Merry Christmas!!!!

I had a wonderful Christmas with a group of expats and Chinese at a pot luck. We ate and then learned some Scottish dances. The pot luck was a array of food. I took some mini sandwiches. There were mash potatoes, broiled chicken and duck, brochette, spring rolls, rice with spicy stir fry chicken, banana bread, and a Christmas cake. I asked about the cake and in China, people buy Christmas Cakes which i would think would be logical if they were celebrating Jesus' birthday, but as you know, most are not Christians. There was also going to be a white elephant gift exchange, but only two people brought gifts. So that just left more time for Scottish dancing.
So in America, families and friends exchange gifts and you get lots of presents. Well, here people have a wide assortment of wrapping plastic in which they put an APPLE. So i got apples for Christmas. Everyone exchanges apples. The story is that apple (Pinguo) sounds like Christmas in chinese. That is the story. It is something that has recently come about.
I met a nice couple from the fellowship who are going to be apart of the character club team.
So another way i can tell i am getting used to the altitude. I live on the 7th floor. And when i first arrived here. I would be winded when i got to about the 4th floor. Well, now i can make it all the way up to the 6th floor before i get winded.

Final Adjustments and more

So I have officially adjusted to the altitude. For those of you who don’t know Kunming is at about 6500 feet above sea level. I did not really notice it when I first got here except for one instance. So when I first got here, I went down below and got some dumplings on my way to my soccer game. So I was walking along and started eating them…..Well, after a while, I was out of breath. I guess the walking and eating was out of the question and I stuck to that philosophy. Well, yesterday, I decided to try eating and walking at the same time because I was in a little bit of a hurry. And guess what, I did become out of breath. This is how I know that I have adjusted to the altitude.
So I have moved all of my stuff into my new room (pics below). I live with a couple (Australian guy and Chinese girl) and then there is a spare bedroom upstairs in which we are looking for another roommate.
So I got my first rash the other day. The vehicle that we used to move my stuff had something in it that I must have been allergic to. Well, the vehicle went up into the mountains to go to plantation. I think that what ever they went to see is what I must be allergic to. I have been spend lots of time showering and washing all my clothes to try and get whatever it is out of my life.
Christmas: I am attending a pot luck with a bunch of expats on Christmas night which will be Christmas morning in the US. It should be a good time.

New Place

Update

Classes are going really well. I was reviewed by a colleague to see how I was doing. She said I was doing very well, and the kids really enjoy me. Which is good for the English classes and very good for the character education clubs. The more the kids like me the more of a chance they will join. We are currently moving right along with the curriculum. Right now, we are trying to find Chinese related stories of people who show the characteristic. We have activities and lessons. It is starting to get really exciting. We have not set an official date on when we are going to start though because we want to be fully prepared like finishing the curriculum and find individuals who share in the vision and have the talents to work with children.
I am MOVING!!!! Our lease was going to be up at the end of December, and I was kind of glad because one of my roommates moved out and sold the washing machine a couple of weeks ago. And then we lost our frig this week. Apparently, those items were no apart of the apartment (apart, apart, apart). So I am happily moving to a place that is fully furnished. My personal room is about three quarters of my current room, but the rest of the apartment is worth it. We have a rooftop which is surprisingly spacious…A great place for a grill an’ chill when it warms up. It has a full kitchen so I can start cooking at home instead of eating just chips and sandwich or noodles at home. (I have been eating out for most dinners so don’t confuse this with me just eating sandwiches and “Ramen” noodles)
So my entire sleeping outfit changed. Did you know the weather changes overnight here? It was in the high 60s last week and now it is rainy, cloudy and cold…the 3 c’s of winter. Well, back to the sleeping outfit. All the buildings are made out of concrete here, so if there is no sun to warm the concrete, then the entire building is cold. Also because all the walls are made out of concrete, there are no vents. No vents…no central heating….Now, you can buy electric space heaters everywhere, but they only warm like a 4-5 ft radius. Back to the concrete, when there is no sun….it is 5 degrees warmer outside than inside. Back to sleeping, I have a comforter and sheet, but I still need to wear my long underwear, sweat shirt, socks, and PJ’s just to stay warm through the night. On the plus side, when the sun is out, it is 15-20 degrees warm outside. I try not to stay in the house anyway especially when it is cold.
Also, outdoor soccer in the winter is awful. IT WAS SSSSSOOOO COLD DURING THE GAME….but I scored so it was KIND of worth it.

Moving

So this past week, I have been frantically looking for a new place to live because my current situation was not going well. So, when i moved in, i thought it was going to be a fully furnished apartment. Well, there was a bed and desk for me and a washing machine and frig for the house. And that was it. Well, one of my roommates moved out a couple of weeks ago and sold the washing machine. Apparently, he owned the washing machine. So i have been without a washing machine for about three weeks now. So i was a little peeved about having to wash my clothes by hand except for my soccer clothes. See kunming has an abundance for floral so with my athletic wear, i just hang it up outside for a day or two and let the smell from the floral of the city and the sun do the work. That way i dont have to hand wash those clothes. It actaully works, kind of. But i only wear those clothes during basketball soccer or running. So it is not like i need to smell delightful anyway. Well then, late last week, i get a text from a previous renter who tells me that he is moving the frig out of the apartment this week. See, i can wash clothes by hand, but i cant keep food cold by hand and it has been in the 60s here so i cant even keep my food outside to keep it cold. Before i knew all of this, i was going to wait until we were required to move out in the middle of Jan. But no worries, last night i found a place. It has everything. Bed, washing machine, frig...and that i all i pretty much need. I am moving in there next week. And dont worry...i cant still fit everything in my two suitcases.

So i have a new teaching schedule that started in December. I went from teaching five classes to nine classes and still the two hours a week at the Korean School. So i teach every day expect for Tuesday. One of my new classes has 24 students in it.