Ancient Chinese

Monday 5-6-13

Last night I woke up needing to go to the bathroom and was genuinely lost. It was pitch dark and I had no idea what was going on. After a few seconds and still not remembering which city I was in or where I was located within the dark room, my thoughts became verbal “where am I?” once I said it aloud it all came back to me. I am sitting in my bed in Weihai! I am actually home and I teach tomorrow! Wow. All this moving from place to place, spending the last 9 days jumping from hostel to hostel really messed with me head. This morning was such a relief. I love being back home with my kids! I especially love Monday mornings believe it or not! But you would love Monday mornings too if yours were like mine. I got outside and waited for the bus. I got slightly worried when I realized that I was walking outside with no jacket on, shoot I am in weihai not shanghai it’s going to be cold.. Too late to turn back now I am just going to have to tough it out today. I hopped on the bus ready to see Charlie. Each stop we got closer and closer and finally got to his. But wait. No Charlie? The bus doors closed and we pulled away without Charlie... but, but, what about my bus buddy?! Dang it, maybe he is sick or something? I couldn't help but be disappointed. I really wanted to see him! Stop after stop, brought less and less significance to my mind until wait a min! There he is! Charlie standing with his dad wearing his hat and all! Yes!!! He is here!! He climbed on the bus and came right over and snuggled right up as he waved to his dad out the window and then pointed at the snoopy. “Hat” … oh you got this boy! Its game time! We laughed and joked the whole way there making my day go from Meh, to YAHOO! I love these kids and their adorable smiles.

We went in for breakfast and had the infamous Nipe rolls and porridge. The bread in these rolls are so light and fluffy like it is in the US. It is like a little taste of home but way tastier than home! We filled up the tanks and then headed to our class rooms. We walked into the normally empty room which was quite the opposite today. When we were walking towards the school building after leaving the dining room, I got a little worried when we saw a line of kids on the second level lined up in front of my classroom door. After checking my watch and knowing I had at least 10min I took it in to wave back and see the kids so excited to see us. But didn't think twice about it until we walked into Rachelles room full of kids, doctors and needles... oh boy.

I walked straight up to my class room to a line of my kids waiting outside my classroom full of yet more blood, needles and doctors... what the heck is going on?! The craziest thing was there was not one tear being shed... these kids are robots. I went back to Rachelle's classroom and sat next to her and let her know my.. “Little” problem. I, Dellany Olsen, am a fainter.

Yes, I get shots or blood drawn and I am out. In fact, I still think I deserve a sticker after getting shots or blood drawn because I think I am that big of a deal for getting through it! You might wonder how I managed to do first aid etc. at the pool? I have no idea, I get blood splattered injuries and somehow my main focus is sanitation, bio hazard bags and applying a beautifully wrapped or placed bandage for the victim. But, you tell me I am getting shots and I am already light headed, in fact, I am light headed just typing this now.

After deciding that I was just going to suck it up, we heard the first scream, finally! There is a human inside of this child! After the first, there were a few more tears shed so Rachelle and I took the roll of the comforters and

entertainers.

 I entertained those who were sitting on the steps after they were done holding a piece of cotton on their arm until they were done bleeding. Holy cow these kids are so brave. After 45min or so trying to keep myself occupied and conscious, Rachelle and I decided to try to find equal so we could ask him what we will do about teaching since the first rotation was over and it didn't seem like they were close to being finished.

We found Hannah and Maddie sitting in their room doing the same thing me and Rachelle were so we all headed to equal, the principal's, office. We knocked and were greeted by a very warm welcome. Equal looks like the average Chinese man, successful and smart but talk to him for 30min and you will see just how unique this man, dedicated to bringing good to the world, is. Equal is as close to perfect as humanly possible. He asked us if we wanted coffee or tea and when I told him that we don't drink coffee or tea and just like water, he stopped dead in his tracks. For a second, I thought I was going to have to give a long explanation about how in  

America some people chose to not drink coffee or tea to be healthy until he said. AH! Good! You are like me!  Whoa, wait a min. huh?? For the first time while in china, we were the confused ones about food restrictions. Rachelle asked Equal why he doesn't drink coffee or tea … “the less I put in my body, the better it is for the earth.” he told us about the dangers of people eating too much of one thing like meat, he taught us about moderation, balance and variety of foods... hmmm... this was starting to sound a little familiar! Equal thought that we were so smart and so pure after we told him how we like to live our lives including dietary habits. He was especially proud of Hannah's nutritional knowledge from her schooling before she got here. Equal pulled out a chart of Ancient Chinese medicine and started to explain to us that we have 5 organs and 5 colors. Each color helps each organ. For example, (the colors might be off with the organs) if the liver color is green and your liver isn't doing well, you need to eat more green things. Same with the stomach and lungs etc. everything that he said was very thoughtful and so deep. This man is a philosopher if I have ever met one. He kept telling us how people in china think that he is stupid but he is so worried about the direction china is going. When we talked about America he was telling us about how hard it is to get out of china and followed up with “thank God you were born in America” that broke our hearts. We are so lucky. I am so lucky. I am so blessed to be an American. The right to bear arms is so important. I know that people say “the people aren't heard” or that the government is “corrupt” but I firmly believe that it is as people oriented as a government can be without losing control. We are bound by the government in the same degree that the government is bound by us. Take away the second amendment and it will be the thread to start unraveling it all. I am so thankful for the founding fathers and all the brilliant men who risked their lives and composed the declaration and constitution. I am proud to be an American.

We talked to equal for the next 3 hours about deep Chinese history and DNA, this man is brilliant when speaking in a second language, I can only imagine what he has to say in Chinese! Today I was definitely the student and not the teacher.

We walked over to the Lunch room and made history. For the first time while being here the lunch at Npie was not that great but its okay because breakfast was still grand. We walked out and soaked up the sun. is this real life? Am I really in Weihai? There is no way! Better believe it folks, ITS SUMMER!!!

The walk up the steps to our rooms made us sweaty and overheated but we were more than happy with it!

I spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and doing laundry. It feels so nice to not be living out of my bag. I really feel home in this little room. I have my closet and desk and I am set. I got done pretty fast because I gave myself an incentive, if I get everything done, I can go to “kunfu” as Lee calls it. And boy it was fun! It’s probably my most favorite thing to do now. I have been into town, I’ve seen the Jiajia and the street market but what do I learn from that? I have seen and experienced it the past two months but this is something, if I can focus and get really good at, I can take back home and continue to master. Lee taught me quite a bit but told me I need to practice more with my hanging hand which shouldn’t be hanging haha and I know he is right. I also need more confidence. That’s the thing about these nunchaku , if you don't commit, its not going to happen and you are going to get smacked in the head... twice. Take it from me... its better to just commit.

After practicing, Lee asked me to help him understand a Michael Jackson song. I helped him with the pronunciation of some words he couldn't sing to cuz he couldn't say them. I am more than willing to help him with his English but today when I was messaging him to figure out where class was today he said that he wants the main focus will be on me learning the nanchuku. To be honest, I think that it will be better for his English too because he knows words, he just needs conversation.

After we got done practicing we were walking back and Luke told me I had a package waiting for me at the post office and I should get the paper and come with him Mark, Cherish and Melanie to get Luke and my package and then hit the JiaJia afterwards. I was game so I said bye to Lee and booked it up the stairs to get the paper to take to the post office and my bag. I ran so fast and was so out of breath when I got to them at the gate but I made it in time and headed off with Luke and Mark in a “rabbit” the good ol 3 wheeled cars that every traveler’s guide tells you to avoid.. I don't get why ha they ware fast and cheap and so far, haven't tipped over. We got to the post office in time for it to be closed... ah man! Come on! That sucks. O well, so I went over to the Jiajia with mark and Luke to meet up with Cherish and Melanie and walked around until it was time to get back. I was really bummed about not getting a package but I am planning on trying to get it tomorrow after teaching. Rachelle is cool with it if we can communicate it to our driver!

Sarah and Andrea invited me to go running tonight so I hit the track to see how my feet would do since they have been having a hard time running lately and to my surprise they were awesome! I ran 3 miles and could have kept going! It felt so nice to run and be active so I headed up to my room and pumped out an abs workout, showered off and ended a great day.