Day Two: Wednesday

Yesterday did not go according to planned. Nothing went wrong, but very little that was scheduled to happen actually happened when it was supposed to.

Summer came and got me at about nine~ish. We walked to the bus stop and rode it to another one of the schools. She showed me how to take the bus there on my own, but so far I haven't gone anywhere on my own. The first time I do go solo is bound to be interesting. I think it will take another week before I know where everything is in relation to everything else.

We took the bus to one of the schools, and I got to sit in the back and watch how one of the English lessons are given. It seems pretty easy, but as of yet, I'm not the one giving them. After watching two different classes, we went to the first school from the day before. There I watched Grahme give a class. He's one of the foreign teachers who's been here for a while. From what I can tell of his schedule, mine will be pretty crazy as well. Kid Castle seems to be a bit low on foreign teachers right now, so I may end up teaching more classes than I expected.

Once he was done with his morning classes we walked back to our apartments. I got to go up to his and meet his roommate Chris and Chris's girlfriend Jennifer. After a bit of chit-chat Grahme went with my to the Lotus Supercenter and helped me get a few more things that I hadn't thought of earlier. There are still some things I need to get today.

At about 3:00 we started walking to one of the schools so I could shadow some of Grahmes afternoon classes. We ran into some of the other teachers from Kid Castle on the way, and they told him that he didn't have any classes then because there was a Halloween party for the kids that evening. So we ended up walking back to our apartments. Oh well. It gave me more time to unpack and clean up the apartment.

We left for the school again at about 6:00, this time with Chris. The party was entertaining enough. Not so much party as I would expect though. Mostly it was just a bunch of learning games with a Halloween theme. For most of it the three of us just sat in the teachers lounge and they told me what to expect in some cases, and some tips for teaching and getting along with the rest of Kid Castle.

When we left the party, Chris headed back to his apartment to cook his dinner, while Grahme and I went to the Village to eat. The Village is what the expat teachers here call one of the local side alley marketplaces. I had caught a glimpse of it earlier, but this was my first chance to go into it. It's everything I expected and more. Along the main city streets I had notice some people glancing at me, but in the Village, two tall white guys are like the main attraction in a three ring circus. We ate at a nice little noodle place, and got our meals for a total of 15 yuan. That's about a dollar per person. That's also including the pop Grahme bought us from a different vendor. While he was getting the drinks I had my first experience with a Chinese person randomly coming up to talk to me. He didn't speak any English though, so I think it was mostly for the amusement of him and his friends than an actual attempt to converse. They were very friendly though, so aside from being awkward, it was entertaining for me too.

I woke up at about seven, and was running around doing things till about nine at night. By the time I got home I was to tired to do anything but fall into bed. I'm quickly getting over the jet lag. Aside from getting tired a bit earlier, I haven't had any real effects from it.

Things I Noticed on Wednesday:
1. I saw people burning fame money along the rods in some places. I remember hearing that they do it for good luck when they open a business, but there were little piles of ash all over the place last night. Anyone know what they're doing it for?
2. There was something that resembled a pizza at Lotus. It had corn on it. What is it with Chinese people and corn?
3. Grahme helped me find cereal. I think it's German. It wasn't very good. I probably shouldn't have bought two boxes. Dang. I'll finish them either way, but I'll probably try another kind next time I buy.
4. Drank some Jujube milk. It tastes like something I've had before, but I still can't think of what it is. It tasted fine at first, but after the first couple sips, it was just kind of nasty. Grahme seemed to like it fine, so maybe I'm just weird.
5. I want a map of Xi'an. I'm sure I could find my way around easier if I had a map in my room to look at.

Summer just called. We're going to Jin Yuan today. I have no idea what I'll be doing there so today will probably be as varied as yesterday.