The Birthday Boy

It is Wednesday morning and we were greeted by rain cascading into our open air patios. The air was cool and quiet. The sounds from crickets and frogs filled the sky. We are to attend a painting class this morning followed by a visit to Mr. Chen's wife's middle school. She too is an administrator, but her school is much smaller with only 2000 students. According to Yuki, her school is only 3 years old and absolutely stunning.

At about 8:30am the decision was made that we would not visit the school due to the rain. There was a fear of flooding and after our last experience in the typhoon, I am perfectly fine with canceling. I have been taught that in the Chinese culture, people that do not make promises. They made suggestions and allude to things but unlike Americans, who would make a plan and pretty much stick to it, the Chinese are much more flexible in their planning. We have had several variations to our original schedule, which is not a problem due to the lack of other items on our agendas while in China. It is just different from how we are used to operating. As Americans, we like to know what we are doing and when.

Today is going to be a fairly low key day. The students are planning a big birthday party for one of our students. He is having a terrific birthday. He is actually having two birthdays. One in China and then we are celebrating one again for his birthday in America. Yesterday, we went to a noodle shop for dinner where we were able to see the chef make the noodles from scratch. The Chinese students felt that the meal was expensive 10 Yuan ($1.50 USD) per person. If they only knew that the plate of pasta that we consumed would be about $15 in the US. Nevertheless, we had a great time at dinner and the birthday boy was honored. Mr. Feng brought up a birthday cake in the evening and we celebrated a small birthday party with a few Chinese students. The night ended in a cake fight with whipped cream and sponge cake smeared over everyones' faces. There was so much laughter and fun. The birthday boy received many gifts from his new Chinese friends. He was even graced with a green pea ice cream bar from one of his US travel mates, who actually thought she was buying green tea ice cream (the birthday boy's favorite). The birthday boy was so brave. He ate the green ice cream stating that it tasted like leaves. All in the name of birthdays. :)

The traveling is beginning to catch up with everyone. We are sleeping much more than when we originally arrived. Naps are taken advantage of, as are, early bedtimes. Today will be a good day to sleep due to our plans being cancelled. Right now the birthday boy is sound asleep! It has been a nice birthday. :)