I finished my first week of school. It was exhausting. I went to a baby shower yesterday and afterwards fell asleep for three hours on the homeowner's couch.
The good news is after 3 months of summer break, one week of school, and three more days of school this week, there is another holiday! Holidays occur frequently in China, and I love them. I was asked to go to Girl's Camp this week with the young women from church. They have Girl's Camp during this 3 day holiday in September because most of the young women go to the United States in the summer.
Unfortunately, China has little regard for weekends, and no concept of a Sabbath Day. So, sometimes when they have short holidays during the week, Sunday becomes a working day across China (how is it a holiday if you then have to give up your weekend?). Spencer and I figured that we would have to work next Sunday, but decided to contact the English Department to let them know our concerns. I messaged our liaison to the department chair and explained that Sundays are a very special day in our religion when we do not work and that we attend church in Suzhou. I asked if we could email lectures to our students with assignments in lieu of Sunday classes. I expected the department to respond that we would still have to teach. However, a few minutes later, they responded that our religious beliefs will be respected, so they changed our classes to other days of the week. So, I'll teach my two Friday classes this Tuesday and still have the Thursday-Sunday off.
I'm grateful to work at a university that is accommodating and respectful of religious beliefs. And I've learned to speak up when something is important to me.
Still though, how does a whole country allow a weekday to become a workday? I'll never understand.
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