Sino-psis

Yesterday I went for my first time to a "nearby" school affiliated with shanghai high, nicknamed shang bao. every tuesday for this semester i'll be going there and talking to a class of 31 students for eighty straight minutes. yesterday wasn't so bad because all i had them do the whole time was ask me questions. i got the requisite do you have a wife and what's your phone number, but i was also asked, why is it that when my dad who went to the states and speaks good english talked to someone on the street, they claimed to not understand what he was saying. that was a tough one to relate back to kids whose english skills are not quite up to par, but fun nonetheless. the time flew by and i was very energized, but i've had a quasi cold lately and my throat already hurt, so after talking for an extended period of time (this was after three other classes yesterday) i needed a salad bar. found one at a restaurant called Brasil, good salad bar. a meaty place, waiters walking around with shishkebob skewers of all types of meat,, brasiliano style, but for such a place, the veggie fare was excellent.

oh, before i forget, tom... and other snl officionadoes... two weeks ago on my first day of class in the sixth grade, was playing a name game where first letter of name equals first letter of animal, mike the monkey etc. came upon vali, and all i could think of was vampire bat, vulture, no cute animals at all. and then something popped in my head and i couldn't get it out, so i used it. vali the vondrook. i even drew it on the board, so in case you were interested, a vondrook is a unicorn mixed with a bunny rabbit. horse looking body, fluffy tail, unicorn horn and big floppy ears. and crazy eyes, wild wild eyes. with pretty eyelashes. and son of a vondrook if the whole class didn't just love it. cept vali. but that's vali for you.

i'm still ekeing over my spelling of officionadoes, just doesn't look right to me, but i'm too lazy to spell check. and i have class in an hour. gotta teach vali et al how to read.

oh yeah, so, shang bao. that place is like a half hour drive away and we get picked up here, driven there, and then cab our way back to here. on normal days we get out of the office at 410, but on shangbao days, jeanne and i will make it back here by five. terrible i tell you. my sixth graders at shangbao are cute though, and actually respectful. they stand up when they speak and listen when not speaking. heh, and right before class, as i was about to start, some music started playing and they all sat there with their eyes closed rubbing their faces. eye exercises, mandatory. i just sat and stared. funny stuff. i think i'll bring a camera next time and surreptitiously document that activity. you'd think at least one of them would be peeking at the waiguoren (foreigner) standing in front of them, but no, all eyes were shut and hands rubbing in circular motions. kerclick!

man those beets in the salad bar were gooooood. it's mighty hard to get a good salad bar in this one horse town. and by one horse i mean the horse that was on the plate at the japanese restaurant i went to a couple nights back. that horse. hard to get good sushi in this one panda town.

okay, i should prepare.

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