No Horn Blowing!!!

Just another day in Baoding. Our classes will not start for a few more weeks, so we are preparing for our classes as best we can. We have been meeting students at various functions and making our way around the city. We're starting to do more things by ourselves without the help of a translator. That can be fun and frustrating. If we just keep a smile on our faces, things usually work out fine. People have been very kind and helpful. A few grumps, but not many. We were visiting the Governor's Palace in Baoding last Saturday and a lady and her daughter wanted their picture taken with Marianne. We are an attraction by ourselves. Little kids will stop and stare at us; old people too. At the grocery store, an older man wanted to look at Marianne's shopping list. He was very intrigued.

As we might have mentioned, the roads and sidewalks on campus have been all torn up because they are laying new pipes. The entrance to our building is the red brick entrance on the left on the photos. They are making progress on our part of campus, but the rest of the campus is still a mess. No, if you're wondering, Marianne did not crash her bike into the 'No Horn Blowing' sign. It was just collateral damage from a wayward front-end loader. I don't know the Chinese words for 'Whoops. My bad.'

Tonight is American Night for us foreign teachers. Cuyler is making dinner and Marianne is hosting the activity, which is Mexican Train. I think its ok to play Mexican Train on American Night.