An emotional girl lately

So this last week/weekend went by so quickly! I can't believe that I'm leaving for home in just a little more than two weeks! That completely throws me for a loop... it seems like I only got here a little while ago (until I start thinking about it, and then I get a little homesick... weird, really).
Anyway, last week I went bowling with Peg, Wayne, Cole, and Cathrine. It was so much fun! Of course, Wayne was really really competitive and beat me after I had been talking big about being pretty good at bowling... oh well! It was really cute when we started when Wayne said to me, "Okay, princess, you go first!" I was so touched because his family calls Peg "Queen" and it meant a lot to me that he would say something like that. I really feel a connection with him somehow. I think we just kind of "get" each other even though he's a fourteen-year-old Chinese boy. I'm sure we will be friends via e-mail and messenger when I get home. I hope I can help tutor him in English and help him with some slang terms, etc. I know Peg does that, too, but it's always good to talk with someone close to your age who will know how to use language in casual conversation among friends. Sometime before I leave Hangzhou, I am going to go shopping with him for CD's and a "chop" with my Chinese name on it.
Then Friday night I taught until 9pm and we (the teachers from MN, minus Julie) decided to go to a bar in a hotel near our school. I needed some food in my stomach before drinking, so I took my second shameful trip to McDonald's. It was kind of worth it this time... I'm sorry to say. The McChicken sandwich was actually really good! The bar, however, was the weirdest thing I think I have ever seen! There were all these dancing girls and live music and singing, but the costumes were just bizaare! They were fruit and bellydancers and other odd combinations of things, and the decorations were just completely gaudy! There were private rooms that had small windows, but I am still not sure what goes on in there... honestly, I'm a little skeptical because there were all these girls sitting alone and looking mopey at the bar. Maybe they were working? I dunno... We only stayed for one drink because it was loud and late and I was so tired from just having taught 7.5 hours! I'm hoping that I get more time to go out before I leave... but maybe not to a place like that!
Saturday was a big day without our usual guide, Jacky!! We had a lovely Chinese girl with us, so she helped, but we probably ran her ragged! We shopped up and down this old street after having hiked up to a pagoda/temple in the morning. Lunch was wonderful, as usual, and then we shopped some more. I am wishing now that I had bought more gifts for people, but I'm having a hard time keeping track of who I've spent money on and who I've not. I'm working on that list right now, actually. You'd be surprised how little I've been making lists since I've been here! Maybe this trip has made me more organized! Who knows...
Saturday night I went to dinner with my mom's family. They are such awesome people. The grandmother and grandfather are so cool and seem so young and open-minded. The mother and father (Bruce and Ing) are easy to get along with and so eager to please. The daughter, Apple, is adorable and is staring to open up a little bit. I really hope she will paint my Chinese name (she's taking lessons) before I leave!
Sunday was the most emotional day I've had here in China. I spent the entire day (from 9am-9pm) with my students from my first class. We met at school and then walked to West Lake. We rented some row-boats, which was really funny because they arent' very strong, so they were getting blown all over the lake and I was pretty much the only one who knew how to steer the boats! We sat in the middle of the lake and talked about music and games and stuff like that... just small-talk, really.
Then we walked to a tea house, which was pretty much the coolest "restaurant" I've been to, ever. You buy a glass of tea (which is about 58 yuan) and then there's a buffet of finger-food type stuff that is free! The students got food for the whole table, like fruit and ice-cream, and egg-rolls, and lots of other stuff and we just sat there for a couple of hours eating and drinking tea! The building was so cool with little pools of water and bridges and goldfish all over the place and big paper lanterns; and even in the middle of the day it was so dark and romantic-looking inside. I wanted to stay there for the rest of my trip!
After tea and lunch, we decided to rent bicycles and ride around the West Lake. That was really hot and we were all super-sweaty by the end, but it was a lot of fun. I told my kids that I thought they were trying to kill me by taking me on boat and bikes! The traffic rules being what they are here, I'm feeling pretty lucky that I am still in one piece!
After that, we walked to the old shopping street again, but didn't really see much. Then we took a bus to the restaurant for dinner. It was a really cool experience to have what they call "hot pot." It's a bit like fondue in the states. There is a fire in the middle of the table with a divided pot over it. In the pot are two different kinds of "soups" as they called them (though I think they were mostly oil). Then the waitress brought all kinds of raw meat and vegetables to the table, and you just put them in the soup and wait for them to cook, then eat them. Half of the soup was really really spicy and the other half was not. I liked them both, which surprised me, as it was almost painful to eat the spicy kind! We had some really interesting food to cook that you'll never believe I tried (and I only tried a little bit)........ pig brains! Not all of the students like them, but some did, so I decided I had better have a small bite. They taste a bit like tofu, but softer. Not really my thing, but at least I can say I did it!
After dinner, we took taxis to a store for a little bit of late-night shopping. By this time, my students were starting to dwindle and I was getting really emotional. The last few to say goodbye got to see their teacher cry. It was a pretty stupid sight, I'm sure, to see this little foreigner looking lonely walking home just sobbing. I love those kids so much and I really hope I get a chance to see them again someday, or at least keep in touch with them. They were my first students ever, which really means a lot to me. (One of them is already sending me something in the mail, as a matter of fact! It's my next tattoo!)
I have a quick embarrassing moment from Sunday to tell you about... so you can all make fun of me when I get home (which I know you love to do!): When I was shopping with my last three students (Myth, Edward, and George), I tried on this really pale pink dress (which I ended up buying), but because it is so pale pink and I was wearing dark clothes that day, it showed all of my undergarments! Myth was the only one to see it, but then she told the boys what my underwear looked like! And when I went back to them, George was blushing and Edward says, "Oh, so sexy!" I could have died! What an impression to make on these young Chinese kids! Oh well, just chalk that one up to another "Tess" moment!
Only about two weeks until I come home! Can't wait to see everyone!