A great day!

Today was my last free day before I start teaching! Tomorrow is the day I have been waiting for since I got my job!

This morning I woke up and it was a gorgeous day so I decided to take a walk around Yushan lake. The walk to get to the lake is about 10 minutes.



I decided to take the long way around the lake and end up at Carrefour so I could pick up some things I needed. After walking for 4 miles I ended up back at the gate I entered. Not really sure how that happened. I think there are little islands within the big lake. I'm definitely going to have to figure the lake out.

My walk was absolutely gorgeous and so peaceful. It was a breath of fresh air. I felt like I could have actually been in the states. Away from hawking, taxis, motorbikes, honking, etc. I plan to take a walk there everyday. Really theres no excuse since I have so much free time in between my classes. At least I think I have a lot of free time now, who knows how much work I'll have to do outside of class!

I don't know if I mentioned earlier but my new hobby is photography. I'm taking baby steps. I took a ton of pictures today at the lake and plan to do some photoshop on them. Although I only iPhoto, maybe i'll invest in real photoshop once I get my first paycheck.

After my walk around the lake (maybe around the lake... who really knows), I adventured around the city a little. I ended up in a shop called 'Max and Mix'. I think they were trying to go for the 'Mix and Match' deal but who really knows. It's a cute shop with pretty much everything a girl may need. I got a pair of burnt orange loafers and a professional looking purse/bag for teaching!

View of Ma'anshan

I ended up running into my co-teacher, Katrina at Max and Mix. She asked me what I was doing for lunch and I told her I had plans with Henry and Alicia. Her response, "Oh okay, my coworker and I will come along with you." Hm... not sure how I feel about that. I mean of course I didn't mind her coming, but the whole inviting herself thing... it's definitely something new for me! WELCOME TO CHINA.

If I am ever with Katrina around lunch or dinner time she always invites me to her home. I think she wants to be my best friend, I mean who wouldn't?? Kidding. But really, she wants to do everything together. So maybe I'll end up with a Chinese best friend? I hope she doesn't ask me to let her live with me back in the states. For those of you who know about guanxi, thats where I'm going with this whole little blurb.

Quick lesson on guanxi (关系): First off, guanxi (关系) means relationship.  People in China don't just do favors. You ask for a favor and then all of the sudden you're in "debt" to that person and you owe them a favor when they ask. Yea yea... doesn't seem like a big deal. BUT IT IS. If you go to dinner with a bunch of people and someone picks up the bill people usually jump on top of each other to try to split it, because they know that person is looking for a favor soon.

Hopefully that gives you a little background on guanxi (关系). If not you can read up on it. It's actually very interesting. http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/guanxi.html

Anyway..... Today really was a great day. The walk around the lake made me feel like Ma'anshan really is home. I have no idea what I would do if this lake wasn't here.

I am so excited for teaching tomorrow. My first job as a big girl in the real world. I doubt I'll be able to sleep tonight!