The last two days here have been very exciting! We have started teaching english to the students at the college. We have the same students only once a week for 90 minutes, so we have 9 different classes. We teach the same lesson to each class so we have lots of opportunities to refine it and make it a good lesson. This first week we are practicing having them introduce themselves and share about their favorite food, sport, etc. Then, we have them write their English names on the board and it gives us a chance to learn their names and ask them why they chose that particular name. We have heard some very interesting names: Berlinda, Spring, Green, Rice, Dumpling, Esan, Johnson, Carlos, CoCo, Silence and many more. They all have a very neat reason for choosing their name and they are able to share why they chose it. Most of the students are very eager to learn English, they even give us applause when we walk in the class and at the end of the class, so that is very encouraging. We are enjoying teaching so far, to say the least. They are all very interested in American customs and holidays and how to make lots of money. Initially, Kealy and I both had an evening class once a week but they changed our schedule so now we don't have any evening classes. I have to teach on Fridays now but that is still good.
Because we had this evening free, we were invited to make dumplings with Celia, Joe and Amy, a very kind family that is in the same apartment complex. Celia is the school administrator and is the one that did such a great job decorating our apartment that we like so much.
This is a picture of us making the dumplings this evening. We put the mix in the dumpling and then fold them up and boil them in water for only two minutes. Then they are ready to eat.
This is Amy, one of our new friends! She is five years old and loves to come over and play. We play with the dice and practice counting the numbers in english and chinese. she speaks very good english for her age and is a lot of fun!
Also, last night, we had a chance to see Kathy, the woman who we met at Western Oregon which introduced us to the college and helped us work out the details of coming here. She is studying in Hong Kong, but her mother is the president of the college here in Nanning so she was visiting her family for the holiday that they just had, which was a kind of halloween. She is very kind and her and Kealy get along very well. She took us to a 'Western Style Restaurant' in Nanning. You can check out the food blog for a picture of the great pepper steak that I had. It was very good to see her.
We like living here at the middle school very much and we are meeting so many wonderful people. But with every friend we make we think of all of you that we miss so much and we are thankful that we can stay in contact with you.
Now...the moment some of you have been waiting for. Kealy's dresses arrived today and they are so beautiful. She looks fantastic in both of them and they are authentic Chinese dresses, tailor made for a cost of 60 Yuan, about $8! She wore one out tonight as we explored the city with Joe, Celia and Amy and went to Five Elephant Square. The pictures turned out okay. We are going to go back during the day and take more pictures of the fountain but Nanning is so beautiful at night. There are many lights and wonderful colors and a lot of people come out at night because it is cooler. There have been thunderstorms and a little rain with wind the last couple of days here so that has been exciting to see the heat lighting. I have been telling my students that my family name means 'son of thunder and lightning' and they think that is pretty cool. Here are some pics of my beautiful wife in her new dresses:
The dresses turned out wonderful and I wouldn't be surprised if she asked me to buy her some more! Which she know I will, especially for $8!
We are having a good week and learning to adjust to a new schedule, a very nice schedule which we enjoy. We love being here at the middle school and meeting new friends and spending time together. We also like the 2.5 hour lunch break in the middle of the day to eat and 'have a rest' or take a nap. We will keep you posted on fun and new things that we are experiencing. Tomorrow we are going to do some cooking on our own, so check out the food blog in the next couple of days and we'll let you know how it goes.
Sincerely,
Ryan and Kealy Thorson
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