Hey, it's been awhile! Jeff and I have been teaching English classes with a group of 22 journalists from 天津 - today is day 6, and we have a week left to go! Just wanted to let you know I haven't dropped off the planet...busy, that's all.
Me, Adam, and E (better known as Eleanore) at a pizza place in Oakland, California. Eleanore and Adam, like Jeff and I, met online and have been dating for quite awhile. He lives in Fresno, not far from my hometown of Visalia, so they have to do a bit of driving (about 3 hours each way) to see each other!
So it's 9/12 in Beijing, but it's still THAT DAY over in California. I've been chatting online with my brother Andrew - sounds like the 5th year anniversary remembrances have been out in force.
Groovy night scene. I think my mom put the camera on the wrong setting, but I LIKE it. From left to right: Andrew (who turns 22 on Thursday), Adam (16), me, and Daniel (19). I do believe that Adam weighs more than twice as much as I do, but that's ok. It'd kind of cool to feel small and petite in central California after feeling like an Amazon in Beijing.
Okay, y'all. When Jeff and I touched down in San Francisco on August 25th, it had been almost five months since we'd had some honest to goodness Western food. Beijing's options are pretty impressive now, but you do have to go all the way to the good ol' U.S. of A. to get an authentic burger, sandwich, salad, or pizza.
Audrey and I are sitting around being our gorgeous selves on Saturday night, her last day working at PEN123 before she heads off to Hong Kong University. Total sweetheart and I'll miss her a bunch. Girl, you better write to us!
I'm a little bit sad today, as I just had my last class with the cool group of Korean junior highers I've been teaching the past month. They're heading home on Sunday on a SHIP (a ferry is the most daring sea travel I've attempted, sheesh!), and I hope they have a nice, safe trip that isn't anything like Titanic. Long story...
Jeff and I celebrated his birthday in style by going to the Chaoyang Theater to catch some Chinese acrobatics. Okay, so this might be the worst picture of us ever taken...but it's the only one I have from Jeff's birthday, ok?
Monday, Monday, it's really not so bad if you don't actually take weekends. :) (I think Jeffrey and I are going to relax tomorrow, considering that it is his birthday...hard to get luckier than August 8th, eh?). Let me share some photos from PEN123 field trips with y'all...
It's FRIDAY! That means dinner with Jeffrey's parents, a cool evening course with my adult students in the CBD, and a drive back to 大山子 for the last three days of the second summer camp session - whee!
My Korean students hard at work drawing their "favorite things"!
