A day in my life!

While sitting in my office staring out the window, I realized that you all don’t know what a typical day of my life in China actually looks like.  I must admit there are about five different typical days I have due to teaching three types of classes and having about two ways I spend days off.  So, I’ll start with my typical day of teaching college classes and update you on the others as I experience them next.

1. Wake up between 6:00am and 6:30am (John and I take turns getting up first to shower)
2. Shower
3. Pack my laptop, book, passport and any other items I deem ‘necessary’ into my messenger bag
4. Grab a water or juice out of the fridge
5. Walk out the door between 7:00am and 7:15am (Depending on whether or not we need to go buy breakfast or eat yogurt at home)
6. Wait for the bus (This can be brutal in extreme heat or the newly plummeted cold temperatures)
7. Get on the bus at 7:34am if it is early and 7:37am if it is on time (Yes, I have missed it before – and that means a longer, bumpier bus ride on the public bus)
8. Ride the bus for approximately 40 minutes
9. Arrive at school at 8:15ish
10. Run to the office on the 4th floor (No elevators folks!  The Chinese only put elevators in buildings over 7 stories tall.)
11. Drop my mammoth laptop off in my office
12. Walk to the classroom
13. Teach from 8:30am until 10:05am
14. 20 minute break to find the next classroom (The numbering system for rooms around here is WEIRD)
15. Teach from 10:25am until noon
16. Walk back to my office
17. Check my e-mail and BBC News while I wait for lunch (I don’t have access to facebook, Hulu, and other random sites at work)
18. Sign into Skype while I continue to wait for lunch (buckingham.rachel)
19. Enjoy my lunch (Today’s was particularly delicious! Pork, potatoes, red peppers, and hot green peppers mixed with hot red pepper seeds on a bed of rice.  That description honestly does not do it justice!)
20. Take a nap. (By far my favorite Chinese custom – the nap after lunch!)
21. Wake up anywhere between 2pm and 4pm depending on how well I slept the night before
22. Read, blog, or research my next lesson
23. Pack my bag to go home at 4:20pm
24. Walk out to the bus
25. Leave for home by 4:35pm
26. Sleep, read, or stare out the window while trying to not be terrified by the driver’s aggressive navigation of rush hour traffic (Traffic here is the most insane driving I have ever witnessed.  Even I am afraid to drive!  They follow no laws – 2 lane roads become 6 lane roads; people pass on the left and the right while cars are speeding toward them; pedestrians dart out whenever they desire; it’s a mess I can’t even begin to portray.)
27. Arrive around 5:15ishpm
28. Walk down the street to the noodle shop for dinner (Despite not doing much all afternoon, I’m starving!)
29. Walk to the local supermarket to get water
30. Walk to our apartment around 6:30pm
31. Climb 6 flights of stairs (This never fails to tire me out despite the fact that I do it all the time!)
32. Collapse at home!  And by that I mean put the water in the fridge, change into sweats, and pull out my computer.
33. Enjoy unlimited internet (that I borrow from the neighbors; my legitimate connection only works at work) to write emails, catch up on facebook, have Skype dates, blog, and watch shows on Hulu
34. Go to bed anytime between 10:30pm and 12:30am

And there you have it! A typical day of teaching college classes!