Week 2:  

I went to a piano concert at another university last night ... the daughter of an Italian teacher.  The concert was great but I had to stand in the rain for 45 minutes trying to get a taxi.  Not exactly fun but I learned an important lesson ...  taxi's are hard to get when it's raining and I was charged twice as much as usual.  It's amazing how much you can learn when everything is new :-) 

I explored a new park this week after class.  It was about a 20 minute bus ride.  Going to the park I could sit but coming home, it was very crowded and I had to stand the whole time.  Standing was OK but it was a little tricky seeing out a window to know when to get off the bus.  Always an adventure :-)  The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is one of the most famous Buddhist pagodas in China and the park surrounding it is fabulous.  In half of the park you see many people and lots of activity but in the other half, it is quiet with lots of water flowing, quiet music playing and very peaceful and relaxing.  I hope you enjoy a few pictures.

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Dragon Lanterns throughout the park

One of my favorite areas of the park with relaxing music

As you can see, the greenery is very lush.

These girls wanted their picture taken with me.

Week 1 at XJTU

Week 1 at XJTU was great.  I've enjoyed all my classes, the students are wonderful, and I can mostly find my way around campus.  I've added the bus and metro to my modes of transportation and managed to find my way ... with the help of some kind people who spoke enough English to point me in the right direction. :-)  Saturday I joined some other teachers from BYU, Portugal and Japan for a day of shopping in the market.  I hope you enjoy our Market pictures.  I hope everyone has a great start to the new school year.  I have my students use Daily 5 .. but I changed it to, "Think, Listen, Speak, Read, Write" in English each day.  They like Daily 5 and I hope you continue to enjoy the Plymouth Creek Daily 5 and keep reading.  I miss you and wish you all the best in the coming school year.

Address in China

I don't receive mail at my apartment but if you ever want to send a post card, my students love seeing them.  Mail goes through the university at:

Karla Thompson
School of Foreign Studies
Xi'an Jiaotong University
No 28 Xianning West Road Xi'an
Shaanxi Province
P.R. China 710049

very small bathroom but a nice hot shower

desk is no longer this tidy

I hang my laundry in this little patio ... I love the view

I was asked about my "living conditions" so here are some pictures of my apartment.  I'll need to add a few "touches of home" but it is very comfortable and about a 30 minute walk to my class building and campus office.  I'm on the 3rd floor (no elevator) and up in the trees which I love.  I'll try to get some pictures of my classroom for my next post.

First Day of Class

The adventure has officially begun .... Classes began today.  It was great getting started but I have to admit I was a bit nervous, excited, uncertain ... first day "jitters."  The Dean and Assistant Dean of the English department are both delightful.  The assistant, Bing, studied at the University of Minnesota from 2006-2007.  What a small world.  We had fun talking about her experiences.  She thought Minnesota was beautiful but too cold.  She couldn't believe people went out when we had big snow storms.  I guess that means winter will be more mild here in Xi'an.  Yea!

My students are wonderful but were a little shy and hesitant to speak at first.  By the end of the 2 hour block they began opening up and participating in class discussion.  Our classes meet for 2 hours each week.  Because I will work with 9 classes of students, I decided to take a picture of everyone to help me learn names.  They were all good sports and happily posed for their picture.

I've ventured out a bit in these first 5 days ... partly out of necessity but mostly because I wanted to explore and become familiar with the area.  The largest park in Xi'an is just across the street and a wonderful place to walk and be around families having fun.  I'm also next door to an elementary school so I hear the chatter of students whenever I'm home.  Last night must have been an open house for the new students because music was playing and the street was full of young couples and young children.  The sights and sounds of school definitely made me smile.  I tried to go onto the school grounds but a guard was at the gate so I walked on.  I'll try again when I have someone with me who speaks Chinese.  I'm still at a very minimal level with my language.  I can navigate with the taxi and make purchases at the store but not much beyond a survival level :-)  Chinese is hard!

Students who met me at the airport and took me to Walmart the first day and carried everything to my apartment.

This is the building where all my classes are held.

The following are from the park across the street.  I love walking here.

Statue in the park that make me think of Plymouth Creek

Fun playground in the park

University Entrance

I arrived in China on Thursday and it's been a whirlwind.  I left Minnesota on Tuesday and Wednesday disappeared somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.  I'm mostly set up and unpacked in my apartment but am still waiting for a printer and materials in my office.  I've walked a trillion miles in the past 4 days and only got lost once.  I've been grocery shopping, set up a bank account, had blood drawn to make sure I don't have the "black plague" and completed a ton of paperwork.  I also took my first taxi ride and managed to communicate sufficiently to arrive at my destination.  Major success!

Classroom diversion at friends Utah cabin

My daily view in Utah of Mount Timpanogos

BYU Entrance ... The World is Our Campus

BYU welcome ... Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve

Time to relax by the stream at friends Utah cabin

I've completed my classes at BYU which were fantastic. We started each morning at 8:00 and didn't finish until about 8:30 each night.  My head was spinning but everything was new and exciting.  It was especially interesting to listen to people who grew up in China during the Cultural Revolution and were in Tiannamen Square.  I still have a lot to learn and my Chinese is only at a survival level. :-)  I will leave for China on August 21 and classes  begin August 27.  I'm excited to get started.

I will begin my studies at Brigham Young University on July 30, 2012.  After 100 hours of culture and language study, I will be off to Xi'an, China.  At Xi'an Jiaotong University I will be teaching in the English department oral language, writing, and lexicology.