Thailand and recent developments

Ok ok... due to increased demand and pressure from people far and near, here is my next installment... but where to begin???

Ah, let's see what kind of mumble jumble i can produce now...

Thailand was in one word: indescribable.

After spending a lovely day/night in Kunming (clean city with not the pressing hustle and bustle of other major Chinese cities, very friendly with springtime weather all year round), we headed straight to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand where we did a two-day trek.

We packed as much fun and activity as we possibly could: elephant ride; bamboo raft; overnight at a hilltribe minority group village, the Karen people; warm campfire under the stars drinking Chang beer and having a sing-a-long with the rest of our group members (we were 8 in total, from Korea, Denmark, HK, France, Jersey, and Canada).

Then we flew down to Phuket where we stayed at a beautiful bungalow on Ko Yao Noi Island, surrounded by trees, view from bedroom overlooking the sea, delicious food, great company (hilarious British husband wife team who entertained us with their musical talents, singing everything from Elvis to church hymns!)

The following day a bunch of us (guests) went on a longtail boat and visited several beaches on various islands, stopped off in Ao Nang for some lunch, went snorkelling (was quite disappointed with the poor visibility though), showered in the most gorgeous outdoor shower stall surrounded by tall lush trees and birds chirping from every direction, got engaged, had a tasty meal of indian roti and crepes, went to bed.

Our plan was to go straight into Phuket town early the next morning so we could go scuba-diving. We missed the tour group by half an hour, but then again we hadn’t even signed up yet.

We were going to be flying to Bangkok the next day, and so we were determined to dive that day (also you shouldn’t dive and fly on the same day, so that was really our last chance).

After some Chinese-style pressure from our behalf and asking if there were ANY other alternatives, we ended up chartering our own boat! Yup, so off we went with our own guide, boat, equipment, just like that! When there’s a will…

And we scooted off to Raya Yai Island in the Andaman Sea where we did two dives, had lunch on the boat finishing it off with a nice Burmese cigar (very smooth and tasty, shoulda bought more).

Spent that night on Maikhao Beach, where we had the place to ourselves, beach and all! The place had been hit by the tsunami, and there was still debris and broken tree branches to be cleaned up.

Several of their bungalows were washed away, and they seemed quite happy to have us there, if only for one night. Too bad we damaged their motorbike which they so kindly rented to us the next day... more to come.

We ate right on the beach, watching the sunset. Absolutely gorgeous.

Later on that night, some of them were watching the tsunami video that someone had put together by compiling home videos and editing it to music.

So the following morning we hopped on the, what seemed to be fairly new, motorbike. Stopped off at a national park where we saw a waterfall.

Matt showed me how to drive the bike, and i had a go on it around the roads - really fun!

We continued south along the coast, lunching on Patong Beach, and then decided on the spot that we should try jet-skiing as both of us hadn't done it before.

That was excellent, the speed, the waves, the water, but i do prefer riding the bike.

On the way back from Patong Beach going back north through the 'back roads', and about 15 mintues away from our guesthouse, we were going round a steep corner, when all of a sudden we hit a patch of water and skidded.

Off flew Matt onto his stomach, shaving off inches from his beautiful waistline (just kidding hon), me landing smack on top of him, and the bike on me. Poor Matt had to bear the brunt of our weight, resulting in a badly cut up knee, elbow, hand, and tummy.

Up rushed some people from a nearby hotel, shoving cotton balls and alcohol solution in our faces, insisting that we go to the hospital and see a doctor.

With our persistent refusals of anything but some water, we immediately fished out our camera so we could capture the moment, blood and all.

They were probably thinking to themselves "those silly stubborn foreigners, they ARE crazy!" Yes we are, crazy in love!! Ok, bad one… but hey, it’s true.

Our last night in Thailand was spent with Stella in fun-filled Bangkok, catching up over Thai beer, phat thai, Som Tam (really spicy Thai salad), fresh fruit shakes and FALAFELS!!! We did some last minute shopping at the local 7-11, where they seem to pop up every time you round a street corner in Bangkok! Unreal!

The next morning we had to get up very early. Bangkok traffic is crazy. We just made it to the airport, after over an hour and a half in a taxi, which on the way in to the city took us only 20 minutes!

Our supposed short stopover in Kunming last for over 12 hours, and i'll spare you the details, but we eventually made it back to the comfort of our home by morning the next day.... exhausted, sore, but just absolutely glowing too :)

** Oh yeah, so for those who missed it because you were bored by my play-by-play commentary of our holiday and you were just skimming the above, Matt and I got engaged on Koh Yao Noi island!

What can i say, I mean I'm just beyond happy. There is no word for it, i'm just sincerely and deliriously happy!!!...

Thanks to all for the warm wishes! I treasure them with all my heart.

Wedding details will follow soon. We are envisioning an outdoor celebration, somewhere in the grasslands/ mountains of Xinjiang, complete with Uyghur and Kazakh music, fermented camel's milk, big round yurts, huge bonfire, stars, moonlight ... and minimal Baijiu, this wretched throat-burning Chinese alcohol (we might just ban the drink completely)...

There are some traditional Uyghur and Kazakh rituals that a couple must go through before they are married (ie: groom must serenade bride with sweet melodies on the guitar, then he's gotta go and basically beg the bride's family and friends for her to come out of the house/yurt, bribing them with a hefty price in the form of cash, jewellery, livestock.... i'm trying to convince Matt that we should respect this tradition since we are in Xinjiang, and should therefore follow the marriage rituals here.

I don't care much about the jewellery or cash, but having my own proper CAMEL, wow, what a novelty!

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Unable to hold the excitement in any longer, Matt and I are engaged!!!!!

Most of you already know, at least those who would visit this blog, so no biggie surprise, right??? Right!! Haha!

I swear upon my yet-to-be- firstborn-child (and no Marina, there is no “bun in the oven”) that I will write a longer more detailed update within the next few days as soon as my thoughts are gathered and carefully put into words, something that I can’t even do presently in speech!

If it weren't for our bruised and battered bodies, a result from a romantic Valentine's Day motorbike accident in Thailand, i would be jumping up and down and down and up constantly from excess energy and happiness .. but that would probably result in fairly similar injuries anyways!

xxxx bon

Kids, bombs, and freezing cold temperatures

As i sit here typing on the computer, i can see fireworks exploding outside in the chilly night air. Chinese New Year is approaching fast - February 9th this year, year of the Rooster!

The intensives are half way done already (2 out of 4 weeks), and i'm liking the routine, structure and just the fact that that classes are more spread out. Definitely more my kind of working environment.

I have a class that is extremely rambunctious on Saturday afternoons. This week we learned the "If you're happy and you know it" song, you know the one, don't deny it! I got them all in a circle, holding hands, doing a full body workout - it was fabulous. I'm using a lot more TPR techniques with my wee ones, especially to start and end a class. I really believe that coming together as a group, and even doing stretches and (limited) call and response yells is beneficial to learning. Coming from a single-child family, these kids hardly get time to just chill and 'play' with kids their own age. You can see some of the symptoms of "the little emperor" shining through when they refuse to participate and pout in the corner, or in the other extreme, when they scream and yell and basically go bananas, clamping on to the backs and legs of their classmates... or their teacher for that matter! And that's when Teacher decides that everyone should sit down and not get up until class is over. Ah, the power.

As taxing and draining it is to control a group of kids in the morning, some of them are just precious precious precious. Poor little Blue (yes i have a student named Blue, and funnily enough, he is always wearing blue) has all this pent up energy that needs some major directing. A bright little boy, he has what i think is the most baby-beautiful face i've seen. His eyes shine and dance, but it's also as if they long for more. More life, more challenges, just MORE. I don't know, but just looking at him is like looking into a bottomless oasis. Bob, another spunky kid in the same class, is so hyper and just adrenalized (is that even a word?) he is constantly sweating. Not in a disgusting kind of way, but his face is always moist with perspiration and normally it would be a bit gross but this kid, a bit chubby with a round face and spiky hair, c'est cute. Without fail, I would have to tell Bob to "sit down" about a dozen times each class. He is the one who constantly falls out of his chair (the EF chairs are connected to the desks, which are extremely tiny even for 7 year olds) and once he falls, down goes the textbook, workbook, crayons, pencil case and all its contents. Anyways, Bob is worth a mention in this journal because if he isn't sitting in his desk, or falling out of it for that matter, he is on the floor crawling under desks or wriggling around on the floor like a worm. I've caught myself laughing out loud, almost to the point of tears too. It's just so funny! When i would turn my back to the board to write something, and turn back around to face them, there would be Bob - face down squirming like some fish out of water. Why the other students don't laugh or make fun of him or even seem to think it's weird/obscure/strange is beyond me. "Bob, sit down please," I say, trying to sound annoyed that i have to remind him all the time. "Ok, Teacher," he says, eyes wide open, sweat dripping down his rosy cheeks. My heart just goes out to him; I'm a sucker for kids, i admit it. Hey, kids are kids.

There were two explosions on Jan. 22nd. The first one happened when a short-distance bus travelling from Karamay city to Usu city in northern Xinjiang exploded on a highway, killing 12 and injuring many more. About four hours later, a blast killed two people and injured 10 others in the Uyghur area of Urumqi, leaving a nine square meter (97 square foot) hole in the ground. At first we weren't sure what the cause of these attacks were, besides relying on rumours, only that they were hours apart and it just happened to be on one of the Muslim holidays. The one in town is said to be caused by a natural gas leak.

It's been hovering around -27 degrees for the past few days, a bitter bitter cold, the kind that can snap in two if you could actually snap a substance like air. Every part of me is dry, I cannot wait for the sunshine and tropical humidity in Thailand! Wahoo! One week baby!

overdue

Overdue entry, i know. But here goes, my attempt to summarize what has been happening in the past few weeks.

Christmas was filled with lots of fun gatherings with friends and colleagues. Susi and I hosted a Christmas Party on Dec.24 - lots of people showed up (more than i ever expected actually), and after pretty much everyone had left, Uli and I went clubbing down the road in some underground club, excellent times!

Kids EF Xmas Party was on December 26th at the Yindu Hotel. Lots of games, food, screaming, songs, yelling, dancing, and finally... beer for the teachers!

New Year's was celebrated amongst the biggest gathering of foreigners i have yet seen in Urumqi. We gathered at the Silk Road bar, where one of my colleagues had the intention of setting up his discs and tunes.

Unfortunately one of the wires busted and we were left only with the cacaphony of random drunken slurs of people manoevering their way through conversations about mountaineering in the desolate Xinjiang mountains to the debates of whether China should become a democratic nation.

We welcomed a couple more teachers since the last time I wrote.

Alina, who hails from Canada also (Windsor!), arrived a week ago with experience in electrical engineering and various stints of ESL teaching in Eastern China, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Peter, a British bloke (from the North, a very important distinction I've gathered), who landed a couple of days ago with his mountain bike and will be part of the new school of EF. He's been biking around the dodgy streets of Urumqi and getting to know the city well, although he did pass through the area 4 years ago when he biked across a part of central Asia and China.. and ?

The winter intensive courses are begining tomorrow. They run for 4 weeks. This means I have almost 40 AC hours (1AC hour = 40 minutes) of teaching to do, not including the 'chores' that we are assigned weekly, such as Social Clubs, OPI's (Oral Placement Interview), etc.

I'm actually really looking forward to them, getting to know the students on a more personal level since i'll be seeing them several times a week. This is good motivation for me to conduct a good class, something that i've been needing as of late i feel.

Went skiing with a bunch of friends a few weeks back. Of course, it was nothing like many of the Canadian ski hills that most of you are used to, but it was good fun nonetheless.

There were a few runs, some powdery snow, and a lot of first-timers on the 'bunny run', which i think proved a lot more difficult than the 'advanced run', only due to the fact that you had to manoever your way around these people who would literally set themselves up on the top of the hill where they could see a straight line down the mountain that would prove the least dangerous.

Then watch out, cause once they're off, they speed like rockets down the hill oblivious to whatever is in their path. Perhaps oblivious is not the proper word, i do think they are completely aware of what lies ahead of them, but the fact that most haven't mastered the skill of turning or even slowing down renders the object that unfortunately happens to be in the way, redundant, and sooner than later, hit/squashed/pummelled/smashed to bits.

Had a teen class yesterday where I invited some 'guest speakers' to come in and do a mini presentation of their home country.

Each student had to choose a country to research on and present in class. Michael talked about Canada and even sang a Lumberjack song, much to the students' amusement. Fatima talked a bit a bit about El Salvador and showed us how to swing our hips to Latin beats. And Matt introduced us to the charms and treasures of tiny Jersey Island, entrancing the students with stunning pictures and captivating stories. Good variety for the class, and an opportunity to hear different English accents!

Making plans for Chinese New Year (Feb.7-13), where pretty much the entire country is on some sort of 'holiday'. We at EF get one week off. To avoid the vicious crowds that will be undoubtedly be travelling en masse to all sorts of in-China destinations, not to mention clogging up the modes of transport like trains and buses, Matt and I are heading down to Thailand for one week! I'm getting super excited as i've never been to South-East Asia before, and Thailand will just be a taste of what can be experienced there, probably leaving me with an urge to keep travelling and seeing the surrounding countries. Going to stop on the way back to see Stella-bean in Bangkok who is doing an internship there right now - yay!!! It will be very very nice to see a familiar friend from back home!

We are planning on going up north to Chiang Mai for some trekking, and then flying down south to Phuket for some sun-infused times. At first we thought of going to the East side, thinking the south/west was still too devastated from the horrible tsunami disaster. Upon more research and thinking and talking, we decided that the best way to help a situation that has brought so much devastation to a single country is to reply to its many urges of tourists to return to their hotels and beaches so that their financial situation can pick up again. Matt and I have said that if we see something or someone that needs help, we will do so, not limiting ourselves in any way. It will be interesting to see first-hand how it really is, and not just read about it.

I organized a mini-drive at EF amongst colleagues to see how much money we could raise for the Canadian Red Cross. I was so thrilled at how many of the local staff also contributed, well aware of the fact that their salary is only a slight percentage of what we foreign teachers get paid. The good news was that with the money we gathered together, my dad at SDM doubled that, and then the Cdn. Gov. also doubled that amount. Let's just say that the total amount raised (in Chinese RMB) is equivalent to seventy years salary for a local farmer here. A little certainly goes a long way.

We went through a rather nasty cold spell, and we are experiencing the tail end of it, although i'm sure we'll get another one before spring comes. It got down to -32 on Xmas day, the coldest i've ever been here! Nowadays, there is a lot of fog and pollution, ugh. I'm sitting up on the 25th floor and all i see outside is this pasty-milky fog/haze. It's so dense i can't even see the ground. Somedays the drab of the city in winter really does get to people, me included, and we hibernate and recoil into our homes and thoughts and spirits. I'm trying to keep happy and surround myself with happiness, which at the moment is NOT a problem (!), so even though i feel as if i'm floating on clouds, at other times i do think Urumqi needs a big heads-up on what constitutes good clean air and how to manage it...

So to sum up, this month has basically consisted of a lot of growth, discovery and sharing. Intense as everything is, i'm standing solid on the ground with my wings spread. There are emotions errupting inside of me that I have never felt before. Let me try and paint a word-picture: Think beautiful rays of a sunrise, when it first peaks beyond the sealine or mountain peak, of how its radiant glow just captures the childish awe in you, enveloping you in its warm embrace. Imagine how the sun rises, quickly but steadily, and as it does everything in its path is touched by all its glory and light, and those things in turn begin to breathe and smile... unjustifiable words i'm using to describe to you this feeling inside of me. But there you have it. Lots of good memories and appreciative lessons learned in so many different and (sometimes) difficult circumstances; they have only prepared me for what I know will be a truly incredible 2005.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Wishing you and your loved ones a safe, happy and joyful Christmas!
Lots of love, Bonnie :)

Holiday Love from Urumqi (ooo-roo-moo-chee)

Ok, only now have i had a decent amount of time to sit down and write a proper journal entry.

How am I suppose to explain what has happened to me in the past few weeks? It has been a whirlwind of emotions, all high and higher. I am still stunned and shocked at the beauty with what has been presented to me, unexpectedly and so in its entire wonderment.

So to answer some of your pleas for more detail, his name’s Matthew. He’s from Jersey (the English island near France), has traveled extensively, worked for the UN for several years, heavily into sports (especially water ones!), speaks fluent Japanese and better Mandarin than me, is currently working as a Project Manager for the renewable energy project for Shell, distributing solar systems to nomadic families around Xinjiang (mainly Uyghur and Kazakh people). That’s the just of it, and I feel a bit weird posting his life resume here so I guess I will just have to tell you via personal emails or phone calls.
But believe me when I say I’m over the moon. Magic.

I cannot believe that another year has come and gone just like that. It seems like my time with Katimavik was so long and distant ago, and yet I hear from my participants from time to time and I absolutely LOVE it. I love being able to be a part of their lives, even though time zones apart and time between us. We can talk and communicate and wish each other well in such sincere and simple manners. We are blessed to have met in our lives and to linger on to that special relationship. I wish you all well, and miss your energy (and spontaneous naughtiness) a lot. I felt alive with them, in that role, as tough and heart-wrenching as it was at times, but I learned a lot this year. From my participants, from my loving colleagues, from my friends with whom I reconnected with in Ottawa. I love you all dearly, you have given me such courage and faith in myself and how I absolutely need to do things for myself in this lifetime. It is a matter of faith, discipline and adaptability.

It’s holiday season, and these past two days I have grown quite nostalgic about home and just the feelings associated with this time of year. I don’t know, it’s the first time I have honestly felt this way. It’s not what I would call text book ‘homesickness’, but more of a reflective stage where I realize that friends and family back home are currently gathering together to celebrate another year of success and joy, and perhaps to remember some of the sorrows too. I am off this week for 3 days (thurs, fri and sat) for xmas, and we have the same days off next week too for New Year’s. Tomorrow Susi and I will be hosting a Xmas party at our place for all of the EF staff, our friends around town.. and whoever else they may bring. We cleaned a bit tonight, spray painted our windows with ‘snow’ stencils (however, we were disappointed that the spray can we bought only allowed us to spray about 3 and a half stencils – Chinese quality at its best!!). Tomorrow will be dedicated to baking and baking and buying lots of booze!! ;)

I think part of my nostalgia is due in part to the fact that this is the first time in my life where I am NOT in Canada but overseas where there is snow during Christmas time. Usually if I’m away during the holiday season, it was in a tropical warm climate. SO I think the snow and the frost has me thinking, and fooled, that I should infact be at ‘home’ in Canada celebrating amongst friends and family. But I have to admit, my surrogate family here, comprised of the most bizarre and eccentric (but absolutely beautiful) people I have ever come across, provide me with some of the utmost joy and love I have ever received so readily in life. I cannot say how much I truly love and appreciate this team I have that surrounds me everyday. We are not just a team at work, but a network of support and communication for each other. Not out of necessity either. I mean we are all extremely stubborn in our own ways, and we all come from very diverse backgrounds, but I can say wholeheartedly that none of us would spend time with the others if we didn’t want it in the first place. What I’m trying to say I guess is that we have chosen to enjoy each other’s company and friendship. It’s times like tonight where I sit holed up in my room on Dong Hou Jie (the street name of where I live), baking in my incredibly hot and dry flat, writing these endearing words on my brightly lit laptop screen surrounded by candles. Read on if you can bear with me...

Who am i? I am thinking about what my future has ahead of me. What kind of year will 2005 be? Tomorrow is xmas eve, but our celebration will be mainly one filled with love and food and joy and laughter, surrounded by my surrogate family here, my Xinjiang friends. Gathered from different walks of life, coming together by some force, some fluke, some destiny. We are all wanderers in this world, some have traveled further distances than others, some have treaded through more difficult passages than some, and others have worked hard to achieve what they currently have to end up in this delightful city in Central Asia.

Other things that I’ve been doing since my last entry:
- Got together with one of the local teacher’s students for some Western food. Susi made spaghetti bolognaise and I of course offered my banana bread baking skills. Get this: we microwaved the cake! Yes, there are microwaves here in China (and probably elsewhere in the world, but I do not know of any place so if you do, please let me know!) where you can actually MICROWAVE a cake within 5 minutes. I was shocked still.

-Gathered with some non-EF expats one night to swap music, mp3’s mainly. I love expanding my music collection and I love it more because it’s free! Next get together should be a book swapping I say.

-My favourite class which I teach on Sunday afternoons, a group of 13-15 year olds who are at a pretty high level, were covering a unit on Protests. And so of course, being me, I egged on a lot of controversial topics, asking and probing them to think actively and to question society’s norms and standards. After discussing and telling them stories about “sit-ins, hunger strikes, petitions, campaigns…”, we held our own protest around the EF corridors. It was awesome!!!!!!! Here are some pictures. I was so incredibly proud, so PROUD! My kids (ok, I just have to call them ‘kids’ this one time) decided amongst themselves that they wanted to protest against doing homework at EF, and to stage the message that they deserve more free time. They made banners, flyers, petitions, signs that hung around their necks. Their chant was “Make us Free!” “No Homework! No Exams!” “We want sunshine!” I videotaped them while another (new) teacher who was shadowing my class, Fatima, was the “journalist” and was taking pictures. I’ll be sure to post them soon.

We went to every classroom(I of course forewarned the teachers), interrupted their lesson with our shouts of anti-homework, had the students sign the petition if they agreed, handed out some candy, and carried on our merry way. At the end of the class, we discussed how we felt during the protest. I was surprised and honestly touched to hear some of their responses. A lot of them focused on the point that each student had a certain role to play but that they were all working towards the same mission/goal. One of my students, Sophia, made some side comment that “Bonnie was the craziest EF teacher at the school!” So be it, I just may well be, but at least there was enormous learning that day, and it wasn’t just English vocab and grammar! Needless to say, I granted them their wish and assigned no homework that week.

The new teachers who have arrived are fitting in just nicely.

Ron, British bloke from London, worked for Marks and Spencers for the past twenty years, has been to Tunisia 15 times, loves Turkish anything and played Santa Claus at our adult Xmas party. Now Ron is quite short and tiny and you have to imagine a blue eyed St.Nick dressed in red and white and literally hopping around like a bunny just in order for people to see and notice him! It was hilarious!

Mikael, Czech guy, 30, tallest guy ever, and even taller due to his slim stature. His girlfriend Camilla arrived a few days ago, perhaps to stay long term (?) but not as an EF teacher, not yet at least, and is just so insanely nice and a great gentleman. He has been so helpful to Peta, for example, since she dislocated her knee in class (story to follow); he cooked us crepes for dinner, piggybacks her everywhere and anywhere, etc… and just generally always willing to lend a hand. Like Ian put it, “at least there’s a gentleman amongst us!” Amen to that!

Fatima, 23, born and raised in El Salvador, is running/marathon queen and works out religiously, studied Global Economics and Latin American studies, has such a wacky sense of humour and uses “dude” to address anything that has two arms, two legs and a head. My goal is to NOT use that term of endearment here. I’ve already picked up ‘bloke’ and ‘mate’ from my British and Auzzie buds.

Ulrike, or Ullie for short, 32, quit a job of doing promotion for large companies or something like that in Germany, well it was a stuffy office job that she saw was really not her cup of tea so she got out of it. Good on her, many say they will leave a dead-end job with no challenges, however many don’t do anything about it. She’s left and is here and is fitting in just nicely. I love her approach to life and is bringing a lot of stability and laughter and creativity to our growing team.

Our new school in Urumqi has opened as of last weekend. Apparently it was a success. A few dudes (ah, I did it!! Crap, it was totally instinctive too!) from head office in Shanghai were here to observe and we got heaps (an Auzzie word for A LOT which I picked up) of compliments for a job well done. Lots of shoulder and back patting were going around this week, that’s for sure! Yay.

So Peta dislocated her knee. Here’s the story: she was talking with her class about stunts and flexibility. Her students asked if she could do the splits. She said yes, because apparently she can. Our carpets in the classroom are actually one foot square carpets, which are removable. So she goes down to show her eager students that she can do the splits and one of the carpets comes up, sending her knee into spasms and twists that caused her to curse and swear in such colourful language that her students at first thought she was kidding and playing around. It was only until a few seconds later that she really started to scream and point to her knee, that one of them got on her cellphone quickly to call the ambulance.

So the ambulance came, sirens blaring and all, whisked her away to the hospital and now she is in a crotch-to-toe cast, only capable of hopping on her right leg, which is proving to be quite strong I might add. All this happened while I was teaching nearby in the next room!! I don’t know how I could not have heard all the commotion!

The whole thing is quite ironic, as we discussed afterwards, while she was being pampered with people bringing flowers and get well wishes, because Dora (her ex) had broken her ankle in several places just a month ago, and although she has left China, will require about 6 months to heal properly. Ditto for Peta now.

Our declared lesson of the week: Be careful for what you wish for.

We held an adult EF Christmas party on Dec.21 at one of Urumqi’s 5-star hotels. Great food, pretty decent entertainment (magician, Uyghur dancing and singing), and some acts from students and some pretty bad carroling from teachers!

On boxing day we will have the kids xmas party, at the same hotel.. this is going to be quite the mad zoo I’m told, as we have over 200 kids coming to pretty much be babysat. Let the fun and games begin!

Susi and I are have been getting closer these past few days. There were a few tense moments, and I’m sure more to come, as I am entering a new relationship which means I can direct less energy towards our friendship.

I don’t want to hurt her most of all, and Peta too, because the two of them have been my pillar of strength and the ones I’m closest to here. There is a balance, a fine one, to walk.

I am certain we can do it, but that requires open communication, and it took a few days for me to honestly open up to each of them individually.

Of course I want them involved in my life as much as possible and I want to feel that I can talk to them, and vice versa, so here I am attempting to manage some excellent friendships while a relationship is blossoming from the inside.

ok, it's getting on 4:30 am (Beijingtime), I should get some beauty sleep so that I can properly host a party tomorrow evening! It shall be fun. We told everyone to bring a twenty yuan present so we can do a Kris Kringle exchange thing. Youppee!! I love surprises!

ps. thanks wendy for your advice - i have taken off my mailing address. Folks, let me know if you want it via email instead.

fallen

Well, it's been a while since i've last updated... a few brief things that have occurred:
I have received my working visa and my resident card - yay!
But the most recent development is that i've fallen madly in love... more to come later...

happy happy happy!

Guess where i am? sitting in a smoke-filled underground hall with about a hundred computers in north-west Urumqi.

Surrounding me are Chinese young adults and teens utterly absorbed in their virtual world of "O-ICQ" or "MSN" or this popular computer game called "Pow Pow Tang", which from the looks of it, involves a little cartoon bonhomme dressed in a red mousesuit going around and racking up points through this maze-thing. I dunno.

I'm with my VIP student, LiYan, who takes me out every Wednesday on a day trip somewhere in Urumqi. It's a great way to see this local culture that i would not voluntarily do on my own free will.

In any case, this gives me a good chance to update the journal. The week's been full of great moments: went for an overnight trip to Heavenly Lake, clubbing till 6:30 on a MONDAY night, attended a Uyghur wedding on Saturday (see photos), but i must run now. Our time is up here.

Huge snowfall this morning, absolutely gorgeous!