February 28--Day 236

Magle= the feeling of awkwardness and humiliation when one has to spend money given to him after enduring the complexity and annoyance of having to do maths.

The school gives us meal tickets each month. But, we hardly taught in February, and they gave us way too many. Not wanting them to go to waste, we decided to buy drinks with them, resulting in the creation of this word. One of the most awkward moments in China yet...

February 27--Day 235

One of my students made this for me. I'm telling ya, you really do get apples as a teacher. But never ordinary apples, no, no.

February 26--Day 234

Happy Birthday, Hugo! A day of gamins, hunchbacks, injustice, Paris, and Jean Valjean. To celebrate, I think I'll monologue, use ridiculously long descriptions, and sprinkle random, un-translated Latin/French phrases throughout my conversations today. It's gonna be great. Noel, Hugo!

February 25--Day 233

Some assembly required. Screwdriver necessary. Well, let's just say I got this from Picture A to Picture B using... tweezers. Cause our lives are just that ghetto. That's how we like it.

February 24--Day 232

First day of class! It was great to see my kids again, and see some new faces too. I love that I'm teaching a listening class this semester. But, in order to get to said listening class, I have to pull an Indiana Jones/ Mission Impossible/ Insert-your-choice-of-action-movie-character here and brave the loose and broken tiles that lead to my classroom at the end of the hall. It's pretty scary, not going to lie. But, I get to teach and practice my ninja skills this semester!

February 23--Day 231

Look how happy Rachel is to have Grandma back! And the kids played photo shoot with my camera. I love these guys. I've finally won shy little Rachel over, and I think I've tamed the wild child that is Jackie.

February 22--Day 230

Made Valentines with my kids today! They're finally both back from Spring Festival. And, finally! The Hobbit! In typical random Chinese fashion, we had to chill in the empty hot tub/seating area before the movie started. I love China. And, I love the random Roti princess. Even though that's a Thai thing...

February 21--Day 229

Got our schedule! And our books! Before mid-terms! I'm so happy! Thank You, Lord! Although, I do have a listening class, which, according to my students, is extremely difficult for a foreign teacher to teach. They can't figure out why the college chose me to teach it. But, I'm excited. I think it'll still be fun.

February 20--Day 228

Yes, this recipe did call for mixing the butter with "your fingertips." Um, does that matter? Really? Can't we just use... anything else? The apple crisp was good, but not half as good as the potato soup that warmed us up on such a bitterly cold day. Oh, and we've decided to get an American boyfriend while we're in China. That way, when we cook, he'll be absolutely swept away with its deliciousness. Because it's Western. Of course it's going to be amazing! We'll just have to get the ring on our finger before he realizes our cooking probably doesn't taste half as good in America...

February 19--Day 227

Another awesome day in WenChang with the amazing Whites! Today, our quest was: Find, purchase, and return the peanut butter to Haikou. Ha. We went out in the freezing deluge to get jars of this stuff. That's how strong our love is.

February 18--Day 226

Impromptu trip to WenChang to visit the one-and-only White family! Ate a Mr. Lin's, chilled, played with Stormageddon, Dark Hamster of All, chilled, finally watched Remember the Titans, chilled, laughed, had an awesome time. :)

February 17--Day 225

"I want to make cookies." "But we don't have an oven."
"So, we'll make no-bake cookies!" "But all the peanut butter in Haikou has vanished."
"So, we'll just make cookie dough! That's the best part anyway!" "But we have no eggs."
"So, we'll make them without eggs. That way, we won't even get sick from eating it!"

Yes, it's ghetto. But it's our life. We get creative. We don't just make do. We make it awesome.

February 16--Day 224

What an amazing Sunday with friends. Sundays are definitely the highlight of my week. And, what could be better than to top it of with a poisonous/possibly-deadly mixture of chocolate and mint milk teas!

February 15--Day 223

Our very own China family white glove, complete with live Disney music, pizza, and everything. Mrs. Mills, we are eagerly expecting your return! :) But, then, we watched Wolverine... not so PCC.

February 14--Day 222

Last day of Spring Festival! Lantern Festival! Valentine's Day! That's right, we have a double holiday. We went to Evergreen park to celebrate with Kevin and a million other people. Saw sculptures, a ring toss game that used live ducks instead of bottles, tons of blow-up displays, floating lanterns, fireworks, and the lovely Coconut Palm drink that every American President drinks! (At least, it was photoshopped in...) And, I got a rose from my Valentine :)

February 13--Day 221

February 12--Day 220

February 11--Day 219

February 10--Day 218

February 9--Day 217

February 8--Day 216

February 7--Day 215

February 6--Day 214

February 5--Day 213

February 4--Day 212

February 3--Day 211

February 2--Day 210

February 1--Day 209

January 31--Day 208

January 30--Day 207

January 29--Day 206

January 28--Day 205

January 27--Day 104

January 26--Day 203

January 25--Day 202

January 24--Day 201