Adventures in Guangzhou!

So on the most concrete level, a couple of my friends here are applying to graduate school (thank *god* I'm done with that... for now, anyway). They have all been extremely worried about the process and I have done my best to help them out. After much toil and tribulation, I have two friends who are done and one who is still working at it. Okay so that's 2-1 but you get the idea.

Lately I have been playing like crap on the soccer field. I mean just embarassingly bad. I think I'm just in a rut but it's humiliating. I feel like everyone else on the team has been looking over at me thinking, "what's with this guy??" On the other end of the spectrum, I feel like NBA material on the basketball court. I've been playing really well and the other guys have noticed. I've started shooting a lot more, throwing ridiculous around-the-back passes, and rebounding like Dennis Rodman. It's fun!

Meanwhile, one of my Chinese tutors is completely m.i.a. She left for Hong Kong about three weeks ago now and I haven't heard from her. It was only supposed to be a quick 5 day trip so I'm a bit concerned. For all I know, she eloped or something and is never coming back. The weird thing is that I don't even know her last name or have anything other than a cell phone number for her. I would have NO idea how to track her down if she were in trouble. The upside is that I've saved a bunch of money by not having lessons and was thus able to buy my oven... which is great! I cooked some backed chicken last week with carrots, celery, onions, and mushrooms last week. Yum! I also made garlic bread which is always a plus. Garlic really does make everything better. Am I wrong?

In terms of teaching, we're getting towards the end of the semester which means the students are getting more stressed and that we as teachers have more work to do. I haven't officially written my exam yet but I know my kids are dying to know the format. Boy, I can barely remember high school finals. They seem like ages ago! Anyhow, even though I have a lot more work this time of year, the students have made it worth it. A bunch of students, both mine and Steven's, have invited us out to have meals with their families which is great.

On Saturday Steven and I had lunch with "Bonic," one of Steven's kids who also happens to be on the school badminton team. We went back to his home by Baiyun Mountain and watched some videos of his badminton matches. Very cool! I thought we were going to have a home-cooked meal but instead we went out to a traditional Guangzhou restaurant with amazing Cantonese cuisine. I tried mini water snake, pig's lung, and some other really tasty dishes. We literally ate for almost three hours, which is my kind of meal! Bonic's mother, in true motherly fashion, kept filling up my plate and telling me to eat more. It was genius.

After the meal we went and "hiked" Baiyun mountain which took all of about 15 minutes. It's more like a hill than anything else, but it gives a really cool view of the city which I appreciated. So yeah, we've got another few meals planned with various students and their families. In a selfish way, I'm hoping that the news spreads and that other families invite us out as well. Besides the obvious benefit of an amazing meal, it's great to get to know the students on another level and to meet their parents, see where they live, and learn about their history.