When my students aren’t dragging me on their great field trips with lots of walking and the ever present climbing I occupy my time with a variety of activities.
The most unusual one for this 57 yr. old female to be participating in is a Woo Shou (sp?) class. This is because Ricky, the Australian, had decided he wanted to get “buff” this year so he talked Nathan and I into joining a beginning type of martial art class. The teacher is great (we call him Gumby because he is so flexible). He is able to break all the fancy stuff down into small movements and steps so we can practice each one before putting it together. Even though I don’t understand a word the instructor is saying, his body language is so good that I can pick up most of the movements with a little extra coaching from the girls I hang out with. Since the girls are little bitty things after I get the hang of the steps and movements I make Nathan do the practice with me so I don’t hurt them and also Nathan will actually physically connect with me and toss me around and not just pretend to as the girls are prone to do. Plus that he is strong enough to pull me up after the fall. I guess the girls have visions of the ‘old lady’ breaking a hip on their watch. In just 3 classes I have gotten to the point where I actually can touch my toes, which I haven’t been able to for the last 20 years. Besides the class the foreign teachers have gotten permission to use the gym on Monday and Thursday afternoons so I play around with the equipment in there on those days. Most of the days following these rough and strenuous activities I am NOT sore – except for today……
The other activities are sort of mundane in comparison.
• I ride my NEW bike (pictured above) or walk to the local grocery store and vegetable/meat market. (approx. 4 miles total)
• Walk to the campus mini-marts of which there are many different types. You should see their snack store, it’s not like any ‘snack store’ I have seen before. Health Food Freaks, Nicole and Zac, will love it. I have fallen in love with the campus vegetable/fruit mini markets’ pineapple sticks. They are hard to describe but delicious and cheap (1 quai – 12cents).
• I put in my Learn Chinese CD’s and attempt to absorb a little more than the pittance that I can accurately use. I am still having a really hard time remembering it. Either my LD or OA (Old Age) is really slowing down my normal learning curve.
• Every couple of weeks I ride the bus for an hour and visit Ron in Hangzhou for lunch. (Every once in a while you just need a McDonalds fix)
• Computer, blogging, email, SKYPEing, lesson planning, shopping for and watching DVDs, reading, eating and other normal living chores fill up the rest of my time.
