oh WOW...if everyone could only witness the state that my apartment has become...i have almost succeeded in completely flooding the entire kitchen! why you may ask? this is all the doing of the evil washing machine! as i speak, i have the hoses of the machine hooked to my faucet (im almost positive this is what i am supposed to do) and water is spewing EVERYWHERE except into the machine. ok, i lie, i think some is getting into the machine because odds would say that it just has to. and yes, ive just left it running like this and have given up to write in my blog. i figure that my kitchen is already completely under water and if i flood the whole floor...well maybe some cleaning will be accomplished. i want everyone to know that i sat and tinkered with how to put all the hoses and everything together too for a good hour. i refused to call jeremy and ask for help. i was bound and determined to figure everything out on my own and this is where i ended up. i can see now why the chinese wear the same outfit for an entire week before changing- they realize how labor-intensive laundry here is!

time out.

ok, so my washing machine has started to do something new! its shaking violently (i am just going to assume this means it's cleaning?) and beeping at me with blinking lights. i would read what is under the blinking lights if only it werent in chinese! one of two things could happen here, it may blow up or it may get the job done. ill keep typing and pray for the latter.

a more positive note...
CJ and Aleks arrived this week in Chengde! We first saw them on Wed for dinner and it was absolutely amazing to see and talk to someone in the same position as us! when we go out for dinner and thnigs now, its somehow easier to be confused and bad at chinese with the four of us versus the two. CJ and Aleks also know some other foreign teachers from their school and others that hunted them down when they came into town...this means a whole group of us! jeremy and i have yet to meet the other teachers because we just saw aleks and CJ for dinner on Wed then dinner and hanging out on Fri. Ive been so freaking busy prepping for my biochem classes that I had to limit how much free time i had this week. Im hoping that as i get into the groove of things, it will take me less time to prep and maybe i can get some done on the weekend days. its so different have to actually prep for such a content-filled class when everyone else gets to play games and watch movies and just talk with their students...stupid biochem.
ANYWAYS...! so yes, jeremy and i plan to meet some of the other teachers and finally go out a little tonight we think (thank goodness for the weekend!). last night though, after dinner, CJ, Aleks, Jeremy, and I did have some time to venture to the city square (i think thats what it could be called). the 'square' is a big park in the middle of Chengde and it has fountains during the day, festivals are held there, and lots of people go there to hang out after dark. the most popular event during these hangouts would be Shuttle Cock. ok, i think that's what it is called- its what Aleks called it. its basically a game of hackie sack, but with feathers on the thing you are kicking! we attempted although aleks is really the only one that even succeeds at kicking anything but air. it was fun too because chinese teenagers came over and played with us! it amazes me at how much can be communicated without language. we had so much fun with them and we barely talked at all. there was mainly just motioning lots of laughing. after that fun little get together, we called it an early night because CJ and Aleks had to leave for school this morning at 6:45. all in all though, still a hella fun time.

oh yeah, mini-sidebar: the food here is AMAZING for anyone that is wondering. jeremy and i try to do a lot of cooking at home to save money and to avoid sickness. We have really only gone out to eat a few times with our wai ban. But with CJ and Aleks here now, we have tried a few more places, and we are successful almost every time. I am going to be so sad when I come back to the states and they dont have real chinese food :( and oh yeah! not being able to order in chinese can make you end up with some pretty strange dishes which means im being very adventurous! even things i would never eat at home are turning out to taste pretty yummy.

alright, well im off to check on the washer again...;)