As many of you know (hopefully all who are reading this), my birthday was just a few weeks ago. I was a little skeptical about what to do on my birthday, but it turned out to be a really great day, probably one of my favorite birthdays in memory.
In the morning, the Vice-Dean and Chairman of the office of our department (Foreign Language Dept.) surprised me in the break between classes by showing up in my office with a cake and some of my students in tow. So, I got to have a little birthday party in my office right there. They had this really neat candle, too. It's supposed to be like a lotus flower. It starts closed up, but when you light the middle it lights these other candles on the petals that cause it to open up. It's really neat, but it played "happy birthday" non-stop until we couldn't take it anymore. So we had to break it to stop it. I was still in my office enjoying the surprise, when Oliver (one of the other foreign teachers for grade 2) surprised me by bringing in my former class to wish me a happy birthday. It was so great! I got to see all my old students, and I was just thrilled that they were there to wish me a happy birthday.
I went home for lunch, as usual, and spent a few minutes calling 2/3 of my brothers. I told them I was calling them so they could wish me a happy birthday. :) But I really just wanted to hear their voices. At 4:00 I got to learn some more wu shu, which was fun and energizing, but I had to cut out early because I knew Mom would be calling me, which was also exactly what I wanted. Then I got to talk to the other half of my family (Mom, Dad, and Sam).
To top off the evening, some of my friends took me out to a Korean restaurant in town. They also gave me a cake and some small gifts, but really it was the company that made the night. We watched "Father of the Bride" after dinner, and while walking home one of them tripped on the last stair -- but saved the cake! :) Anyway, it was a great day. You can all rest assured that I did have a very Happy Birthday.
25 November 2005
"Follow me to freedom!"....
I'm sure those were the last words from the fish's mouth before jumping out of the tank onto the floor of the restaurant, splashing me and the lady I was eating with in the process. Naturally, the waiters all stood around and watched it flopping around on the floor for a minute before picking it up and putting it right back into the tank. D'oh!!! You just can't win around here.
That was just one of the many interesting things you would see in China, but probably wouldn't see in the States. Have you ever seen turtles on a string? The other day I was riding home on a bus, and saw a guy carrying around this string with about three turtles on it, all attached by the leg. I sure hope (for their sake) they were already dead.
What about electricians? Ever seen someone working on power lines in the States? They're awfully careful in their cherry pickers, right? Imagine, if you will, tying a rope around your waist and the pole, and wearing these weird boots that have these long hooks on the end of them. The hooks fit nicely around the pole, and you use them to climb up to where you can reach the wires or the generator or something. I really should just carry my camera around with me everywhere. There are some things you just need to see to believe.
That was just one of the many interesting things you would see in China, but probably wouldn't see in the States. Have you ever seen turtles on a string? The other day I was riding home on a bus, and saw a guy carrying around this string with about three turtles on it, all attached by the leg. I sure hope (for their sake) they were already dead.
What about electricians? Ever seen someone working on power lines in the States? They're awfully careful in their cherry pickers, right? Imagine, if you will, tying a rope around your waist and the pole, and wearing these weird boots that have these long hooks on the end of them. The hooks fit nicely around the pole, and you use them to climb up to where you can reach the wires or the generator or something. I really should just carry my camera around with me everywhere. There are some things you just need to see to believe.
18 November 2005
Mystifies Me
I know I've already posted like, 5 blogs in one day, but this is the last one for today, I promise!
One of my friends here said something once about being mesmerized by the reflection of light on water and wanting to look directly at the sun or into some light, like the little ones you see in the ground at parks or on sidewalks etc. How his eyesight is still 20/20 I just don't know. I was thinking about that this morning while riding the bus, because the sun was a brilliant, bright orange in a hazy pink sky. I wanted to look at it directly too, but I found I couldn't. It hurt my eyes too much (not to mention I don't want to go blind before my time). But it got me to thinking, you know, God is kind of like that. We couldn't look at Him directly, we'd go blind or mad or die or something. Instead we have to content ourselves with looking around Him (like at the area around the sun, where you can still see the glory of the sun in the corner of your eye) or looking at everything that His light touches. Sometimes you have to go all squinty-eyed to get a good look at the sun. I think sometimes the same is true of God. He is too glorious for us to look at Him full-on.
One of my friends here said something once about being mesmerized by the reflection of light on water and wanting to look directly at the sun or into some light, like the little ones you see in the ground at parks or on sidewalks etc. How his eyesight is still 20/20 I just don't know. I was thinking about that this morning while riding the bus, because the sun was a brilliant, bright orange in a hazy pink sky. I wanted to look at it directly too, but I found I couldn't. It hurt my eyes too much (not to mention I don't want to go blind before my time). But it got me to thinking, you know, God is kind of like that. We couldn't look at Him directly, we'd go blind or mad or die or something. Instead we have to content ourselves with looking around Him (like at the area around the sun, where you can still see the glory of the sun in the corner of your eye) or looking at everything that His light touches. Sometimes you have to go all squinty-eyed to get a good look at the sun. I think sometimes the same is true of God. He is too glorious for us to look at Him full-on.
Musings 3
Everyone should experience the Chinese traffic system; not knowing what it is you're eating; knowing what you're eating and not caring; trying strange foods; riding a 3-wheel taxi; watching the laborers at work; pushing through crowds; having the electricity shut off at random and without warning in order to save money (and freeze to death ?it thins the crowd); being told about events (such as rehearsals) with no warning, and having to adjust your schedule accordingly at the last minute ?after all, foreigners don't have a life in China; :) waking up at 4:00 a.m. just to hear the sound of silence; walking down a deserted Wen Hua Lu late at night, just to see the trees bowing to each other in the streetlamps. Everyone should try living in a small, insignificant town of only 600,000 people. Everyone should experience 15 degrees C as being warm. Everyone should try eating in a restaurant wearing a coat and gloves, using chopsticks. Everyone should try picking fish off the bones with chopsticks. Everyone should try walking through an open market to get home, buying something from a street vendor, walking in the bitter cold of night with the moon pouring down over snuffed-out street lamps, covered pool tables, empty streets, houses, walls and faces, turning everything blue like the sea.
Musings 2
Everyone should have the chance to try real Chinese food. That stuff we have in America just doesn't quite compare. :) I'm afraid I've been spoiled for the real thing. Everyone should taste the delights of vegetables in China ?I never knew how much I liked eggplant until I came here. Everyone should try some Chinese "Papa John's"-- a kind of thin, salty bread made with eggs & onions. So delicious! Everyone should see buildings being torn down - or built - by human hands sans machinery. Everyone should watch Chinese workers tearing up the roads. Everyone should meet the Good People of China and learn to love them, should learn to appreciate the sheer variety of faces. In America it's easy to think all Asians look the same. In China it's impossible to think that. You have to learn to see the differences between them, but once you do there's no mistaking them. Everyone should experience the rare beauty of a clear, cloudless, crystal-blue sky as a backdrop for the mountain. Everyone should try to control a bunch of college kids who act like 10-yr-olds on too much candy. Sometimes I wonder why I'm here. I'm not really cut out to be a teacher, you know. Sometimes I forget that I'm in China, it feels so natural to be here. Sometimes I forget what we think a stereotypical Chinese person looks like. I know that sounds weird, but once you start seeing the differences between them, you don't remember what you used to think.
17 November 2005
Musings 1
Recently I've been really pensive. I don't know why exactly, but I've tried to capture some of my musings and write them down occasionally. The trouble is that usually by the time I can write them down, I forget what I was going to say. But here's a sample....
Everyone should try living in China. Everyone should try living in standards that are lower than they originally thought they could bear. Everyone should experience riding a bus, taking a train, taking a taxi, and trying to communicate with someone who has no understanding of English at all. Everyone should endure being stared at, should learn to stare back, spit, squat, and ignore cries of "helloooooo!" and "foreigner!" Everyone should have to learn to wait. Everyone should experience being cold when you step outside and even colder when you step inside, enduring the cold of winter and heat of summer. Everyone should climb Mt. Tai to watch the sunrise, should go as far south in the city as you can, where the city lights are so scarce you can have proof of the stars you thought you remembered, should walk late at night to a park alone (or with a few friends) to just appreciate stillness, quiet, aloneness, and the fact that no one is staring at you, the foreigner, like so much meat, because no one else is around -- just you and God, living alone together in a foreign country.
Everyone should try living in China. Everyone should try living in standards that are lower than they originally thought they could bear. Everyone should experience riding a bus, taking a train, taking a taxi, and trying to communicate with someone who has no understanding of English at all. Everyone should endure being stared at, should learn to stare back, spit, squat, and ignore cries of "helloooooo!" and "foreigner!" Everyone should have to learn to wait. Everyone should experience being cold when you step outside and even colder when you step inside, enduring the cold of winter and heat of summer. Everyone should climb Mt. Tai to watch the sunrise, should go as far south in the city as you can, where the city lights are so scarce you can have proof of the stars you thought you remembered, should walk late at night to a park alone (or with a few friends) to just appreciate stillness, quiet, aloneness, and the fact that no one is staring at you, the foreigner, like so much meat, because no one else is around -- just you and God, living alone together in a foreign country.
Breaking out the long john's
This morning when I woke up it was 14.6 degrees (C) in my room. 14.6 C. That's pretty nippy. That translates to about, oh, 58.3 American degrees. Bed never felt so comfortable.
The thing here is not that it's so much colder than the U.S., but that it's so much colder inside here than it is inside in the U.S. It's so much cheaper to just not turn on the heat that the school decides it's worth it to just freeze to death. This morning we got a nice surprise when we walked in the office, though: they finally turned on the heat in our office! (yesterday we shorted the fuse twice using our little space heater)
The city controls the heating in our apartment building. They still haven't turned it on. Imagine this: a concrete building with single-pane windows, some windows that don't quite close all the way and some with holes in them, and 0 degrees C at night. I see now why most Asians don't take showers in the morning. You have to thaw yourself out once you're through. I have a little space heater, but I'm reluctant to start using it yet. I would certainly be happy to have it on physically, but psychologically I just can't make myself break it out yet. I just keep thinking it's going to get much colder. I think if I can convince myself that right now it's not as bad as it can be, that it will get much worse, then when it does get much worse I can turn the heater on and it will feel so much better. That's my reasoning at least. Sound reasoning, I think, but we'll see how sound it is come January.
All that is to say, I finally broke down and put on the long john's this morning. I've been trying to save them until I just couldn't take it any longer. I probably could've lasted a few more days, but I know that my friends have already given in. So I felt like less of a wimp for already wearing them in November. ;) (not that my friends are wimpy....the fact that they've already started wearing clothes under their clothes probably makes them smarter, actually)
The thing here is not that it's so much colder than the U.S., but that it's so much colder inside here than it is inside in the U.S. It's so much cheaper to just not turn on the heat that the school decides it's worth it to just freeze to death. This morning we got a nice surprise when we walked in the office, though: they finally turned on the heat in our office! (yesterday we shorted the fuse twice using our little space heater)
The city controls the heating in our apartment building. They still haven't turned it on. Imagine this: a concrete building with single-pane windows, some windows that don't quite close all the way and some with holes in them, and 0 degrees C at night. I see now why most Asians don't take showers in the morning. You have to thaw yourself out once you're through. I have a little space heater, but I'm reluctant to start using it yet. I would certainly be happy to have it on physically, but psychologically I just can't make myself break it out yet. I just keep thinking it's going to get much colder. I think if I can convince myself that right now it's not as bad as it can be, that it will get much worse, then when it does get much worse I can turn the heater on and it will feel so much better. That's my reasoning at least. Sound reasoning, I think, but we'll see how sound it is come January.
All that is to say, I finally broke down and put on the long john's this morning. I've been trying to save them until I just couldn't take it any longer. I probably could've lasted a few more days, but I know that my friends have already given in. So I felt like less of a wimp for already wearing them in November. ;) (not that my friends are wimpy....the fact that they've already started wearing clothes under their clothes probably makes them smarter, actually)
Office Hours
Life here is such that I am not always able to post blogs as often as I would like. There is a computer in our office, but as it turns out it is so slow that by the time I've loaded this page it's time to go to my next class or meet with the next group of students, etc. Usually I type out what I'm going to say and save it while I'm waiting for the site to load. So it may happen that one day I post like 50 blogs at once, but they're all about random unconnected events that have happened over the past month. Anyway, here's one that I wrote several weeks ago, but it gives some idea of my life at present:
Last week I was utterly exhausted. In case I haven't posted my weekly schedule yet, allow me to do so now. I teach 6 classes this semester, for a total of 12 hours, and I should have at least 4 hours in my office each week. So far so good. Well, last week with all the extra appointments, I ended up staying at school all morning Mon., and all morning and afternoon Tues., Wed., and Thurs. That's not really supposed to happen. I could barely concentrate by the time Thurs. rolled around, and I had such a headache! The really annoying thing is that the students haven't learned just yet that they need to sign up before they come to my office. That's something I've been complaining about today because yet again no one has signed up until the last minute, and here I am in the office waiting for the one group of students I have coming when I could be at home grading all these journals instead. I know I'm here for the students, but sometimes I really just want to be selfish and get enough rest, you know?
The way I have my office hours set up: on Tues., 2:00-3:30 is supposed to be the time for classes 3, 4, 5, & 6 to come in small groups for specific questions or speaking practice. Each group should have 3-6 people and can sign up for a 15-min. slot. On Wed., the same time is reserved for classes 1 & 2. Also on Wed. I have a time set for some "free talk" when any of my students can come in for as long as they like, and that time is 3:30-4:45, giving me just enough time to get ready to catch the bus. It's not really so bad, and I think the set-up (with some small groups coming for 15 min. at a time, and only one hour for the really big group) helps the time go by. It still just gets to me when they constantly ask me the same questions again and again. I mean, you can only answer the question "can you use chopsticks?" so many times before you go certifiably insane. For more information about the kind of questions that can commit you to a mental institution, visit the website angrychineseblogger.com and go to the section about "what not to say in China" or "how not to answer questions" or something like that. Of course, to understand the full scope of what this guy is saying, you'd need to experience it first-hand, but you definitely get the idea of what it's like. :)
Another annoying thing about my office hours is when some students from other classes (not my students, in other words) try to sneak in. I know they just want English practice, but I get tired enough just talking to my own students for hours on end without trying to placate students from other grades or departments. There's one guy whose English is already pretty good, but he keeps wanting to come in to my office hours. I've had to tell him a few times that these times are reserved for my own students, but that hasn't really stopped him entirely. Last time he tried to come in he said something to the effect of, "I think all men are created equal." Nice try, buddy, but that doesn't work on me. No, really, he's a very nice guy, I just for him to respect my students' time, and I will also be happy to respect his. But such is the life of the foreigners on campus. We're here for show. ;) Actually, we've been invited to sing a song at some big "party" that the school is hosting for like, 3,000 people. They want us (me, Oliver, & Beate, the other two foreign teachers here) to sing one English song and one Chinese song. Of course, I'm sure they're expecting some kind of pop English song, and they want us to sing a Chinese song like we're some monkeys performing for them...man, I sound bitter or something. I'm not really, I promise....but I bet they're going to be surprised when we start singing in German from the Ars Musica in 3-part harmony. (I'm sure they'll clap politely after we finish Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen and sit in eager anticipation of "My Heart Will Go On"....which I'm sorry to say, but they won't get) I'll let you all know how that turns out after the fact.
Last week I was utterly exhausted. In case I haven't posted my weekly schedule yet, allow me to do so now. I teach 6 classes this semester, for a total of 12 hours, and I should have at least 4 hours in my office each week. So far so good. Well, last week with all the extra appointments, I ended up staying at school all morning Mon., and all morning and afternoon Tues., Wed., and Thurs. That's not really supposed to happen. I could barely concentrate by the time Thurs. rolled around, and I had such a headache! The really annoying thing is that the students haven't learned just yet that they need to sign up before they come to my office. That's something I've been complaining about today because yet again no one has signed up until the last minute, and here I am in the office waiting for the one group of students I have coming when I could be at home grading all these journals instead. I know I'm here for the students, but sometimes I really just want to be selfish and get enough rest, you know?
The way I have my office hours set up: on Tues., 2:00-3:30 is supposed to be the time for classes 3, 4, 5, & 6 to come in small groups for specific questions or speaking practice. Each group should have 3-6 people and can sign up for a 15-min. slot. On Wed., the same time is reserved for classes 1 & 2. Also on Wed. I have a time set for some "free talk" when any of my students can come in for as long as they like, and that time is 3:30-4:45, giving me just enough time to get ready to catch the bus. It's not really so bad, and I think the set-up (with some small groups coming for 15 min. at a time, and only one hour for the really big group) helps the time go by. It still just gets to me when they constantly ask me the same questions again and again. I mean, you can only answer the question "can you use chopsticks?" so many times before you go certifiably insane. For more information about the kind of questions that can commit you to a mental institution, visit the website angrychineseblogger.com and go to the section about "what not to say in China" or "how not to answer questions" or something like that. Of course, to understand the full scope of what this guy is saying, you'd need to experience it first-hand, but you definitely get the idea of what it's like. :)
Another annoying thing about my office hours is when some students from other classes (not my students, in other words) try to sneak in. I know they just want English practice, but I get tired enough just talking to my own students for hours on end without trying to placate students from other grades or departments. There's one guy whose English is already pretty good, but he keeps wanting to come in to my office hours. I've had to tell him a few times that these times are reserved for my own students, but that hasn't really stopped him entirely. Last time he tried to come in he said something to the effect of, "I think all men are created equal." Nice try, buddy, but that doesn't work on me. No, really, he's a very nice guy, I just for him to respect my students' time, and I will also be happy to respect his. But such is the life of the foreigners on campus. We're here for show. ;) Actually, we've been invited to sing a song at some big "party" that the school is hosting for like, 3,000 people. They want us (me, Oliver, & Beate, the other two foreign teachers here) to sing one English song and one Chinese song. Of course, I'm sure they're expecting some kind of pop English song, and they want us to sing a Chinese song like we're some monkeys performing for them...man, I sound bitter or something. I'm not really, I promise....but I bet they're going to be surprised when we start singing in German from the Ars Musica in 3-part harmony. (I'm sure they'll clap politely after we finish Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen and sit in eager anticipation of "My Heart Will Go On"....which I'm sorry to say, but they won't get) I'll let you all know how that turns out after the fact.
11 November 2005
Buying things
One of the favorite questions asked me by my students is "when you go shopping, how do you communicate with people?" Fortunately I know how to ask "how much?", I know the numbers, and I know enough to say "too expensive". :) Also, I am fortunate to have a few American friends here who are learning Chinese and can help me out a LOT.
Living in China is really lots of fun, even when things go slowly or don't go the way you want them to. I enjoy living in another country, and I think everyone should have the experience sometime in their lives. Today I actually went downtown and paid my phone bill (yikes!). It used to be that you could just go to any bank and pay there, but now I guess the rules have changed or something (?) and you have to actually go to the phone company, called CNC. The people there were very polite, but I of course couldn't understand what they were asking me in Chinese. The customer at the next counter over was able to ask me if I just wanted to pay my phone bill, to which I gratefully replied "yes".
I've been excited by some recent purchases of mine. One of my American friends in town got a new cell phone, and gave me the old one. That has really come in handy. Although I will NOT give out my number to my students or random strangers, it's still very useful when I want to get in touch with some of the other foreigners in town. My other fun purchases the other day were a DVD player (again, one of my Am. friends who's studying Chinese helped me out there) and a bus pass. It's so much fun to use the bus pass, because then all the locals look at you with a kind of awe when you use it on the bus. And now that I have the DVD player, I can finally put my big-screen TV to good use. :)
Living in China is really lots of fun, even when things go slowly or don't go the way you want them to. I enjoy living in another country, and I think everyone should have the experience sometime in their lives. Today I actually went downtown and paid my phone bill (yikes!). It used to be that you could just go to any bank and pay there, but now I guess the rules have changed or something (?) and you have to actually go to the phone company, called CNC. The people there were very polite, but I of course couldn't understand what they were asking me in Chinese. The customer at the next counter over was able to ask me if I just wanted to pay my phone bill, to which I gratefully replied "yes".
I've been excited by some recent purchases of mine. One of my American friends in town got a new cell phone, and gave me the old one. That has really come in handy. Although I will NOT give out my number to my students or random strangers, it's still very useful when I want to get in touch with some of the other foreigners in town. My other fun purchases the other day were a DVD player (again, one of my Am. friends who's studying Chinese helped me out there) and a bus pass. It's so much fun to use the bus pass, because then all the locals look at you with a kind of awe when you use it on the bus. And now that I have the DVD player, I can finally put my big-screen TV to good use. :)
07 November 2005
Accidents, etc.
So, how have I been the past few weeks? you might ask. Well, things have certainly not been dull around here. Between teaching and English Department outings and meeting with students and just living in China, I've been wearing myself out on occasion. I have lots of stories, though, so I'll see if I can't relay some of them and still hold your attention.
For the first time since I've been in China, I think, I've seen a few accidents. A few weeks ago I was on my way to the McDonald's in town (yep, we have a McD's here, and two KFC's) in a taxi, when we passed this motorcycle on its side in the middle of the road. That wasn't so bad, but there was a woman lying next to it. She was holding her leg, but just lying there waiting for someone to help her up. I would've wanted to if I'd been walking. Then just last Sat. night I was walking home from something called "English corner" (more on that in a bit) with some of my friends, and we actually saw the accident when it happened. A taxi hit a little motorcycle/motor-scooter thing, and the guy who had been riding was trying to walk around, holding his leg. Again, I was tempted to help out, although I don't know what good I would've been. I did have that one class in "Injury Management for Dancers" and was desperately trying to figure out if he could've damaged his PCL or something. It looked like he was in serious pain, but he was able to walk off somewhere, so I think he'll make it. Just a few blocks later (same night, same people, same road) we saw the results of yet another accident. Makes you wonder what was going on that night. This one looked more serious. Although we couldn't see any people in the cars, there was glass all over the road, and the side of the van was smashed in. Sat. night must not be a very good night in these parts.
So, English corner was started at McDonald's when I was here last time. There are some other Americans in town, and they were asked by the then-Manager of McD's if they could come in every Sat. night to talk with local kids and help them practice their English. So, now that I'm back I've gotten involved in that too. It's really kind of fun, and there aren't just gradeschool kids that come. I usually end up talking to the college kids instead, to my enormous relief. ;) Last Sat. was lots of fun because I got to talk to some college students learning *German*. :) It was really funny, because occasionally I would start to think of random words (for example, "yes") in Chinese instead of English or German, and we all got a laugh out of that.
And speaking of crazy things happening Sat. nights after English corner, try this one out. A few weeks ago we were getting ready to leave, when lots of people in McD's started staring at something outside. (This is a country of spectator sports -- nothing is private, EVER; don't assume that you can go unnoticed at any time) It's not rude to stare in this country, especially at foreigners. In fact, I frequently find myself staring at things, just like the locals. You know you've been in China too long when....anyway, so apparently there was this way heated argument going on across the street from McD's, some kind of family feud or something. I didn't hear any of it, and I don't understand most Chinese anyway, so it wouldn't really matter. The crowning moment was when about four policemen started forcefully carrying a young woman away from the huge crowd that had gathered. They each were carrying one limb, and her back was only a few inches off the ground. I think they stopped once to let her pick up her cell phone, but continued carrying her several hundred feet away. The only way to describe it is bizarre. Only in China....
For the first time since I've been in China, I think, I've seen a few accidents. A few weeks ago I was on my way to the McDonald's in town (yep, we have a McD's here, and two KFC's) in a taxi, when we passed this motorcycle on its side in the middle of the road. That wasn't so bad, but there was a woman lying next to it. She was holding her leg, but just lying there waiting for someone to help her up. I would've wanted to if I'd been walking. Then just last Sat. night I was walking home from something called "English corner" (more on that in a bit) with some of my friends, and we actually saw the accident when it happened. A taxi hit a little motorcycle/motor-scooter thing, and the guy who had been riding was trying to walk around, holding his leg. Again, I was tempted to help out, although I don't know what good I would've been. I did have that one class in "Injury Management for Dancers" and was desperately trying to figure out if he could've damaged his PCL or something. It looked like he was in serious pain, but he was able to walk off somewhere, so I think he'll make it. Just a few blocks later (same night, same people, same road) we saw the results of yet another accident. Makes you wonder what was going on that night. This one looked more serious. Although we couldn't see any people in the cars, there was glass all over the road, and the side of the van was smashed in. Sat. night must not be a very good night in these parts.
So, English corner was started at McDonald's when I was here last time. There are some other Americans in town, and they were asked by the then-Manager of McD's if they could come in every Sat. night to talk with local kids and help them practice their English. So, now that I'm back I've gotten involved in that too. It's really kind of fun, and there aren't just gradeschool kids that come. I usually end up talking to the college kids instead, to my enormous relief. ;) Last Sat. was lots of fun because I got to talk to some college students learning *German*. :) It was really funny, because occasionally I would start to think of random words (for example, "yes") in Chinese instead of English or German, and we all got a laugh out of that.
And speaking of crazy things happening Sat. nights after English corner, try this one out. A few weeks ago we were getting ready to leave, when lots of people in McD's started staring at something outside. (This is a country of spectator sports -- nothing is private, EVER; don't assume that you can go unnoticed at any time) It's not rude to stare in this country, especially at foreigners. In fact, I frequently find myself staring at things, just like the locals. You know you've been in China too long when....anyway, so apparently there was this way heated argument going on across the street from McD's, some kind of family feud or something. I didn't hear any of it, and I don't understand most Chinese anyway, so it wouldn't really matter. The crowning moment was when about four policemen started forcefully carrying a young woman away from the huge crowd that had gathered. They each were carrying one limb, and her back was only a few inches off the ground. I think they stopped once to let her pick up her cell phone, but continued carrying her several hundred feet away. The only way to describe it is bizarre. Only in China....
26 October 2005
Long overdue
So, the funny thing is, I can't read anything that I post on this spot, because blogspot is blocked in China. I think it's sad. That means that I could write just about anything I wanted because only people outside the country could read it. I wouldn't post anything derogatory anyway, but just think of the people who could. And it wouldn't matter because the people inside the country couldn't read anything, but those outside of the country would know what's going on and might get the wrong impression.....hmmm......
So, there are definite disadvantages to not having a computer. One of those being that I can't just e-mail my family and friends any time I want to. Or post blogs. Or look up important information, get ideas for teaching, etc. There are the down sides. On the other hand....it doesn't take up any room on my desk...??? Maybe that's not a plus.
I'm trying to remember all the exciting things that have happened to me over the past few weeks. Classes have been going well. I may have already said this, but this semester I only have 6 classes (instead of 9). The load is much easier, but I have to make up some of that time with extra office hours. That doesn't bother me too much, since most of the in-depth learning happens in that time anyway. I goofed though. I told my students the wrong room number, so yesterday hardly anyone came. I have a few students who have been going to the local 3-Self church (I'll explain that later), and they asked me to help them learn a Christmas song ("O Come All Ye Faithful"). It's been fun. It was extra special for me, since that's the first time in weeks I've gotten my hands on a piano. I'm still determined to buy a quality keyboard (i.e. Casio or the like) to have in my apartment to stave off the boredom that sometimes arises when you live alone and don't speak the language. I have realized though that most of what I learned before hasn't left me. I can still take taxis and ride buses, and I'm actually discovering more about this town than I knew before I left. There are actually several parks that I didn't know about, and I've visited a few. The only down side to walking around (especially alone), though, is that everyone stares at you and often a group of scary-looking older guys will start making cat calls at you. (it's the "yellow" hair) Good thing they haven't tested out my mean kara-tay moves. :)
Other than school, my life is not very exciting right now. Things are settling into routine. I hang out with the other foreigners in town pretty often. That's about it. I think when I get that keyboard I'm hankering for I might offer lessons to some of my students who have asked me and seem really interested, in exchange for some Chinese lessons. ;)
Well, I hope people are, in fact, still reading this blog. I can't tell if/how many, since I can't access the page itself. ;) Go figure. But I will try as often as I can get to a computer with working internet to update the blog. I still want to keep hearing from all of you guys....via e-mail. :) Talk atcha later!
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So, there are definite disadvantages to not having a computer. One of those being that I can't just e-mail my family and friends any time I want to. Or post blogs. Or look up important information, get ideas for teaching, etc. There are the down sides. On the other hand....it doesn't take up any room on my desk...??? Maybe that's not a plus.
I'm trying to remember all the exciting things that have happened to me over the past few weeks. Classes have been going well. I may have already said this, but this semester I only have 6 classes (instead of 9). The load is much easier, but I have to make up some of that time with extra office hours. That doesn't bother me too much, since most of the in-depth learning happens in that time anyway. I goofed though. I told my students the wrong room number, so yesterday hardly anyone came. I have a few students who have been going to the local 3-Self church (I'll explain that later), and they asked me to help them learn a Christmas song ("O Come All Ye Faithful"). It's been fun. It was extra special for me, since that's the first time in weeks I've gotten my hands on a piano. I'm still determined to buy a quality keyboard (i.e. Casio or the like) to have in my apartment to stave off the boredom that sometimes arises when you live alone and don't speak the language. I have realized though that most of what I learned before hasn't left me. I can still take taxis and ride buses, and I'm actually discovering more about this town than I knew before I left. There are actually several parks that I didn't know about, and I've visited a few. The only down side to walking around (especially alone), though, is that everyone stares at you and often a group of scary-looking older guys will start making cat calls at you. (it's the "yellow" hair) Good thing they haven't tested out my mean kara-tay moves. :)
Other than school, my life is not very exciting right now. Things are settling into routine. I hang out with the other foreigners in town pretty often. That's about it. I think when I get that keyboard I'm hankering for I might offer lessons to some of my students who have asked me and seem really interested, in exchange for some Chinese lessons. ;)
Well, I hope people are, in fact, still reading this blog. I can't tell if/how many, since I can't access the page itself. ;) Go figure. But I will try as often as I can get to a computer with working internet to update the blog. I still want to keep hearing from all of you guys....via e-mail. :) Talk atcha later!
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10 October 2005
First day of school! First day of school!
So, today it was back to the grind. :) Actually, I'm really excited about the possibilities for this year. I had a good class today, and so far only one near-proposal. ;) (that's a joke for those of you who don't know me so well) It was so great to see some of my old students. I didn't realize how much I'd missed them until I got to see them again. Yesterday (Sun.) I got to meet some of the new foreign teachers in town, and right now I'm using one of their computers (since the one at the school is La Brea tar pits-slow and I didn't have that kind of patience this morning). The new teachers are just great, and I'm really looking forward to interacting with them and having some more female companionship.
I'm teaching fewer hours this semester, which I don't mind in the least. I'm only teaching 12 (6 classes) but making up for it with more office hours, which I also don't mind since that's where more of the real learning/improvement comes from. This morning I only had one class, and so far it's pretty good. They're active and they all want to talk, which is good, and I'm trying to get into the "serious" mindset so they know not to push too many buttons. :) I think it'll be a good year. They also liked to joke around and their comprehension of what I was saying (and the jokes I made) was really good. So we'll see how it goes.... :)
I'm teaching fewer hours this semester, which I don't mind in the least. I'm only teaching 12 (6 classes) but making up for it with more office hours, which I also don't mind since that's where more of the real learning/improvement comes from. This morning I only had one class, and so far it's pretty good. They're active and they all want to talk, which is good, and I'm trying to get into the "serious" mindset so they know not to push too many buttons. :) I think it'll be a good year. They also liked to joke around and their comprehension of what I was saying (and the jokes I made) was really good. So we'll see how it goes.... :)
Train rides
Whew! Made it! I almost thought I wouldn't. I left Beijing last Wed. on the night train, and boy was that a fiasco. So, I know my bags are heavy....and I'm not proud of that fact, but at least I can honestly say it was because of books this time....but I've always been able to take them on the train with me, and not really have to worry about them. So, here's the story, and we'll see if I can't make it interesting enough to read.....
After trying several times to get a train ticket (which was next to impossible, because it's the week of the national holiday and EVERYONE is traveling -- all by train), we eventually found one and had to take a taxi to the exact opposite end of town (quite a long drive in Beijing). Fortunately, we had a very nice taxi driver who knew where to go, and he helped me when I went to pick up the ticket. Although they charged me 50 extra yuan for a handling fee, I thought it was worth it just to know that I was actually going to get to where I needed to go. Fast forward a few hours. The friends who I was staying with have a Chinese friend who owns a car and charges a fee for rides (like a non-metered taxi). They asked him to drive me to the train station and help me get my bags onto the train, and he charged me surprisingly little for it. Well, I should've known things weren't going to turn out exactly as I had expected when he ended up parking about a block (equal to 2 or 3 U.S. blocks) from the station. First I need to explain something: previously, I had been with a family who paid for their own private driver, and he parked very close to the entrance, and actually saw me onto the platform and helped me get onto the train before leaving. He was awesome, and that was kind of what I was hoping this other guy would do. Well, we hadn't walked very far when I could tell the one bag w/out wheels (I apologize profusely to *anyone* who ever has to deal with that) was taxing on him. Of course at that point we were accosted by about 5 men wanting to carry it....for a small fee, of course. By the time we made it to the bridge (over the busy road, across which was the station) some more guys had accosted us with their little baggage carts, wanting to cost much more than it was worth to wheel my overstuffed, way overweight bag. I was way annoyed. So I just said it was too expensive, and tried to carry it myself. I'm sure it looked comical, since it weighed about half of me. By the time I got to the top of the bridge, he physically forced the bag out of my hands and onto his carrier (don't remember the exact word for that thing....). I told him a price lower than he had set, and he said, "Okay, okay." Of course it was much easier to walk after that. Here's the catch, and let this be a lesson to the lot of ye if ever you find yourself in another country. We got to the entrance, and I thought we were going in, so I went ahead and paid the guy. My mistake, and I wish I could go back and re-do. Of course he didn't give me the change I was supposed to get after he said "okay, okay" to the lower price. Oh, I was not happy. The guy who drove me then took us with the luggage to a completely different entrance than I had ever gone in, which made me more confused and annoyed. Then the guy who carried the one bag without wheels left. I tried to call after him, but he was obviously in a hurry to get out before I confronted him and asked for my money. Oooooohhhh. I may be a waiguoren who is "made of money," but I still don't like being cheated. Anyway, I had to fill out these forms and tell these guys in this big room what sort of things were in my bags. Then they started putting these cords around them to keep them tight or something and asked me what my destination was. I knew something was up, but was not quite willing to believe it. Finally I just asked the driver what was going on and he said they had to send the bags on a different car and they would get to my town the day after I did.....okay, so those of you who know how annoyed I can really get will understand my tolerance level at this point. They said something about it being more expensive to take them with me on the train, which I can't quite believe since I've done it before and not been charged *anything*....and since I ended up paying an extra 58 yuan to put them on this luggage train, 14 yuan for them to be bound, and 4 yuan to pick them up in Tai'an. Altogether, I ended up paying over 100 yuan extra for this train ride than I had planned to. Not that I don't have the money.....this should just give you an idea of what life is like in China. ;)
To top it all off, although I've been in this train station a few times before, I still can't read Chinese and know exactly where I'm supposed to go. I always had someone with me to help me get where I needed to be. Once the luggage was all taken care of, the driver said goodbye and gave me a hug. He was a really nice guy, but I was just completely put out by what my expectations had been. So, I was left to getting on the train on my own. I went to the same place I had always gone, but I didn't see my train's number anywhere. I didn't start getting really worried until about 10 min. before it was supposed to leave. Finally, this young guy came up to me and asked me where I was going. When he showed me my ticket, he got really ancy and said I was going to miss my train. I was so relieved someone was speaking to me in English, but all I could say was, "where am I supposed to go?" He was very nice and helped me find it, even though he kept saying, "you're about to miss the train." (seriously, kid, just tell me where to go and I'll make sure I get on it....) So, after an adventurous evening, I was on my way "home" on a sleeper train. I don't think I've ever slept so well on one of those bunks. :)
BTW -- further adding to my annoyance was the fact that all of my clothes, soap, etc. were in my two big suitcases. I should know by now (experiences have taught me) to always, always pack at least one pair of clothes in your carry-on. Of course, I thought, "well, it's all going to the same place, it'll be on the train with me, it's fine." I was miserable all of Thurs. and Fri. morning, wearing the same things I'd worn since Wed......but we did retrieve my bags and I have been happily clean since then. ;)
After trying several times to get a train ticket (which was next to impossible, because it's the week of the national holiday and EVERYONE is traveling -- all by train), we eventually found one and had to take a taxi to the exact opposite end of town (quite a long drive in Beijing). Fortunately, we had a very nice taxi driver who knew where to go, and he helped me when I went to pick up the ticket. Although they charged me 50 extra yuan for a handling fee, I thought it was worth it just to know that I was actually going to get to where I needed to go. Fast forward a few hours. The friends who I was staying with have a Chinese friend who owns a car and charges a fee for rides (like a non-metered taxi). They asked him to drive me to the train station and help me get my bags onto the train, and he charged me surprisingly little for it. Well, I should've known things weren't going to turn out exactly as I had expected when he ended up parking about a block (equal to 2 or 3 U.S. blocks) from the station. First I need to explain something: previously, I had been with a family who paid for their own private driver, and he parked very close to the entrance, and actually saw me onto the platform and helped me get onto the train before leaving. He was awesome, and that was kind of what I was hoping this other guy would do. Well, we hadn't walked very far when I could tell the one bag w/out wheels (I apologize profusely to *anyone* who ever has to deal with that) was taxing on him. Of course at that point we were accosted by about 5 men wanting to carry it....for a small fee, of course. By the time we made it to the bridge (over the busy road, across which was the station) some more guys had accosted us with their little baggage carts, wanting to cost much more than it was worth to wheel my overstuffed, way overweight bag. I was way annoyed. So I just said it was too expensive, and tried to carry it myself. I'm sure it looked comical, since it weighed about half of me. By the time I got to the top of the bridge, he physically forced the bag out of my hands and onto his carrier (don't remember the exact word for that thing....). I told him a price lower than he had set, and he said, "Okay, okay." Of course it was much easier to walk after that. Here's the catch, and let this be a lesson to the lot of ye if ever you find yourself in another country. We got to the entrance, and I thought we were going in, so I went ahead and paid the guy. My mistake, and I wish I could go back and re-do. Of course he didn't give me the change I was supposed to get after he said "okay, okay" to the lower price. Oh, I was not happy. The guy who drove me then took us with the luggage to a completely different entrance than I had ever gone in, which made me more confused and annoyed. Then the guy who carried the one bag without wheels left. I tried to call after him, but he was obviously in a hurry to get out before I confronted him and asked for my money. Oooooohhhh. I may be a waiguoren who is "made of money," but I still don't like being cheated. Anyway, I had to fill out these forms and tell these guys in this big room what sort of things were in my bags. Then they started putting these cords around them to keep them tight or something and asked me what my destination was. I knew something was up, but was not quite willing to believe it. Finally I just asked the driver what was going on and he said they had to send the bags on a different car and they would get to my town the day after I did.....okay, so those of you who know how annoyed I can really get will understand my tolerance level at this point. They said something about it being more expensive to take them with me on the train, which I can't quite believe since I've done it before and not been charged *anything*....and since I ended up paying an extra 58 yuan to put them on this luggage train, 14 yuan for them to be bound, and 4 yuan to pick them up in Tai'an. Altogether, I ended up paying over 100 yuan extra for this train ride than I had planned to. Not that I don't have the money.....this should just give you an idea of what life is like in China. ;)
To top it all off, although I've been in this train station a few times before, I still can't read Chinese and know exactly where I'm supposed to go. I always had someone with me to help me get where I needed to be. Once the luggage was all taken care of, the driver said goodbye and gave me a hug. He was a really nice guy, but I was just completely put out by what my expectations had been. So, I was left to getting on the train on my own. I went to the same place I had always gone, but I didn't see my train's number anywhere. I didn't start getting really worried until about 10 min. before it was supposed to leave. Finally, this young guy came up to me and asked me where I was going. When he showed me my ticket, he got really ancy and said I was going to miss my train. I was so relieved someone was speaking to me in English, but all I could say was, "where am I supposed to go?" He was very nice and helped me find it, even though he kept saying, "you're about to miss the train." (seriously, kid, just tell me where to go and I'll make sure I get on it....) So, after an adventurous evening, I was on my way "home" on a sleeper train. I don't think I've ever slept so well on one of those bunks. :)
BTW -- further adding to my annoyance was the fact that all of my clothes, soap, etc. were in my two big suitcases. I should know by now (experiences have taught me) to always, always pack at least one pair of clothes in your carry-on. Of course, I thought, "well, it's all going to the same place, it'll be on the train with me, it's fine." I was miserable all of Thurs. and Fri. morning, wearing the same things I'd worn since Wed......but we did retrieve my bags and I have been happily clean since then. ;)
03 October 2005
New Address
Some of my friends/family have asked for my address in China. If you want to send me anything, your best bet will be to send it to the school, so here is that address:
Gwyn Hamrick
Tai Shan College
Tai'an, Shandong
271021
PRC (China)
Pretty simple! And if for any reason you get the crazy idea to call me, here is my apartment's phone number (I doubt I will get a cell phone, but if I do I'll post that number later):
(0-86) 538-8202542
[0 for out-of-country calls, 86 is China's country code, 538 is my city's code]
Gwyn Hamrick
Tai Shan College
Tai'an, Shandong
271021
PRC (China)
Pretty simple! And if for any reason you get the crazy idea to call me, here is my apartment's phone number (I doubt I will get a cell phone, but if I do I'll post that number later):
(0-86) 538-8202542
[0 for out-of-country calls, 86 is China's country code, 538 is my city's code]
Nihao!
Well, here we are, back in the PRC. The flight was relatively uneventful, aside from some turbulence. I got to see the North Pole -- but couldn't see any polar bears. ;) There were some beautiful mountains in Siberia that we flew over, and it was pretty exciting to fly over the Great Wall, even though it was so small you could barely see it. I also had the best airplane meal I think I've ever had: pasta! There was a stuffed shell, a small manicotti, and cheese tortelini. That's probably more cheese than I'll have in the next nine months, so I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Upon arrival, I quickly passed through customs and retrieved my luggage (which did finally get all packed at 2:00 a.m. Sun. morning), exchanged some money, and got a taxi. I was pleased to realize that I hadn't forgotten all of the Chinese I picked up last time. :) I am staying now with a couple who I met (and stayed with) last time I was here. They are just awesome, very hospitable, and you would never feel unwelcome if you met/stayed with them. I'm only staying with them until I can get a train ticket to my city -- Tai'an. It looks like I might be able to get one tonight with a group of college students who are also heading that direction. The challenge in getting a train ticket right now is that this is the week of the National holiday (Oct. 1), which means that EVERYONE is traveling, and therefore tickets are scarce. So, hopefully it will all work out and my next post will be from my real new home. I should be staying in the same apartment I had last semester, which will make my life so much easier. :) Anyway, not much to report yet, but I'm sure more will come later.
Upon arrival, I quickly passed through customs and retrieved my luggage (which did finally get all packed at 2:00 a.m. Sun. morning), exchanged some money, and got a taxi. I was pleased to realize that I hadn't forgotten all of the Chinese I picked up last time. :) I am staying now with a couple who I met (and stayed with) last time I was here. They are just awesome, very hospitable, and you would never feel unwelcome if you met/stayed with them. I'm only staying with them until I can get a train ticket to my city -- Tai'an. It looks like I might be able to get one tonight with a group of college students who are also heading that direction. The challenge in getting a train ticket right now is that this is the week of the National holiday (Oct. 1), which means that EVERYONE is traveling, and therefore tickets are scarce. So, hopefully it will all work out and my next post will be from my real new home. I should be staying in the same apartment I had last semester, which will make my life so much easier. :) Anyway, not much to report yet, but I'm sure more will come later.
01 October 2005
She's out the door....
Well, not literally. It is currently 1:08 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (that's Indiana time right now....that'll change though, I'm sure) and I still have to finish packing my second big honking suitcase. Fortunately the only thing left to go in is the laundry, but when your plane leaves at 8:00 a.m. the next morning, well....my energy is fast being drained. Anyway, the next time I sit typing at a computer, I should be in my second home, i.e. China. Thanks to everyone who looks at this. Thanks for all your support, prayers, hugs, etc. (she waves to the crowd, wipes a tear from the corner of her eye, and accepts her award....she's really tired) I hope to hear from you all and keep in touch somehow. Love to EVERYONE!!! :)
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