May 15, 2016

Weirdest Saturday Adventure Ever People Chelsey Wadsworth May 15 at 7:34 AM To mkwads@yahoo.com Message body Dear Mom and everyone else, Da jia hao, again! I hope everything is all right at home. Mom, I'm sure you're probably what was up with the pictures I sent you, so I thought I'd better send and email tonight instead of waiting till later. But first, I should tell you about my week. It had a bunch of ups and downs. I've been asked if it's lonely being the only foreigner where everyone is speaking in Chinese. I thought I didn't mind it so much, but now it's getting to me more and more. The teachers in my office all jabber in Suzhounese, and if I'm lucky, Miss Huang might tell me what the heck is going on, but not so much lately. At lunch I'm especially lonely, because I have no one to sit by, and even the ones who know me prefer to sit with other Chinese-speaking people. And, who can blame them? Basically, it feels just like high school. But, although I feel lonely around the adults, I get on just fine with the kids. I love English corner, when I can sit and chat with them. Even if we don't understand everything each other says, we still can have a good time. (Usually.) If I'm feeling down on myself, I only have to walk through the hall during break time, and I'm greeted by choruses of "Miss Wa! Hello, Miss Wa!" Another frustration I've been having, is the teachers keep cancelling my lessons on me. It would be one thing if they'd actually tell me in advance, but I always have to go to the classroom and find out what's going on. Sometimes the teachers just forget, but sometimes they tell me they need to teach, or whatever. It's been happening more and more lately. This past week, it's been every day. Then, I just have to "have a good rest," and then I get really bored. I'd rather be with the kids. During the week, Julie had been trying to plan a weekend adventure, and everyone was invited, but only three of us actually went. She spent literally hours putting together an amazing trip. It was going to be so amazing! At first the plan was to go to Luzhi, a water town just south of Suzhou, but she found out about a town a couple hours away called Wu Zhen, in the province just south of Jiangsu where we live. We were going to see live performances, like martial arts, a shadow puppet show, and an opera. We were going to have an amazing day, and it was going to be an adventure! Well, in the end, we did have an adventure. . . Julie and Chloe's Chinese neighbors got involved and kind of took over. They insisted on driving us, which was lovely because we didn't have to buy train tickets. They also really wanted to go to Xitang, another town, which was fine. They also wouldn't let us help pay for anything, so the whole day was free. Which was very, very nice of them. So, we can't even be mad at them. But, all the things we were so excited about, we never got to see. We got to have a rickshaw ride, and we got to see lovely old places, so it was fun. When we asked about the shows, the one who actually speaks English said, "What kind of shoes do you want?" We asked about the martial arts and shadow puppets, and he said, "Ooh. There's no time. We have to see Xitang. And, we have to buy tickets to get in." Okay. Whatever. You're the ones paying for stuff and driving us around. When we got to Xitang, they went to drive through the gates of the ancient town, but the guards stopped them. Apparently, we needed tickets, unless we waited till evening, when it would be all pretty and lit up. They said we'd go back at seven. So, they drove around town trying to find somewhere to kill time for five hours. What they came up with was a place to sit around and play pool. We chitchatted a lot, and I also got a nap. They have some very interesting ideas about what it's like in America. (Julie and I are the two Americans. Chloe is British.) After a few hours of being in the same place, we went to a restaurant for dinner, and spent a good couple hours there, because now we had to wait till seven-thirty. We finally left on foot from the restaurant to the ancient town, where the entrance was lit up by flashy, modern lights. We had to wait until eight- no, wait, eight-thirty- to cross the bridge to where we were going. I think we would have literally spent a half hour standing there, had I not looked at a store that looked interesting, said, "I want to go there," and started walking. (I felt so assertive!) Finally, eight-thirty rolled around, and we crossed the bridge, along with mobs of Chinese tourists. The first part we walked through was flashy and filled with loud, banging music on all sides. The kind that makes your whole body vibrate. Julie thought it was cool, but Chloe and I didn't like it one bit. We walked past that bit, and there were lots of cute side streets lit with lanterns and pretty lights. There were also lots of bars with live music, which was (mostly) pretty good. There were lots of people selling paper flowers with tea lights in the middle, which you're supposed to light and make a wish, then float the flower on the river. We were enjoying the scenery, but we were tired and ready to call it a day, but the two Chinese guys were having fun. We did make it home around eleven-thirty. (Then, I took a nap after church today.) All of Julie's hard work that she put into planning went out the window. It was a weird day. But, I can't help but feel glad that I went. It was so nice to get out of Suzhou, and drive through some countryside, and see more of China. My Sunday has mostly been just a normal, run-of-the-mill sort of Sunday. I was supposed to lead the music in Sacrament meeting, and I made extra sure to be a few minutes early, but they'd already gotten someone else. (Well, fine then. First cancelled classes, now this.) I was in nursery again, playing babies with Jane again. There are two dolls she's named Elsa and Anna, and Elsa is always is the mommy and Anna is always the baby. And, thanks to me, they also have a daddy, who happens to be Buzz Lightyear. And, I made friends with Isaac, Jane's adopted Chinese brother who can barely walk. I always linger after church, because I don't want to go back to my lonely apartment all by myself. But, today, I was able to have someone to talk to for most of the journey home. Ashley Burton and I met up with Jerwin and Monica and we all went together. (Jerwin is Chinese and married to Monica, who is Mexican. They're an adorable couple.) We found out Jerwin has an obsession with llamas. After that, it's been just a boring Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow starts another week. I wonder how this one will go? Good luck with your week back home. Ally, I can't believe you only have a few days left of being a high schooler! Quit getting old! I love you all. Let us all press on in the work of the Lord, whatever that may be for each of us. Love, Chelsey<3 hpaich on