SPECTACLE!!!

We did it, we actually survived SPECTACLE. We have been preparing for almost 2 months now for our big end of semester program. The kids have been diligently learning dances and English songs along with actions everyday for weeks. They were pretty good sports about it too, even though I am sure they wanted to just throw the props at me every time that I said, "Ok, we have to sing it one more time before we can go to snack." The kids are not the only ones who had to prepare though, the teachers and I also had to perform a dance at the program, and I had a piano solo as well. Why all this work you might ask... Well let's just say that the Chinese are very into presentation. These kids are 4, 5, and 6, and they cannot help the fact that they are these ages, besides the little mess ups that occur just add to the cuteness. Well we think so anyway, but the Chinese teachers don't necessarily agree, and they forced us to work the kids until they could do their skits perfectly. My class sang frosty the snowman, and they did a great job, I was so proud of them. There was also a fashion show featuring the younger class, it was cute beyond description. My family will be forced to watch the movie with me, and also forced to listen to a description of all of the kids little personality quirks...whether they want to or not. Today I had the unfortunate experience of having to say goodbye to my 37 new little friends. Who would have thought that in 4 months we would get so attached to all of their cute little faces? We had a slide show prepared that we watched with the kids, and then the tears started flowing. Some of the kids are old enough to understand that we are leaving, and it was way sad to see them cry about it. The other kids got way confused, they did not understand why all of their teachers were crying, but they were quick to give hugs to try to fix the problem.

For our last night here in Xiaolan we had a big dinner at a nice restaurant with the Principal and some of the Chinese teachers. The food was super good, and there was Karaoke afterward featuring lots of Michael Jackson. It was a great way to end our stay. Tomorrow we start our never-ending journey home. We take a van to another school where we spend the night before taking a ferry to Hong Kong. At about 1:30 PM on Thursday we leave Hong Kong... our destination... the great US of A. We will arrive in LA California on Thursday at about 11:45 AM... yes we are going back in time!!! Too bad the 13+ hour flight couldn't really be negative 2 hours. Anyway eventually we will make it back to SLC where hopefully someone that I recognize will be there to pick me up. Then it is on to Cedar City for a weekend at Megan and Andrew's. I am super excited, I can't wait for all the family fun.

I have had such a great time in China, I still can't believe I have been living here for 4 months. This has been the experience of a lifetime, and I have had the chance to see so many cool places. I am going to miss so many things about China, mostly the kids, my new friends (why is SUU so far away?), the yummy food, and cheap shopping. I am super excited to see my family though, and to eat American food again. After traveling around for a good portion of 2009, I am ready to stay in the states for a while. I am looking forward to Christmas with my family, and getting back to Cedar City for school. Oh and running, I am looking forward to running again, you see none of the other teachers like to run, and since we are not allowed out alone, my running has been very restricted. Since Megan and I are planning on running the half marathon in March, I better get training.

On to my next adventure...