Friday was our usual routine: we went to Chinese class, we had lunch at Ciao Cafe, and then Kerry went to gaming and I came home and graded response papers for the Short Novels class. I did manage to finish them--go me! I am starting to feel more confident in the Chinese class. Kerry even said to me, "You did really well today." We focused today on introducing people and "Where are you going?" (that is, issues of place). Part of me wants to continue my studies of Chinese when I get back to the US--I don't want to lose my abilities with this language. At the Ciao Cafe I had my tuna panini, and Kerry had a ciao panini (which I think is ham and chicken). We also shared a brownie; they heated it up, so I wasn't crazy about it (I like cold brownies). Soon after, the 745 bus came right away, so I had to run away from Kerry to make it. Didn't even say goodbye to him. Then, I just came home and graded...made myself some chicken nuggets for dinner (which I scorched a bit, but Kerry still ate them, bless him!). Kerry got home about 11:30. One thing that I did right before we went to bed is I bought us tickets back to the US. We are flying Delta (Comfort Plus), both ways. We leave January 30 and have a 3-hour layover in Seattle, then fly Seattle to MSP. Returning on Feb. 8, we fly MSP to LAX, and then have about a 90-minute layover in LAX before we go to Shanghai. Coming back to the US, we have to pick up our bags in Seattle before the Minneapolis flight, but going back to China, our bags our checked all the way. Weird! Kerry and I are still debating how many suitcases to take back. I say 5-6, but he wants to stick to 4. Regardless, I think half of them will be full of gifts (for ourselves AND others).
Saturday we got to eat with Xuewei again, this time for lunch. We took a cab to the Shung'Feng Restaurant, which was in a hotel. We were a bit late due to traffic and me being a bit lazy getting going this morning. I hesitate to call what we had lunch because the food--and drinks--never stopped: we had beef (chili beef and regular), pork, lamb, fish, soft-shell crab, deep-fried lima beans, a slippery bean dish that tasted peanuty (I loved this!), lotus root, soup with swordfish in it, and two desserts: steamed buns with papaya that we had to put a straw in to sip out of as well as fruit (including lots of watermelon). Just an absolute banquet!!!!! After the meal, Xuewei's folk-singer friend and her husband sang some songs: her friend sang a Chinese folk song, her husband sang "Edelweiss," and then they did a Chinese duet. It was charming to listen to and fun! It reminded me how people can do so much more after dinner than just watch TV or look at their phones. I absolutely loved it.
Here are some pictures:
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| Kerry and I (in the back) with Xuewei's family. |
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| Me, Xuewei, and Kerry. |
Then we gave Xuewei some books to take back with her, as she had volunteered to do so, and then her brother drove us to the subway station. On the way there, it was strange: we saw a mother in a car yelling at her kid in the front seat and smacking him a bit...not a common sight in either China or the US (well, perhaps more so the US). Then Kerry and I took the 3 line to the 10 line (16 stops!) to Wal-Mart. It took us awhile to find it, but once Kerry stopped into a Starbucks for wi-fi, and I had a peach iced tea, we finally figured things out. Wal-Mart was on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a mall we were in. As soon as we entered, we were bombarded with Xmas decorations. I have to admit: we did cave and bought a small Xmas tree, a couple snowman ornaments, and some stuffed animals. Overall, though, the place wasn't really that different from Carrefour or Century Mart. Mostly groceries and no cosmetics; they didn't even have an eye care section. This disappointed me, for I wanted lens cleaner. The checkout line was insane; there were 20-30 people in each checkout line. Our checkout person wouldn't let us get some tinsel we picked out just because it didn't have a UPC code on it. Geez. Afterwards, we took the subway and bus back: two transfers, the bus, and then walking home takes about 90 minutes, at least. It takes FOREVER to get around this city. Last thing to mention: late in the day, before we went to bed, Kerry and I put up the little Christmas tree and decorated a bit while playing a Celine Dion Christmas album. I think we were a bit homesick. We plan to add more to the tree later; it really needs a star.
Sunday was pretty dull. Kerry woke up feeling sick, so he spent much of the day resting. I did prep work for my classes. We got an Eper Market order--mostly veggies--they came kind of late today (normally, in the 12-2 pm window, they come right around 12 or 12:30; today, they didn't get here until 1:30 or so). Also talked to Mark: he told me that he plans to come for Thanksgiving. Yay! Hopefully that will be a fun time.
One class tomorrow, and then I meet with Yanis (a student). We'll see how things go.
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