My first Chinese pool hall

Today was a good day with the kids. I taught all 4th grade classes.  It was a lot of fun as they have some English experience so I could take my lessons a little further than I have with some of the other classes.  For lunch, Bao and Prince took me to a famous noodle restaurant where they ordered me the most famous "Italian" noodles.  My vision of Italian noodles and what showed up in my bowl are two totally different things.  I asked what the items were and they kept saying "local delicacy" or "local cuisine".  I ate very slowly and picked out one noodle at a time with my chopsticks trying desperately not to accidentally get a hold of one of the mystery pieces in my bowl.  I did find a shrimp...just one that I think was there by accident,....and I did swallow a piece of something unidentified, but I just chugged my water immediately afterward.  Crazy meal.  During my free time after lunch, Bao and one of his friends took me to a pool hall.  Entering in the front of a luxurious spa-like salon, we walked through a door, down a tiny dimly lit hall, and down two flights of stairs to the basement!  It had 7 beautifully hand crafted pool tables and was so smelly and dirty.  I loved every minute of it!  There were several characters there playing pool.  The chairs were old salon furniture and in the corner by one table there was a stack of old salon equipment.  I couldn't believe how much fun it was, though.  We played a few games before rushing back to school to finish my lessons.  Then we went back for another hour to play a few more games.  It was definitely an interesting experience.  Aside from the pool playing, the sights, smells, and sounds just added so much that I couldn't possibly describe it all in one post.  Great afternoon!  After school, a group of teachers and parents invited me to dinner and tea.  They brought their kids.  We ate another funky meal.  They tried to translate what some of the food was.  A few things looked familiar.  We went to a teahouse then where we had a wonderful tea service and about a million snacks.  The first round is cold fruit/nut type things.  The second round is hot...whole chicken feet, mushrooms, fish parts, pigeon eggs, and a couple things I just gave up trying to figure out what they were.  I am so intrigued by what they all eat.  (Which is pretty much everything.)  We had some great conversation about the differences in education in the US and here and the differences in children.  For example, kids are with their parents up and out until as late as they want whether it is a school night or not.  If a parent owns a shop and it is open until midnight, the children are most likely there with them running around the store until it closes.  I explained that most parents made arrangements for their children to be in bed or cared for if they had to work.  They didn't totally understand the reasons why.  All in all - another good day.  Interesting place, people, and food, of course.  Looking forward to my last day teaching tomorrow.  The play that I have put together with a group of 5th grade students will be performed in the morning complete with costumes, scenery, and songs!  I will have lunch with a couple of students that I have met.  Dinner with the English teachers tomorrow night.  As much as I love it, I AM looking forward to home. :)