Sleepless in Anqing

Between late-night calls to school districts with job postings, Jean-Jacques’ constant coughing, and good books, I’ve had a difficult time getting a full-night’s rest. As a result, I’ve spent most of the past couple of days in a semi-comatose state. However, today we decided to change our routine and we refused to allow ourselves the luxury of a nap. Instead, we watched Toy Story 3 (damn you Pixar! We swore we wouldn’t cry, but you successfully called forth the tears despite our protests...), planned lessons (we’re almost covered until the end of the year), played Scrabble on the iPad, and watched The Daily Show. In short, we had a splendid time today.


The weather is officially hot, but I know it will get worse soon. It was around seventy-five today. We kept our windows open and I wore shorts; I’m a little worried that we’re quickly heading back to the sweat-drenching heat that we experienced when we first arrived. Ugh! Thank goodness for air-conditioning, is all I can say. Without it, I’d be a melted puddle of Katie-water. 


Sorry there isn’t more news; we simply haven’t been getting into too much trouble lately or having any exciting adventures. We’ll try to drum up something entertaining for my next post!


Ah ha! I just remembered a story. When I was getting lunch today, the lady restauranteer pointed to my ring and asked if I was married (using mostly gestures, mind you). I responded yes, and made the sign for eight. I didn't know how to say years, and I didn't have my iPod translator with me, so I flagged down a student of mine to ask him how to say "eight years". This question must have been too much for him to handle, because he froze and couldn't respond to my question. After a few seconds of an awkward "deer-in-the-headlights" look, I decided to let him off the hook and told him to forget about my question. I then spotted a female student, flagged her down, and asked the question again. She was a little flummoxed, but quickly recovered and told me what to say. Our "Baozi Lady" ran up to speak with my student and the two of them conversed for a little while. The little group of restaurant people were very impressed that Jean-Jacques and I have been married for eight years and they made many thumbs-up signs. They also all laughed when I explained that we didn't have children.