September 24, 2017

This was an adventurous week for the Roses and their friends.

Hi everyone!

This week we jumped into our teaching with both feet. At 8:00 am and 10:00 am on Wednesday and Thursday and at 10:00 on Friday we were trying to learn everyone's names, trying to see what the proficiency level of the students is, and trying (mostly successfully) to work the technology in the rooms. We have quite small classes (11-16 in Oral English and 20-24 in Business English). The students we're teaching are English majors and, like most Chinese university students, have been studying English for most of the years they've been going to school. They're really quite good. The department chair wants us to work on critical thinking skills, which we are happy to do. In English.

But we've been scrambling--trying to plan lessons and syllabi and to get bank cards and continue working on all the requirements for work visas. Plus figure out where to find groceries. One night we trekked for an hour in the rain to find a supermarket we'd been told about. What an adventure! Then another night we found a nice supermarket quite close to home. It had every flavor of potato chip we could possibly want, such as "Pure Spicy Flavor," "Seaweed Flavor," "Italian Red Meat Flavor," and "Dried Squid Flavor":

We had some adventurous experiences eating out, too. Whether at the school cafeteria or at a restaurant, though, we were never completely sure what was on our plate.

This lightly steamed chicken was sliced in such a way
that there was pink meat and bone in every slice. We
didn't end up eating much of it. But the sauce was great.

This was thinly sliced beef, breaded with Panko crumbs and fried.
Then it was topped with drizzles of mayonnaise and garnished with sprinkles.

At the end of our meal at one highly popular restaurant on Friday night, an inebriated gentleman serenaded his table with a snippet of opera. He was delighted when we clapped for him, and so performed a bit more for us.

A member of the branch presidency of our church invited us to his home for dinner one evening, and we enjoyed some great company and views of the city.

Shanghai is a city with a flood of faces and experiences waiting for us. We've barely even gotten our feet wet.

Our trip to church.