Happy Women's (And Girl's) Day

Yesterday was International Women's Day, which is celebrated here in China. The day before is known, on campus, as Girl's Day. There were pink balloons tied to all the trees around campus, music blaring throughout the day. As I was walking to class, I saw 20 boys with pink balloons tied to their bicycles, picking up girls from a dormitory to take them to class. How sweet.

My students told me that I am supposed to celebrate Girl's Day because I will not be a woman until I turn 30. Good to know.

On Women's Day, Erika and I decided to go to dinner at one of the little restaurants on campus. The hostess came up to our table and gave us each a bag of red date yogurt in honor of Women's Day. How about that?!? Too bad I'm allergic. :(
 

Two MORE Questions for Ms. Sarah

I had two more post graduate classes, and I thought I'd share some more from their cards:

From the "About Me" section:
1. I am a shy boy and a serious boy
2. I like to watch TV (The Big Bang Theory)
3. Sometimes, I'm very lazy
4. I want to lose weight

From the "In your class, I want to learn..." section:
1. I want to learn yoga (not sure I can teach you that)
2. I want to learn how to drive a car safely (In China? Good luck)

From the "Questions for Ms. Sarah section":

Apparently, most of my students on Thursday were only interested in learning about my love life:

1. Why did you come to China? For a boyfriend? (no)
2. Are you married? (no)
3. Do you want to find a Chinese boyfriend? (no)
4. Do you want to get merry when you go back to USA? (Haha- I always want to be merry) :)
5. Do you want to marry a Chinese man? (no)
6. When will you get married? (I don't know)
7. Do you have a boyfriend? (no)
8. Do you have a boyfriend in China? (no)

Several of these were repeated on other cards. Oh my my.

And... several students asked me to sing a song for the class... Maybe one day, I'll sing the Beard Song for them. :)

Typical Bus Ride

Or, not so typical...

Today, I rode on a very crowded bus, but that is pretty normal here in Zhengzhou. Anytime I need to go to town, I take the bus (only 1 yuan vs. 40 yuan for a taxi). It takes about an hour to get where I want to be. Normally, I get a seat on the way there, since my campus is close to the start of the bus line.

Today was not one of those days. There were SO MANY people waiting at the bus stop. I wasn't in the mood to shove my way on, so I waited, and was left without a seat. Oh, well. Sometimes I prefer to stand anyway (more energy burned).

Every stop, the driver would yell in Chinese over the intercom. I have no idea what he was saying, but I assume it was something like, "Everybody cram in as tight as you can!!!"

So, I took a picture... before I was crammed even more... This was my view, from about half-way back.