The lilting of Mrs. Black

The recent events in Japan have truly been a disaster and it's hard to not think about my now neighboring country frequently. The only crisis here in China has been a lack of salt. Chinese shoppers have been clearing out salt in the supermarkets so quickly that the government has limited how much salt a person can buy. Of course I run out of salt during this time and have to elbow my way through the salt mob at the grocery store. But this is one of those times when being a waigouren, foreigner, has its advantages. As soon as the salt attendant saw I was a tall blonde, I was gently handed my ration of salt. Nuclear scare from Japan is the cause of all this salt hoarding. The Chinese believe that the iodine added to the salt will prevent the thyroid glands from absorbing radioactive iodine. The government has issued statements of China's safety from any sort of nuclear side effects but there still isn't any salt on the shelves.

During my lessons this week I briefly discussed St. Patrick's day and some of the day's traditions. As a listening exercise I played a Chieftains song and had my students fill in missing lyrics. It was a fun exercise and I enjoyed explaining about traditional celtic instruments and the art of lilting!

I have been asked, along with some of the other foreign teachers, to be a part of an educational video. A school in Chongqing is making a video supplement to an English text book and they needed foreigners to act out dialogues. We don't know exactly what we'll be doing besides showing up at touristy areas of Chongqing and Chengdu and acting our part! So don't be surprised when you see me nominated for the Academy Awards next year for my role as Mrs. Black in the Instructional English Video!!! ;)