Day 73 Train Tickets and Chinese Hot Dogs

Day 73

Gilbert picked us up and drove us to the school for the children that we are teaching English to.  Everything went pretty well today.  David did the “I Like to Eat Apples and Bananas” song to them and they all loved it.  Steven, one of the boys, left the class singing the “ooples and boonoonoos” part.  We actually had 6 children there for a while.  One boy was in and out a bit, but he seemed to like it. 

After the school, Gilbert drove us around and tried to help us get our train tickets for our Thursday trip to Beijing.  The first two places couldn’t do it without the confirmation number and we hadn’t thought to bring that with us.  After they bought us lunch, hot dogs Chinese style, we dropped David off so that he could go teach his classes, and then Gilbert drove us to the nearest place to get tickets.  It turned out it was just barely off the campus.  His wife, Lulu, and Zinia ran in to get the tickets for me.  They were concerned that I not get out in the rain and also that I was limping a little from the blister on my foot. 

The Chinese style hot dogs were about a foot long bun with lots of lettuce, sauce and two long sausages down the middle.  It was a lot to eat.  Unfortunately, they also bought us cokes.  I have had more coke here in China than I ever did in the States.  I still don’t think I will ever acquire a taste for it.  I just don’t like the way it smells.  Anyway, I will not say anything when they just order it for us like that. 

When they got back in the car from getting the tickets, Gilbert asked if he could see our passports.  He hadn’t ever seen an American passport before and they were looking at the pictures that were on it.  On the inside front cover is a drawing of Francis Scott Key standing near the railing of a ship and watching Fort McHenry in the distance and the words written at the top of the page are a couple of lines from the Star Spangled Banner.  He wanted to know what they said, so I told him the words and said where it was from.  Then I sang those two lines for them.  They seemed impressed by it.

Gilbert is truly an entrepreneur at heart.  He wants to be involved in this business and others.  He would like to do something that would have him working with foreigners in China and out of China.  It seems like every week, he talks about a new idea and wonders from us what we think of it.  He is very particular in his speech and wants to speak very correctly and he works with those children to help them get the correct pronunciation.  He checks with us if he is saying it correctly first. 

They dropped me off at home and David went off to teach his class.  He is doing makeup class today for the two Friday classes that he needed to rearrange for our trip to Beijing.  It went really well for him.  The students are responsive and they love the way he teaches them.  They get something from him that the Chinese English speaking teachers can’t give them and they just seem to eat up everything he gives them.  One young man, Benny, had to quit coming to his class because they wanted him to take a different English class.  Benny is not happy because he just doesn’t feel that they are giving him what he needs so he wants to see if he can’t fit in a time where he can come to David’s class.

I made pan of persimmon bars this evening.  YUM!!!  That recipe is a keeper and I will hope that I can occasionally find good persimmons when we get back to Utah.  I also made a double batch of granola for David.  Hopefully it will keep him supplied for a few months. 

As I was walking to class the other day, a teacher friend, JIN Li, was taking pictures of the fall leaves and she took this one of me and sent it to me.  The leaves of the Ginko trees are turning beautiful colors now.

This group of girls came over one day for a "monitors meeting" with David and wanted their picture taken with him.  They love to do the peace sign.  I'm not sure if the ones behind David's head are intentional or not.  They do some things like this innocently sometimes, but maybe not.