My Chauffeur

Hello all! Don't worry, the second part of our "Spring Festival Memories" series will be coming soon. While we're compiling our favorite memories, though, I thought it might be fun to share some of the new stuff that has been going on this past couple of weeks.

First I'll begin by telling you that both of us have taken on extra teaching hours. Tiff now teaches a second class of pre-K students, something which I know she's thankful for (they split her overly-large pre-K class into two) but also has given her even less free time than before. I have taken on a second job here teaching a class of adults in a city nearby. They all work for the oil company here and every one of my students actually spends about 6 months out of the year doing work internationally. The class is only 4 weeks long and brings my workweek up to 28 hours. It doesn't sound like much, but I feel very busy. The best part of the whole deal - besides a nice bonus income - is the fact that I get my own driver! You read that right...a personal chauffeur. Such luxuries are usually reserved only for the upper-class that can afford a foreign car and a full-time driver, but because this city where I teach is a good 40 minutes by car they decided to lend me a driver. Every day I get picked up at the doorstep of our apartment and brought right to the building where I teach. During the ride I read, write, and once even had the laptop out working - very nice. The moment my class is over I walk to the car, where the driver has usually been sleeping or listening to the radio waiting for me for two hours, immediately starts the car and drives me straight back to wherever I need to be. I have no doubt that my mom is burning with jealously right about now. I mean, if you're honest with yourself, can you really think of much else cooler than having your own chauffeur? If you lived in China, the answer to that question would be "no".

Well, Easter is upon us as you all know. I probably said this last year on the blog, but this is one American holiday that sadly doesn't even get a mention in China. I'm thankful that at least their name for the holiday (Fuhua jie), even if they don't use it, reflects the true meaning of the holiday (it is literally translated as "Resurrection Celebration"). Tiff is getting together a very nice celebration this year and I'm pretty excited about it. Our South African friend from Dushanzi (who as of February is now a legal US citizen) will be coming and we'll also be celebrating with the Filipinos. Tonight Tiff and the Filipino woman will be painting eggs and we'll be joining together for some songs and reflection. We requested Friday off from work this week, not so much because we needed time off, but more to emphasize to everybody who knows us and who we work with that we think this is an important holiday. A holiday carries a lot more weight in China if it is accompanied by time off from work, and here such holidays are few and far between. We have big plans for Easter Sunday and hope to share some pictures with you next week sometime.

Last thing...I've been asked to participate in another basketball tournament, this one being much bigger than the last. I think this one is more city-wide with many more teams. They almost didn't allow me to play because I told them I wouldn't participate on Easter Sunday, but after deliberating amongst themselves they decided I was valuable enough to put on the roster even if I missed a game or two. If a chauffeur wasn't enough to make me feel special this month, that decision sure did as well. As usual, we'll post pictures when they come.

Thanks for reading and thinking about us. Take care and enjoy your Easter weekend!