no airplanes, no ferries, no trains - just China.

I spent the past weekend in my lovely new hometown of Shenzhen - the first weekend I have spent here in a month. Although I was fairly sick for much it, I still managed to add a couple stories to my China portfolio.

On Saturday, John, one of the ISS teachers, organized an outing with the Chinese and foreign teachers to an indoor skating rink (see photo on right). Yes, they have skating rinks in the tropics; and yes, most of the skaters on the ice were about as bad as you might expect given the climate... meaning I fit right in. Aside from one seal-like dive when my toe-pick caught and I soared gracefully into the air and somehow managed to land on my knee and my neck simultaneously, it was actually quite fun and entertaining (although I'm sure my fall was entertaining for the others present). I also had a good time "racing" a little girl on her figure skates, although I never did decide whether she was actually racing me or just trying to escape me in sheer terror.

After skating, we went out for "hot pot," which is a Chinese dish/meal that is served in the North. It involves a hot pot (figure that out) filled with boiling water, vegetables, spices, etc into which you put different types of meats and vegetables to cook. There is an electric stove in the center of the table that keeps the pot hot and the food cooking throughout the 2+ hour-long meal. It was delicious and fun, and considering the massive quantity of food we consumed, pretty inexpensive.

The hot pot - a source of great food as well an extensive Chinese herb/vegetable/meat vocab lesson

On Sunday morning I took a trip Dongmen, the huge shopping district of Shenzhen. I went to a similar market during my first few days in China, but this one was still totally overwhelming. There were tightly packed booths selling clothing, shoes, "designer" bags, electronics, cosmetics - you get the idea - and equally tightly packed people passing through, looking at the goods and arguing over prices. This madness continues floor after floor, building after building. Apparently the market itself is over 300 years old (so much for commercialism being a new fad in China!) and is also home to China's first McDonald's. Quite the claim to fame.

In case you were wondering, I was too overwhelmed to really do much shopping, but I did buy a pair of Converse shoes for less than $5. They came with the tag and box, and so far seem comfortable and well-made, so whether or not they are "real" seems a very trivial concept.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon I went to see Jaris play basketball in Shenzhen tournament. There were people tightly packed all around the perimeter of the court, and I made a joke when we arrived along the lines of, "Where are our foreigner VIP seats??" The joke quickly became a reality, as we were ushered across the court and given plastic courtside chairs. It was a nice gesture but resulted in an even more zoo-like feeling than normal: We were literally fenced in with people peering in at us from every angle.

My post-weekend life has been totally consumed by school: lesson planning, writing reports, filling out homework/exam/attendance sheets, meeting individually with students and teachers, correcting homework. I'll spare you the details, but will reassure you that although completely exhausting and sometimes quite trying, teaching continues to be one of the most rewarding jobs I can imagine.