Jamie almost caused an accident!!!

Today, it pretty much hit us that the camp is starting really soon and there is still a boatload of work to be done! The good news was that last night we both slept really well! We were awaken by a substantial thunderstorm this morning. Unfortunately, this led to rather humid conditions which I'll discuss later. Over a traditional Chinese breakfast, we discussed the plans for the morning, who was going to do what, etc. Due to low enrollment numbers, we found out that I (Dave) won't be doing any actual English instruction which frees me up to work on the music, drama, assistant dean duties, and any one of the numerous other hats that I'm wearing for this camp. It also gives Jamie more time to prepare for arts and crafts.

Unfortunately, as we met this morning, it dawned on several of us just how much work and preparation there is to get done for the camp. On top of that, things are constantly changing. For example, I just completed the daily schedule for the students when I found out that I needed to cut out one hour due to the times that the kids were being dropped off and picked up. Numerous things have been happening like that which has been incredibly frustrating! Oh well. I guess we just have to be flexible and keep going with the flow.

After that meeting, I walked to the school, about one mile from the hotel, for lunch and afternoon preparations. Jamie, along with half of the group, decided to take a cab. They turned out to be the smart ones! About five minutes into our walk, we were drenched in sweat due to the extremely high humidity following the morning thunderstorm! It probably would have been cooler sitting inside of a sauna! After about 25 minutes, we finally arrived at the school and spent the next 15 minutes trying to cool off next to a portable air conditioner. (I forgot to mention that most of the school where we are teaching is not air conditioned which really stinks!)

This afternoon, we've been prodding along. I've basically been doing whatever anyone else needs done from a logistical standpoint and been trained in on how to use the various pieces of technology at the school. The hard part is that all of the labels are in Chinese, so hopefully I'll remember how to use everything. (If not, then hopefully we really didn't need that piece of equipment.) Jamie has been working furiously trying to get examples of all of her crafts done. Everytime she completes something, all of the others are in awe of how creative the crafts are, which made her feel good about her work.

Late this afternoon, Jamie, Flex, and I went to go change some money into RMB (Chinese currency). They were so incredibly picky here! They would not take 3 - $20 bills because they did not like how they had been folded in the past! Anyway, we sent Jamie to stand outside of the bank so that she could flag down a few other guys from our group who had walked to the bank. Apparently, old Chinese men don't see white 20-something women very often because guy after guy kept turning his head to stare at her while biking by the bank. On several instances, they almost crashed their bikes into each other, the curb, or whatever else was in the way including oncoming traffic! She felt pretty bad about that, but I told her it just confirms how cute she is! After changing what money they would accept, we headed back to the school to finish some work.

Soon, we'll get out of here, I hope, for some much needed relaxation. Flex, our Chinese guide, found a place where we can all get 1 hour massages for 40 RMB (which is about $6), so we may all go check that out tonight! I'll let you know how that works out...