September 7, 2101

In foundation class today we did the “upside down man” drawing.  My past art students and teacher friends know this assignment where you take a Picasso drawing flip it upside down and draw it.  It opens the right side of your brain.  Chinese students think this is difficult, but they are much like American students when they draw.  I had four students flip it over when I went to my desk and draw it right side up and one traced it.  I told them “no, no this is not acceptable!”  When the 20 minutes was up,some where not finished.   They did not get the concept to stop as I was teaching a project in a time frame.  Two wanted to take it home and finish it.  They are serious students, too serious.  I think they need to loosen up!

Alice and I talk about our trip to Mi Jing Temple and what a good time the three of us had.  She makes a comment that I am laughing at everything I see, I do, I hear.   It makes her happy to see me happy.  Her husband has smile wrinkles when he laughs.  I told him that the more wrinkles he has, the happier he must be.  He liked that.  I am happy.  Alice even said that when many bad things have happened to you,  it turns around, and happiness fills you equally.  So the year of sadness, loss and unhappiness is over, I am in the year of happiness, smiles and many new things to laugh at.  I like her philosophy.  I smile, I laugh and I adore Alice.

Lunch with Peter at the corner mom and pop cafe, for a family size bowl of fresh tomato and egg drop soup, with two different  rice dishes on the side.  Our lunch was 17 yuan about $2.25.  The reason is was so high Peter had a Coke!  After school I walked to the bank and transferred my American bills into Yuan.  Now that was an interesting process, they Xeroxed my passport twice and ran all my bills though a machine to see it they were real.  25$ keep spitting back out! (Much like Dragon Breath, will explain later)  The teller called two other tellers over and they examined the bills, ran them though many times, held them to the light and chattered in Chinese for at least 10 minutes.  Are they going to haul me off for counterfeit American dollars?  Wasn’t this the money I had got at my bank in Texas?  At last after I signed three official documents I was given my RMB!  On to the coffee shop for a latte and 2 baguettes, one cheese and the other a cream filled and powered sugar on top.  This will be dinner!  Stopped in a little shop that had cute comfy tops, they are made of Bamboo fiber, this will be nice for my Yoga class, get one  and off to a taxi and home to the hotel.

Yoga class with Yan, my IB coordinator colleague and the Norwegian Massage/Acupuncturist.  I moved to the front of the class to see the instructor, I like her but can’t understand what she says, so I must watch her closely.  She teaches us Tiger Paw where you make a claw with your fist and slap it on the mat, that was noisy and silly.  Then we did a pose on our knees where you breath in, lunge forward, open your mouth, exert a loud breathy noise and stick your tongue out, I called this “Dragon Breath.”  We repeated this many times and I would look up and see my Chinese yoga classmates with their tongues out at me, I started laughing.  Looked over at the Norwegian and she was laughing so hard she had tumbled out of her pose and fell to the floor.  Another good Yoga class. Hitched a ride with Yan.  Her husband came to pick her up, nice to ride in a beautiful car with wood grain trim, like my Eos convertible.  Alias the Eos has moved on to someone else and I some where else.

Now it is time to dress and go to school, need to brush my teeth and remove the Dragon Breath!