Sorry to have skipped the blog last night -- just too tired to get on the computer. These are the last photos from our trip. On the last day we visited a historic fortification near our hotel...just briefly, so I didn't pick up much in terms of information...but in front of it were statues of each of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, and Thomas took a "portrait" of each one, including these of the rat (his animal -- based on the year of birth) and the snakes of the family (Michael and Helen).
Amazingly enough, there was very little traffic back o Xi'an and we got back several hours earlier than expected. We really enjoyed the company of the people on the trip, our friends of course, but also the Chinese staff and their families. One of the women was quite friendly and we had a long talk about family size in China and the one child policy. We have noticed several 2 child families in Xiamen, and she confirmed that while the policy is strictly enforced in some provinces...where the mother would likely lose her job if she violated the rule...in other places the family might just pay a fine and have no other consequence. Many people we have met can not imagine having three children, and a few have even made negative comments about how we can do a good job with so many children.
So that ends the story of our vacation. Now we have been back to work and school and regular routines for a few days. The weather has cooled just a bit and is really fantastic -- low 80s and clear, breezy weather -- and so good to be back in the sun now that it is not so humid. In the mornings at 7 am when I am at Tai chi, it is even a little chilly :)
Yesterday I had an interview for a position helping in an English training center for children. An English professor at Xiada interviewed me along with the center director. The professor developed the method of teaching English using stories such as the 3 little pigs, gradually over time increasing the ratio of English to Chinese in the stories. He was very interested in my background in play therapy and we spoke at length. I am excited to be making a professional connection, although the work itself will be fairly simple..I will be coming in some of the more advanced classes who are ready to interact with a native speaker on a periodic basis. I think it will only be a few hours per week at most, usually in the evenings or on Saturday. They agreed to be flexible based on my needs to travel, be with the kids, etc., so I decided, why not? It will be fun to get to know some kids, and the groups are small, only 10 students. I am starting next week.
I also had my second English lesson with Helen's class -- it was such good advice to do this! I am able to see how the children interact with Helen and each other, and also admire the patience of the teachers. I see how Helen's lead teacher is really very good, firm yet fun person and very patient with Helen and me -- she is the one person's whose Chinese I can most often understand -- she speaks very slowly and clearly, and I think she is teaching Helen a lot of words. Yesterday I was teaching the children "I want...an apple..please" and had also brought a banana and juice and they all took turns. The boys are eager to come up and try but the girls have to be cajoled. Michael suggested the song "If you're happy and you know it" and it was a huge hit. Today Helen has a play date after school with her friend Rouen whose picture I posted a few weeks ago, and Thomas is stying late for the film club at school -- so if it feels like we are busy, I guess its true!
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