Life...after China...

Back to the Grind...

 ...today is the first day of school after the Chinese New Year holiday.  Three weeks away from school can bring big changes.  I know that I have not posted much in the psat month, but I am ready to get back in the swing.  A few updates to report:

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On Feb. 16th, my grandmother passed away after a very long fight with Parkinsons, Lung & Skin Cancer, and finally several strokes.  I would have to say that she is in a much better place.  I was still really difficult emotionally.  She and I were great buddies and I will miss her a great deal...

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Being a new semester at school I will have lots of new students in my ESL classes and will be saying goodbye to many lovely children.  That is nature of what I am doing as an ESL teacher.  It is a joyful time, but it is also very sad to see some of my favorite students move on to other classes.  I will be breaking in a new bunch of future bloggers so keep your eyes open for new esl blog entries!

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Finally, this coming July - August, my wife and I are taking a journey that only comes around once in a lifetime.  We are planning to travel the SILK ROAD from Xian to Kashgar.  It is about 4000 miles and I am planning for it to take about 6 weeks.  We will be taking trains mostly, but there will be some horses, camels, buses, bikes, taxis, etc.  I plan to blog during this time as the situation permits.  I will keep you posted here as to what is happening with the plans...

Posted by: wjreagin at 02/28/05 12:53 | link | comments
personal

Lack of Posting

 As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my grandfather's health has been a problem as of late.  Well, things have taken a turn for the worst.  Now my grandmother has had two mini-stokes in the past two weeks.  The last stroke was two days ago and has taken away her ability to write and speak.  Both of my grandparents are in the same nursing home, in the same room!  Anyway, to say the least it is a good thing that I am headed home on Sunday. 

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On a little bit brigher note, Chinese New Year is happening on Feb 8th.  In celebration for this event my school provided a banquet for all the employees at the school.  There was lobster, shrimp, dumplings, and lots of other  food.  There was also a 'Lucky Draw.'  My wife and I both won something.  She won a gift certificate for 100RMB (about $12USD) to a shopping mall here in town and I won a BenQ 128 mb MP3 player! 

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I will be out of 'contact' for the next few weeks.  I will try to post something whenever possible!

Posted by: wjreagin at 02/04/05 08:43 | link | comments
china, personal