This week was a piece of moonCAKE!

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Another exciting week in the city of Xi'an! School was the normal struggle of attempting to look organized and trying to keep up with my super-smart 5th graders. My weeks are becoming slightly more routine and organized. I haven't had a schedule since I graduated college in June, so it feels nice to have a little more predictability in my day-to-day life. But, if things ever feel too predictable, all I need to do is step out of my apartment and I'm back into a city of 9 million where majority do not speak English. That's always guaranteed to mix things up a bit!

For instance: Wednesday evening, Cari (my fellow teacher and first-timer to China) and I decided to adventure to a cafe for "Chinese Corner," where local college students come to speak to the foreigners trying to learn Chinese. We arrived about 5 minutes late and found a table. There were only about 3 Chinese college students there and they were already speaking with some foreigners trying to learn Chinese. Not knowing what to do, we ended up surfing the internet for 2 hours on the wireless internet offered there and enjoying some deserts. Oh well, there's always next week!

Here are some other, more successful adventures from this week:

My First Chinese Holiday!

September 14th, 2008 was the date of the Mid-Autumn Festival- China's second largest Holiday! Although there ar many different versions of the Mid-Autumn story, each story contains the following elements: Houyi (usually the archer who shoots down 9 of the 10 suns to save earth), Chang'e (the goddess who Houyi loves/marries), a pill/elixer (that cause Chang'e to fly to the moon) and the jade rabbit (Chang'e meets on the moon).

Long story short- this is the time when the moon is full and best to see. In honor of this festival, not only did XIS, the school I teach at, have Monday off (AWESOME!) but we had a Party Thursday night with the teachers' Chinese teachers... confused yet? As a teacher, I also have the opportunity to learn Chinese from a nearby language school. The party was held at XIS and hosted by the Chinese teachers. It was a great event- check out the album to see pictures of my principal and neighbors on the 5th floor of my apartment!

Another tradition of the Mid-Autumn Festival (and possibly the most popular) is the purchasing and gifting of mooncakes! Mooncakes are a baked pastry that has a thick dough cover around a paste/jelly inside. Some are delicious: strawberry, apricot, peach. Some are not: fish. It's tricky when you can't read the Chinese very well! I gave out several mooncakes to the Chinese people I work with and even received one from a student! If you have some extra time, check out this folk tale about mooncakes and their role in with the Mongols.

My First Visitor!

That's right- I've only been in China a month and I've already had a visitor to my apartment! This weekend I had the privilege of watching Bebe, one of the cutest and most well-behaved dogs (besides Norma and Suze, of course!) I have ever met. Bebe (pronounced "bay-bay," like "Hey Bay-bay, what's up?") used to live in the Hutong behind our apartments. She was then taken in by the guy who lived in my apartment last year. Recently, she has been taken in by a family who works at the school. They were out of town for the weekend and asked if I would watch Bebe. Needless-to-say, I was thrilled!

Bebe loves to be held and when you pick her up, she grabs your shoulder. She never barks, unless she is playing with you, and she gets so excited when she sees familiar people that sometimes she pees a little. Sure it can make a mess but I wish everyone was that excited to see me! I was a little sad to see Bebe go- the apartment is a little more lonely now. But that means there is plenty of room for you to visit!

Tang Paradise

On our day off, Cari and I decided to journey to the attraction known as Tang Paradise. Located relatively near our apartments, this "park" lives up to it's title! Once inside, you feel as though you are in another time and place (a long as you ignore the city skyline)! There are beautiful trees, hills of grass and a large body of water. Although the Tang Paradise is considerably smaller then the Summer Palace of Beijing, there are shows that take place throughout the park during the day, creating a unique and entertaining atmosphere.

During our short time at the Tang Paradise, Cari and I saw a performance on stilts, a strange role-play of the examination system and a LION DANCE! The lions are soooo cooool! It's the coolest thing I've experienced in China short of Amanda swimming in Beijing.

Unfortunately, we visited on a day with very poor visibility. I've been very spoiled by the number of clear days I've had lately. It was only a matter of time before the smog caught up with me! But Cari and I are both planning on purchasing a season pass that lets you go into Tang Paradise and several other tourist attractions in Xi'an. There is so much to see and do at Tang Paradise- if nothing else, I'll get some better pictures (although, I did take over 90 pictures this trip... even with the bad visibility!).

So, the Blogs are becoming more frequent, but not shorter! Oh well.
Thanks for reading!