At around 12 yesterday, I received a call from the Embassy telling me that my books were printed and ready to go. I went immediately, but found out that the secretary had a break from 1 - 2:30. For the 1 hour or so that I had to wait, I chatted with one of the guards there and we delved into topics I did not care much for like religion. Soon, I was able to pick up the books, but there was no word yet on the other topics that we had requested. I showed the secretary some pictures of the area, and soon I was on my way out.
After this trip, Moses and I discussed with the chairman what we had thought up the day before. The chairman agreed that an invitation would be wise, but stated that we should have one at the end only. This would be much more persuasive, he said, as it could mark my leaving as well as the coming of a new teacher. We would invite all the news media outlets (including TV stations) we knew for this, and rather than wait around for a reply from our initial proposal, he and I would go to the embassy to discuss with the councilman. The chairman apparently knows him by name and has met him any times. I expressed my fear that they might reject our offer, but he calmly stated to me that “Councilman Sheng will not let us down.” I realize now that this whole thing may have been easier if I had just gone with him in the first place to give the proposal to councilman Sheng. The chairman has a ton of experience under his belt and already had established connections that I am missing. Oh well, it’s just all a learning experience as of now.
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