Spider update: last night my counterpart teacher, Michelle, stopped by to fill me in on today's schedule and while we were talking I noticed my spider on the wall ABOVE MY BED. After some considerable cowering on my part, Michelle said that she was not afraid and went after him with the broom. Despite her valiant attempt, she only succeeded in chasing him beneath my bed, and I haven't seen him since. I was visited by a cockroach this morning, however, but I was able to dispatch that one myself. Oh, the adventures I'm having... :-)

I will visit the new campus of Luzhou Medical College today, and hopefully get my hands on the textbooks I'll be teaching from. Class starts on Monday, but it'll be an easy day--one two-hour class of first-year graduate students. Tonight is a welcome banquet in my honor and I'm sure to meet many people in the English department. I'll be bringing my little notepad to jot down names of those I'll need to work with; remembering names here is a huge challenge.

Speaking of names...I am reminded of a story I heard Wednesday morning that had me laughing pretty hard. Chinese students who study English frequently choose their own English names. I'm not yet enough of an expert to tell you what the popular choices are, but I do know that some, um, unique names get chosen. For example, my friend and fellow PCV Matt said he only just found out his host brother's English name was "Paktober." After delicately explaining that this wasn't a very common name in the US or elsewhere in the English-speaking world, he offered to rename Paktober. He chose the name Luke Johnson. Matt said he went with a first and last name so as to preempt Paktober from coming up with his own, more creative surname. Matt thought Luke Johnson sounded like a cool and solidly-American name. Most of you will understand that I found this hilarious. So, Luke A. Johnson, if you're reading this, you've got a Chinese alter-ego now, a.k.a. Paktober.