Tests are graded and grades turned in. This time I actually met the guidelines of the University. I must assign a certain percentage of A’s, B’s, etc. Last class had earned too many B’s and I had to arbitrarily take away points from their scores until they fell in the C range. Once I met the correct percentage, the rest of the B’s could keep their grade.
Bai Wei arranged for his brother-in-law to take us to dinner last Thursday. He’s a physician here. Val had been morbidly admiring the rooster claws for sale in stores and restaurants, and she finally got a chance to sample them. The presentation was lovely: a fish head surrounded by chicken feet. Her assessment: you can eat anything with the right sauce on it. Another eating first for us was the spudburgers at McDonalds. We’d been watching TV commercials that showed potatoes being mashed and placed on top of the meat in a certain burger they’ve been marketing. So we tried one. Sure enough, you get bacon, two patties, and seasoned mashed potatoes in a bun. Even though we originated unhealthy fast-food, I don’t think it’ll catch on in the States.
We have great toenail art. People here have the steadiest hands. They can paint on anything, even grains of rice, so our toenails were no problem.
We took the bullet train to Nanjing yesterday. It was cool there, both figuratively and literally. We almost needed jackets. The natives were wearing sweaters and coats but carrying their ubiquitious umbrellas. These umbrellas are not waterproof–in fact, they’re very fancy and used only to protect from UV rays–and are made of lace, silk, embroidery, etc. Even on the warm days here the women are wearing black tights. The shoes continue to amaze us–many of them zip up the back.
Had a little excitement in the Metro stations on Saturday. We were on our way to People’s Park to watch the weekend mating service. Chinese parents advertise the assets of their unmarried children to other parents of unmarried children. On the way there, a man came rushing through the crowd, nearly knocking Val down. He was followed and caught by another man who held him in front of us until five policemen showed up and hauled him off. On the way home, two guys got into a fist fight, blood and all, and had to be separated by a cadre of transit police. (Yup, they have guys now who stand in front of the train doors to remind people to let people off the trains before they swarm aboard.)
This blog was drafted days ago, but I was unable to post it before we left China. I’m home now and will find more pictures to post. The trip was a great success.