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Hi,

I have had a busy week. Attended my first faculty meeting. The Dean is wearing the blue stripped shirt. He is quite animated when he speaks. I enjoyed the meeting, especially since I didn't understand a word that was said. One of the staff members would periodically summarize what the Dean was saying. After the meeting, we all piled into a bus an heading to a restaurant. The food and conversation (what I understood that is) were good. I did sample chicken feet, pig's ear and , of course, tree dress (bark). Didn't care for the chicken's feet, however.

I went to Shenzhen University's 25 anniversary ceremony. It reminded somewhat of the opening ceremony of the Olympics. I was told by my student guide that the alumni that night donated four million dollars to the school. One of the alum who appeared that night created the chat room for MSN. My guide said, "He is quite wealthy!" and is a good alum to the school.

The picture with the lovely trees is the view from my office balcony--not bad. I finally met with my classes. In the picture with students, I have approximately 70 students in each of my undergrad classes, and about 20 in my grad class. We are clearly adjusting to each other. They seem like a great group of young people to work with. I am expected to use powerpoint in class to help them understand my lectures. This should be an interesting semester.

In the top picture, I am standing with two neat guys. The one in the middle is a teacher from the United States and was a fromer "Mr. Wisconsin." He has been teaching at Shenzhen for several years and loves it. He has also been invaluable in helping me get oriented to the area and school. The other person is David (his English name), a student majoring in economics. There is actually another person with us but he's taking the picture and his name is honey. I felt a little strange saying "How are you doing honey?" . The students, Chuck and I had just completed a track up a hill in Shenzhen. Keeping up with these young folks is no easy task, especially when climbing up a hill on a hot, humid day. But they were kind and took pity on me by stopping periodically so I could rest. They were also wonderfu guides, showing me some really cool places to visit around campus and in the city. They helped to increase my Chinese vocabulary by teaching me key phrases, such as "Where is the bathroom?". It's amazing how helpful these lessons have become during my brief time in Shenzhen.

Zia jian (good bye),

Dr. Haskins