April Fool's Day

This is one of my favorite days here. One of the things that always bugged me about April Fool's Day in the U.S. was that everyone knew it was April Fool's Day so it was tough to trick people. Your ruse (a cunning attempt to trick people) really has to be believable or you have to catch people off-guard. But, here, it's a different ballgame and I dig it.

The Chinese know today is April Fool's Day but I don't think they celebrate the same way we do, by playing jokes on people. Either that, or they're just not expecting it out of me because I've managed to fool just about everyone I've seen today. It started when I stopped in a shop on the way to school to see my friend, Xiao Shi. I told her today was my last day in China and I wouldn't see her again. She got a sullen look on her face and started crying and hitting me before I told her it was just a joke.

Then, I got to school and told my students that I was getting married this weekend and they were invited to the wedding. They were all excited and stuff. Suckers! At lunch time, I was on Skype and I told my Shanghai friend I was moving back there and opening an English school. She ate it up. Sucker!

I'm looking forward to tonight's class with the adults. Maybe I'll tell them I'm a movie star or something.

Oh, and by the way, that part about the girl hitting me and crying, that was just a joke. Happy April Fool's Day, Sucker.