As I was returning to my apartment after looking at all the flowers, I noticed a girl outside a building with a white something in the grass. As I got closer, I saw that it was a rabbit! I was so excited to see a rabbit and I stopped to look at it. The girl noticed that I was standing there looking at the rabbit and we started talking. Granted, she did not speak English and my Chinese is nowhere near where it perhaps could be, but I managed to ask if it was hers. She said no, that it was her little sister's, who then came out of the building. I asked the little sister if the rabbit had a name and she said no. I then asked if she liked rabbits and she said, "Of course!" I got to pet the rabbit and feed it grass and then the little girl picked it up and handed me the rabbit. It was so soft, but a little dirty. Nonetheless, I took pictures, said thank you, and then nearly skipped all the way to my apartment from having such a wonderful day of being outside in the sunshine and getting to play with a rabbit.
As I have mentioned in other posts, there are lots of stray cats and dogs that run around the city. There are a few cats that hang out mostly around the apartments and I see them almost everyday. But they are all literally scaredy cats. They will not let you any closer than four feet near them before they bolt off. One of them is kind of mean and will hiss if you walk by too close, but the others will just run away. Once in a while I leave some dried shrimp out for them and I see them ate it after I go into the building. These are just some of the pictures I have taken of them.
The head of the English Language department wanted us American teachers to get to know the Chinese English teachers better, which all of us agreed was a good idea, so Jason and I set up a salon style get-together.
We did a couple ice breakers, which were ok, but I think it confused the Chinese teachers and there was a lack of motivation from some of the American teachers to help. After that we discussed how to improve pronunciation in the classroom and how to help students correct some of the mistakes that they have learned already though so many years of being taught improper grammar and pronunciation. Overall, it was a fun event and the next one is scheduled to focus around literature.
After the salon, some of us teachers went for dinner at a mutton soup restaurant down the street from the camps. Unfortunately, my phone's battery died, so I could not take pictures of the delicious soup and skewers we all ate. And it was a nice evening, so we all enjoyed being outside and talking with people that all of us had seen and passed in the hallways of the college, but had never stopped to talk to.
We did a couple ice breakers, which were ok, but I think it confused the Chinese teachers and there was a lack of motivation from some of the American teachers to help. After that we discussed how to improve pronunciation in the classroom and how to help students correct some of the mistakes that they have learned already though so many years of being taught improper grammar and pronunciation. Overall, it was a fun event and the next one is scheduled to focus around literature.
After the salon, some of us teachers went for dinner at a mutton soup restaurant down the street from the camps. Unfortunately, my phone's battery died, so I could not take pictures of the delicious soup and skewers we all ate. And it was a nice evening, so we all enjoyed being outside and talking with people that all of us had seen and passed in the hallways of the college, but had never stopped to talk to.
Jason's birthday was earlier this month and so Makenzi and I decided to have a small party. We ordered a cake from one of the bakeries near campus and then we took Jason, Matt, and Mike to go eat a dinner at one of Jason's favourite restaurants downtown. After dinner, Makenzi and I went back to the bakery to retrieve the cake whilst the guys went to a cafe to get drinks. We met up with them and surprised Jason with the cake. The big centerpiece played happy birthday on a loop and did not stop whilst the other candles were trick candles that did not go out. It was amusing as Jason tried to blow out the candles and to get the centerpiece to stop playing. The cake was good and I think we all enjoyed an evening of walking around Qufu.