I'm grateful to the bright young sparks who produce the "Local Laowai" video series, particularly their multi-part lesson on Chinese banquets.  Thanks to that series, I learned that there are protocols for the seating arrangements, eating the food (or course) and most importantly, toasting.  If I'd walked into a Chinese banquet without this background, it would have been a less enjoyable experience. But with the help of the video series, I survived several bouts of enthusiastic toasting, including events where I was the guest of honor. I've since learned more about how to toast and when to toast.  

The first thing to bear in mind, whether you're drinking beer, wine or baiju, is that  you don't sip your drink casually at a banquet. The alcoholic drink is reserved for toasting only. It's easy to absent-mindedly pick up your little beer glass or wine glass instead of the glass of tea or hot water that has been provided, but if you do, you'll likely set off another round of unplanned toasting which will lead to more toasting, and pretty soon the room is spinning like the lazy susan on the banquet table. 

This was my picture of Ross in retirement -- no, not the picture of him holding a "Hello, Kitty" coffee mug and wearing a silk bathrobe -- [which has been removed from the blog at his request -- fair enough] -- I mean my mental picture, as follows:

I figured he would get up early, have some coffee, and then, wearing only shorts, step outside to look at the thermometer on the deck, then come inside where I am washing the dishes, and tell me what the temperature is according to the thermometer on the deck.  

And of course he would have his fishing and golfing.

But I've upended his life...

I wasn't in Zibo long before I was advised to check out Yi Wu Market -- the place to go for bargain-hunting.  For anything -- clothes, shoes, purses, toys, hardware, housewares, fabric, cosmetics, art, glitter, wicker, if you can't find it at Yi Wu, you probably can't find it. (Of course most Chinese people shop online, but if you prefer the thrill of the hunt in person, Yi Wu is a first stop for most shoppers). 

Yi WU takes up two large multi-storey buildings and it's filled with individual shops and booths. This picture was taken with my little cell phone camera looking down from the second storey (children's toys, clothes, stationery) to the main floor (clothes). Those are large tables of snacks in the lobby there. 

Escalators in Yi Wu go only one way -- up. The third floor is furniture, hardware and housewares. The fourth floor, or as I like to call it, the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire floor, is dry goods.  Tucked into unexpected corners are furniture stores and stores selling jade, jewelry, pearls, household shrines, massages, eye glasses, and on and on...

In addition to the "Dream" theme of summer camp, we also had a segment on Confucius, who lived not far from Zibo. As I mentioned in part one, I also used a video about the computer game Minecraft which many teachers and ESL teachers are using for its educational potential. For the Confucius exercise, I prepared a PowerPoint with three sayings on each screen and asked the students, "Who said it? Confucius, Martin Luther King, or Minecraft?"  Sort of a Minecraft in-joke for the kids. For example:

• Knowledge is recognizing what you know and what you don't.
• Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
• It is not enough to have a good pickaxe; the main thing is to use it well..