It's actually a firework festival, not a lantern festival

As I sit down to write an entry, the sounds of fireworks are blasting throughout Anqing since today is the Lantern Festival that officially ends the Spring Festival (or Chinese New Year). Sadly, we’ve seen more fireworks than lanterns or any other form of celebration. Though it’s been a busy day for our ears, this Thursday was relaxing otherwise.


Yesterday was quite busy. I texted a teaching colleague to ask when he thought school would start. (I had already asked someone else, but the person didn’t give me much of answer, so I thought I might try another source.) He responded that there was a staff meeting in about an hour and he would find out then. I asked if I should attend, and he replied that it was my decision. I thought it would be a good idea for me to go and show my face for a little while. I haven’t done much with the teachers here, so I wanted to support the school. (As it turned out, I didn’t end up staying at the entire time...)


There was a slight hullabaloo about us going to Hefei next week. Directly before the staff meeting, I was informed by a man I barely recognized that Jean-Jacques and I would be traveling to Hefei for a Model United Nations conference next Thursday and Friday. We hadn’t been asked if we were interested in participating in the event and Jean-Jacques will be holding class for the first time with his new students during that time, so it’s not possible for us to attend. Also, since there aren’t any substitute teachers in China, I would have to switch teaching times, which would be difficult. Although we were willing to help on Saturday and Sunday (if our assistance was truly needed and we weren’t expected to stand around while acting like “dancing poodles” ), the administrators decided our presence wasn’t necessary. 


In the evening, we ate Chinese BBQ with some friends in a restaurant close to their house. At the meal we discovered that the wife is pregnant and they are thrilled about the news. They’ve been trying to have a child for a little while, so I’m extremely happy for them. In China, parents aren’t allowed to know the sex of their baby before the birth because many couples will abort a female baby if given the choice.


After dinner, we walked to their apartment and watched the movie Green Zone. I throughly enjoyed the film, but it might have made our friends a bit uncomfortable. I think they learned a lot from it, though, and we did have an interesting conversation afterward.


Today has been short since we slept in so late this morning. I think we’re catching up on sleep from our trip. I spent a few hours learning more about Adobe Photoshop Elements and I’m pleased with the progress I made. The picture for today’s post was one I took during the day in Edinburgh, but I had fun fiddling with it (as you can tell).


This semester I’ve set some goals for myself: 1) Learn how to be a better photographer and photo processor, 2) Work harder at learning Chinese (I was happy to successfully use my newly learned phrase “good evening” tonight), 3) Read some history books, and 4) Continue writing a journal and posting blog entries. So far, I've been able to work on all of my projects and I'm enjoying it.   


I suppose I should sign off to start the process of falling asleep despite the ruckus outside.