Days 1 and 2 at School

Today is Saturday! We hiked the highest mountain in Lincang, which is mostly a giant staircase interrupted with beautiful pogotas and views of the city sprawling below. Many of us had two or three Chinese students attached to our arms or hands. They love to hear us sing, so we ran through a few musicals that came to mind. These students umderstand a remarkable amount of English. They love to ask us whether we have a boyfriend or whether we like Lincoln Park. As soon as we reached the top, students sat us down and unzipped their backpacks to reveal a feast of Chinese treats, student style! Everything from chocolate to chicken feet shrink wrapped in plastic! We posed for photos and wobbled down the mountain to the bus.

Our conversations today are so enjoyable. They love to hear us make mistaken pronounciations of their names.

Yesterday we improvised some English lessons and then took a class in Chinese feativals. We learn that our team will be teaching English classes of up to 60 students--solo. So, with a brainstorming session after breakfast on how to teach for 45 minutes, we are each getting excited and nervous. Our Comfort zone is as far away as the andromeda galaxy.

Last night's feast was delicious ethnic food from one of the Chinese minorities. The live entertainment featured long-hair flipping to music. It reminded me of Hawaiian hula. Our Chinese school administrators toasted in high spirits, and I was asked to sing an American song. I am thankful for stage experience in the musical, "Oklahoma!" Cara and Ashlee joined me on stage for morale support. Never would i have dreamed i would perform in front of Communist soldiers in a Chinese nightclub! That's a story for grandkids! All of us have crossed a threshhold to embrace everything, knowing that we must remain open if we want to gain memories. Brianne is feverish and spent the day inside. All of us are exhausted but happy, esecially as we establish some significant friendships with the students. Most students go home for Saturday day and return in the evening to study for exams on Monday. Those who stayed today live too far away to go home. One girl I met at dinner sees her family every 6 months. The call on weekends.

All of us are excited about our day off campus tomorrow where we can join some American locals for a day of rest. At this point, we need to regroup. It is so fun and exciting to be treated like a movie star, but strange to have 4,000 people lean out of their classroom windows, waving and calling your name. We are getting a taste of fame!

Brianne, Lisa, and I spent our "nap time" today with two girls in our room, showing photos and asking questions about dating, family relationships, and students' future plans.

Conversations go deep quickly here, despite initial shyness.

We are invited to the school bus driver's daughter's wedding on Monday! What a unique trip this is becoming! I am so proud of the guys, especially, whose enthusiasm and spirit of adventure instills all of us with confidence! Robert deserves a gold medal for taking charge of the impropmptu language class yesterday. The teacher commended him for being, " most capable."