here, there, everywhere

We realized the other day with some horror that it's been a year since we went to China! This time last year, we were just winding down the second camp we'd worked at. Although we were only in China for about six weeks - four of which were spent teaching - it somehow looms larger in our minds. Possibly because it was the weirdest job either of us had ever had, in which we were given an un-aircondioned roomful of hyper children and very little else, were herded around by a lanky chain-smoking hard-drinking 'handler' who was our only connection to our employers and who spoke about three words of English (though a conspiracy theory that Mr. Li actually spoke perfect English but faked it to avoid having to dealing with us any more than he already did was floated about towards the end) and lived, worked and ate with THE WEIRDEST TEACHERS either of us had ever or met or have encountered since. We had an epic poker tournament, we snuck into private apartment pool at midnight (thank you again, Mr. Li), Iain invented an elaborate playground game involving hula hoops, we braved strange and harrowing bathrooms. It rocked. 

I meant to post this a year ago, but here goes anyhow: on my last day at the first school, Lin (the little girl at the left end wearing a uniform) presented me with a painstakingly hand-written Chinese lesson. As you can see from the scan, it's on cheap thin paper with a class activity on the back, but I carry it with me  in my journal wherever I go now. It's quite possibly the sweetest thing any student has ever given me. So  here it is - in case you ever needed to say "apple" in Chinese. Thanks, Lin!