I was looking through my journal entries while in Ningxia and thought I would share a couple of them. One from the beginning of the trip and then one from the end.
July 13-
1st day of teaching English today. The school buildings look relatively old and the classrooms remind me of what American classrooms might have looked like many many years ago. The teacher's desk is on a raised platform in the front of the classroom with the chalkboard directly behind it. Through my classroom window, you can see the large bathroom...because of this...our classrooms are full of large flies with which we have to contend with while teaching. All four of my classes went well.
July 29-
I was honored with an invitation to go out to eat with some of my students tonight. They took me out to a Hui owned restaurant and ordered a couple of cold dishes to begin the meal. One of the dishes was spinach and garlic. Nothing strange about that one. The other cold dish was sliced cow's hoof. Now, I won't lie, that one took everything in me to try it let alone get it down. The rest of the meal included some very tender spicy mutton and some meat stuffed eggplant that was battered, fried, and then cooked in a tomato sauce. Very tasty stuff. The dinner conversation ranged from talking about learning languages to talking about religions and beliefs. I had a good and memorable time talking with my new found friends. I feel humbled to be able to come to this small town and to get to know the wonderfully friendly people who live here.
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