A little on my apartment and my schedule

I'm back in China. Sorry for the long delay of blog update, I've been trying to unpack and organize and show people restaurants. Along with meetings and planning and things, it's been rather busy. 

(You know what I forgot to bring? Light up hair. Dang.)

We live in a hotel, the five foreign teachers. It's quite nice, especially when someone is down the hall rather than down the stairs and across a sidewalk feeling. And the rooms are big enough and separate enough that it feels like an apartment. There is glass to separate the kitchen from the rest of the living area, so light gets through, which is a big plus. I'm still not so keen on opening my curtains, but that will pass soon enough, I think. 

I wish the internet cable was in the living room, not the bedroom. It's weird having a workplace where your bed is, and I'm going to see if I can't create a little wireless router. I'd rather the bedroom be full of cozy and music, and the living room be a place of business/entertainment. That'd be my ideal anyway. We have two cabinets instead of a closet, both 7 feet high. However, one of them is divided in half by one shelf only, making it a strange idea as to what you would use the space for, and the other has a hanger rod, and four hangers. Since the shower rod I had brought did not fit the shower (it was a foot too short, my memory was off), I placed it in the cabinet and now I have two places to hang clothes. I'm glad I do!

I'm still working on cleaning the living room, but the bathroom and bedroom are mostly clean now. I've acquired many items from Ben, which have been hit or miss. I'll give you a list: 

1. Open shampoo bottle (it spilled)

2. Half a plate

3. Unwashed knife

4. Open bottle of imitation vanilla (it spilled)

5. Packets of ranch dressing (3)

6. Leveler

7. Spatulas

8. Spices, like Italian seasoning or Taco seasoning

9. Christmas lights

10. Cutting Board

11. Pocket Dictionary

You get the idea. I have a feeling stuff just got thrown in at the end, which made finding it rather fun (Ben, what do I do with half a plate?), and I can't blame Ben for that. He left a lot of useful stuff, so thank you, Ben.

Since the new students are moving in, traffic is crazy. I'm halting going to the grocery store until Monday, when I can shop with maybe 200 people instead of 700 people, get eggs in a timely manner, get meat, get rice (I have a rice cooker!), and get vegatables. The problem with buying in bulk is that I must carry in bulk. Sometimes it seems easier to go twice a week instead. 

I also need to get shampoo and conditioner. I have my tiny travel bottles for now, but I'd like to save those if I should travel again. I did pick up detergent, so I'm doing some much-needed laundry. Hurray! Then I will have to use my drying tree, and that will be highly interesting. 

Concerning classes, once again I don't have Mondays. It is a great mercy. And I have the same course, 8 times a week. That means I'll have to teach the same thing 8 times. It'll be... interesting. Easy/boring. But I'll also have to have two finals. And I know this is a year-long course, so I'm prepared for most of the year. I've switched up some of the shows I had students watch, because last year I showed different shows to different students, and now some groups will watch the same thing twice! That would be just as boring for them as it would be for me. So. 

Tuesday and Thursday afternoons I have free- Wednesday I have three classes, 8-10, 3-5, 5-7. Friday I have I have three classes- 8-10, 10-12, 3-5. Two of the rooms I teach in are sad rooms that I do not like- they have poor projectors and sound, and the curtains let the light in. Others are great- the curtains work, each student has their own monitor, and generally, things are hunky-dory. Three classes are better than four in a day, though part of me wishes Tuesday and Thursday would combine so I could have two days instead of one in the weekday. Ah well. I think once I get my scripts done, I'll be all right with the class. I'll have plenty of time for a final, and plenty of time to do quizzes. It'll work out well. 

Overall, I look forward to it! I'm far less nervous about this semester, but the teachers are quite nervous. I remember this feeling. It's legitimate feeling, because things are scary and you have no idea what to expect. Nobody's taught them how to teach. Nobody's told them how to make lesson plans. It's all guesswork, all sink or swim. 

I think they'll swim. :)