I was out yesterday doing my weekly extracurricular activity of frisbee - enjoying the cooler air that has come through the last couple days. A student threw a frisbee over my head and I went running after it - somehow tripping or falling down and landing on my left leg. Oh, it hurt! But I couldn't let on that it was killing me, and I was able to get up and slowly move so I knew nothing was broken. I think I bruised a bone in my upper thigh or something, and sleep was difficult last night but it does feel better this morning. I feel like all I need is a cane and I would be walking around like a crippled old man (wait, what is old??). Needless to say, I did not do any more frisbee-throwing or catching after that. I also lost my glasses that were in my pocket during the fall, but I didn't notice until later, back in the office. Sky said don't worry, if I lost them on the school campus, they will be found and no one will take them. I walked back to the track where we had been playing, and after searching around for a while I found them lying on a lane of the track - unharmed! Amazing...
Had some big news yesterday at school. David, our centre principal, called me into his office and gave me a letter to read. It is his resignation letter, effective at the end of this school year. He and his wife have a 3 year old son that was just diagnosed with autism (they knew something was going on), and they can't get the proper treatment and therapy here in China so they are going to his home in Scotland. They asked if I was interested in his post for next year and I couldn't get the word NO out of my mouth fast enough. It requires an extreme amount of patience and willingness to get walked on - both of which I have little in supply these days. Never wanted to be an administrator anyways...
So now they are hunting for a replacement for next year which is very challenging for our particular school because it is the only one set up in its unique way. David and I discussed all the current teachers, and we both agreed that there is only one who is a possibility but we don't know yet if he's interested. If he doesn't take the post, they'll have to recruit an outside person and everyone is afraid of that because you don't know what you're getting... They do like to move fast on these appointments, however (one of the few things they do quickly here), so we'll probably know in a week or two who will head the center next year. Good luck to that person!
Went to the Mogao Caves over the 3-day May Day holiday. It was a quick, fast turnaround trip, but I'm glad I went. It's outside the city of Dunhuang in Gansu province in northwestern China. A bunch of caves hollowed out by Buddhist monks back around 500 AD. Full of paintings and sculptures. It is desert area and was once an oasis (since dried up). It's nice to be in an area of China that is not overcrowded and full of apartment buildings. I would do it again! What it looks like on the parts where a new facade has not been added on:
There are some very pristine sand dunes around there:
You could take a ride on an ultra-light glider for about $60. I wasn't sure of the safety so I passed...
And finally, Crescent Lake which is where the old oasis is. The size of the lake has shrunk considerably in the last 50 years, and I think they add water to it to keep it there...
Here's to the last few weeks of this semester going by quickly...
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