The First Day

The students are here! They arrived yesterday, so we greeted them, helped them move in, and interviewed them to place them in classes according to their English speaking level. They are such sweet people. They really want to talk to us all the time. They say really funny things in what we call Chinglish (Chinese and English put together). Yesterday, when one of the ladies asked me about my curly hair, she said, "How do you make your hair?"! I have no worries about blending in, I am about a head or more taller than them. They want to tell all the American girls how beautiful they are. So far, the average guess of how old I am is 17! I guess I look young to them. Then...they always want me to guess how old they are. That's just asking for trouble :) Before they come to our program, they must have already chosen an English name. It can be really funny to hear the names that they've chosen. They don't really seem to care if it's a name or not, they just look through the dictionary and pick a word that they like. Here are some of the names I have heard: Desk, Chairman, Champion, Okay, Lucky, Peace...and then there are those who make up their own, like Donolamden. So funny! Last night I went to their dorms to chat with them before bed. They are so receptive. When you go to their room they want to feed you, and have you sit down and talk. One lady had asked me about my family. I told her about my family, and she said, "You seem very happy." I asked her if she was happy, and she said, "Well, not really. I have a typical Chinese family." She said her husband works all the time.
One more funny thing is that I was eating yogurt for breakfast yesterday, and a Chinese girl I was eating with said that I should eat yogurt everyday because it will make my face very beautiful. I couldn't help but laugh about that one!
Today I will meet my class! My teaching partner has an infection, and had to go to the hospital yesterday, so I'm not sure if she will be well enough to teach with me today.

Yesterday I heard that there were some riots in China, but they were not in Beijing, and were far away. It was something about a minority group in the west protesting. I am not sure, but we are not supposed to talk to students about it because it could be a touchy subject.