Test today

I took my Chinese test today.  I will have to discuss this with my students, since they will also be writing tests for their American students.   I need to make sure they do certain things like only write words on the test that people have learned.  I went back over the book and I do not remember reading some of the stuff that was on the test.  I have taken tests before and some were very hard but I least I understood what the questions were and remembered the material.   It is one thing to say," Darn I can't remember that," and another thing to go, what?  I am not taking this for a grade so it is not a big deal to me.  I will have to discuss with my students how to write a test or at least think about how to write a test.  If the test is too easy the students will not learn and if it is too hard they will just give up.  I think I will suggest they give more short quizzes to make sure students study a little bit every day.   I have my tickets to Xiamen for next week.  I will visit Xiaoling and meet her husband.  I also hope to see Kevin Shu.  Xiaoling and Kevin were my Chinese teachers at ICC.  I am looking forward to seeing them next week.  Everyone says Xiamen is beautiful. I will find out.  I ordered the tickets last night and got in on the early bird special price on C-trip, the Chinese web site that Katie Evans uses and suggested.  It is also the one you use on QQ.  I did the email order and got a text stating the order was confirmed and I got the confirmation number.  I then got a phone call saying I need to send them through a fax our email, the credit forms, a copy of the passport, and the front and back of the credit card and do it in 40 minutes or the order will be cancelled.  I needed to get that done or the early bird special would expire.  I got Tim Murphy to print the credit forms, and I took pictures of the credit card and passport.  I was working to get this sent in before the deadline.  The Internet is slow here at the hotel.  I sent the information off at 10:18 and did a carbon copy to me.  I was checking my stuff and I see the picture of the passport, the credit card front, the credit card back and the cake that Katie Evans baked for me Sunday.  So I am back on line trying to load the credit report and get it sent in and the phone rings and the C-trip people have processed the tickets and I told them I would send the credit release as soon as hang up and I am sorry about the cake picture.  When I go to the airport I just show them my passport and they give me a ticket.  Even in a foreign country the wonders of the world wide web make difficult things a piece of cake.

Katie has been very helpful to me.  I would have been very lost without her advice.  She is going back to England after the semester.  I wish her well and I will miss and the students here will miss her.  Friday is the big sports event.  School is out for the day.  I may get to play on the Rugby demonstration team.  Maybe.  That would surprise my students, that's for sure.  I was watching the faculty march out today.  I was wondering how easy it would be to get the faculty at ICC to march out for a sporting event.  Non-tenured faculty, no problem.  I hope to post some sports pictures if it is possible.