This and that and catching up

These pictures are not chronologically in order, just so you know. 

The circus is in town! There are about 10 or 15 foreigners working at this circus and I've ran into them a few times in town and it's so weird and exhilarating haha 

Worst yet most hilariously awkward magician ever 

The Ukrainians on horseback

Coolest act for sure. Propelling themselves around and around with power

These cuties came in while I was waiting to have my haircut and now whenever they see me on the street they run up to me and smile their big adorable smiles and say Hello! and run away again

Just your average mug being sold at our stationary store across from the school

Afternoon Tai Chi group on our people's square. So beautiful to watch and the music they play is also amazing

The lady in blue was so graceful and limber and amazing I felt like any moment she could just start flying away..

yummy yummy wontons

Anywhere I go in town, these faces follow me. 

Growing beans now 

winners of the last unit- class 10 again!

Claypot rice with Tracy

Biking around my town Huarong...

My students wear clothes like this regularly without really knowing what they're wearing and it never ceases to amuse me

yummy yummy snake

Huarong, one of our many market streets

Funny to think back on the ridiculous prices at organic farmer's markets in America and compare it with these markets, where the fresh, delicious vegetables are ridiculously cheap

wrapped up duck

My sweet friends came to visit me for my birthday and it was a fantastic weekend thanks to them.

Best wonton place in town

Some of my students chilling outside during one of their longer breaks

Had a lesson on relationships and love

4 English teachers and I went with 30 of my students to Changsha for a weekend where they participated in a province-wide oral English competition against thousands of other Chinese students. There were 3 parts to the competition: spelling, describing an image to some judges and then movie-dubbing with their team. I helped train the movie-dubbing teams the week before this competition and it's honestly hilarious and super fun to watch these sweet Chinese kids dubbing English/American movies such as Shrek, Pride and Prejudice, Harry Potter etc. They speak the voices of the characters from a 5-minute scene in a movie their teachers picked out for them. The competition was held at a Military Training Center in Changsha and was on the outskirts of town, surrounded by rubble and an old complex. My students were super disappointed in the location and weren't allowed outside of the compound, so for many of them this was the only part of Changsha they got to see and now they have a very bad image of the big city. The students were stuffed 40 to a dorm, whereas us teachers were only 5 to a room. All in all, I had a great time because I got to spend some more time with a smaller group of students and it was so fun just hanging out with them.

The view of rubble my students got of Changsha :(

Most of the day was spent waiting in lines for our next orders

Dinner with Max, Shirley Lambert, Maria and Sunshine

Studying at night with my sweet girls

Where the teachers stayed

All students competing in this competition

My students plus 2 teachers that came along

The officer who ordered us around everywhere

Dinner with Kelly, Max and Origami

Barclay Ricardo, one of my favourite students 

Alan and Sam Biebor- sweeties

My group of students plus the English teachers. AH THEY'RE SO CUTE. Also check out the competitions slogan: Fly your Dream, Fly with English... ah China.

My Harry Potter group doing their dubbing- they did a fantastic job!

A group of students from the mountains in the west of Hunan province did the whole competition in their traditional outfits and they looked SO COOL

My pride and prejudice group killin' it

Studying together

the boys playing basketball, of course!

In Changsha, my favourite building complex BOFO <3 SO COOL

The lovely rubble of the big city.