QQ and my Chinese students

I am still able to keep in touch with my Chinese students, using QQ, a Chinese social network.  I have about two hundred people that can communicate with.  I use the netbook for this and check it for a virus many times.  It is not hard to get a virus in China or on a Chinese system.  The netbook is mainly just for me to use to email my Chinese students.  With QQ you can look at others peoples pictures and see what people are doing and my students look at the pictures I post and see what I did in China and what I am doing here.  They have seen the July 4th parade, our home, my college, the farmers market, and soon will see the orchards and the fall produce.  I enjoy writing to them and sharing some of my life with them.
I enjoyed my time in Xian but I really enjoyed spending time with the students.  I know my having a QQ number helped me get to know more students.  When I told my students that I had QQ, I think the students realized that I was not going to just leave and never be heard from again.  When ever I would ask a Chinese student if they had QQ, which they all do, their eye would open wide and they would say, "you have QQ?"  I gave out my QQ number to everyone.
I met a girl on the bus and she figured out I was a teacher at Xian International University, because I was an American, and I was on the 300 bus that takes you to Xian International University.  If I had been a tourist I would not be going that direction and I would not be on the bus.  We talked for about 20 minutes total.  The main topic is almost always, " how can I improve my English skills?"  I have sent her information on how to check on ICC's Website and use the Tumble Books.  We still chat on QQ and she is in Holland now.  I was chatting with a student on QQ and found out he was in my class but had never came to any of them.  He did show up for the last class.  Our conversation was like this, "who are you", "I am in your class but I have never came to any of them.  Sorry."  I said OK watch what the other students are doing and try your best to do your presentation for the final.  Every day in China something happened that made you realize that this was a new experience.  The experience could be a new food, a new smell, meeting a new students, seeing someone spit in the hallway at the hospital, seeing a city bus drive pass you going the wrong way on a city street, having a person yell out the window of the restaurant, "hey, tall man.", but every day something new and different happened.  That is what I really miss about China.  I can see new things here but it is not as exciting.  If you are driving a car that is probably a good thing.

No more cell phones

While I was in Xian I had to carry a cell phone because if a student needed to talk to a faculty member I had to be able to answer the phone and listen.  When someone is going to the hospital, you need to know that bit of information.  I was sending text messages as I was boarding the plane to return to the USA.  Since I have been in the states, I do not carry a cell phone or actually talk on the phone.  I just did learn how to check my voice mail at work.  When you don't do something for 6 months you tend to forget.  I am back on track now.  After six months I had three messages and all of them were current.  One was to check a reference on a student that had made the study abroad trip to China and one was to help out with a community project that was welding related.   I think I was a little late on the employment reference and I am sorry about that but he got the job and I was able to reinforce the fact that he will be an excellent student worker.
The community service project went well and I was able to, not only cut their steel rebar, but donated a marble top table to their garden area.  More important, while I was cutting the steel, they unloaded the table from my van.  I have moved that table for the last time.  I did not get any pictures but they did and I will post the link and share that project with you, when I get back in my email.