Another Week Gone!

Time seems to really fly here, and I think "How could I have crammed so much into so little time?"
But when I really think about it I realize I'm not doing THAT much. My classes are going well with the Thursday evening class being my favorite so far. The class is smaller so that may be it, but it just seems that the kids are more into it if you know what I mean!
My friend Luke, who is in a band named Pumpkin and has been instrumental (ha ha) in helping me find a music store/buying geetars, is having a music festival at his school. The band invited me to play and help them work on a song they were writing and I gladly accepted. The show is officially called Halloween Rock Eve, but Emily and I have dubbed it Pumpkinfest and that is what we will forever know it as! I was flattered that they asked and will do a 4 or 5 song solo set. I'm pretty nervous but also really excited to be doing something with music. I have been practicing pretty hard on my own, but it is really exciting to get together with them and finally have a chance to jam!
Emily has not felt well the past few days, we are hoping that it is just a little bug and nothing she will have to go to the hospital for. We have gone through a lot of television on DVD and streamed over the internet, but now we have just settled down to reading a bunch. I had never read much of Agatha Christie's work, but loved derivative fiction of her Hercule Poirot series. Emily got me that and some Steinbeck I was wanting and that has filled many pleasant rainy hours. It is the season for rain here in Ningbo, and we are biding our time, bustling out for groceries and hurrying back. Emily's sister is about to head out on a bunch of adventures soon, and we both wish her luck and good fortune with those. She writes about China in her own blog and is much funnier than me. I think she is one of the blogs I follow on the side bar.
If anyone has any reading suggestion for me than let me know as I am always happy to read a good book. I have a list on the side with what I have read the current year. I usually cap each year with a blog devoted to just the reading list so there are a few years cataloged here. To be completely honest, that's the only real reason that I have had this blog for so long. I used to enjoy venting on here from time to time, but now I just use it as a book list! Also, it is nice to have a place to put our news and sometimes a funny story or anecdote. I have REALLY tried to not be a "whiny" blog :)
I am off to bed now so I will see you next week at the latest!

Sittin' Around

So it is a lazy Sunday morning, and Emily is catching up on TV while I'm reading about guitars and jam bands. We have finally gotten what we think is going to be our final teaching schedule. I have classes on Monday, two on Tuesday and one class on both Wed. and Thur. It is nice to kind of have a more set schedule instead of just waiting around to see what we will teach (in suspense!). Emily went and watched a Chilean ballet last night, but I bowed out and stayed home to practice my geetar. My plan is to be good enough to play with my brother in law when I get home :)
One of my favorite things in China (that I honestly thought I was going to hate) is the drive to Cixi every Monday. It is really calming to just put on some music from the ipod and look out the window and see such a startling different view of China. We go past inner city, industrial centers, farms, shops, pretty much everything you can think of. It is really calming to see farmers in their fields working so early in the morning.
I've been reading a lot of Larry Niven recently. He has always been a fun author to read but I realized recently that he is definitely one of my favorites. I've also read a little Robert Bloch, and now I'm starting in on my Cormac McCarthy collection. The kindle is really a godsend, as there is very little English literature available here, especially in the amount that I read. And there is no way I could have brought that many books to China.
I really like the guitar store here but it is really far away. About an hour and fifteen minutes via bus. The owner is really nice and is looking into getting Emily a banjo. I hope she gets it so we can practice together and jam some. It is weird because we spend so much time together, but don't really do many of the same things (unless you count being on the internet as something).
We have had the chance to have a bunch of really good meals in China, but honestly the two that stick out most in my mind are Casa Maya, where we had some pretty good Mexican food, and McDonalds, where I had two cheeseburgers. I will never make fun of people that go to a foreign country and eat McDonalds again. I suppose it is silly, but we have definitely sampled the local cuisine by now. It was nice to have something so much like home. The only difference between McDonalds in China and in the US is that the servers are nice to you here.
That's all for now!