free fridays

I think I am going to like Fridays around here. The obvious reason is that it is the weekend. But I actually have all day Friday off so the weekend really starts on Thursday. I've decided that Friday is free day. I will not work AT ALL. I usually work on the weekends just because I find that I have the time but I think I will set aside one day that is all mine.

Free Fridays are going to be nice. The other teachers from Canada have classes on Friday so I am on my own to explore and set my own schedule. We tend to do everything as a group which is fun but it can be a bit time consuming - getting consensus, getting organized, getting going. But Fridays, I'm the boss. So in the interest of getting a little normalcy back into my world I've set up a little routine for Friday.


Friday will be cleaning day. I love a clean house. Dust bunnies bug me. Slimy floors bug me even more. This place was so dirty when I arrived. It seems like it will never be clean enough but it is starting to feel comfortable. I've cleaned the tub four times since I've been here. (it was THAT dirty). Since I was cleaning, I decided to tackle this little beast... the washing machine.


I have no idea what the buttons say. I just push buttons until the magic happens.



It is located in the bathroom and in true Nanjing teacher's dorm fashion, doesn't quite drain as well as you hoped. Since it floods the bathroom floor, I take the opportunity to throw another cap full of bleach on the floor and scrub while the water slowly makes its way over to the drain. Any sense of environmental conservation has been trumped by my need to reduce slime and mold at the moment.


I also put up my new shower curtain. It's the small things that makes a place feel like a home. Plus the shower curtain before was this horrible pink and yellow thing that stopped at the top of the tub. Not particularly useful in keeping the water inside the tub. Now I have a cool shower curtain with matching towel and bath mat - all for under $10.



Speaking of cheap, check out these prices. A person can't afford not to drink at these prices!

At the risk of boring you further with the mundane details of my Friday, here's a summary of the day:
- get up, turn on computer, make coffee, talk to everyone logged onto skype ( I LOVE SKYPE)
- clean
- go for lunch at the cafeteria - an experience I can only handle once a week
-go for a walk
- shop (my new form of recreation)
- watch the kids play basketball; talk to a couple girls about basketball, find out there is a University basketball game on Sat. against Shanghai, make plans to go to the game
- buy two dvd's for $5 - Sex in the City - season 1-4 and 8 Will Smith movies on 1 DVD. I figure the little girl selling the DVD's needed the money more than Will Smith or Hollywood so I don''t care that they were likely pirated movies.
- watch 5 Sex in the City episodes back to back
I like this new routine. I'm sure it would get boring after a while but for five weeks I think I will enjoy it.

Today I am off to tackle Nanjing (if it doesn't rain) and take in a basketball game. 3,000 seats at the stadium; 20,000 students living on campus - should be interesting.