Hello from Harbin! Can you believe I've been here for 112 days?
Today was a hot, sunny day, so I'm glad it cools down a little after
sundown. It sure is different from the Michigan-like weather when I
arrived in March. I have finally experienced some real rain, too, which
made me very happy. Do you like the picture I took of some men relaxing by
playing their saxophones at the zoo?
This will be a brief note, because very few things of interest
have occurred since my last note. During the weeks of June 2 and June 9, I
did not teach any classes at HeiDa. Too much of that time was consumed by
shopping. Shopping here is very hard work, and I'm not really fond of it
in general, so I am happy to report that I will not have to do much more!
However, it is very useful practice for speaking and listening to numbers
in Mandarin. Maybe you can tell that now I am fairly independent compared
to when I first arrived. I have learned so much about how to get around
and do things in this city, but there is always more to learn.
On Monday, June 16, I began classes again for a five-week summer
term. This term I am only teaching freshmen. One of the classes is the
group I had last semester. It will be fun because the term is short, I
don't have to focus on the "IELTS" exam, and 1st year students are
slightly more enthusiastic than 2nd year students. Of course, it makes a
big difference that I have some past experience behind me. Hopefully,
everything will go a lot more smoothly. Naomi and I will be finished
teaching Ann's class at the Public Health College in four weeks, but they
have been very pleasant students and we will miss them.
On June 5th, I "snuck" out of the city to go north for the first
time. A Canadian teacher named Ruth lives in Yichun, the "largest city in
the country" geographically, as she informed me. It took five hours to
travel there by bus, and cost 80 RMB one way. Yichun-city is a small town,
and very beautiful. The scenery of the mountains that I enjoyed from the
bus reminded me of the Upper Peninsula, and I saw interesting farmland
closer to Harbin.
Although I do not want to go into any details, I want you to know
that there has been some difficulties for me about staying here when my
friends from TEAM are in the U.S. In a few days I will have to rework my
contract, and it will not be easy. This has opened doors to alternatives
already, but I have not pursued anything yet. Please keep this situation
in your thoughts.
