week one in the bag

just finished my first week of the new term at yangzhong experimental primary school.

it's actually pretty crazy. i only have 10 classes this term. 10 forty minute classes. and only 5 are actual classes- the other 5 are entertainment/english culture classes. meaning i am SUPPOSED to play movies, music, read books and show photo slide shows. two of the classes are for the kids that board at school during the week and 3 are mixed classes, composed of the kids in each grade with the best English, as a reward for their skills and a way for them to learn a little bit through the media.

not really sure why i have so few classes... especially since i make more money than i did last spring. doesn't really make sense.

so you may ask, cait, what do you do the rest of the week (asides from the 7 hours you teach!).... let's see... this week i watched grizzly man, snatch, shooting dogs and season 7 of friends, along with various other flicks. and i ate out with friends 8 times and made salsa and embroidered my sampler and listened to countless podcasts and started applying to grad school. i'm doing ok, but i know i am going to be ready to bang my head against the wall pretty soon.

i have also officially been adopted by my friend Angela and her mom. Angela is my age and teaches at my school. her dad died earlier this summer, after a long illness, which has caused her and her mum to get an apartment near my school (they used to live about 20 minutes away). this is very cool because her mum is sweet and gives me hugs and loves to feed me, and also with this arrangement, Angela's English gets better daily, as does my Chinese. their new neighbors are a student in grade 6 at my school (his new English name is Sam) and his parents. Sam's dad works in Nanjing (3 hours away)though, so he and his mum are alone during the week, and they have been joining us in our meals. it's very fun to have new friends and someone that buys my favorite veggies and a place to hang out. angela's mum is still pretty sad about her husband, but hopefully this spices up her day. i can't imagine being a widow at 44.

otherwise, all is well.

oh- and if anyone has any internet-based jobs to be done, let me know... i have ridiculous amounts of free time...