jINhua: The Countdown...

Well Hey There!

After the fireworks had gone off, I literally
almost ran into them as I was walking in the street!

I know it has been some time since my last blog, but in all honesty not much has been happening. After Beijing and Shanghai I spent two weeks in Jinhua just taking in the city. Chinese New Year- to sum it up - LOUD. Fireworks everywhere, with no regard for safety! I have to wonder how many burn accidents happen on this holiday. If we were being bombed, I would have had no idea.

As for travel over the Chinese New Year - It was Awesome. Jinhua was SUPER quiet for at least seven of the fourteen days. Busses still ran, and surprising - Wal Mart was open - and any other big chain. All the local stores and shops which provide the BEST food were on holiday - and good for them! They work their butts off for the rest of the year, for pennies. I am glad I stayed here over the holiday to see what it was all about, but would I do it again? NO WAY!! ;).

This corner is usually INSANE!!!

We started back to school last week, hard to get into the groove after having four weeks off! I know I should really appreciate how lucky I am to have so many holidays, but it makes it really hard to get back to work in the middle of a semester - and the students - getting them motivated is even harder!

I decided to stop pushing against the grain. Like when I put the students of the same ability into groups, I have decided in the spirit of talking about gender stereotypes - to put the students in the same gender groups. I have pushed against this idea for six months of being here, but to be honest, these students open up so much more when they are paired with the same gender - they are more comfortable to talk, be open and be honest. So one more experiment by Ms. Killens! I will keep you posted on how this turns out!

Dress up for Chinese New Year

I have been thinking a lot about the next four months. That is all I have left - four months - and although right now it feels like an eternity, I know that it will go quickly. I have been left with the task of trying to figure out how to enjoy my time here - and forget that in four months I will be back home. Because I know, that when I return home I will have wished that I had spent this time enjoying China, taking in whatever I can, and living in the moment.

There are many things here that are great - but there are things that really really tick me off! Like getting pushed in the street every day. Nobody even notices when they push you - they just push and keep on walking with no regard for politeness. Spitting. So much spitting. Like, so much. Grown adults peeing in the street, in the main downtown, with no cares that people can see them. Garbage! People throwing their garbage everywhere, there are street cleaners who work their butts off out there, and people just keep dumping garbage everywhere. (yes I realize it creates jobs...). Turning crops and farm land into high rises. It seems every day here farmers are loosing their precious land to more apartment buildings - who cares about the environment, burn garbage, burn anything and everything! It really starts to bother me when I think about the world as a whole. There is so much pollution and disregard for the Earth here that I don't see how they would ever go back to a time where the air is clean to breathe - and it is affecting the entire world!

I have met some wonderful people here - people who have made this time in China a little more exciting. The problem is, there isn't much to do outside of drinking. I spend a lot of time alone, lesson planning, trying to keep up with friends, but sometimes you just run out of things to do. When I think about staying another year, the only plus I come up with is money and the students. The money is just too good - and my debt is just too high not to come back. I have done a lot of cool jobs, lived in some very awesome places, and experienced so much! I have never done any job that didn't make me happy just for money - but sometimes I guess you just have to sacrifice in order to get ahead? One more year isn't so long....

New Friends - The Red House

Dress up!

Street Food! YUMMMM

Jinhua street during the Chinese New Year! Where is everyone?!

Dragon - Chinese New Year

Late night street food...

What it looks like for late night street food..

So clean.

Even better! (I guess this is why people pee outside right?)

My new fake Michael Kors Watch!! Eight dollars for both! YEOW!!!

This is a picture that my students drew of what my watch will look like in six months! Haha..Note the numbers have fallen off, the band is broken and the diamonds are no longer in the right spots.