Burning Down the House

Most entertaining story of the weekend comes first. Last night I went
to a particularly nice cafe with my friend, a pricier one that
specializes in a calm atmosphere and great ambiance music. After
sitting for about an hour, the table next to us started yelling for a
waiter. Most places in China you will call for a waiter, but at nicer
places like this cafe it is looked down upon. The waiters and patrons
looked disparagingly at the two gentlemen yelling for a waiter until
their cries of, "Waiter! Waiter!" turned into, "Waiter! Fire!". One of
the lights had burst and the ceiling was slowly catching on fire. Just
as the waitresses realized the ceiling was on fire big pieces started to
fall down and that section of the ceiling began caving in. Everyone
escaped without injury, and the waitresses were all yelling "Put it out!
Put it out!" but no one thought to grab the fire extinguisher or
actually do anything. It took a good minute for someone to come running
out of the kitchen to put the fire out. Those of us who hadn't already
fled were then given discount cards and free everythings. It was a
pretty exciting event, never been in the midst of a fire before.

This morning I went to partake in more part time teaching. The job is
nice, as the money it brings in makes me feel a lot less guilty about
spending money 'recklessly' treating friends to dinner and seeing
movies. When I went to the first class on Thursday I thought I stumbled
at a few places with the unfamiliar format of the class, the longer
time, and having to get new children to have the courage to talk to a
foreigner. I'd forgotten how hard it was to get children talking on the
first day. I didn't think I'd done well, but after the class the
children gushed to their parents about how much they liked me, the
teachers gushed about how well I did, and several parents redid their
children's learning schedules to be in class with me or be in private
sessions. Armed with that confidence, I went in for round 2 today and
just dominated my classes. I'm really starting to enjoy teaching,
especially because I feel I am finally getting really good at it.

I've been cooking lately after doing some studying of local restaurant
styles, and last night I made some of the best food I've ever made. I'm
not sure if it is cooking with gas or a fluke with lucky guessing on
cooking times, but it was so good. SO GOOD.

Time for afternoon classes, followed by a trip to the movie theater with
some friends to see the latest Chinese blockbuster.