10 Things I Should Have Been Blogging About the Past Month (But I Wasn't)

I have been neglecting my blog

The last time I wrote was May 13, 2012. If my blog were a small child, it would have been taken away by now. Luckily Google is much more forgiving.  In the time that I haven’t wrote many things have happened:

1)   Senior Graduation (May 23)

 'Ingenuity' on the Senior US History Final 

I teach three grade levels: sophomores, juniors and seniors. By the time my Chinese pupils reached their last semester of high school, they have attended school six days-a-week, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., September through July for three years. Needless to say, most were experiencing major cases of "senioritis." Rather than keep them extra time, my school graduated them early.  I started to tear up in my last class a bit which caused one of my students to wonder if they would still see me for their final exams. I assured him that I wasn’t feeling that emotional and that he would still need to take his final exam to pass. On graduation day, I took pictures with several of my students and received a beautiful traditional comb set from a favorite student.

2)   Weekend in Shanghai 

                                                Chinese tourist in Shanghai

This was actually in late April/ early May, but I neglected to add a post. I headed up to Shanghai for the weekend for a job interview and stayed for the weekend. My couch-surfing host gave me a personal tour of the city.  I loved the beauty of Shanghai, especially the scenic French Concession which is where the city derives its moniker ‘Paris of the East.’ The city boasts a large "expat" population, which made hitting a western-style spa and devouring Mexican food a reality! I love Shanghai, and I can’t wait to return someday.

3)   Lost (& Found)

                                

                    Upcycled wallets made from the roofing fabric of the old 
                                           Indianapolis football stadium.


While riding my electric bike, my People for Urban Progress wallet was snatched from me. A somewhat honest individual returned the cards and money (sans upcycled billfold) to the central police station. The police force keeps pretty close tabs on the foreign community and a close foreign friend of mine received a call from the police that night alerting her that my belongings had been turned in. After some confusion, an officer gave me a ride to the central police station where I claimed my cards- sans money & wallet. My wallet was a really cool, upcycled piece of Indianapolis history so I hope that whoever is using it now gets a lot of joy of out it!

4)   Toilet Woes

And I thought I had plumbing problems

Misery loves company, and I was delighted to return home from work one day to discover a neighbor who has more plumbing problems than I have. The offending porcelain fixture was disposed of in typical Chinese fashion of course.

5)   New Beginnings 

I'm a leaving on a jet plane

My academic year ends soon, and I have decided not to renew my contract with my school. I booked a plane ticket and will be heading back to the United States for a month this summer. I have mixed feelings about my departure; when you live in a place for almost a year, it becomes like home. It will be extremely hard to leave the life and relationships that I have created here but I am excited for new opportunities elsewhere. I will never forget my memories or time here.

6)   Toga! Toga! Toga!

Toga-clad partygoers

Several weekends ago, I hosted a toga party and the entire (it seemed like) foreign community of Fuzhou showed up to my apartment in bedsheets and linens. Our local friends joined in as well and a great time was had by all.  Jello shots & battle pong were enjoyed by everyone.

7)   Post-toga dinner party

Zong Zi aka sticky rice

Several days after the toga party, I invited more people over to my house for a pitch in dinner/booze patrol clean up party. A duck, green tea cake, sticky rice (just in time for Dragon Boat Festival) and four family buckets of KFC were consumed.  My apartment has been the perfect size for hosting get-togethers this year and it was great to have the opportunity to spend time with friends before I leave.

8)   Tooth Trauma

Dentist's office room

In the middle of June, my upper tooth started to hurt. It reached a point of pain where, despite my nervousness, I scheduled an appointment for a dentist here in town with Gentle Dentist. Another foreigner in town recommended me to Gentle Dentist. I was extremely impressed with the technology and professionalism of the facility. A business assistant stayed by my side throughout the x-rays and examination, explaining the procedures and translating for me. It was discovered that I needed a root canal and reconstructive work on the tooth. I would feel completely comfortable having the work done in Fuzhou but am waiting to return Stateside for the procedure since it will take several weeks to complete. In the meantime, I am taking antibiotics and feeling a-ok.

9) School Fair (May 28)

A student managing the Animal Club booth offers up a bunny for petting

My school put on an end-of-year fair to showcase the work that the student clubs had been doing throughout the year. Several of my students on the dance team performed on the main stage and two of my students free styled to hip-hop music. One of my girls created an English map of the event for me and I explored all the students and their booths, buying trinkets and treasures to support their clubs. 

10) Dragon Boat Festival Weekend

Japan vs. China 

Every year, Dragon Boat Festival falls on the 5th day of the 5th month according to the Chinese lunar calendar. This year, it happened to be Saturday, June 23rd. We received three days off to watch the dragon boat races and eat zong zi (sticky rice) in honor of the famous poet Qu Yuan, a patriotic Chinese man, who drowned himself out of grief for the pain that he felt over his country. Not a pretty story but the weekend was fun. I received a gift of sticky rice from my friend's family and made a meal out of it. Later, two girlfriends and I headed down to the watch the AVC (Asian Volleyball Confederation) Continental Championships. The winning duo got a direct ticket to the the 2012 London Olympics. Among the teams represented included: Australia, Japan, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and more. It was a great time and we managed to wiggle into VIP to talk to some of the players and more serious fans. 

My time here in Fuzhou is wrapping up but I will try and be more diligent with the blog than I have as of late!