Is It March Already?

Time flies when you're having fun, and even when you're not. So, as far as China is concerned, as long as you're not freezing (which I'm not because it's 75 degrees) or in a hospital (which I'm not because I am finally past my sickness) or your computer is not broken (which it is, but at least I still have limited access to the internet) then time here is faster than anywhere else I have ever been. As I reflected on today's date, I determined that the fore mentioned reasoning is the best explanation I can offer for why it is already March 1st. This morning i could not believe that two months were already almost up. One short trip to shanghai, a small vacation in Beijing, followed by a weekend getaway in Hainan, and I'm practically already home, but let's not think about that just yet.
On a happier note, China is wonderful still. Teaching has been phenomenal, and I LOVE these children. Whether I have the babies or the little geniuses upstairs, I really love every moment with these kids. I know people warned me about the struggles I would have, but if you discount a few setbacks due to illness then I would say that my time here has been virtually flawless. The children are just so supportive and loving; they bring out such light in the people around them, and they cannot help but bring a smile to your face. Last Friday Chris Crowder, my friend from high school, decided to come visit me and he got to experience first hand what it is like being influenced by these children. He's been living up in Shanghai for the past year and a half or so going to school with an international program with Pepperdine, but on a whim we decided that he should visit. In High school we had joked about the idea since we'd known that we'd be in China at the same time, but I never thought I'd see the day it would come to fruition. Anyway, he arrived Thursday night and we were able to go out to dinner with a couple neither of us had met before- Kaka and Doris. They were so nice and so generous. At first it felt so awkward knowing that neither chris nor i knew either of them but thats China for you. There are just a lot of times when you have "friend of a friend" type favors done for you and this was one of those occasions. Apparently, Kaka's older brother lives up in Shanghai, and he had the opportunity to get to know Chris' mother who had once invited him over for dinner. When he found out that Chris was visiting Zhongshan he immediately offered Kaka's services. Like I said, Initially, the very loose connection by which we were aquatinted made me feel pretty uncomfortable, but they were so hospitable, and so generous; they even paid for our meal. I have been so lucky to have met the many people I have come across here. I really love how open they are and how giving they are without even giving it a second thought. It turns out it gets even better because ironically, in a city of two million, Doris and Kaka happen to be my neighbors :) They are right down the street. Anyway, we plan on hanging out a bunch even now that Chris has gone home.
On Friday, Chris was permitted to come watch me teach and it was awesome to see how much the kids took to him. At school there are very few guys around - only four that I can think of off of the top of my head: our guard, two of the cooks, and our mechanic/driver. Having a guy in the actual classrooom was different for sure, but the kids seemed to love it, and Chris was able to get kids that don't usually talk much to open up. I was able to see another side of a lot of my boys. They are certainly more rowdy around male role models, so in that regard I guess I'm glad Chris can't visit everyday :).
Saturday and Sunday we went up to Guangzhou to shop/go to church, and it was awesome having Chris there. After a while you really start to need a break from the same six girls you are with 100% of the time, and he was a wonderful breath of fresh air. On Saturday once we were done shopping we went to the arcade and saw this amazing old guy own the basketball game thing. Seriously, it was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. Anyway, after that we went and played a bunch of Chinese games, and they are way more fun than American ones. Our favorite was one where you throw balls at the screen to accomplish different tasks like breaking beer bottles, cleaning dinosaurs teeth, throwing books at sleeping children, stopping the freaky girl who comes out of the well in the ring, or killing mosquitos etc etc. We played far more than our fair share and I think by the time 2 hours was up we had made quite a few enemies, but I think it was worth it. After the arcade we hit up Pizza Hut for some classic American food, and boy was that a surprise. In China, Pizza Hut is literally a formal restraunt where, on top of pizza, they also serve fillet mignon and other gourmet dishes. It was definitely the first time I felt under dressed for a pizza dinner, so we took it back to his hotel room. I wish I could eat pizza that tasted that good every day- it exceeded expectations on all accounts mmm. I can't wait for next week when I go to Shanghai, because Chris told me there is a place by that sells Cincinnati chili too!!!
The weekend ended up being amazing as a whole although I'm sorry to say that I still didn't get to go to church because the one week we were in Gunagzhou they moved it to Shenzhen. It was a major bummer. Well, I wish I had pictures to share with you all, but like I said my computers broken so you'll just have to use your imagination for a few weeks. Love you all!!!