Friday, November 13

Thought of the day: “You have more power than you realize! One person can’t make much of a difference, we tell ourselves. But that’s just not true. One’s smile can brighten someone’s spirits. One word can improve their whole outlook. And one kind action can set off a chain reaction that changes everything. And you can start it.”

After breakfast, Ted read a very humorous account of the day’s activities which had us all laughing—a very good start to the day that made us all forget it was Friday the 13th, all this and he was not feeling well. It’s another beautiful day, and as we head off to teach, Bill keeps teachers on their toes and we had a busy morning with discussions and British/American words and phrases. Lunch at the Golden Flavor Hot Pot restaurant was exactly as it sounds and lived up to it, but then Ted was not there to add humor to our lunch—we miss him. He was not up to it, so left halfway through class. We were joined at lunch by Chris and a volunteer, Margie Shuler from Abilene, Texas, who is teaching at a local boarding school for a semester, she had previously done Global Volunteers (in Xi’an) and was very excited to see us. After much ado, we were brought a firepot each, then bowls of tomato soup (or clear broth, or “hot” broth), lots of raw vegetables, meat, noodles, etc., which you then cooked in the firepot, talk about cooking your own lunch.

On our free afternoon, various activities took place. Bill and Louisa swam and caught up on e-mail and even found a magnifying glass; myself and Eleanor went to the Yunnan Provincial Museum, exploring ancient artifacts. Aleatha slept, while Danielle swam. Little did we know Ted was busy getting dessert from Walmart, which we found out when he made an appearance at dinner. In fact, we had two desserts, as one of Aleatha’s students brought some bayberries which we all shared.

By Brenda