New Year's Day, New Washer, New Baking Student.

We just thought that these "Minion" bikes were hilarious!  

 We started out the new year with a loud bang at midnight and then some students rejoicing and then after about ten minutes, it was quiet so we could go to sleep.  Kayce came over about 9:30 so we could go over some information about Visiting Teaching.  Aaron came about 10:15 and we played lots of fun card games until about noon.  We had decided that we wanted to take them to the little cafe on our campus to try the food (especially the strawberry yogurt smoothies!), so we went there for lunch.

When we were finished, we decided to go and get some Korean sushi across the street, since we were so close, but as soon as we got to the crosswalk, Aaron pointed out that they were closed, so we didn't go and just decided to go back to our apartment and play some more.  After a few more games, we paused for a little bit while Aaron hooked up the DVD player so we could watch a movie.  The DVD player is broken, but Aaron saw a cord that could be used to hook up my computer to the TV, so we did that and watched a movie.

Aaron had to leave about 3 p.m. and Kayce needed to leave about 4, so that left me to finish watching the movie by myself until David came out to watch the last half.  It has been a fun day.

Tuesday began final exams for my students.  David did his first day on Christmas Day because we had New Year's Day off.  It is such a great experience to talk with these young people one-on-one.  I wish we had more than five minutes per interview to talk.  Some are still struggling to get the words out, but most have a lot more confidence to do so than at the beginning of the semester.  It is so rewarding to see and hear of their progress.

During the exam, we let the students ask us a question.  Most are: "Why did you come to China?"  "What city to you like the most?" "Do you like Chinese food?"  That type of question.  One of the students asked me, "Are you Christian?" "What is your religion?"  "What religious experience have you had that means the most to you?"  I was nearly floored by that direct of a question.  I was happy that I felt I knew how to answer these questions without violating the letter I had signed from the Chinese government about not preaching religion to Chinese Nationals.

I have also been asked a lot of premarital advice.  They all think I have a perfect marriage, and they want the same for themselves.  They ask things about finding a boyfriend, how do you know you are in love, and what do you do to make a happy marriage.  I felt more like a family and marriage councilor!  One more title to add to my list...

There was also one other question that really threw me for a loop.  I have sung a few times for my students: a snow song, and some Christmas songs.  This student wanted to hear me sing one more time, so that was her question to me, would I sing for her.  I fumbled around for a few seconds looking through the songs on my phone and finally decided on, "Happy Together" by the Turtles (1970's)  I sang a little bit of it and that made her very happy.  Then the time was up and I had to move on to the next student.

We were invited out to dinner Tuesday evening by a former student of David's from four years ago.  He is working in earnest to try and pass the IELTS test so that he can go to Canada to study there.  We had a nice meal at a restaurant that we haven't been to before.  I think I saw a few jaws drop by workers in the restaurant when we first walked in.  We had a good visit but it was a cold walk to and from the restaurant.

On Friday, Kayce, Deniece and I went to the big market.  Kayce had bought a cool sword there to send home to her son that collects them and wanted to get another one.  We couldn't find it the last time we were there, so we went back to look and shop a bit.  Deniece hadn't been there before, so she came along.  We had lunch at the KFC near my campus and caught the bus we needed to get to the market.

We were riding along, and as we were getting closer to the market, we were looking for familiar signs to show us where to get off.  The bus kept going and going and finally, it pulled into a bus garage and everyone had to get off.  We were NOT at the market!  Now what?!  We saw where a bus stand was, so we walked to it to see what buses stopped there that we might know. Not a ONE of the fifteen numbers of the buses that stopped there even looked familiar!  Now what?!

I called David, and he suggested that I call Eva.  I told her our predicament.  She said to get a taxi, and she would text me the address of the market for us to show to the taxi driver.  It's all well and good when you are Chinese and can easily hail a taxi, but try three Anglo women trying to get a taxi!  The bus stop happened to be right next to a Children's hospital (the sign was in Chinese and English!), and there were taxi drivers and other cars lined up in a special lane to drop people off.  We walked to that lane and stood there looking at the taxis.  One driver rolled down his window and said something to us.  Didn't understand him, but I showed him the text on my phone.  He nodded his head and then the people that were in the taxi got out (they were headed to the hospital) and we got in.  What a relief!  He drove us right to the market area that we were familiar with and let us off.  So grateful for small miracles!

Since we had been there a short time ago, and didn't have success finding the little shop that Kayce wanted the sword at, we were really wondering what to do.  There are two different escalators in the building that you can take down.  One of them goes down one flight, another one goes down two flights.  We had taken the one that goes down two flights before, not realizing what a difference an escalator can make, and didn't find the shop.  This time, we took the escalator that only goes down, one flight then turned to our left, and there was the shop right before us!  We just amazed ourselves with the marvelous things we had done that afternoon.  We made it home without any more problems.

We tutored Jen, the fourteen year old that is going to Canada on Thursday, and then they asked if we could do another lesson on Saturday.  We didn't have any other plans for Saturday, so we said, "Yes." We decided that one thing to do with her would be to make some cookies.  When we told Jen that is what we planned to do, she was very excited.  I showed her how to mix the cookies, and then she took over. She stayed with it and did most of it.  She hasn't even stepped inside a kitchen that I know of except to get some food to eat.  We had so much fun!  Getting her to talk is quite a hard problem.  Chinese students are not taught to ask questions, so we are trying to teach her that.  I assume that Canadian students are taught a lot like U.S. students in that they are allowed and encouraged to ask questions.  So we asked questions and kept trying to get her to ask some questions. At the end of the time, I was in the kitchen taking the last batch out of the oven and started to bag some cookies.  She came in the kitchen then and asked if she could take some cookies home.  When I told her that I was getting some for her Jen was pleased and excited.  A post that she put out on WeChat later for her friends said, "Well, now I'm a person who makes cookies... and I'm really good at it!"

The clothes washer had totally broken down and the manager of our apartment complex had said that they would get us a new washer in February and that they would send someone to repair this one until that came. We had to wring out the clothes by hand last time, so I kept putting off washing clothes until they repaired it.  When no one came by Wednesday, I emailed them to ask when someone would be coming to repair it.  No answer.  Finally on Thursday afternoon, when no one had come again, I emailed again and told them that I was not capable of washing and wringing out the clothes without a washer because of the arthritis in my wrist and hands, would they please send someone to repair it.

My new clothes washer!  Something to get excited about, right?!  The guy who installed it spoke no English, and we wouldn't have understood his Chinese, so he showed me how to do it and then left.  When I went to try to start it later, I kept getting an error message.  I was asking a friend that reads some Chinese to help me, but then I put the lid down, and it worked!

The next day, I got an email from the manager that they were sending someone out to buy a new washer and that it would be here on Monday.  Well, it came on Saturday!!  I was so excited!!  Clean clothes again!!  We did a batch of laundry that evening.

Earlier we had made a plan to go to a fun mall area of Jinan that Eva has told us about several times.  We met her there after the washer was in.  We stopped at a few shops and got some snacks.  Some were better than others, especially a little cheese tart.  We stopped in to a little Chinese craft store and had fun looking at all the things there.  We bought several things and had fun looking at it all.  Later we stopped at a restaurant and had some supper.  In the restaurant, you are given a metal bowl and you have lots of veggies and meats to choose from to put in the bowl.  I really wasn't feeling that hungry so I put what I thought David and I would eat in a bowl and then went to weigh it.  The guy at the counter said I didn't have enough, so I had to go back and put some more in.  Then they cook what was in the bowl, make a crepe-like pancake, roll it up with the veggies and meat inside, cut it in half, and then serve it to you on a tray.  I was sure glad that David and I were sharing this.  Eva made him eat half of her sandwich, so we had some to take home, because there was no way to finish eating all of that!  It was a fun evening.

These cute little bunny seats and tables were scattered through the mall area.

Looking over the Chinese crafts.

The guy wanted David to buy his BBQ, but David only wanted to warm his hands.

David the shark!  Eva refers to us as American Sharks, so it was funny to find this in the mall area, and of course David had to have his picture taken in it!

They tried to pattern this area to look like an old Chinese market would have looked like.  It has a lot of places to eat and some places to shop.

The sign at the entrance of the mall says something about toleration for neighbors.  Eva told us of the story of two neighbors that were squabbling over some land.  One man had a relative that was a high man in the government.  He wrote to his relative, and the relative wrote back that what was more important were good feelings between neighbors.  Sharing the land, even just a few inches would do more to bring peace and harmony.