Home-made spaghetti

I made home-made spaghetti tonight! I brought boxes of Kraft Italian Spaghetti Dinner with me. Although I did not find tomato sauce or paste while I was out today; I did find some tomato juice so I bought that. I came home and cut up some onion, garlic, and some fresh tomatoes and sautéed them in the wok and then added the spice from the Kraft dinner and the tomato juice. While this was cooking, I fixed the spaghetti noodles and. . . home-made spaghetti! I also brewed tea so I had sweet ice tea with my spaghetti! Now if I could just figure out which green veggies I could eat raw for a salad!  

My liaison just came by to check the light in my bedroom and saw what I was eating. She said, "Is that what you are eating for supper?" I said yes. She said, "I will have to teach you how to cook Chinese food." LOL I said, "Yes, thank you. That would be good."

That is what I get for being proud of my self.

Moved in!

Finished orientation!  Learned more about lesson planning from this TEFL training than I learned during my BA.  So sad.  Anyway, taught 5 lessons this past week and it was great.  Left Changsha Thursday with my liaison, Mrs. Zeng.  We completed almost all the paper work for my residence visa and work permit before leaving Changsha.  Tried to open my Chinese bank account but they needed my passport which is still with the police for my residence visa and work permit.  Stopped at a supermarket and I bought some food for my apartment, some detergent, and some towels.  Reached my school, TianJiBing, around 3pm.

The apartment was just built earlier this year so is very nice.  Large open area with kitchen and living room, washer and clothes rod.  Bath with western toilet but open shower, small bed room with single bed and desk, and bigger bedroom with air/heating unit.  Very, very nice.  Bed is hard as a rock though! I will have to go see about getting some sort of foam or something if I want to sleep this year!!  LOL

I bought frozen dumplings at the store yesterday so I fixed dumpling for lunch.  For supper tonight I cut up some pork I bought and stir fried it and onions.  You can steam veggies in the rice cooker too, so I put in my rice and water then put the steamer on top and cut up cabbage in it.  So when the rice finished cooking the cabbage was done too.  So I had stir fried pork/onions, rice, and steamed cabbage for supper.  I had mixed some vinegar/soy sauce/garlic stuff for my dumplings so I pored what was left of that on my stuff at supper.  It was good and I have enough for at least one more meal.

Today my liaison brought me a cell phone to use while I am here.  She had sent some of the students over to show me around but I did not hear them knock.  I don't know what time they came.  She is going to have them come back in the morning.  They will show me around school and then take me to town on the bus I think.   Also, the Internet plug end is too big to go into my computer so I am on someone's wireless that goes in and out.  She said she would try to get the computer person to come fix it for me.  With all I have to do this year on-line, I truly hope we can get it fixed.  She also brought me the English books they used last year and the new ones for this year so I could look at them.  I don't have to follow them but it will be good to know what the students are learning in their regular English class.  I don't have a schedule yet but she said I would have Senior 1's.  Of course that is not written in stone even after I start teaching.  The only thing for sure, is there is nothing for sure.  I originally thought school started the first Monday in September but she said she thought it was September 1.  I will ask the students when they come.

As I said before, this city is the fireworks capital of China, so I got to see fireworks last night.  Of course they didn't set them off one at a time but in a bunch.  I guess for testing.

Until next time...

Karaoke and belly dancing in the park

Today was the second time I have been to a park close to my hotel to walk.  Got there about 8:20am and you would have thought it was Saturday instead of Wednesday because the place was full of people!  There were many groups practicing different kinds of dance: ballroom dancing, Tai Chi, Salsa dancing, and yes even Belly dancing!  I saw several places where groups of people had what looked like sheets of music and a music stand like you might have for karaoke.  Was it karaoke?  I don't know.  If not, then how did they become part of the group and what were they practicing and why?  Could I join the belly dancers (I want my own spangles) or the Tai Chi groups? Not enough Chinese yet to ask. I wonder if I will find some of these groups close to my school?

Our group of volunteers are going to climb a mountain this afternoon.  It is our day off and we don't have to do this so I am NOT going!  LOL  They aren't really 'climbing' the mountain, but walking on paved trails up the mountain.  Still, it is supposed to be about an hour and a half walk and it is VERY hot today.  I am not in good enough shape for this so I am going to Wal Mart.  Yes you read correctly.  There are three or four Wal Marts in Changsha!!  Wish I had a camera to take pictures.  Oh well....  I will let you know what it is like.

Until later...

4 day in

I have been in Changsha 4 days now.  The weather is not as hot as normal but there is still enough humidity to make me sweat when I am out and about.  I let my Father know that I would like for it to stay this way!  I got here a day ahead of the group which gave me extra time to sleep.  That really helped me to acclimate!

The food is very spicy; therefore, I have not been able to eat everything served to us.  We eat lunch at a retired teacher's house each day for lunch and the food is very good and not many spicy dishes.  Last night the restaurant served us what we though might be duck eggs.  The white part was a beet juice red and had a jello consistency;  the white was a greenish black.  Of course there was peppers on the plate too so I already knew I wasn't trying them; however, several of my group did.  After a couple had tried them,  the field director came by and told us they were old eggs buried and preserved somehow.  Thank goodness for the peppers!!!  Some of the others still tried them, but at my age I have nothing to prove!  I bought my own breakfast of noodles yesterday and even managed to tell her I did not want spicy meat!  Yea!  I am going to try to buy dumplings this morning.

I start my Chinese lessons today.  Everyone ask my Father for encouragement and help leaning this difficult language.

Time to go.  See you later.