June 19, 2016

Dear Mom and everyone else,

Da jia hao again! I'm sorry I haven't written any fun emails recently. (The boring ones I sent Mom don't count.)

When last I wrote, I was worried about whether it would rain and if the branch picnic would get canceled. It didn't rain much. It only sprinkled, which was such a blessing! The hard part, as it turns out, was getting there. On the map it looked so simple. But, I wandered around Suzhou Industrial Park for literally two hours, trying to find where the heck this park was. Even the taxi driver didn't know! Finally, a nice British family helped me out and we were finally able to find this park that I was beginning to doubt the existence of, and I made it within half an hour of the opening prayer because they started late. And then, a group of us went to a KTV together and sat around singing karaoke. (KTV is a popular thing in China. Personally, I don't see what the big deal is about, but it beat just going home.) Then, we went to Pingjiang Road and just walked for a bit. It was a pretty good day, but Andrew and Monica weren't able to bring their phone that they'd said I could use.

The next day was Sunday, but, of course, I had to work. I wore my church clothes, and everyone said, "Oh, what a beautiful dress!" (Maybe I should wear church clothes more often?) Amelia had taken the umbrella to Nanjing and hadn't gotten back to the apartment since coming back to Suzhou, so I got to walk to work in the pouring rain. I was not only beautiful, I was drenched. (I wasn't feeling quite desperate enough to wear my umbrella hat.) So, the next day one of the male teachers gave me a brand new umbrella just for me. I don't quite feel like I deserve it, but it was very nice of him. With only a couple weeks left to go, I might get to use it at least once before I leave.

This last week was weird. It was the last week of class before finals, so the teachers and kids have been working hard. My lessons were canceled left and right. I don't think there was a day when I taught more than one lesson. On Wednesday, the day when I only have two classes scheduled, it was very sad, because they were both canceled. I've been really, really bored this week. Boredom on top of the stress of trying to find a plane ride is not a good thing, psychologically. But, at least the kids still say hi to me in the hall. Bless them!

One good thing about this week is that the music teacher, who just got married, went on her honeymoon, and before she left, she told me that she would leave the key to the piano room on her desk, and that I could use it as much as I wanted! Woohoo! I discretely practiced the songs that the primary was going to sing in Sacrament meeting on Father's Day. That was another reason I was able to stay sane. I wonder if the music room will be busy during finals week?

Friday was my last class. It was also the first 5th Grade lesson I had in the whole two-week cycle because the rest got caneled. It was the most chill lesson I have taught the whole school term, we learned nothing new, just played games mostly, but it was fun. It was the nice 5th Grade class, not the crazy one. Next week is going to be so boring! I have no class, and everyone else will be busy, and I get to do nothing! It will be so depressing. But, I can have plenty of time to finish my book. And read more articles on Yahoo!, because that's all I have to do sometimes.

On Friday, I utilized my free time by looking up more places to go in Suzhou. I found two gardens that are free, so I decided to check on of them out yesterday (Saturday). It probably exists. None of the locals in that area were able to tell me where it was, even though I followed the directions on the Internet exactly. But, it was a nice walk, and a nice day, so I thought, rather than get frustrated by continuing my futile mission, I'd do something fun where I knew I wouldn't get lost, so I took myself back to Pingjiang Road. (Three Saturdays in a row!) It was nice to be there by myself, because I was able to take some side streets and see things I'd never seen before. I found the way to Weidao Temple, which was closed, but nearby was Ligeng Hall, or whatever it was called. I'm not sure what it is, probably a former residence of someone important. Now, it's got a gift shop. There was a lovely Chinese woman who worked there, and she showed me around the gift shop, and her level of English is somewhere in the same zone as my Chinese, so we had fun teaching each other. I looked around the beautiful building for a bit, and found a quiet corner where some important guy might have sat and enjoyed the peace and quiet with his lovely wife, and I sat there a bit myself. On the way out, the nice lady gave me a taste of molihua cha, or jasmine tea. (It's okay if it's made of flowers.) It smells nice, but it's very bitter. There was a nice Chinese girl, also a tourist, and she told me that the reason why Chinese people drink bitter tea, is because it's good luck, as sweet things in life always come after the bitter.

I wandered all the way down to the end of Pingjiang Road, and met a nice man who knew some English, and we had fun talking about this and that as we made our way back. Then, I went home so I could get ready for Sunday.

Today, I got to play the piano for the primary in Sacrament meeting, I gave a Sacrament meeting talk, and I taught the CTR class. (Whew!) It was good. I didn't feel my talk was anything special, but what I said was from my heart, and people said they liked it. Julynda even said I made her cry. (Wow.) Primary was fun. Monica and her husband, Andrew usually teach it. Monica was gone, as were half the kids, but we had fun, and so did Andrew. And, he gave me that phone, so, for the next two weeks, at least, I won't be phone-less.

After church, I went to President Okeson's house, so his wife, Effie, could help me book a flight. She really knows what she's doing when it comes to finding cheap flights! I'm glad I didn't try to find one on my own! We found one that was too good to be true. It was super cheap and had a 24-hour layover in Seoul, but the Okesons have a family friend who they talked to on Facebook, and she would have been happy to let me stay with her, and then I could say I've been to Seoul! But, it didn't work out. Darn it! So, I will fly out of Shanghai on Sunday, July 3rd, have a two-hour layover in Seattle, and get to Las Vegas two hours after the time I left Shanghai. (Time difference is funny.) I have my flight booked, and life is good again. That is, if I can make it through this week without losing it. Then, I have a free week to do whatever.

Actually, now that my flight home is booked, I'm kind of depressed. I'm officially leaving Suzhou. I might cry. I don't wanna leave! But, at the same time, I'm excited to go home and see everyone again. Anyway, I hope all is well. Please keep the house standing t until I can get back to it. I love and miss you all.

Love,

Chelsey