Bringin' home the bacon...

This blog entry has two meanings...the first is, of course one job would not be enough for me - I had to go out and get another job tutoring a Chinese student in Science and Math…in English! My school set me up with the opportunity and my student’s name is Ray. He will be leaving China to go to a high school in Vancouver, Canada in a month and my job is to teach him as much English as I can in the areas of Chemistry, Biology, Algebra, and Geometry.

It has been a greater challenge than I first expected...

I have no text books in English for reference so I am relying on the internet and my memory. I have had to clear away the cobwebs in my brain and have been re-living my days in high school and college. He is a very bright kid but it is still a great challenge. We have had to start right at the beginning with addition and subtraction, to squares and triangles, all the way to equations and theorems! And that is just math. In the area of science, I have started with atoms and molecules, then on to the equipment used in science experiments, and then on to compounds and molecular structures!

His family is wealthy. His father is in Real Estate and of course he chuckled when Ray told me he drives a BMW 745i, which is unheard of here in DanYang. They live in a nice house, which is also rare in this city for them to own real estate. Most people live in apartments. I am still shocked though because they have plenty of money but they do not heat their house! I have been there several times already and I can actually see my breath as I am teaching Ray. Sometimes I just don’t get the rationalization...Anyway, they are very nice and they really like me.

They pick me up each day at work around 4:30pm and I teach Ray for about an hour. After my lesson, we all sit down for dinner! This was the part I was nervous about. I have no idea each night what I might be fed!

This brings me to my second meaning of bringing home the bacon!

Our dinners usually consist of a bowl of rice for everyone and then several dishes that you serve yourself a few pieces from and place in your bowl of rice. We have said it before, but it is rude not to try everything that you are offered so now I am really on the hot seat and I do not have Sean to help bail me out.

The first night was harmless… mostly pork and vegetables. It was the second night that things started looking different. I took it like a champ and dug right in. I had eaten several bites from the two dishes on the table before I asked Ray what I was eating. He has a little computer that he can enter the Chinese word and it will tell him the English word. I eagerly awaited his answer and when he turned the screen for me to read it… all I could see was “intestines”! I had eaten a pig’s intestine!

As I tried not to look squeamish, I politely asked what the other dish contained. I soon found out that not only had I eaten the intestines but I had eaten the kidneys too! I put on my best poker face and continued eating as if I was not in complete shock. I even took a few more pieces just so that I did not offend them.

And to be honest… they both tasted really good. Ray's Mom is an excellent cook. I guess you would have to be for me to think that intestines or kidney tasted good. All of these exciting culinary experiences coming from a girl whose mother had a heck of a time getting her to eat her vegetables as a kid!

After dinner, his father insists on driving me home safely (that was a requirement from the school to ensure my safety) and delivers me right to my doorstep. Is has been a nice experience and I am getting to know a whole family… the grandmother was even at dinner the other night.

China continues to get more and more interesting every day. I can’t believe the experiences that I am having. I will blog again soon!!!!