Another great weekend in Beijing!

Hey bloggers~ Sorry I forgot to update you last week. I meant to do so on Monday but then I got asked to help out with three classes in the morning and two in the afternoon and in between the classes I spent my time getting actual work done. All week I kinda just lost track of time. I found out that we had a short week last week so I was able to go to the color run on Saturday :D But before I get too ahead of myself, let's review....
Last week Monday-Friday: I was asked to help out with grade 11 A-level classes. I go for two or three periods every morning and just help look over students' work. We've got a looooooooooong year ahead of us... to put it nicely >.< The kids are sweet and I'm enjoying getting to know them before we actually have to get down to business next semester. They just have a lot to work on between now and when they graduate.
Friday afternoon: I got off the bus two stops before my apartment stop and caught the city bus to the train station. I got my ticket and rushed off to the gate just as they were boarding.... PHEW made it! I was on my way to Beijing! I got in and went to my hotel. TRAFFIC WAS TERRIBLE!!!! It took forever to get to my hotel and that made me late for dinner >.< I went out to Haidilao with Russell, Nelson, and Richard (all Iolani). We had a blast eating and talking story. Then I met up with Jonathan and we watched the France v Switzerland world cup game. It was exciting because France scored three goals in the first half. Jonathan taught me a lot about soccer that I didn't know before.
Saturday: In the afternoon I had the color run but I wanted to go shopping :P I always wanna shop in Beijing haha! So eventually I met up with Maria and Alan (two of my former students) and then we waited for Tiffany and Renee (more of my former students) to meet us. Then all five of us started our run and along the way Jerry called Maria and asked where we were. So then we waited for him and attacked him with yellow powder. Then all six of us ran the rest of the 5k and had a blast with all the colors. We made some new friends by attacking them with powder as they attacked us.
Saturday night: I invited the students to a graduation dinner and told Jonathan to meet us there. I wanted him to meet them. He wanted to play a prank on them and I agreed that it'd be fun. So we pretended that Jonathan was a guy from Malaysia who didn't speak any English. Our story was that I met him on a hook up app called momo and I've been using Google Translate to talk to him. But I wanted to meet him in person and because I didn't speak any Chinese, I needed their help to translate. They all said yes and were incredibly supportive. Tiffany and Renee "calmed my nerves down" and Maria did a lot of the translations. Alan and Jerry spoke to him in Chinese. Five minutes into the conversation Jonathan played the super creepy, awkward guy and all five of my students started an under-the-table weixin group to figure out how they were gonna protect me from this weirdo. After 15 more minutes of us getting more and more uncomfortable Jonathan finally said, "Ok Sweetie, I think that's enough." And all my kids were SHOCKED! I burst out laughing high fived and hugged him. We explained what was going on and the kids were so mad but they laughed and enjoyed themselves. They all like him a lot :) Then we went out to get dessert and ended the night around midnight. I was so happy they liked him a lot and Jonathan even said that he was impressed with them, which is REALLY great news for my to hear! I'm proud of my students and I like showing them off :P
Sunday: I met up with Jonathan for lunch before he went off to Shanghai and then I met up with Russell to meet a really tapped in guy named Victor. He knows everyone in the entertainment industry in Beijing and Shanghai so I was really excited to get introduced to him. I started thinking about my future in China whether that's as a counselor or dancer. TBH I'm a bit overwhelmed but talking to him made me kick myself in the butt to study Chinese a little harder. I really wish I had formal classes >.< It would make understanding grammar rules so much easier! But whatever, I won't be complainy again. I refuse. This WILL make me stronger~
We got some news that this week is a short week AGAIN! We were all really excited by that news. We have Saturday and Sunday off, which means I have time to clean my apartment finally. I also will have time to study. Anyone up for a coffee and Chinese speaking date?! I REALLY need the practice! It's getting close to the time I'll be heading home and I'm really excited. I'll be going home on July 11th and I'll be traveling to Cali and Seattle so I'll have a lot to update you all on even when I'm not in China. So keep up with all my adventures as my first year in China comes to a close. The adventures aren't anywhere near done but as always, I'll keep updating you~ Until then... Laters!