The Infinite Game of Uno...

Today started out like any other day. I got up at the crack of dawn - 6 a.m. I hate getting up early on Saturday. As foreignors, we are considered foreign experts. Because of this fact, people want us to make special appearances, teach at elementary schools in our free time, and tutor children. Teaching at an elementary school was the event du jour.

I, along with some of my friends, went to an elementary school with no preparation. I walked in and they handed me a book. I was supposed to come up with a 45 lesson plan in 10 minutes. Needless to say, I winged all 3 classes they had me teach. Did I tell you I was teaching elementary today? Do you remember the last time I tought elementary kids? I made many of the students cry. 1st graders are not my specialty. Luckily, today I was assigned to teach several grades - it was mostly colors, numbers, and directions, not reading. I had fun. It was draining though. I am not an expert elementary teaching. I am only an expert English speaker - that fact seems to mean that I am an expert teaching. I wish sometimes people would just sit down and think about their assumptions/beliefs sometimes. I shall not complain -500 yuan for 4 hours of my Saturday was worth it. I think I will do it next week.

After returning home, Brad and I joined Travis and the Kung Fu 4 for shopping. The KF4 are Chinese students who are now are really good friends. We all went shopping for food today so that we Americans could learn how to cook Chinese food. I watched and learned how to cook rice in a rice cooker, eggplant, peanuts, pumpkin, and dumplings. Most of it was easy. I have 2 choices when I want to cook food - steam it or stir fry it. It is so simple. The only thing that is difficult is seasonings and preparations. There is a lot of washing and cutting. I suppose it is worth it. Dinner was fabulous. The KF4 created a wonderful meal which 7 of us sat down and ate together. Then we played a marvelous game of Uno. It took 1 hour and 4 reshufflings of the deck to finish one round. This was a time that tried men's souls.

Well, I know how to cook a variety of Chinese dishes now. Maybe I will get the chance to cook for you in the future.

On to bigger and better things now - Disc 2 of the West Wing.