I'm getting used to the early mornings and late nights here in Chongqing. The pace of our language class is just right for me and my knowledge is growing every day. We had our first homework assignment which reinforced my recognition of some of the characters. Today during break us girls decided to relieve some stress and play a game of Ninja! It was a good break from all the new stuff I've been cramming in my mind. It's a lot of fun trying out my new words on the street and with our group. It gives new meaning to what I've been learning and makes it that much more important.
Lunch on the street was delicious! I devoured some steamed wontons and Tropicana orange juice. I'm glad we are exploring and finding new favorites! It's also a good way to interact with the people of the city and its good exercise walking on the streets. Afterwards was the perfect time for a refreshing nap before our exciting kungfu class.
Kungfu class was pretty cool. We watched a video about different forms of kungfu and then focused on learning a little tai chi. Tai chi is very relaxing and is a great form of exercise. It reminds me of some of the yoga series I have done with the tennis team. It'll be fun to share what I've learned with them.
In the late afternoon we visited some clothing shops and are having some dresses and suits hand made for us. We picked out a fabric and design and they took our measurements and told us they'd be done in a few days. There were so many fabrics to choose from and decisions to make! I am anxious to see the final product!
We ended the night with a little Karaoke at KTV. KTV has many private rooms of all sizes and each room contains a large tv, many songs to choose from, comfy seating, and a fun atmosphere. We enjoyed ourselves while participating in something many Chinese people really like to do. Some of our new friends joined us and sang some songs in Chinese while we sang the songs in English. It was cool to hear both languages being sang. The storm hit while we were mid song and knocked the power out a few couple of times but other than that it went great! We had to catch a cab and fight the weather a bit to get back. Everyone was trying to jump into the cabs and get out of the weather. Street venders close up for the day when the weather is iffy so not many people were out.
I feel like the whole world has been opened up to me this trip; everything seems so much more possible. I would like to do some more traveling in the future. I think it'll be very useful when I am teaching. I have already bought some books I'd like to share with my future class and I have learned a lot about the culture that students would be interested in.
Lunch on the street was delicious! I devoured some steamed wontons and Tropicana orange juice. I'm glad we are exploring and finding new favorites! It's also a good way to interact with the people of the city and its good exercise walking on the streets. Afterwards was the perfect time for a refreshing nap before our exciting kungfu class.
Kungfu class was pretty cool. We watched a video about different forms of kungfu and then focused on learning a little tai chi. Tai chi is very relaxing and is a great form of exercise. It reminds me of some of the yoga series I have done with the tennis team. It'll be fun to share what I've learned with them.
In the late afternoon we visited some clothing shops and are having some dresses and suits hand made for us. We picked out a fabric and design and they took our measurements and told us they'd be done in a few days. There were so many fabrics to choose from and decisions to make! I am anxious to see the final product!
We ended the night with a little Karaoke at KTV. KTV has many private rooms of all sizes and each room contains a large tv, many songs to choose from, comfy seating, and a fun atmosphere. We enjoyed ourselves while participating in something many Chinese people really like to do. Some of our new friends joined us and sang some songs in Chinese while we sang the songs in English. It was cool to hear both languages being sang. The storm hit while we were mid song and knocked the power out a few couple of times but other than that it went great! We had to catch a cab and fight the weather a bit to get back. Everyone was trying to jump into the cabs and get out of the weather. Street venders close up for the day when the weather is iffy so not many people were out.
I feel like the whole world has been opened up to me this trip; everything seems so much more possible. I would like to do some more traveling in the future. I think it'll be very useful when I am teaching. I have already bought some books I'd like to share with my future class and I have learned a lot about the culture that students would be interested in.
RSS Feed