So, I don't really have anything special to share right now, but I feel like I haven't really talked to you much, so I would like to give you a short update.
The Olympic hype is finally cooling down. Where as we struggled to get into our apartment complex before, the guards are significantly more relaxed now. I don't think as many people are as excited about the para-olympics (which is a same because they are amazing) as the Olympics. We are still looking forward to the day when they unlock all the gates again so that we don't have to walk as far.
The weather here is turning beautiful. It's only reaching a high of about 84 F each day and the humidity seems to be turning down quite a bit. The nights are actually gorgeous at around 66F. It is so nice to walk home at night and just enjoy the cool air. It's so shocking to think that just a few weeks ago the air was so thick that you could see it and the night was never any cooler than the day. We have also had the good fortune of seeing the sunrise almost every morning. The sky has been so clear lately.
My class is going very well. I love working with me kids although I do go home exhausted every day. Each one of them is so sweet and desperate to please. And they are all excellent at drawing. It shocks me every day that these 8 and 9 year olds can put out work that takes my breath away. One of the students is exceptionally good at art and his favorite thing to draw is dragons and dinosaurs.
Getting to know the people that I work with has been a great amount of fun. There are about 100 foreign staff and almost as many teacher assistants. There are so many names to remember that at times it can be very very overwhelming. However, when you put all of us in a room together it feels like you landed in a family reunion. We are all talking and jabbering. Everyone is watching out for everyone else's kids. There is always food. Babies are passed off quickly and everyone is always catching up. We actually met our next door neighbors just about a week ago and we have already eaten with them once (we are eating there again tonight for dinner) and we have babysat their kids. It is also great because now whenever the mother sees me, she hands over her 4 week old baby and lets me hold him till he starts crying too much. I love it! Can I stay in this family forever?
Oh, and for those of you who listened to me right after I got to China last fall and heard me whining about all the weird things they do and how they look...I have found that Qingdao is like San Francisco as opposed to some place like Los Angeles. The city is clean, full of cars, full of kind people, right on the ocean, and just fun to live in. I love living here so much and I am stunned by the beauty of this place still. I can't believe it. The morning walk to the bus along the ocean always takes my breath away. The waves roll gently (or not so gently if there is a storm) onto the beach and calms all my worries for the day. On the days when there is a storm coming, I watch the waves crash on the shore and I am amazed that a storm has touched another place and it affects us even so far away. My favorite day on the ocean is when a typhoon (aka hurricane) hit Japan. We got very little rain from the storm, but the wind ripped across the ocean and the land. Because the wind from that storm was so strong, the waves not only crashed on the shore, but they were crashing up over the wall above it as well. Now, for those of you who can't see why that is so amazing, let me tell you this. The wall is about 100 feet above the ocean. On that day there was no beach simply water relentlessly beating at the wall. It was spectacular and awe inspiring.
Ok, I'm rambling about nothing so I'll finish this blog. Some things to remember when you think of me is the staff here. We are having an Open House for the parents tonight and tomorrow. Tonight is middle and high school and tomorrow is elementary school. We are all a little nervouse, but also excited. Also, many of us have family at home who are sick or in the hospital. Please keep them in mind. We are all feeling the stress of being seperated from our family. There are many people here who are contemplating going home for Christmas just to be with their loved ones. Lastly, there is a lot of sickness going through the school. One family has had every member sick and the mother had a bad case of pneumonia. There are several awful bugs going through the school and we are fighting them as best we can. Anyway, time to go live. :) Thanks for your thoughts. I love you all so much and I miss you too! I'm on Facebook if you want to talk or you can send an email through my Mom. :)