Healing, slowly

So I didn’t really do anything yesterday except sleep, so I dug up some pictures from earlier in the trip that I thought people might find interesting. There is nothing famous or generally important in the pictures, just everyday things I captured.

First, a video:

I saw this on the street. It appears to be some sort of drum line. It is all women, which I find interesting. In the U.S. I have met only one female on a drum line, at my brother’s high school. This video is for Spudly and Joe. And everyone else, of course, but first for them.

This is my school from the outside:

There are trash/recycling cans on every street corner. Unlike at home, though, there are no bags in said cans. There are doors on the side which start at the very base. When opened, the trash spills out and is shoveled into a larger bin, which is, I presume, carried to a dump.

(produce stand. Sigua [watermelon] is plentiful and very sweet.)

(Two days before this photo was taken, a building and a wall stood where there is now nothing.)

(The red characters on each side of the gate mean there is a couple living within that were recently married.)

(Old men playing games on the sidewalk, again!)

So I am healing slowly. I tried to get call an acquaintance who has been in Beijing for a couple months to show Steve and I around the nightlife tonight, but he didn’t answer. I believe Anne, Freddie and I are going back to the market tonight. I will take some pictures/video of the inside, Joe. It i s basically exactly as you described.

The only not so great part is that they will corner and grab you if you don’t want to buy their wares. Literally not let you go. I had to get angry a few times and say “Let go of my arm!” or “Let me by!” in a near shout multiple times. The sellers are pushy beyond belief.

Teaching has been going well. I was feeling very low this morning so I tried to get out of working by showing a movie (Finding Nemo). There wasn’t a DVD player to be found and my laptop is not loud enough for the students to hear. So I taught food, food groups, flavor words, adjectives to describe food and money. We drew and labeled a picture of a meal. Jerry’s was over the top awesome. Everyone but him (myself included) used to sheet of paper as a placemat and drew a plate on it. He drew an entire scene from an outdoor restaurant. There was food, of course, but also people and animals and waiters and plants. It was really very creative. I am still excited about going to his home tomorrow afternoon.

It is lunch time, so I will eat. Thank you for the healing vibes, I’ll take as many as possible.

Well wishes.