Chillin' in the Water

The last few weeks have been great! I’ve been having some great family and friend time. I’ve also been able to focus on a few things that have been fun.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been able to work out at my parents’ gym for free. I have really been taking advantage of it. I’ve been hitting the gym five times a week for the last two weeks. I am so excited to think that I’ll be able to do it all summer!

I also started taking scuba diving classes this week. I’ve really enjoyed that. It was strange to begin with. I am so used to breathing with my nose, but you can’t use your nose with basic scuba gear. So far, we have only been doing it in a practice pool, but we’ll be going to a lake this weekend. I am so excited about it! After, that I’ll be certified, and I can cross something off of my “Things to do before I die” list. It is so peaceful under water. I'd recomend scuba diving to anyone.

This past weekend, I talked about my experiences teaching in China over the past year. It is so fun to tell people about the really cool stuff that happened this year. I’ll also be talking three or four more times before I go back.

Well, that’s all for now…

“You don't drown by falling in the water-- you drown by staying there.”
-Unknown

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cooking Up a Storm

Image
There has been quite a bit of coverage in the media about the economic impact of the COVID-19 virus. Obviously, Chinese businesses have been hit quite hard, as have the businesses around the world that rely on Chinese consumers and manufacturers.  One thing that has gone somewhat unnoticed is the effect it is having on some farmers. Katie has been following the chatter on the web about the struggles that some farmers are having because their products are not consumed as frequently as the staple grains, proteins, and vegetables that typically comprise the average Chinese diet. Many of them are selling their products for well below their average price in an attempt to increase demand; it is sad to think that their products are spoiling when they could be helping so many people. My wife has a huge heart, and over the past few weeks, she has been ordering things from these farmers online, and not just in small amounts… like a lot. So, we’ve had foods like, okra, asparagus, basil, and
Read more

Pan Wei Bo Concert

Image
Last Sunday night I had a rather unique opportunity. One of my friends was given tickets to a concert. She asked me if I wanted to go. I thought about it for a while, and I decided to go. It’s not too often that famous pop stars make it all the way to Changzhou, so I had to check it out. The concert was held in a small sports stadium that was built within the last year and modeled after the bird’s nest in Olympic park in Beijing. I would guess that there were about 20,000 people there. One thing that I noticed immediately was that although the tickets had seat assignments, very few people sat in their seats. This was nice because my friend Dorty was able to sit by me. The tickets that we had were for seats that were not near each other. Ironically, I also saw my friend Andrew there, so he also sat by us. The stage was an explosion of dancing lights. The setup was very elaborate. The concert was not at all what I was expecting. The headline name for the concert was Pan Wei Bo (a famous
Read more

Getting Ready for Christmas

Image
Wow, this year is going so fast. The holiday’s really snuck up on me. The last four months have seemed like an endless flurry of events. I really feel as if my feet have not yet touched the ground since I arrived here in August. I do know that Christmas is one of the most important holidays in my country, and each year it is my greatest hope that I can communicate the true meaning of Christmas with my students, friends, and everyone else in my life here. Each year I take one class period and explain the culture of Christmas to all of my students. Many of them know things about Christmas. Usually, their knowledge is limited to Santa Claus, gifts, and Christmas trees. In addition to explaining those things, I try to explain to them that Christmas is much more than that. I tell them the reason that we give gifts and why we started to do that some two thousand years ago. It is always so amazing to see the wonder in their eyes when they begin to understand the true meaning of Christmas. The
Read more