While most colleges in the States are finishing this weekend, my semester over here is not finished yet, but the end is rapidly approaching. At least that's what I keep telling myself. I have five more weeks of teaching, one week of review, and then the final exam on June 23. But, as the semester winds down, the pace speeds up. These next six weeks will be a busy sprint to the finish line.
First, let me share with you a little from my trip to Beijing. The week holiday was such a blessing. It was a great time to relax a little and get to do some things that I normally don't have much time for. We took the sleeper train to Beijing and found our hutong ("family home") where we would stay. Monday morning we set off for the Olympic venues. It was so neat to see the places that are so important to China. Monday evening we joined up with some friends and spent four hours biking through the streets of Beijing. Yes, I said biking! I hadn't ridden a bike in more than ten years, but was surprised at how fast I remembered. And, the traffic wasn't nearly as scary as here so I felt quite safe. Tuesday we traveled two hours outside of the city to the
Great Wall. We wanted to go to a part that was not as “tourist-y” and not as restored. It was quite a hike, but we all really enjoyed it and the views were worth the difficulties. Wednesday and Thursday found us taking in some of the sights around Beijing, bargaining at the world-famous pearl market, and eating some great Western food (and Dairy Queen!). We came back Thursday night and had a few days to catch up before diving back into teaching again. It was a great trip and we were all thankful for the opportunity to go.
These next six weeks are packed full for me. I'm still trying to catch up with some former students and am attempting to plan a reunion picnic later this month. Several of my present students are interested in getting together (when they heard I was leaving they got very interested in spending more time together!). I might be taking a weekend trip to Inner Mongolia with Life Pegs. Two of my dear Chinese friends, the girls who I've been able to spend a lot of time with, are getting married on June 13. And, we're all smack in the middle of our summer camp promotion parties. So, once a week I find myself traveling to a different university with a team of teachers to hold a party and invite students to camp.
Lisa