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I thought I’d take some time to let you know about the people who mean the most to me here in China. I have been very lucky to be placed with Jacq, the best Peace Corps sitemate ever, and two other foreign teachers who are very devoted to teaching.
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.Let me start by talking about Jacq (Jacqueline Simonis). She is currently serving her third year in Peace Corps; for the last two years, she served as a water sanitation engineer in Mali. Her educational background is in civil engineering, and she has an MBA. So teaching English is something quite different for her, but she likes the experience of living in China. She’s 26 years old, grew up in Connecticut, and went to college in Massachusetts and New Mexico. She has a wacky sense of humor and a confidence that I am trying to emulate.
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She’s such a great help to me because she has already gone through what I am going through now. So she understands when I get homesick or have a really bad day. If I need to just talk, or splurge on dinner, or share some brandy to keep my spirits up, she always says “sure.” She encourages me to go running with her, even though I really hate it. And she is taking yoga with me (although her main reason is that we are both madly in love with our yoga instructor). Occasionally, she has a bad day, too, but she rarely complains. She keeps a positive attitude and often deals with problems by joking about them.
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I think, by now, we are turning into an old married couple. We usually eat together once or twice a day. We hang out just to chat, we work out together, we party together. We just came back from a Halloween Party in Guiyang with many other volunteers, but we both agreed that we’re happiest hanging out together. We’re just waiting for the day that we get sick of hearing each other’s stories. But till then, I’m very, very pleased that she is my friend and sitemate.
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.I also have the very good fortune of having the Gregs as part of my life here in Tongren. They are affectionately referred to as Greg Number One and Greg Number Two. Greg Number One (Greg McCann) has been in Tongren for about eight months now, but he has been living and teaching in China for the past ten years. He’s 61 years-old (about to turn 62). In his life, he’s had a lot of adventures and plenty of occupations. He’s been a teacher, a cook, an AIDS caregiver, and I’m sure several more things. He’s about the most jovial person I’ve ever known, and he is tremendously caring. He rarely eats out, preferring to cook in his own apartment, so on a few occasions, he’s invited us over for dinner and makes us a fabulous Western meal. And he’s always up for a chat and a glass of brandy. When I don’t feel well, he takes care of me by bringing me food to my apartment. Just today, it’s rainy and I have a cold, so he brought me a dish of rice, pork, potato, tomato, and onion. Yum. I’m really thankful for his food.
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Greg Number Two (Greg McEnnally) arrived shortly after we did this semester. He, too, has been teaching in China for a number of years. I’m not sure what he did before teaching; I’ll have to find out. Greg is 65 years-old, and he was a bit of an athlete in his day. Even now, he has a small, fit physique. He used to be a girl’s running coach, and claims that women are capable of being great runners (I’m just not sure that applies to me). He’s not much of a cook, but he makes occasional attempts, and we’re happy to try whatever he makes us. Greg is a bit of an expert on many topics, and Greg Number One says it can be quite annoying because Greg Number Two is almost always right about whatever it is he’s discussing. I’m getting to know him better, and I’m discovering that he has a very compassionate heart.
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The Gregs have known each other for about forty years. They are both from Sydney, Australia, but they followed different paths for a while, finally meeting up at a teachers’ training college in Sydney where they became friends. Afterwards, they both moved to Papua New Guinea to teach, moved back to Australia, and finally moved to China. And now they are here together in Tongren, happy to have each other’s company once again. It’s fun talking to them and hearing about their past experiences. We like looking at their pictures, especially considering that Greg Number One was quite a hottie about twenty years ago. I believe they have also taken quite a liking to us, as well. They respect us as teachers and believe that we, all together, can do a lot to improve this university and its relationships with its foreign teachers.
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Well, I guess that’s it. For all of you who are so important to me at home, I wanted to give you some idea of who the people are who are taking care of me in China.
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Love you and miss you all,
Jennifer
