Back to School - after the weekend

With my host family brother, we are not playing football but we have enjoyed the frisbee. So thats been nice. Yes playing sports with the local guys at school has been cool. A very small communication barrier but it dosnt hinder the game at all. We also play games like badmiton, pingpong and hakie sack. All very much fun.

I can communicate with my host family well, not perfect, but between my Chinese and my brother's and father's english, we manage. My Chinese teacher, plus a few others can speak at school and when were out the older AFS students do the talking. We make due with what we can say and use our dictionaries. Today I took a taxi home from the gym, all by myself.

I wake up around 6:30 ride my bike to School around 7: class starts at 7:40 lunch from 12:00 to 2:00 than class until 5:30.

For lunch we head out to the streets and the local street vendors are all lined up to sell us lunch.

Classes are 40 minutes long, with a 10-15 minute break between sessions.
There are a total of 14 foreign exchange students at the school. We take Chinese together in the morning 4 sessions. We have a dedicated classroom on the 4th floor of the school, plus this give us an area to hang out and learn more about each other. Of the 14, we have students from Thailand, Italy, Australia and the USA. It is really neat to learn about the different cultures and ways of life from the other students, in addition to the Chinese community.

After school, I ride my bike to the gym (typically with another AFS student) then be home by 7:30 for dinner. The gym membershtip cost 270 yuan to join for 3 months (that's about $40). It's a nice facility with weights, treadmills, bikes, a track and a dance studio, not to mention a pool table and two pingpong tables taken to a whole differnet level than Brecksville has ever seen. It's all on one floor on the upstairs of shops, and of course, locker rooms where I can now shower everyday. YES!

Homework is very light so this is when I check email from my host family's computer, in the parents bedroom. Very nice computer. Not too much Roseta Stone, only when really bored.

My health is fine, I have been soooooo full. I think i might get fat. I haven't come across anything that I can't put down, and very few things that I don't like. I have been taking my vitamins and I feel that I avoided an illness. Everybody in my group has a real bad cough, they got it from Steve (another AFS student) who was sick since the begining, He had a 101 fever while landing in Beijing, We almost didn't make into the country, but that will be a story for later. But I feel good, I have been drinking tons of filtered water, and taking my vitamins and I have had 8-10 hours of sleep eveynight so I fell healthy as an ox. I also still have my protien bars, I havn't dipped into them yet, I'll save those for a rainy day.

We live in an apartment building, with 2 bedrooms, bath and a family room that rolls into the kitchen area. Very nice place.

My host family are Buddist but do not attend church on Sundays. I asked if they knew of any churches for me and they couldn't think of any. I'll ask my teachers at school, they might be able to help. They see me reading my bible and wearing my cross chain and so that sparked the conversation. (I have worn this chain 24/7, (the one I received for my first communion). It's a good reminder of how God is always with me. Id actually call it a comforter.

I was able to talk to my Dad today, so now we are getting the phone communication lined out. It was good to hear a familar voice.