Class Cancelled

Well, we had a brief respite in the heat wave over the weekend, but the heat has returned in full force as of today. They tell me it's been the hottest summer in thirty years here. But I can no longer complain about it as much as I previously have because as a result of the heat, classes have been cancelled at the college we were teaching at. I am still not sure of the exact reason why, but it seems there was some concern about having the students come back to classes (which they don't usually do at this time of year) and to crowded dormotories in the midst of a record heat wave. Sichuan Teachers College was running a full slate of courses in a special three week session to get their students ready for some upcoming exam, but they determined that it was not worth the risk. Consequently, my life has gotten a whole lot easier for the time being. Instead of being hauled across town and back and having to walk across the campus for lunch, we get to stay on the campus of Chengdu University, take a leisurely 2 1/2 hour lunch, hang out in an air conditioned room and do class preparation. But as a result, I no longer have a class of my own but am now team teaching with another volunteer. In one sense I am pretty sad about all this. I was just getting to know my class and had laid the groundwork to do some interesting things. On the other hand, I now have a lot less work and a lot more time. Still, I miss having my own class and have never been a particularly good team player. And it's especially hard when you are walking into someone else's classroom. We have tentatively resolved the situation by having one of us take the lead each day. So I am currently plotting out tomorrow's class and will let you know how it goes.