I am grateful for ...

This morning: English class canceled because when I walk in the pipes have burst, a geyser of boiling water is spraying over the classroom, and there's already three inches of water on the floor. A cadre of boys is trying to tame the waterfall by throwing jackets at it, and one gets the bright idea to plug the hole with a candle (conveniently still in the classroom because we had no electricity yesterday, so evening class was conducted by candlelight). One student goes for help, and returns with a wrench. The school maintenance man is "too busy" right now. Once the hole is plugged, the girls use brooms, buckets and dust pans to scoop up the water and haul it downstairs (more effective than you would think).

This, I am told by a student named Terry, is likely the result of bad karma because I wouldn't let them play basketball yesterday instead of studying.

This afternoon: I attempt to explain why we still celebrate Thanksgiving, even though it pretty much marks the start of a full-scale genocide against Native Americans. We write Thanksgiving poems on paper cutouts of our hands and glue them to a turkey, a project that went swimmingly with our first years. My second years turn it into an incendiary political statement by giving thanks to the govt-in-exile, and drawing (obviously illegal) Tbtan flags. They also include a deeply unflattering portrait of me with a conversation balloon that says "Zip it!" as well as a poem that says: "Teacher you are my sun! Teacher you are my moon! You are my second mother. Thank you!"

This evening: Thanksgiving dinner consists of mulled wine leftover from yesterday, and a slice of bread with the last of the cheese that was brought from Xining for my birthday.

Five days without a computer

The first day, I cry. (Really. Wish I was exaggerating.)

The second day, I take the broken power cord to every electrician in town. They take one look at the foreign Apple product and declare it hopeless. Just glue the damn wires back together, I beg. This is a place where nothing is ever too broken to fix, and most electronics are held together by packing tape and prayers. But this, they won't even touch.

The third day, I wake up and reach over to turn on my computer, only to be crushed all over again by the realization that this cold analog world is my new reality. Am briefly buoyed by the inexplicable delusion that I can solder the wires back together myself, so I buy some soldering wire (which they are extremely reluctant to sell me, on the belief that I am somehow going to maim myself) and spend an increasingly expletive-filled hour trying to fuse the wires with the flame of a cigarette lighter. Am not successful. Go to bed early and angry.

On the third day, I discover that not having a computer leaves me with a lot of extra time on my hands. I read a book, study Tibetan, teach five classes, and spend lunch with the students. Begin to wonder if the reason I don't speak the language after living here two-and-a-half years is because I watch an indecent amount of Internet TV. Start to envision a bright, tech-free future in which I am soon chatting fluently with the gateman, never find myself standing in front of class without a lesson plan, and spend my evenings finally penning the novel that will make it all worthwhile.

On the fourth day, I realize that is ridiculous, bordering on blasphemy. The Internet represents all that is good and right in the world. Can actually feel my soul withering at the edges from the lack of it. (Rinchen Tso - who firmly believes all my little electronic gadgets are what cause my frequent bouts of illness, and not the shocking lack of sanitation in this town - comes home from boarding school, and laughs when she hears of my misfortune. Reminding me of my also recently defunct Kindle, she suggests that the gods are trying to put me on a healthier path.)

On the fifth day, the replacement power cord I rush-ordered from a fake Apple store unexpectedly arrives three days early. The gateman is confused and frightened by my reaction when he delivers the package, but I am unabashed. I immediately abandon my plans to go help the students with their homework, and load up the newest episode of "The New Girl."

All is once again right in this part of the world.