School's back in session

I'm still planning to share more about my trip to Yunnan and was in the process of doing so when my computer died on me. And the computer that was in my apartment when I arrived is older than me (if we're counting by computer years, that is). So I'm surviving on the kindness of the other foreign teachers at my school until I figure out what to do. Sad thing is, despite the fact that I'm obessed with the internet, I really do need it to plan lessons, as it's my only English-language resource.

So far the semester is going really well. I'm currently teaching four classes: two sections of British and American Literature to Junior English majors, a listening class, and an oral English class. There's a rumor that I'll be given another class--an elective Listening & Speaking class--but it's anyone's guess when / if that will happen. Other than the daunting task of attempting to teach the entire English and Amercian literature canons in one semester (I attempted to do Chaucer and Shakespeare in one day in a three-hour class. I didn't quite work, so Shakespeare gets bumped to the next class), I'm having a great time teaching literature and actually feel qualified to do it.

In other news, I've recently broken my bowling high, jumping from a 162 to 170 and am averaging 140.; I experienced my first famous Lanzhou sandstorm yesterday; with the tortillas my parents sent, I made my first quesadilla in over 9 months (it was divine!).