I’m beginning my fifth year in China. Things here are starting to seem somewhat normal. The food is familiar, the mass of people is predictable, the students are super, but the spitting never quite sits well with me. I’ve learned to survive on my limited Chinese language skills; that, coupled with my charades and hand motions and I’m able to communicate fairly well. Just today I impressed myself by being able to communicate with a stranger at the bus stop about which bus I should take to get to the church. I mostly pretend I know what is being said when I actually only pick up a key word or two, but somehow communication happens, and it’s fun when it does.

I will begin teaching classes on Oct. 12. It has been a long and restful break over the summer.School here begins in early September; however, the freshmen spend their first month of university life in what we call “military training.” They learn marching drills in green uniforms from dawn until past dark for a month. It seems quite exhausting to me, but they seem to develop a great sense of unity with their classmates through the whole process. I watched their marching drill exhibition that they performed in the middle of campus at the completion of their training. It was pretty impressive to watch some 2,000 eighteen year olds march around the soccer field with such uniformity.

I have a new favorite thing – a bicycle. I bought it second hand from my neighbor at the end of last year. I love going out and exploring the local neighborhood. I discovered a beautiful and surprisingly quiet park along the banks of the Yangtze River, just a 15 minute ride from my apartment.

The weather here is still near 90 F at the beginning of October. I certainly don’t mind it. I’d much rather have hot than cold, and it will be cold soon enough, and from that there isn’t much relief here.

That’s all for now, thanks for reading.