of cleaning to do! However, we had absolutely zero supplies and they wanted us to just use dish soap to clean up the tables, chairs and desks! I was sent to the Lotus to fill up on cleaning supplies, including tons of cloths and sprays and cleaning gloves. I got back and worked with Joyce and Ryan to disinfect the teachers' office.

I left a bit after noon to go home to shower and eat lunch before taking the subway back to Beijing 2 to substitute for a teacher on holiday. The school was still looking pretty chaotic, but things were getting cleaned. I think it'll look really pretty on Thursday when I get back from my day off.

I taught a big, but fun young elementary class this evening at Beijing 2. The students were learning greetings and the difference between "a" and "an" today.

Cindy also had to substitute at Beijing 2 today so we went out for a sushi dinner and enjoyed that Wang Fu Jing neighborhood for our last day of working there. I'm glad I got the opportunity to get to now a different neighborhood well!

Ryan's Birthday Dinner

Tonight, a few of us from work gathered for dinner to celebrate Ryan's 30th birthday party. We had delicious food and talked about how the remodel is going at our school. We talked a little bit about the news about the death of Osama Bin Laden. A few people were saying how on Chinese news a few of the announcers were accidentally saying that President Obama was dead. Osama/Obama... one can understand the mix up. It's been a little surreal thinking about how this huge story that was breaking in the US this morning Beijing time actually happened in one of China's bordering countries.

After dinner, we walked over to the school were workers are, I'm sure, still working on some last minute details. The teaching staff is going in tomorrow to start moving resources, and then a few small star classes will resume on Wednesday evening if all goes as planned. The school is looking pretty shiny. Laura's office is now back in the teacher's office and is all glassed in so she is going to feel like a zoo animal! I feel bad about that! They put in long glass windows on the doors of both the male and female bathrooms which is going to be a bit unpleasant, especially for the gentlemen because everyone walks right past their bathroom! The paint is now pretty shades of blue and green and now every classroom has an interactive white board which is pretty exciting. Too bad they didn't do this earlier in the year so I could appreciate teaching in such a pretty school, but I'll just have to enjoy it for the month I have left. I hope to take some pictures to show you tomorrow!

Happy Chinese Labor Day!

Happy Chinese Labor Day, everyone! I guess I'll get to celebrate labor day twice this year. Classes were canceled today and all the teachers got the day off!

I went shopping at Tinuyi or the plastic market today with Sabrina and her sister. It was pretty crowded because of the holiday and the sales. I came out of the crazy shopping center with two treasures, a pair of earrings and a panda wallet! We even had dumplings for lunch! It was a good day.

While I was walking back to the subway, I realized I was walking behind a man wearing an Oregon sweatshirt. I wonder if he he has ever been to Oregon before?

I realized today that I have exactly one month left in Beijing! I hope to fill it with lots of fun adventures, making sure I tell the people here how much I care and appreciate them, and helping my students transition successfully to their new teachers. I have a lot to do!