I would like to announce, that there now exists a piano in my apartment. This lady from the office told me she rents one in her apartment and took me to the shop, and now I have one. It is some weird Chinese brand upright, but it sounds and feels pretty good and only has one sticky key. The deposit (that supposedly I get back when I return it) was expensive but it the monthly rental is totally cheap. Also, a bonus, it was hilarious watching the rather old Chinese guys haul it up five flights of stairs. Well, hilarious and sad. I have been really busy with Christmas stuff the past few days so I haven't even had time to sit down and bond with it, or play for more than a few minutes, but I already feel so much better. And now we will have Christmas carols at our party on Saturday. And now I can learn that Chinese piece I brought and whip it out to play for people. Except, I played part of it for these two students that were over tonight, thinking they'd be really excited, and they weren't familiar with it. I showed them the title and they were like...oh, this is...folk music. And I'm like, I know! And they're like...oh, well, most teenagers only listen to pop music. And I'm like...but you don't recognize it? And they're like...no. Haha. Oh well.
Merry Christmas
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Christmas Present
Dear Friend,
Merry Christmas! I swear I almost just wrote "marry". My English is going to shit. Anyway, I hope you like this little knitted dude. I had him (her?) out on the living room table for a few days and people were just going nuts over him. This was the most intense knitting/crochet project I've ever done and I think he turned out so good! Can you tell what he is supposed to be? A Loch Ness Monster! And I thought you would appreciate his color. If he looks squished or his head isn't standing up or there's stuff coming out of him, just poke around with a skinny stick of some sort until he looks better. He won't mind. I had a good little bonding session with him one night before he went into the box, so if you ask him about me maybe he will tell you all about my life in China and how much I miss you.
Love,
Z
Love,
Z
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
My Room
Also my hair needs highlighting and I don't know what to do about it, which automatically makes me sad. You know how I am about my hair.
Bad hair, no piano, cloudy dampness outside, boyfriend I still can't express myself to. That's how I feel right now.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Cheikh and I -
just had the best night. The activities were ordinary - we walked to Tangjia, ate dinner at the Muslim noodle place, bought some fruit in town, then walked back - but I can't believe how much we are talking now. We had conversations the whole time. Like, real conversations, about things that normal people talk about. It makes me feel so normal to talk to him. And like actually, maybe he's not from Jupiter. Every single day I pick up a word or phrase that I can use, or I understand something that he has been saying, and every day that we are able to have a conversation I learn something about him. Funny situation.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Things
1. Ok, so, I didn't get to part 2 of the Hong Kong post. The moral is, we did and saw and ate many things and it was a very successful, enjoyable trip. HK is cool.
2. Then last weekend my wallet was stolen on the bus. That sucked because I know exactly how it happened and just didn't realize it was happening at the time. How did I travel all through sketchy parts of Europe for five months and retain all my belongings, and then come to China and have my phone and wallet stolen in the city where I live within two months?
3. Then a few days ago, Thanksgiving, the school took us to this five-star restaurant for a "Western-style buffet". It was hilariously weird. First of all the Chinese idea of "fancy" is bordering on tacky, like what we think a fancy shopping mall should look like. And there wasn't anyone else in the restaurant, so it was just all this food and all these waiters for like 20 Americans. And the waiters are all a little uncomfortable looking, like they're not sure what they should be doing - which I've noticed to be common in Western-style restaurants but I thought would be different in a very shmancy place. The food was Western-like but not Thanksgiving food - OK, a turkey - but they also had egg rolls, and sushi, and strange gelatinous desserts. Hehehe. I mean I enjoyed it. But it's like, why can't this upscale restaurant manage to make appropriate and delicious American food? Is it that they don't know how? Or that they don't bother to? Or that they don't want to? What is the reason for the strangeness? I'm not complaining - I don't expect to eat the same things I always do, of course. Just wondering.
4. Then yesterday, I decided to venture into the realm of cooking. When I arrived in China I knew it would be a while until I felt ready to go there - just the thought of going to a supermarket seemed overwhelming. I mean it is overwhelming. But I miss cooking and I have enough Chinese to buy produce at the markets and my roommate has been wanting to, also. And Cheikh has been bugging me about it, too, like he's so surprised that I haven't been cooking when we have this perfectly good (except...not really) kitchen. At first I was a little offended by this, and reminded him that I was not his wife and didn't have to cook for him, but he was like, "whoa whoa, I don't mean you should cook for me, you should cook for yourself. This dining hall food is not so good and you shouldn't eat it every day." And he is probably right based on the number of students who regularly cite MSG as an ingredient when describing what's in a dish. So anyway I went to Tangjia, the rundown part of town right by campus, and got some produce and stuff, and then later went downtown to this department store with a Western-ish grocery section and got a lot of food. I mean, going to the grocery store in the states is a little overwhelming, so many choices, you never know where stuff is, etc. Grocery shopping in Vienna was another level of stressful, because of all the unreadable labels and strange-looking things. So grocery shopping here is just...difficult. I went by myself which was one problem. I should have taken somebody. It's easier to make decisions when you can talk through the options aloud. It was fun though, a little. And it's just the same as most things here - you never know what stuff is, so you just choose, and hope it's what you think it is, or hope it tastes good. For instance, the meal I was going to make sort of depended on me finding couscous, and I found this stuff that looked like couscous, but when I cooked it, it turned out to be this sticky, gooey grits-like grain. Not quite what I was looking for, but it worked I guess. But I managed to get everything (or a version of everything) on my list except for chickpeas, which I still can't find. Then I got home and stuck everything in our rice cooker, and it worked out pretty well. I made chocolate no-bake cookies in the rice cooker too, which have some consistency problems but overall taste good. And today we bought a hot plate and a wok, and we have a bunch of spices and utensils, and although I hate that we will just have to leave all our purchases here at the end of the year, I think the investment will be worth it. I didn't even think we needed the hotplate, as the rice cooker functions just like a pot, but my roommate is a little too concerned with making this place as comfortable as our American apartments. I don't think she gets that it is going to be impossible to make this place feel like a normal apartment. The other day I had to hold her back from buying a loveseat, which would have been her whole month's rent plus the trouble of finding a moving company to get it to our fifth floor apartment. And her boyfriend really wants to buy a puppy, which is not allowed and impractical. Geez.
5. So I am doing well, chillin', but I don't feel great. I feel always a little down, like I don't want to do anything but knit or shop do rosetta stone or sit at the cafe or wait around for Cheikh to come over. I don't feel dazed anymore, like I did at first. I feel awake now but a little...I dunno. I really think a lot of it has to do with the lack of music in my life. I think it just zaps my energy to have to live, day after day, without an instrument. So hopefully that situation can be fixed soon. Also it was really really sad not to be home for Thanksgiving. I mean it didn't feel like a holiday at all. LIke it would have been quite easy for me to forget that it was a holiday. Even at the dinner, we didn't say a prayer or say what we were thankful for or talk about thanksgiving or anything. We just ate strange combinations of mediocre food. And, I was telling Cheikh last night, I feel weird because I didn't anticipate being so homesick. I just didn't anticipate that it would be this difficult to adjust and transition. I knew that would be a major problem of course but I guess I had never experienced it so I didn't understand what it would feel like. Because when I went to Vienna, I wasn't homesick at all. I never missed the states. I never craved American food or cried or even thought about it too much. Part of it was probably that I loved Vienna so much, and I think China is not so immediately loveable. For me, that is. And when I was living in Vienna, I would think about all the changes I was experiencing, all the cultural differences I was noticing. But now, when I think about it, those differences were nearly negligible. The differences I'm living with here are so much bigger. And before I came, I thought, yeah yeah yeah there will be differences, it will seem like a whole different world, it will be difficult and stressful, yeah yeah, but I have done that before, I know how to adapt because I did it in Vienna, no problem. Well...yeah right. This is not like living in Austria. So anyway, I guess I just still feel shaken, and not myself. Every single day I miss the states, which is a totally new feeling for me, and it was really really hard to think about everyone else at home on Thursday. Also, in Vienna, no one stared at me. I wasn't this celebrity. It's hard just to be out in public here, because heads turn wherever you go. In Vienna if I felt afraid, I put on the Viennese stern face outside, and whistled a happy tune inside, and pushed through the feeling. But here, it's like I have no privacy, like people are watching my every move, and when I'm out alone I feel vulnerable. So when I'm out, it's tiring, because of all the attention focused on me, and I'm afraid if I whistle a happy tune in my head that will interfere with my real listening and I'll get hit by a motorcycle, and if I put on a stern face people will think I'm mean and try to cheer me up by being friendly, but it is even more draining to be friendly back, and if I try to fight my fear with adventurousness, I will buy something that looks like fruit and turns out to be a disgusting something-er-other, and then be disappointed, and next time not have the courage to try the weird-looking fruit, etc. Can you imagine if Americans looked at every non-white person inquisitively? Like if Chinese immigrants were stared at by white people? No way. Whatever.
It's not actually as bad as I make it sound. No, sorry, it is, but I mean, I don't feel discouraged as that made it sound. I'm having fun. I just wish Harry Potter could lend me his invisibility cloak once in a while.
2. Then last weekend my wallet was stolen on the bus. That sucked because I know exactly how it happened and just didn't realize it was happening at the time. How did I travel all through sketchy parts of Europe for five months and retain all my belongings, and then come to China and have my phone and wallet stolen in the city where I live within two months?
3. Then a few days ago, Thanksgiving, the school took us to this five-star restaurant for a "Western-style buffet". It was hilariously weird. First of all the Chinese idea of "fancy" is bordering on tacky, like what we think a fancy shopping mall should look like. And there wasn't anyone else in the restaurant, so it was just all this food and all these waiters for like 20 Americans. And the waiters are all a little uncomfortable looking, like they're not sure what they should be doing - which I've noticed to be common in Western-style restaurants but I thought would be different in a very shmancy place. The food was Western-like but not Thanksgiving food - OK, a turkey - but they also had egg rolls, and sushi, and strange gelatinous desserts. Hehehe. I mean I enjoyed it. But it's like, why can't this upscale restaurant manage to make appropriate and delicious American food? Is it that they don't know how? Or that they don't bother to? Or that they don't want to? What is the reason for the strangeness? I'm not complaining - I don't expect to eat the same things I always do, of course. Just wondering.
4. Then yesterday, I decided to venture into the realm of cooking. When I arrived in China I knew it would be a while until I felt ready to go there - just the thought of going to a supermarket seemed overwhelming. I mean it is overwhelming. But I miss cooking and I have enough Chinese to buy produce at the markets and my roommate has been wanting to, also. And Cheikh has been bugging me about it, too, like he's so surprised that I haven't been cooking when we have this perfectly good (except...not really) kitchen. At first I was a little offended by this, and reminded him that I was not his wife and didn't have to cook for him, but he was like, "whoa whoa, I don't mean you should cook for me, you should cook for yourself. This dining hall food is not so good and you shouldn't eat it every day." And he is probably right based on the number of students who regularly cite MSG as an ingredient when describing what's in a dish. So anyway I went to Tangjia, the rundown part of town right by campus, and got some produce and stuff, and then later went downtown to this department store with a Western-ish grocery section and got a lot of food. I mean, going to the grocery store in the states is a little overwhelming, so many choices, you never know where stuff is, etc. Grocery shopping in Vienna was another level of stressful, because of all the unreadable labels and strange-looking things. So grocery shopping here is just...difficult. I went by myself which was one problem. I should have taken somebody. It's easier to make decisions when you can talk through the options aloud. It was fun though, a little. And it's just the same as most things here - you never know what stuff is, so you just choose, and hope it's what you think it is, or hope it tastes good. For instance, the meal I was going to make sort of depended on me finding couscous, and I found this stuff that looked like couscous, but when I cooked it, it turned out to be this sticky, gooey grits-like grain. Not quite what I was looking for, but it worked I guess. But I managed to get everything (or a version of everything) on my list except for chickpeas, which I still can't find. Then I got home and stuck everything in our rice cooker, and it worked out pretty well. I made chocolate no-bake cookies in the rice cooker too, which have some consistency problems but overall taste good. And today we bought a hot plate and a wok, and we have a bunch of spices and utensils, and although I hate that we will just have to leave all our purchases here at the end of the year, I think the investment will be worth it. I didn't even think we needed the hotplate, as the rice cooker functions just like a pot, but my roommate is a little too concerned with making this place as comfortable as our American apartments. I don't think she gets that it is going to be impossible to make this place feel like a normal apartment. The other day I had to hold her back from buying a loveseat, which would have been her whole month's rent plus the trouble of finding a moving company to get it to our fifth floor apartment. And her boyfriend really wants to buy a puppy, which is not allowed and impractical. Geez.
5. So I am doing well, chillin', but I don't feel great. I feel always a little down, like I don't want to do anything but knit or shop do rosetta stone or sit at the cafe or wait around for Cheikh to come over. I don't feel dazed anymore, like I did at first. I feel awake now but a little...I dunno. I really think a lot of it has to do with the lack of music in my life. I think it just zaps my energy to have to live, day after day, without an instrument. So hopefully that situation can be fixed soon. Also it was really really sad not to be home for Thanksgiving. I mean it didn't feel like a holiday at all. LIke it would have been quite easy for me to forget that it was a holiday. Even at the dinner, we didn't say a prayer or say what we were thankful for or talk about thanksgiving or anything. We just ate strange combinations of mediocre food. And, I was telling Cheikh last night, I feel weird because I didn't anticipate being so homesick. I just didn't anticipate that it would be this difficult to adjust and transition. I knew that would be a major problem of course but I guess I had never experienced it so I didn't understand what it would feel like. Because when I went to Vienna, I wasn't homesick at all. I never missed the states. I never craved American food or cried or even thought about it too much. Part of it was probably that I loved Vienna so much, and I think China is not so immediately loveable. For me, that is. And when I was living in Vienna, I would think about all the changes I was experiencing, all the cultural differences I was noticing. But now, when I think about it, those differences were nearly negligible. The differences I'm living with here are so much bigger. And before I came, I thought, yeah yeah yeah there will be differences, it will seem like a whole different world, it will be difficult and stressful, yeah yeah, but I have done that before, I know how to adapt because I did it in Vienna, no problem. Well...yeah right. This is not like living in Austria. So anyway, I guess I just still feel shaken, and not myself. Every single day I miss the states, which is a totally new feeling for me, and it was really really hard to think about everyone else at home on Thursday. Also, in Vienna, no one stared at me. I wasn't this celebrity. It's hard just to be out in public here, because heads turn wherever you go. In Vienna if I felt afraid, I put on the Viennese stern face outside, and whistled a happy tune inside, and pushed through the feeling. But here, it's like I have no privacy, like people are watching my every move, and when I'm out alone I feel vulnerable. So when I'm out, it's tiring, because of all the attention focused on me, and I'm afraid if I whistle a happy tune in my head that will interfere with my real listening and I'll get hit by a motorcycle, and if I put on a stern face people will think I'm mean and try to cheer me up by being friendly, but it is even more draining to be friendly back, and if I try to fight my fear with adventurousness, I will buy something that looks like fruit and turns out to be a disgusting something-er-other, and then be disappointed, and next time not have the courage to try the weird-looking fruit, etc. Can you imagine if Americans looked at every non-white person inquisitively? Like if Chinese immigrants were stared at by white people? No way. Whatever.
It's not actually as bad as I make it sound. No, sorry, it is, but I mean, I don't feel discouraged as that made it sound. I'm having fun. I just wish Harry Potter could lend me his invisibility cloak once in a while.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Trip to Hong Kong
I am tired and not exactly in the mood to write but I've been meaning to do a post about Hong Kong all week and I think if I don't do it soon I will forget! So this past weekend Cheikh and I went to Hong Kong because we had a three-day weekend and because Dad notified me of a harp concert happening on Sunday. Actually originally I was going to go with my friends Sandy and Steph, but then Cheikh decided he could come, so we were all four going to go and I was thinking it would be really good that way so that it wasn't just me and him alone trying to figure shit out. Also, Steph has a friend that lives in Hong Kong so he was going to find us a place to stay and show us around and stuff. So I did not do any preparation or planning, because I was expecting I would be a passive traveler. But then we got there and the guy had not booked us rooms in the same place, and then Steph and Sandy went out drinking and slept all morning, and the same the next night, so me and Cheikh never actually met up with them. At first this pissed me off, as the whole idea of going was that we would all be together, and the boys could go do something while us girls shopped, etc. But then C and I were doing really well, so I forgot about it and ended up being glad it was just me and him.
So, Friday when we got there the friend took us to a restaurant in a really busy, lively area full of night markets and prostitutes. I have gotten used to seemingly dirty, scary restaurants but this was the dirtiest, smokiest, loudest, most chaotic one yet. Like the kind of place where garbage (bones and shells and napkins and things) go straight on the table, and there may as well not be plates or bowls or cups at all. This doesn't bother me anymore, of course, but while we were eating I was thinking, "If Mom comes to China, I think I should take her to a place like this right away without easing her into it and see what happens." It would be sheer panic and disgust. Hehehehe. Anyway we ate really well and by the time we were done it was close to 11PM, and C and I being the good clean fun loving folks that we are, generally, wanted to just go to our room and sleep.
So the friend and the girls took us to the place that the friend had booked for us, and when we got there, it was like....uh uh. This ain't gonna work. But we didn't really have a choice because it was late and we didn't want to offend the friend, so I sucked it up and dealt. I mean, the place wasn't that bad when I think about it now, but for some reason stuff always seems sketchier when you first get there. Like, dirty places always seem a lot scarier when you first arrive than they actually are. The place was just this apartment owned by an older couple who lived down the hall, and there were a bunch of chopped up rooms with bunk beds and a dirty bathroom. The couple seemed creepy at first but I think they were just wary of us non-Cantonese speaking mixed race couple, and the second night C stayed up and chatted with them for a while and made friends. So they were actually cute. And the room itself wasn't dirty, and it was a good size. The beds were uncomfortable but there weren't any other guests in the other rooms, so we didn't actually have to share the bathroom with anyone. And it was loud at all hours, but the location was great, right in the center of town, and the energy outside felt sort of neat, like we were sleeping in a cocoon with all kinds of crazy stuff happening outside. And I mean I might have felt less comfortable if I had been staying there with another girl, but it's not like some little Chinese dude or the 70-year old innkeeper is going to try to mess with a tall African-looking guy. So in the morning I felt OK about the place and then by Saturday night, I was happy to be there. And it was really cheap considering the size of the room and the location of the place - everybody complains about the price of staying in HK, and a bunch of the other American teachers that went stayed in the famous Chungking mansions and paid more for smaller rooms that they had to walk through crack dens to get to. so...I think we did alright.
By the way, Mom, you remember that book you bought me about the two girls who go backpacking after college and start in China? I read it this summer and it was just about these girls having a terrible terrible time. Well the first place they go is Hong Kong and they stay in the Chungking mansions because their guide book said it was the best deal, but they are horrified by the condition of the rooms and end up paying a lot for a nicer hotel. My friends who stayed there were not horrified, because I think they were expecting it to be nasty, but how crazy that I had read about it. C and I didn't venture up into any of the guesthouses in the building but we went there and I tried to explain to him that I had read about it, and we walked through the bottom level which was all these Indian people with shops and restaurants. This was actually one of the scariest parts of the trip, because you know what? Indian men, and Italian men, and Mexican men, look at women differently than Chinese or American or Northern European men do. This is a generalization obviously but it is mostly true, I think. I have never, not once, felt like a Chinese man was looking at me with any sort of sexual curiosity. Maybe they are but they don't show it. I even smile at Chinese men and receive innocent smiles in return. But walking through Hong Kong, there would be sections of town with certain ethnicities of people and when we walked through a group of Indian guys, I immediately felt uncomfortable and like I should put a scarf over my hair. Like even walking with my arm linked with another man's, I felt the intensity of those guys' stares, and was suddenly conscious of how covered my breasts were. The same thing happened last night at the bakery - I was going to meet C for an English/Arabic lesson and when I walked in, he was sitting with his friend Mohammed, from Saudi Arabia, who I met once and who has that dark swarthy thing about him. C didn't see me at first but his friend did, and without him doing or saying anything crude, I felt offended by how he was looking at me as I walked toward the table. And I almost didn't want to sit down with them because I felt like he might as well have slapped me on the ass, with how he was looking at me. What is it about those kind of men? What are they doing to make them seem so crude? It's kind of like the difference between the Chinese girls and the Korean exchange students here. One time I was talking to Sandy and I mentioned that I saw this group of girls who looked Chinese but...didn't look Chinese. I said they had sort of...shorter skirts and more makeup. And she said, Oh, they must be the Korean students. The Koreans carry themselves differently than the Chinese do. And that was exactly what it was. It's like that with creepy guys. Without really doing or saying anything differently, they just make you feel differently by how they are carrying themselves, or something. Because the Chinese stare at me constantly, obviously. I mean I am always always being stared at, by everyone. And while it's obnoxious, it doesn't feel intrusive, like it does when some big darkish Turkish-speaking guy does it. My C is big and darkish and Arabic speaking but he does not have this skeezy thing about him. I think this is good.
Men. Creepsters.
This adventure will have to be told in two parts, as I am desperate to nap because I had to be at the teaching building at 7:15 AM this morning to lead "Morning Campus," the cultish activity in which students gather to read English loudly together. Hehehehehee.
So, Friday when we got there the friend took us to a restaurant in a really busy, lively area full of night markets and prostitutes. I have gotten used to seemingly dirty, scary restaurants but this was the dirtiest, smokiest, loudest, most chaotic one yet. Like the kind of place where garbage (bones and shells and napkins and things) go straight on the table, and there may as well not be plates or bowls or cups at all. This doesn't bother me anymore, of course, but while we were eating I was thinking, "If Mom comes to China, I think I should take her to a place like this right away without easing her into it and see what happens." It would be sheer panic and disgust. Hehehehe. Anyway we ate really well and by the time we were done it was close to 11PM, and C and I being the good clean fun loving folks that we are, generally, wanted to just go to our room and sleep.
So the friend and the girls took us to the place that the friend had booked for us, and when we got there, it was like....uh uh. This ain't gonna work. But we didn't really have a choice because it was late and we didn't want to offend the friend, so I sucked it up and dealt. I mean, the place wasn't that bad when I think about it now, but for some reason stuff always seems sketchier when you first get there. Like, dirty places always seem a lot scarier when you first arrive than they actually are. The place was just this apartment owned by an older couple who lived down the hall, and there were a bunch of chopped up rooms with bunk beds and a dirty bathroom. The couple seemed creepy at first but I think they were just wary of us non-Cantonese speaking mixed race couple, and the second night C stayed up and chatted with them for a while and made friends. So they were actually cute. And the room itself wasn't dirty, and it was a good size. The beds were uncomfortable but there weren't any other guests in the other rooms, so we didn't actually have to share the bathroom with anyone. And it was loud at all hours, but the location was great, right in the center of town, and the energy outside felt sort of neat, like we were sleeping in a cocoon with all kinds of crazy stuff happening outside. And I mean I might have felt less comfortable if I had been staying there with another girl, but it's not like some little Chinese dude or the 70-year old innkeeper is going to try to mess with a tall African-looking guy. So in the morning I felt OK about the place and then by Saturday night, I was happy to be there. And it was really cheap considering the size of the room and the location of the place - everybody complains about the price of staying in HK, and a bunch of the other American teachers that went stayed in the famous Chungking mansions and paid more for smaller rooms that they had to walk through crack dens to get to. so...I think we did alright.
By the way, Mom, you remember that book you bought me about the two girls who go backpacking after college and start in China? I read it this summer and it was just about these girls having a terrible terrible time. Well the first place they go is Hong Kong and they stay in the Chungking mansions because their guide book said it was the best deal, but they are horrified by the condition of the rooms and end up paying a lot for a nicer hotel. My friends who stayed there were not horrified, because I think they were expecting it to be nasty, but how crazy that I had read about it. C and I didn't venture up into any of the guesthouses in the building but we went there and I tried to explain to him that I had read about it, and we walked through the bottom level which was all these Indian people with shops and restaurants. This was actually one of the scariest parts of the trip, because you know what? Indian men, and Italian men, and Mexican men, look at women differently than Chinese or American or Northern European men do. This is a generalization obviously but it is mostly true, I think. I have never, not once, felt like a Chinese man was looking at me with any sort of sexual curiosity. Maybe they are but they don't show it. I even smile at Chinese men and receive innocent smiles in return. But walking through Hong Kong, there would be sections of town with certain ethnicities of people and when we walked through a group of Indian guys, I immediately felt uncomfortable and like I should put a scarf over my hair. Like even walking with my arm linked with another man's, I felt the intensity of those guys' stares, and was suddenly conscious of how covered my breasts were. The same thing happened last night at the bakery - I was going to meet C for an English/Arabic lesson and when I walked in, he was sitting with his friend Mohammed, from Saudi Arabia, who I met once and who has that dark swarthy thing about him. C didn't see me at first but his friend did, and without him doing or saying anything crude, I felt offended by how he was looking at me as I walked toward the table. And I almost didn't want to sit down with them because I felt like he might as well have slapped me on the ass, with how he was looking at me. What is it about those kind of men? What are they doing to make them seem so crude? It's kind of like the difference between the Chinese girls and the Korean exchange students here. One time I was talking to Sandy and I mentioned that I saw this group of girls who looked Chinese but...didn't look Chinese. I said they had sort of...shorter skirts and more makeup. And she said, Oh, they must be the Korean students. The Koreans carry themselves differently than the Chinese do. And that was exactly what it was. It's like that with creepy guys. Without really doing or saying anything differently, they just make you feel differently by how they are carrying themselves, or something. Because the Chinese stare at me constantly, obviously. I mean I am always always being stared at, by everyone. And while it's obnoxious, it doesn't feel intrusive, like it does when some big darkish Turkish-speaking guy does it. My C is big and darkish and Arabic speaking but he does not have this skeezy thing about him. I think this is good.
Men. Creepsters.
This adventure will have to be told in two parts, as I am desperate to nap because I had to be at the teaching building at 7:15 AM this morning to lead "Morning Campus," the cultish activity in which students gather to read English loudly together. Hehehehehee.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Hong Kong Photos
http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2787886020/a=159104078_159104078/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
Friday, November 5, 2010
First Thought in Chinese
Today I walked out of the cafe and after a few seconds realized I had left my umbrella by my seat, at which point I thought to myself, "Ah, wo de yü san," instead of "Oh, my umbrella."
Progress.
Progress.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Winning Sentence of the Day
Me: So, do you eat this food for breakfast or lunch? or just for snack?
Student: Snack. I just...I just very very like some snacks.
Student: Snack. I just...I just very very like some snacks.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Creepily Small World
Today I was in a bag store downtown with a friend, and some Chinese guy started talking to us because he heard our American accents. He asked where I was from, and I said New York State, and he asked where in New York, which is surprising, so I said well I grew up in Binghamton, and he said....dundundunnnnnn...His son is currently attending Binghamton University! And he has a daughter at SUNY Albany and knows of Skidmore, and another daughter at SUNY Stonybrook, and another daughter living in Cleveland. He has lived in Brooklyn for thirty years but grew up in Zhuhai and so still visits when he has some vacation time. Hahaaaaaa!!!!! His son's name is Kent Li, and he is tall and thin and probably Chinese-looking - anybody know him?
Monday, November 1, 2010
Halloween!
Halloween! I have to say, I am satisfied with the quality of festivities that happened in this strange land in honor of our American holiday. Friday night Mary put together a movie night in the teaching building, so a bunch of us and our students gathered to watch Hocus Pocus, my favorite. The best part about that was not the movie but listening to the reaction of the Chinese students to the movie. Chinese folks are the best "oooooh"ers and "aaahhhhh"ers in the world. It's like they have all predetermined which slapstick humor bits are worthy of laughter, or which surprising parts deserve an audience-wide gasp. This happens in class too - it's like, as a group, they have learned how to synchronize their audible reactions. And rather than stifling laughter or hiding surprise, they emphasize these things. I guess it's good for group bonding to act like that. I mean I guess it's like those laughter clubs, where people get together and just force laughter until it becomes real laughter. If you laugh together at something only mildly funny, just hearing everyone else laugh makes it actually funny and then everybody ends up happier.
Anyway, Saturday night there was a party at the apartment of two of the Austrian exchange students. They have this apartment in this beauuuuutiful new complex, ten minutes away from campus. When I walked through the gate I swear I felt like I was in Florida. (Not that I find Florida particularly beautiful, but in this case the cleanliness and...nice-ness was just so shocking!) You know, rows and rows of generically-schmancy-looking apartments with ponds with bridges and palm trees and stuff. So me and Cheikh went dressed as a yin-yang and had a lot of fun at the party, but probably even more fun was the process of getting there and back. People stare at me when I'm dressed normally - him too, because he's about a foot taller than the average Chinese dude and black. When we're together, the attention we garner is about twice as much as usual which is overwhelming. So imagine us dressed like freaks in black and white! Me tottering in heels and him in a crocheted cap! It was hilarious.
So the party was your standard drinking-smoking-chatting-college kid Halloween party, except that the guests were from: US, Mexico, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, Mauritania, China, and Korea, with about an equal number of languages necessary for all to participate. It makes me feel like maybe we should add "costume parties" to the list of things everyone in the world can relate to, along with music and touch and things.
Then last night, on actual Halloween, I went to the Foreign Language Association party, to which I was invited by about five different students and three different emails. For some reason everything at the party happened in English, although unless I'm mistaken English is not the only foreign language...and the students take Spanish and Korean and German and Arabic in addition to English...I dunno. Anyway this was a really interesting thing: I got there, with two of my American but Chinese-looking friends, and was immediately swarmed with people ushering me into the room and giving me programs and telling me to eat the snacks and giving me masks and wanting my picture and asking me where I am from and showing me their costumes and wanting me on their team for the such-and-such game. (This party was in a big event room above one of the dining halls, with a stage in the middle and speakers and lights and so on. Not an intimate gathering.) I took about a hundred pictures with Chinese students I don't know and I'm pretty sure the reason was that for the first twenty minutes of the party, I was the only white person in the room. Have you ever experienced that?! So weird! But eventually the other Americans showed up and the party started. First the MCs gave a little introductory speech, then there was a little (hilariously terrible) dance performance, then there was a little Romeo-and-Juliet-meets-Halloween (also quite terrible) drama performance, then Brad, the American teacher who was here last year, gave a little speech about the history of Halloween, and then there was this incredible beat boxer, and then I left partly because I wanted to go to this other talent show thing and partly because I was getting overwhelmed by the amount of people in the room and the strobe lights and the attention. It was really fun though. It's like the Halloween party Skidmore has every year, except substitute coke and orange soda for alcohol and weird little candies and lemon-flavored potato chips for pizza, and with lesser-quality musical/dance performances, and more technical difficulties with the microphones and things. Hehe. After I left I went outside to this square where they had a stage set up and there were a lot of people gathered to watch what I think was a talent show. Not much talent happening at this show, but a lot of happiness. I think maybe the Chinese aren't as concerned with the quality of things. As long as the thing is positive, and people are having fun, and nobody is left out, then it is good. The people singing some sappy love song are not the greatest singers and go out of tune when they try to break into harmony, but the message of the song is cute so it is good. I could tell that the piano on stage was the one with the broken pedal, which makes it nearly impossible to create a nice sound, but the pianist didn't seem to mind, so it is good. During the Romeo/Juliet/Halloween play, the microphones kept squealing, so we couldn't really understand the dialogue, but we could tell that the message was nice, so it is good. My freshman students probably haven't actually learned anything in my class, because nobody is enforcing that I teach them specific things, but the classes are generally enjoyable and positive, so it is good. I also get the impression that this university is lacking in the feeling of competition between students that exists at American universities. Like at Skidmore - and Skidmore is not exactly the most cutthroat place in the world - people are constantly trying to get ahead, do more, get better grades, be the president of the most clubs. Organizations are always trying to improve things, hold meetings, create subcommittees, have discussions on issues. Whose thesis is going to be the best? Who is going to win the music department honors awards? Whose schedule has the most credit hours? Who will get written up in the newspaper for doing this awesome humanitarian progressive crunchy thing?
I feel like that kind of thing doesn't happen here, or at least to a much lesser extent. Nobody cared that every single one of the talent show acts was sort of shitty. Maybe the whole thing was just for fun anyway, or maybe it is perfectly acceptable to be a shitty performer, or maybe they don't know it was shitty. I think this is a big difference.
Anyway, Saturday night there was a party at the apartment of two of the Austrian exchange students. They have this apartment in this beauuuuutiful new complex, ten minutes away from campus. When I walked through the gate I swear I felt like I was in Florida. (Not that I find Florida particularly beautiful, but in this case the cleanliness and...nice-ness was just so shocking!) You know, rows and rows of generically-schmancy-looking apartments with ponds with bridges and palm trees and stuff. So me and Cheikh went dressed as a yin-yang and had a lot of fun at the party, but probably even more fun was the process of getting there and back. People stare at me when I'm dressed normally - him too, because he's about a foot taller than the average Chinese dude and black. When we're together, the attention we garner is about twice as much as usual which is overwhelming. So imagine us dressed like freaks in black and white! Me tottering in heels and him in a crocheted cap! It was hilarious. So the party was your standard drinking-smoking-chatting-college kid Halloween party, except that the guests were from: US, Mexico, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, Mauritania, China, and Korea, with about an equal number of languages necessary for all to participate. It makes me feel like maybe we should add "costume parties" to the list of things everyone in the world can relate to, along with music and touch and things.
Then last night, on actual Halloween, I went to the Foreign Language Association party, to which I was invited by about five different students and three different emails. For some reason everything at the party happened in English, although unless I'm mistaken English is not the only foreign language...and the students take Spanish and Korean and German and Arabic in addition to English...I dunno. Anyway this was a really interesting thing: I got there, with two of my American but Chinese-looking friends, and was immediately swarmed with people ushering me into the room and giving me programs and telling me to eat the snacks and giving me masks and wanting my picture and asking me where I am from and showing me their costumes and wanting me on their team for the such-and-such game. (This party was in a big event room above one of the dining halls, with a stage in the middle and speakers and lights and so on. Not an intimate gathering.) I took about a hundred pictures with Chinese students I don't know and I'm pretty sure the reason was that for the first twenty minutes of the party, I was the only white person in the room. Have you ever experienced that?! So weird! But eventually the other Americans showed up and the party started. First the MCs gave a little introductory speech, then there was a little (hilariously terrible) dance performance, then there was a little Romeo-and-Juliet-meets-Halloween (also quite terrible) drama performance, then Brad, the American teacher who was here last year, gave a little speech about the history of Halloween, and then there was this incredible beat boxer, and then I left partly because I wanted to go to this other talent show thing and partly because I was getting overwhelmed by the amount of people in the room and the strobe lights and the attention. It was really fun though. It's like the Halloween party Skidmore has every year, except substitute coke and orange soda for alcohol and weird little candies and lemon-flavored potato chips for pizza, and with lesser-quality musical/dance performances, and more technical difficulties with the microphones and things. Hehe. After I left I went outside to this square where they had a stage set up and there were a lot of people gathered to watch what I think was a talent show. Not much talent happening at this show, but a lot of happiness. I think maybe the Chinese aren't as concerned with the quality of things. As long as the thing is positive, and people are having fun, and nobody is left out, then it is good. The people singing some sappy love song are not the greatest singers and go out of tune when they try to break into harmony, but the message of the song is cute so it is good. I could tell that the piano on stage was the one with the broken pedal, which makes it nearly impossible to create a nice sound, but the pianist didn't seem to mind, so it is good. During the Romeo/Juliet/Halloween play, the microphones kept squealing, so we couldn't really understand the dialogue, but we could tell that the message was nice, so it is good. My freshman students probably haven't actually learned anything in my class, because nobody is enforcing that I teach them specific things, but the classes are generally enjoyable and positive, so it is good. I also get the impression that this university is lacking in the feeling of competition between students that exists at American universities. Like at Skidmore - and Skidmore is not exactly the most cutthroat place in the world - people are constantly trying to get ahead, do more, get better grades, be the president of the most clubs. Organizations are always trying to improve things, hold meetings, create subcommittees, have discussions on issues. Whose thesis is going to be the best? Who is going to win the music department honors awards? Whose schedule has the most credit hours? Who will get written up in the newspaper for doing this awesome humanitarian progressive crunchy thing? I feel like that kind of thing doesn't happen here, or at least to a much lesser extent. Nobody cared that every single one of the talent show acts was sort of shitty. Maybe the whole thing was just for fun anyway, or maybe it is perfectly acceptable to be a shitty performer, or maybe they don't know it was shitty. I think this is a big difference.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Weird Thing
So there is this weird thing happening, which is, more and more I am unable to see the Asian-ness in my students' faces. Like, some of them, I look at them and I can't even fathom how they are Chinese. There is this one student in one of my freshman classes who is pretty hip-looking, with cool glasses and done-up hair, and for some reason I look at her and she looks completely American to me. I can't remember what I thought of her the first time I saw her but now, I see no signs of Asian appearance even though I'm sure she must look Asian. And the pre-masters students I see twice a week, and there are only 15 people in the class so I know most of them personally, and I spend so much time speaking in English with them that when we are out of class and they turn to each other and say something in Chinese, it is almost shocking to me. Like I feel surprised and like it is unnatural that they should be speaking something other than English. And sometimes I will sit in class while they're doing something and stare at their faces and try to imagine how they look Chinese. Some of them do but some of them, I just can't pick out signs of ...difference. Weird!!
Probably, ya'll are gonna look foreign to me when I get back...
Probably, ya'll are gonna look foreign to me when I get back...
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Normal Things
I guess I have been slacking on my blogging lately, but I've been quite busy doing not much of anything. haha. Which is fine, honestly, if I could just convince myself that it was. I genuinely like living more simply, sleeping 45 minutes more than I need per night, bumming around for a few hours in the morning, having time to go out for dinner, killing an hour on facebook, considering an afternoon of shopping to be my exercise for the day, sitting and thinking for half an hour before bed. I like this pace. I just have to convince myself of it. I'm so wired to be living at maximum capacity at school that when I have not much to do, it feels wrong. I'm not bored. I just feel guilty. But if I could get over the guilt, and feeling naughty about not being crazed, I might actually feel content. It's not like other people are writing novels or running marathons. My roommate goes out drinking every night, gets up for class at 8AM, then sleeps from 11-5 and wakes up in time to go out to dinner with the European exchange students and then skype with her boyfriend. So whatever, this is just how it is going to be for a while.
In other news, I went to Macau this past Sunday with Cheikh. This is exciting because:
1. We did not die, get arrested, get lost, argue (not that this would be possible anyway), etc.
2. A year or two ago, before I had any inkling that I would be coming to China, Dad bought me this novel about a piano teacher who moved to Macau in the 30s with her husband. At the time I had no knowledge of Macau, and so much less of China, and I obviously didn't consider the setting in the way I would have had I known I would be visiting that city soon. Actually I don't think I was even sure how to pronounce Macau when I was reading that book. Anyway from what I remember, Macau was portrayed as this intense place with stifling humidity, and sudden rainstorms that drenched everything, and strange foods in street markets, and expats sitting in European-style bakeries, and scenic views of the coast, and Chinese people in rickshaws rushing around narrow streets. Well, wouldn't you know it, it still feels like that. Just like that, except with lots of Western tourists in the center of town, and fancy European clothing stores, and motorcycles, and a bit more gloom in the sky than I would have guessed from the book. And we only spent five hours in the city, it's not like I lived there like the woman in the book, but it seems so crazy to have read about some unknown exotic place, having no idea you'd one day be there, and then be standing in the square that the narrator described walking through every day! Like, I knew this city before I knew it but when I was learning about it I didn't even know I would eventually actually know it! Crazy.
Anyway when I got home I had a total mental breakdown and called Mom but of course she never answers any of her phones! MOM! So I sat in my room alone and cried for a while and then felt a bit better. I think I was just emotionally exhausted from trying to navigate a strange land with someone who might as well be from Pluto. I dunno. I think it will just take some time for us to learn to function together out in the world, without google translate at our disposal. I mean we had fun of course. It's just fun mixed with stress and confusion, which is tiring.
More to say, but I have to rework my lesson plan for this class I have in an hour because somehow things got chaotic in the last class. Hehe. Not that the Chinese mind a bit of chaos, but I do.
In other news, I went to Macau this past Sunday with Cheikh. This is exciting because:
1. We did not die, get arrested, get lost, argue (not that this would be possible anyway), etc.
2. A year or two ago, before I had any inkling that I would be coming to China, Dad bought me this novel about a piano teacher who moved to Macau in the 30s with her husband. At the time I had no knowledge of Macau, and so much less of China, and I obviously didn't consider the setting in the way I would have had I known I would be visiting that city soon. Actually I don't think I was even sure how to pronounce Macau when I was reading that book. Anyway from what I remember, Macau was portrayed as this intense place with stifling humidity, and sudden rainstorms that drenched everything, and strange foods in street markets, and expats sitting in European-style bakeries, and scenic views of the coast, and Chinese people in rickshaws rushing around narrow streets. Well, wouldn't you know it, it still feels like that. Just like that, except with lots of Western tourists in the center of town, and fancy European clothing stores, and motorcycles, and a bit more gloom in the sky than I would have guessed from the book. And we only spent five hours in the city, it's not like I lived there like the woman in the book, but it seems so crazy to have read about some unknown exotic place, having no idea you'd one day be there, and then be standing in the square that the narrator described walking through every day! Like, I knew this city before I knew it but when I was learning about it I didn't even know I would eventually actually know it! Crazy.
Anyway when I got home I had a total mental breakdown and called Mom but of course she never answers any of her phones! MOM! So I sat in my room alone and cried for a while and then felt a bit better. I think I was just emotionally exhausted from trying to navigate a strange land with someone who might as well be from Pluto. I dunno. I think it will just take some time for us to learn to function together out in the world, without google translate at our disposal. I mean we had fun of course. It's just fun mixed with stress and confusion, which is tiring.
More to say, but I have to rework my lesson plan for this class I have in an hour because somehow things got chaotic in the last class. Hehe. Not that the Chinese mind a bit of chaos, but I do.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Language Barriers
Number of people in dinner party: 5
Number of languages necessary for all members to converse: 4. English, French, Arabic, Mandarin.
How silly!
P.S. New pictures up on snapfish!
Number of languages necessary for all members to converse: 4. English, French, Arabic, Mandarin.
How silly!
P.S. New pictures up on snapfish!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Homesick
Today, finally, I felt homesick. But actually, more Vienna-sick. I was on the bus and suddenly had this aching, aching longing for Vienna. I was on the bus because Cheikh and I were going to Gongbei, the part of Zhuhai right on the Macau border, just to walk around and stuff. It was really tough, as you can imagine. If I had gone with any one of my friends, it would be sort of tough, just finding our way around and deciding when and where to eat and how to find the bathroom and what to do. And if that friend and I had never been to Gongbei together, it would be that much tougher. Now add thousands (THOOOOUSANDS) of Chinese people on vacation and an absence of verbal communication with your travelling partner to that equation. It was worth it, to have the day with him, but... what the hell am I doing?!?
But anyway, on the ride there, I was thinking, wouldn't this all be so much easier if we were in the states? There I know what to do, where to go, what restaurants look sketchy, how to act, just...everything. I understand things. I know who to smile at and who to avoid. I know when it's OK to cross the street and which water bottles are water and which are not water. Even in Vienna, if we were in Vienna it would be so much easier. I could be tour guide instead of fellow-confused-wanderer.
And then I had a realization on a different topic. So a few posts ago, I talked about this coma thing I was experiencing, which hasn't gone away. And I've been starting to think I'm losing it or I have some vitamin deficiency or something. But then I was looking around at the people on the bus and noticing how many people were sleeping, or slumped over, how many couples with heads on shoulders, how many floppy-looking babies, at 1 in the afternoon. And I had noticed that the Chinese generally walk really slowly. I'm always passing people on the way to class and walking around people in the streets, and you all know how I like to walk at a leisurely pace. So, it's gotta be the heat. Making people floppy and lethargic. And putting me in a coma. I have felt sooo floppy and lethargic, all the time, and smiling and laughing less than usual, which is alarming. But so now I think my coma is less from silly boy, although that is still contributing, and more from stifling humidity. Because people never looked floppy in Vienna. People were never sleeping or slumped over on each other on the buses and subways. But it was always cold there. And come to think of it, I felt so much more alert there. Less smiley and giggly, also, but always wide-eyed and awake. I haven't felt really awake at all since I've been in China, not once. Always dazed.
But anyway, on the ride there, I was thinking, wouldn't this all be so much easier if we were in the states? There I know what to do, where to go, what restaurants look sketchy, how to act, just...everything. I understand things. I know who to smile at and who to avoid. I know when it's OK to cross the street and which water bottles are water and which are not water. Even in Vienna, if we were in Vienna it would be so much easier. I could be tour guide instead of fellow-confused-wanderer.
And then I had a realization on a different topic. So a few posts ago, I talked about this coma thing I was experiencing, which hasn't gone away. And I've been starting to think I'm losing it or I have some vitamin deficiency or something. But then I was looking around at the people on the bus and noticing how many people were sleeping, or slumped over, how many couples with heads on shoulders, how many floppy-looking babies, at 1 in the afternoon. And I had noticed that the Chinese generally walk really slowly. I'm always passing people on the way to class and walking around people in the streets, and you all know how I like to walk at a leisurely pace. So, it's gotta be the heat. Making people floppy and lethargic. And putting me in a coma. I have felt sooo floppy and lethargic, all the time, and smiling and laughing less than usual, which is alarming. But so now I think my coma is less from silly boy, although that is still contributing, and more from stifling humidity. Because people never looked floppy in Vienna. People were never sleeping or slumped over on each other on the buses and subways. But it was always cold there. And come to think of it, I felt so much more alert there. Less smiley and giggly, also, but always wide-eyed and awake. I haven't felt really awake at all since I've been in China, not once. Always dazed.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Chinglish
Part of the reason I anticipate the desire to collect silly possessions:
"I always at wait your love/But hasn't been/wait until/Perhaps at soon/Would be for a long time perhaps/But I know only/I would always/of under etc. go to"
"love is a kind of meet, a very difficult meet. Ae the right time to meet the right people into some love."
"Butterfly. Dutter-colored fly. We often see a kind of insect-butterfly. They fly in the sky, brushwood, tussock, auso between the flowers with their smart wings, which make the nature more beautiful."
"In the afternoon one day, when 'smoked' As usual, the completion of her chores Cooking, cleaning, laundry and so on,"
I kid not.
"I always at wait your love/But hasn't been/wait until/Perhaps at soon/Would be for a long time perhaps/But I know only/I would always/of under etc. go to"
"love is a kind of meet, a very difficult meet. Ae the right time to meet the right people into some love."
"Butterfly. Dutter-colored fly. We often see a kind of insect-butterfly. They fly in the sky, brushwood, tussock, auso between the flowers with their smart wings, which make the nature more beautiful."
"In the afternoon one day, when 'smoked' As usual, the completion of her chores Cooking, cleaning, laundry and so on,"
I kid not.
Alternating Good and Bad News
Bad news: I am going to come home with SO MANY silly possessions. I went into the school store today to buy a single notebook and came out with four, because they are so hilarious. I am totally getting into this aesthetic.
Good news: Today is national day and we have a week-long break.
Bad news: I bought this beverage in juicebox form thinking it was this kind of wheat tea I like (sounds weird, but good) but it turned out to be this thick, bready stuff, like bread batter in a juicebox. Who wants that?
Good news: We had a party last night with a bunch of Chinese students and some other international folks and it was the most good, clean fun I've had since, like, elementary school. We played ice breakers, and sang a lot of songs, and drank soda and ate bananas and chips and cherry tomatoes. And banana chips, and tomato-flavored chips. Oh, and everybody had to wear red in celebration of the holiday so it was really cute. Cheikh came over and I was trying to explain in advance to him that there was a party going on, but I don't think he understood because when we got there he was totally surprised. But then I think he had fun. All the Chinese students were really confused about having to speak to him in Chinese instead of English but then they all wanted pictures with him.
Bad news: I feel like I am not speaking any more Chinese than when I came three weeks ago.
Good news: I had a lesson with my tutor today and she taught me how to write some characters, so now I recognize like 6 characters instead of none.
Good news: Today is national day and we have a week-long break.
Bad news: I bought this beverage in juicebox form thinking it was this kind of wheat tea I like (sounds weird, but good) but it turned out to be this thick, bready stuff, like bread batter in a juicebox. Who wants that?
Good news: We had a party last night with a bunch of Chinese students and some other international folks and it was the most good, clean fun I've had since, like, elementary school. We played ice breakers, and sang a lot of songs, and drank soda and ate bananas and chips and cherry tomatoes. And banana chips, and tomato-flavored chips. Oh, and everybody had to wear red in celebration of the holiday so it was really cute. Cheikh came over and I was trying to explain in advance to him that there was a party going on, but I don't think he understood because when we got there he was totally surprised. But then I think he had fun. All the Chinese students were really confused about having to speak to him in Chinese instead of English but then they all wanted pictures with him.
Bad news: I feel like I am not speaking any more Chinese than when I came three weeks ago.
Good news: I had a lesson with my tutor today and she taught me how to write some characters, so now I recognize like 6 characters instead of none.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Ask For Leave
Dear Zoe,
Because I have a stomache after 4:00 PM. I want to ask for leave today. I'm so regret for that.
Ralph
Sept. 26 2010
Because I have a stomache after 4:00 PM. I want to ask for leave today. I'm so regret for that.
Ralph
Sept. 26 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Meh
Meh. This is how I feel. I still feel coma-ish, like I don't feel like doing any work. Teaching these classes is the main reason I'm here and they just seem like a pain in my ass. And I wish I had more guidance with them - it's hard to plan lessons because I just have no idea what to do with the students. Generally I don't have trouble being creative like that but I just feel low on mental energy. Last Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were "holidays" but not really, because they just reschedule the classes for the weekends. Have I talked about this already? I dunno - so it is Sunday and I have two classes. The same thing will happen next week. "Holiday" during the week then classes for two weekends to make up for it. So I feel all confused about what day it is and what I should be doing. I think I am low on piano-endorphins. Damn. That's probably what it is. I haven't been homesick yet though. Watch me get really homesick tonight now that I've admitted it. I'm having fun with African Boy but I don't know if I like him because I like him or if, like Dad reminded me, my biological clock is winning over my intellectual one. Maybe the latter but I feel like my power to control that situation is nonexistent.
In other general news, China is crazy. There are so many people here. Everywhere is crowded at all times. And I'm like a superstar. People notice me wherever I go and always want to talk to me. I could be a total loser and they would probably still think I was cool because I'm American and have curly hair. Weird. All the students are cheerful and optimistic but I wonder how much is genuine. Like, "I am an Arabic major because I didn't do well enough on my examinations to be an English major, but I believe that I will like Arabic and I will work hard to improve myself and do well at this University. I hope we can all become very good friends."
...really?
or are you just saying that?
Of course if you said that to yourself enough times you would start believing it even if it wasn't true in the first place. So I guess that's cool. I dunno...I just feel like there's this layer of politeness or something that prevents me from having satisfying conversations with any of my students. Or any of the Chinese teachers or administrators. Like I wouldn't be comfortable chillin' with them. Or if I told them anything personal about me they would blush and cover their mouths. Hm....
Sorry no pictures yet, but my camera is sort of on the fritz. I'm working on it.
In other general news, China is crazy. There are so many people here. Everywhere is crowded at all times. And I'm like a superstar. People notice me wherever I go and always want to talk to me. I could be a total loser and they would probably still think I was cool because I'm American and have curly hair. Weird. All the students are cheerful and optimistic but I wonder how much is genuine. Like, "I am an Arabic major because I didn't do well enough on my examinations to be an English major, but I believe that I will like Arabic and I will work hard to improve myself and do well at this University. I hope we can all become very good friends."
...really?
or are you just saying that?
Of course if you said that to yourself enough times you would start believing it even if it wasn't true in the first place. So I guess that's cool. I dunno...I just feel like there's this layer of politeness or something that prevents me from having satisfying conversations with any of my students. Or any of the Chinese teachers or administrators. Like I wouldn't be comfortable chillin' with them. Or if I told them anything personal about me they would blush and cover their mouths. Hm....
Sorry no pictures yet, but my camera is sort of on the fritz. I'm working on it.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
MONSOON!
Typhoon, actually, as I've been informed. I have never experienced rain so...wet. With crazy lighting that is daylight-bright, and three inches of water running down completely flat roads. Weehoo!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Coma
So here is the deal. Things with African boy have escalated quickly and now I'm totally unable to focus on anything but that. Like, it just took me about 7 minutes to write those two sentences because all I feel like doing is sitting and watching the soccer game happening outside my window. I have so much planning and writing and emailing to do, and this is a new job and I need to be thinking hard about it, but I just want to sit on my bed and stare or sit at my window and wait for my phone to ring. I said this to my roommate, and she was like "yeah, I've noticed. Are you feeling OK?" and I am. I feel fine. Just lethargic, like I had a glass of wine after a long day and can only manage to sit and stare. Or like right before an audition or performance, when you're sitting waiting to go on, and the nervousness melts into this weird sluggish sensation, and you think, "How am I ever going to stand and move my fingers and my mind?" Like the adrenaline has given out and left you with a tingling, heavy feeling. I'm sure it's not just him. I'm sure it's a combination of him and exhaustion and endorphin-adjustment.
For example, just then, I put my head down and thought about nothing for like four minutes. But I don't feel sad. Or particularly emotional. Or tired. Or anything. Just...like I wanted to put my head down. ???
Here is the problem. Sorry, here are the problems:
It is quite possible that when he starts speaking more English and I start speaking Chinese, we realize we have nothing in common and don't actually have anything to talk about.
Or, he might be a jerk, or have whack values and beliefs, and I just can't tell yet.
Or, he might be using me for my nicer apartment, money, whiteness, American citizenship, etc.
He might already have five Chinese girlfriends that I don't know about because I can't ask him many questions.
Today he stood me up for our morning coffee date, but I don't know if that was an asshole move or a serious miscommunication. If I see him later, I won't be able to ask which it was. I will try, of course. But probably fail.
He is a practicing Muslim. I'll argue that it is not close-minded of me to consider that a problem, in this particular situation.
Last problem - sample conversation:
me: so, how was class today?
him: shen me?
me: you. today. class. good? jin tian, ni class, hao ma?
him: aahhh ah ah, yes yes. hao. ni?
me: hao.
him: chinese chinese arabic arabic chinese sushe chinese chinese wo men chinese chinese arabic
me: *look of confusion*
him: Ok ok. wo men. zou. lu. yes? xian zai. now? yes?
me: yes, ok, hao. I like your shirt.
him: eh?
me: wo xi huan ni de....*pull on shirt*
him: aahhhh ya ya yaya. xie xie.
etc.
On the other hand, it is possible that none of the above is true and/or will cause problems, and in that case, everything is awesome. And he is sweet. And beautiful. But I have no idea what to think. And I can't even let myself wallow in my coma because I have to teach a class in an hour. And the humidity today is barely bearable. And I have to walk through it before standing in front of a class and speaking more deliberately than you'd think is possible.
Thus goes it. Thanks for reading. There is other, less confusing news, but...the coma thing.
For example, just then, I put my head down and thought about nothing for like four minutes. But I don't feel sad. Or particularly emotional. Or tired. Or anything. Just...like I wanted to put my head down. ???
Here is the problem. Sorry, here are the problems:
It is quite possible that when he starts speaking more English and I start speaking Chinese, we realize we have nothing in common and don't actually have anything to talk about.
Or, he might be a jerk, or have whack values and beliefs, and I just can't tell yet.
Or, he might be using me for my nicer apartment, money, whiteness, American citizenship, etc.
He might already have five Chinese girlfriends that I don't know about because I can't ask him many questions.
Today he stood me up for our morning coffee date, but I don't know if that was an asshole move or a serious miscommunication. If I see him later, I won't be able to ask which it was. I will try, of course. But probably fail.
He is a practicing Muslim. I'll argue that it is not close-minded of me to consider that a problem, in this particular situation.
Last problem - sample conversation:
me: so, how was class today?
him: shen me?
me: you. today. class. good? jin tian, ni class, hao ma?
him: aahhh ah ah, yes yes. hao. ni?
me: hao.
him: chinese chinese arabic arabic chinese sushe chinese chinese wo men chinese chinese arabic
me: *look of confusion*
him: Ok ok. wo men. zou. lu. yes? xian zai. now? yes?
me: yes, ok, hao. I like your shirt.
him: eh?
me: wo xi huan ni de....*pull on shirt*
him: aahhhh ya ya yaya. xie xie.
etc.
On the other hand, it is possible that none of the above is true and/or will cause problems, and in that case, everything is awesome. And he is sweet. And beautiful. But I have no idea what to think. And I can't even let myself wallow in my coma because I have to teach a class in an hour. And the humidity today is barely bearable. And I have to walk through it before standing in front of a class and speaking more deliberately than you'd think is possible.
Thus goes it. Thanks for reading. There is other, less confusing news, but...the coma thing.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Classes
It is Friday and I just made it through the first week of classes. It wasn't too stressful, as I found I fell into teacher-voice very easily. I don't know where my teacher voice came from...maybe from last year in Vienna teaching the Kinder. I also don't know if it's good or not, but it feels comfortable to be up there talking. It is so tiring though. Teaching an hour-long piano lesson to a single student is tiring and these classes have 30 students and are an hour and forty minutes long. I have classes with freshman, pre-masters students, and masters students, and for some reason all of the classes have about the same level of English comprehension. I guess this makes my job easier. But I was also sort of expecting to have some folks with kickass speaking skills, so that we could do in-depth, fun stuff. It can't imagine how I'm going to teach...language. haha. I understand how to teach the "th" or "v" sounds, how to talk about Western universities, how to organize a classroom or an activity. But how do you explain how to go about saying, "I just made it through the first week" or "Would you please hand me a tissue?"? I feel like I need to be taught a process. This is why people get degrees in education, I'm sure - to learn the process of teaching. I suppose I've taken so many language classes, I should know by now. But I've never been sitting in a language class thinking, "OK, remember this so you can recreate it when you're teaching in China." I remember my first Italian teacher at Skidmore just had us chant, and repeat phrases, over and over until our mouths were dry. I liked that a lot but is that too dumbed down for masters students who speak decent English? I don't know. It's like, everything probably seems boring and lame to me, because it's not hard, but for them, a really basic activity is probably fine. Like saying "Where do you live?" a bunch of times probably does not bore them. I don't know.
Anyway, all the students are very friendly. Well, my one class of Huanan folks (pre-masters students) seem a bit grumpier than the rest, but this might be because I made the mistake (didn't know it was a mistake) of asking them what they'd like to learn, you know, because they're old enough to have a say in what they're taught. Apparently this is a big no-no. I have since been informed that Chinese students are "passive learners" and do not want to think about what to learn, but would prefer the teacher to just tell them what to do at all times. Um...I have trouble with this. If I told a professor at Skidmore, home of Creative Though Matters, that my pre-masters students weren't willing to participate in the creation of the course...that would not be OK. In any case the three classes of freshman I had were all very excited and friendly and lovely. The students are not quiet or shy like people say they will be. In fact some of them are outright bold, and I think any shyness comes from a lack of confidence with English. I gave every class a chance to ask me questions about anything, and it was so interesting to hear what they are curious about.
Here are some of the standard questions:
What do Americans think of China and Chinese students? (I have to lie a little bit for this one, as I think it would be dangerous to explain our views on the Communist issue)
(that sentence will probably be cut from this blog by whomever is monitoring it)
Do you like Chinese food? Do you like American fast food?
Do you like Gossip Girl? High School Musical? Lady Gaga?
What was your major at University? (When I reply, music, there is a wave of excited "aaaahhhh"s from the crowd. very few of them have heard of a "harp" so I have to do some gesticulation and drawing, and then another wave of "oooooohhhhh".)
What is your religion? (to which I reply, I was told not to talk to you about religion)
Do you have a boyfriend? Have you ever been in love?
What are you looking for in a husband? Would you consider a Chinese man for a husband?
I think your golden hair is very beautiful. Is it natural?
Do you like to travel? Where have you visited?
What are some points of interest in your hometown?
What are your first impressions of China?
And then there was also:
Can I kiss you? (from a girl)
Why are you not married, if you are so pretty?
You say your brother is very handsome. Will you bring him to visit?
So, things are alright so far. I just need to do some serious planning. Everyone offers to take me shopping, teach me Chinese, find me a boyfriend, go to dinner with me, etc. although I don't feel comfortable accepting the offers. I will have to try. One girl said she plays the flute and is learning some part from Carmen, and would I like to play the piano part? This is a definite yes. I had my "personal assistant" take me to the room with the piano the other day, and although I couldn't actually play because there were all these people milling about, I got to listen to a rehearsal of a group of people playing Chinese instruments. I asked the girl playing the Guzheng if she would teach me to play and she said yes but that there is also a course for beginners. So I tried to look into it but of course when I ask someone, they say ask this person, who says I don't know. You know, the usual.
Anyway, all the students are very friendly. Well, my one class of Huanan folks (pre-masters students) seem a bit grumpier than the rest, but this might be because I made the mistake (didn't know it was a mistake) of asking them what they'd like to learn, you know, because they're old enough to have a say in what they're taught. Apparently this is a big no-no. I have since been informed that Chinese students are "passive learners" and do not want to think about what to learn, but would prefer the teacher to just tell them what to do at all times. Um...I have trouble with this. If I told a professor at Skidmore, home of Creative Though Matters, that my pre-masters students weren't willing to participate in the creation of the course...that would not be OK. In any case the three classes of freshman I had were all very excited and friendly and lovely. The students are not quiet or shy like people say they will be. In fact some of them are outright bold, and I think any shyness comes from a lack of confidence with English. I gave every class a chance to ask me questions about anything, and it was so interesting to hear what they are curious about.
Here are some of the standard questions:
What do Americans think of China and Chinese students? (I have to lie a little bit for this one, as I think it would be dangerous to explain our views on the Communist issue)
(that sentence will probably be cut from this blog by whomever is monitoring it)
Do you like Chinese food? Do you like American fast food?
Do you like Gossip Girl? High School Musical? Lady Gaga?
What was your major at University? (When I reply, music, there is a wave of excited "aaaahhhh"s from the crowd. very few of them have heard of a "harp" so I have to do some gesticulation and drawing, and then another wave of "oooooohhhhh".)
What is your religion? (to which I reply, I was told not to talk to you about religion)
Do you have a boyfriend? Have you ever been in love?
What are you looking for in a husband? Would you consider a Chinese man for a husband?
I think your golden hair is very beautiful. Is it natural?
Do you like to travel? Where have you visited?
What are some points of interest in your hometown?
What are your first impressions of China?
And then there was also:
Can I kiss you? (from a girl)
Why are you not married, if you are so pretty?
You say your brother is very handsome. Will you bring him to visit?
So, things are alright so far. I just need to do some serious planning. Everyone offers to take me shopping, teach me Chinese, find me a boyfriend, go to dinner with me, etc. although I don't feel comfortable accepting the offers. I will have to try. One girl said she plays the flute and is learning some part from Carmen, and would I like to play the piano part? This is a definite yes. I had my "personal assistant" take me to the room with the piano the other day, and although I couldn't actually play because there were all these people milling about, I got to listen to a rehearsal of a group of people playing Chinese instruments. I asked the girl playing the Guzheng if she would teach me to play and she said yes but that there is also a course for beginners. So I tried to look into it but of course when I ask someone, they say ask this person, who says I don't know. You know, the usual.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Boy
Well, I just made out with the Arabic teacher, who is from Mauritania. We have about 0.04 languages in common, and I can't pronounce his name. I will keep you updated on this situation. I don't mean to offend anyone who has outdated ideas of my innocence, but I wouldn't want to withhold information that has adventure potential.
Monday, September 13, 2010
A Sunny Day
Today for the first time I feel happy. It is sunny and less humid and I discovered that my Pandora works here. Also I have a new hairspray, and it smells nice. I also realized that it's not that my camera is broken, but just that the battery door is loose and if I hold it shut, the camera turns on. I got coffee at the cafe for breakfast and have my first class tonight at 7 for which I am totally prepared. Well, I suppose this depends on everyone enjoying games and not hoping for drills or syllabi or something. The University folks finally gave me all the courses I'll be teaching (yes, the semester did start today and this morning I was still unsure of what I'd be teaching) which are oral English classes for: some freshman Korean, Arabic, and Spanish majors, pre-masters students, masters students in the School of Interpretation and Translation, and the School of International Studies office assistants. Ye-haw.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Day Four
Ok, so, I think for the time being I am not in danger of having a total mental breakdown. This is not how I felt three days ago. I already feel the strain of keeping in touch with so many people (including myself) via so many different communication devices, so this blog might have to be a once-in-a-while summary thing. I dunno. I don't want you to be disappointed. But journaling is such a serious commitment and I have already committed myself to writing in this nice gold-edged wooden book that the Mulfords gave me for Vienna.
Anyway here is what has transpired:
Wednesday: Wednesday didn't actually happen. I guess twenty hours of it was spent on the plane. It did happen, though, in the sense that I was aware of every one of those twenty hours except for the two in which I managed to sleep. I am generally such a good sleeper but I started developing a cold right before leaving so I was quite miserable and didn't even feel like writing or reading or thinking during the flight. There was only one crying baby on the plane which would have been fine if I had gotten to play with it. But I did not.
Thursday: We got into Hong Kong at 7AM and managed to mess up the very first thing we were supposed to do, which was to find the ferry terminal in the airport. It wasn't our fault though, as we had been misinformed. So we took a bus to somewhere in the city and succeeded in finding the terminal and buying tickets. The ticket-buying and boarding areas would have been crowded and stressful even if we were Asian-looking and had no baggage. Neither of these things were true. *insert - Thursday's description is going to be long because Thursday is like the longest day I have ever experienced, ever. Skip to Friday to avoid pain.* So we got on the ferry and I took some Tylenol Cold to stop my dripping nose and I felt disgusting and exhausted but OK. Then in Zhuhai the University people were waiting for us with a van to take us to our apartments. The ride was like half an hour long which would have been fine - I mean, it was fine, but it could have been better - if the people who picked us up acted like hosts instead of like...not-hosts. You know, like "And the ride will be about half an hour, because..." or "And on the left, as you can see, is..." or "And how was your flight? Do you need anything to eat or drink?" So when we got to the University we were all desperate for a shower and a meal but we had to stand around in this little office getting keys and filling out paperwork, and then going to the bank to take out money so we could go to the store to buy towels in order to take said shower in order to go out and look presentable for a meal. This was all very exhausting. The rest of the day was spent hauling suitcases up lots of stairs, having dinner with the strangely non-talkative head of the English department, taking the bus downtown (another half an hour in the opposite direction as the ferry) in order to buy sheets at the huge and busy department store so that we could sleep on more than a mattress in our spacious but much-nastier-than-I'm-used-to apartments. By the time we got back around 9PM, I wasn't even tired. Just confused. And weepy. I actually think some of this might have felt adventurous instead of torturous except that I had this stupid cold and was going through tissues like I knew where to find them when I had used all of mine. (This wasn't true, about knowing where to find them.) Oh, also, the humidity here is incredible. It's not even that hot, it's just that the air feels like sauna air. Those of you who have traveled with me, or spent more than two hours with me, know how I like to feel fresh and have my hair fixed and such, and...I was not happy. Maybe I'll get over it and learn to be totally low maintenance like other Skidmore girls? Probably not?
Well so then I went to bed and slept poorly, without a blanket, haha, good thing you made me take that big scarf, Ma.
Friday: I don't exactly remember what we did this day because it wasn't as uncomfortable as Thursday but not as recent as yesterday. I think this is when we went to an opening ceremony thing and listened to folks give speeches in Mandarin for an hour. This was actually pleasant because we weren't walking in the humidity, and I didn't mind just sitting in it. It was kind of like sitting in a hot tub with a bit less wetness, and listening to boring speeches except better because you don't even have to think about what is being said. Because you have no idea. The tone of most of the speakers sounded like that I'm-feeding-you-propaganda-right-now kind of thing, but I can't really judge because all I hear is "ching chong ya dui ya... ARABIC he yong ka shui ba ya....STUDENTS mei you ma ni de xing xi....FRANCE.......SCIENCE...." etc.
Saturday: I still slept poorly and had this dang cold but felt a bit more secure and not like I wanted to write "WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?!" on this blog like I did on Thursday. By the way, I've already been informed of how many people come here to teach and can't hack it, which was a great confidence-booster. Apparently last year by winter break half of their foreign teachers had decided to go home?! Stop giving me that option!! Anyway that afternoon we had a good meal (which we still wouldn't be able to handle ourselves what with Chinese folks taking us to the restaurant and doing all the ordering and such, and not explaining how to recreate the process) and then went off campus to walk around. The surrounding area is made up of dirty, run-down streets and buildings, with people on bikes and scooters, and old ladies in those domed hats crouching over buckets of squirming eels. You know, like what you think of when you think of urban China. It was cool. There were a ton of shops with
*I just got a phone call that informed me that I would be teaching a pre-master level English course tomorrow, Monday. Surprise!
-a ton of shops with cheap products (like, the kind of manufactured stuff I tried to stop buying two years ago in the states) and shoes and food and things. American dollar store-style stuff. Like if an entire community were to subsist on dollar store quality products. But it was fun - we attracted a lot more attention there than on campus. In Europe places like this feel sketchy because there are all kinds of creepy men and naughty-looking children, but the Chinese are rather friendly so it just felt fun instead of scary. Well, no, still scary. But also fun. Even children know to say "hello" instead of "ni hao." So then we came back to the apartments and I layed around trying to nap and couldn't but felt OK anyway.
Well this length is getting ridiculous. It's impossible to explain everything interesting or weird. I haven't really been able to smell much, which is the most important thing!, because my nose has been snuffly. That fact will probably mis-color my entire impression of my arrival in China, because I couldn't associate anything with smells! How sad. So I guess I'm OK so far. Transitions have always been particularly rough for me, even going back to Skidmore from Binghamton after winter break or something, even though I dislike Binghamton, and even after doing it for four years. So if I don't feel like myself in two weeks, then I'll worry. Or maybe I'm not supposed to feel like myself. Or maybe I shouldn't strive to feel like myself. Or maybe it wouldn't be possible here to feel like myself. I wish I had a dog.
Anyway here is what has transpired:
Wednesday: Wednesday didn't actually happen. I guess twenty hours of it was spent on the plane. It did happen, though, in the sense that I was aware of every one of those twenty hours except for the two in which I managed to sleep. I am generally such a good sleeper but I started developing a cold right before leaving so I was quite miserable and didn't even feel like writing or reading or thinking during the flight. There was only one crying baby on the plane which would have been fine if I had gotten to play with it. But I did not.
Thursday: We got into Hong Kong at 7AM and managed to mess up the very first thing we were supposed to do, which was to find the ferry terminal in the airport. It wasn't our fault though, as we had been misinformed. So we took a bus to somewhere in the city and succeeded in finding the terminal and buying tickets. The ticket-buying and boarding areas would have been crowded and stressful even if we were Asian-looking and had no baggage. Neither of these things were true. *insert - Thursday's description is going to be long because Thursday is like the longest day I have ever experienced, ever. Skip to Friday to avoid pain.* So we got on the ferry and I took some Tylenol Cold to stop my dripping nose and I felt disgusting and exhausted but OK. Then in Zhuhai the University people were waiting for us with a van to take us to our apartments. The ride was like half an hour long which would have been fine - I mean, it was fine, but it could have been better - if the people who picked us up acted like hosts instead of like...not-hosts. You know, like "And the ride will be about half an hour, because..." or "And on the left, as you can see, is..." or "And how was your flight? Do you need anything to eat or drink?" So when we got to the University we were all desperate for a shower and a meal but we had to stand around in this little office getting keys and filling out paperwork, and then going to the bank to take out money so we could go to the store to buy towels in order to take said shower in order to go out and look presentable for a meal. This was all very exhausting. The rest of the day was spent hauling suitcases up lots of stairs, having dinner with the strangely non-talkative head of the English department, taking the bus downtown (another half an hour in the opposite direction as the ferry) in order to buy sheets at the huge and busy department store so that we could sleep on more than a mattress in our spacious but much-nastier-than-I'm-used-to apartments. By the time we got back around 9PM, I wasn't even tired. Just confused. And weepy. I actually think some of this might have felt adventurous instead of torturous except that I had this stupid cold and was going through tissues like I knew where to find them when I had used all of mine. (This wasn't true, about knowing where to find them.) Oh, also, the humidity here is incredible. It's not even that hot, it's just that the air feels like sauna air. Those of you who have traveled with me, or spent more than two hours with me, know how I like to feel fresh and have my hair fixed and such, and...I was not happy. Maybe I'll get over it and learn to be totally low maintenance like other Skidmore girls? Probably not?
Well so then I went to bed and slept poorly, without a blanket, haha, good thing you made me take that big scarf, Ma.
Friday: I don't exactly remember what we did this day because it wasn't as uncomfortable as Thursday but not as recent as yesterday. I think this is when we went to an opening ceremony thing and listened to folks give speeches in Mandarin for an hour. This was actually pleasant because we weren't walking in the humidity, and I didn't mind just sitting in it. It was kind of like sitting in a hot tub with a bit less wetness, and listening to boring speeches except better because you don't even have to think about what is being said. Because you have no idea. The tone of most of the speakers sounded like that I'm-feeding-you-propaganda-right-now kind of thing, but I can't really judge because all I hear is "ching chong ya dui ya... ARABIC he yong ka shui ba ya....STUDENTS mei you ma ni de xing xi....FRANCE.......SCIENCE...." etc.
Saturday: I still slept poorly and had this dang cold but felt a bit more secure and not like I wanted to write "WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?!" on this blog like I did on Thursday. By the way, I've already been informed of how many people come here to teach and can't hack it, which was a great confidence-booster. Apparently last year by winter break half of their foreign teachers had decided to go home?! Stop giving me that option!! Anyway that afternoon we had a good meal (which we still wouldn't be able to handle ourselves what with Chinese folks taking us to the restaurant and doing all the ordering and such, and not explaining how to recreate the process) and then went off campus to walk around. The surrounding area is made up of dirty, run-down streets and buildings, with people on bikes and scooters, and old ladies in those domed hats crouching over buckets of squirming eels. You know, like what you think of when you think of urban China. It was cool. There were a ton of shops with
*I just got a phone call that informed me that I would be teaching a pre-master level English course tomorrow, Monday. Surprise!
-a ton of shops with cheap products (like, the kind of manufactured stuff I tried to stop buying two years ago in the states) and shoes and food and things. American dollar store-style stuff. Like if an entire community were to subsist on dollar store quality products. But it was fun - we attracted a lot more attention there than on campus. In Europe places like this feel sketchy because there are all kinds of creepy men and naughty-looking children, but the Chinese are rather friendly so it just felt fun instead of scary. Well, no, still scary. But also fun. Even children know to say "hello" instead of "ni hao." So then we came back to the apartments and I layed around trying to nap and couldn't but felt OK anyway.
Well this length is getting ridiculous. It's impossible to explain everything interesting or weird. I haven't really been able to smell much, which is the most important thing!, because my nose has been snuffly. That fact will probably mis-color my entire impression of my arrival in China, because I couldn't associate anything with smells! How sad. So I guess I'm OK so far. Transitions have always been particularly rough for me, even going back to Skidmore from Binghamton after winter break or something, even though I dislike Binghamton, and even after doing it for four years. So if I don't feel like myself in two weeks, then I'll worry. Or maybe I'm not supposed to feel like myself. Or maybe I shouldn't strive to feel like myself. Or maybe it wouldn't be possible here to feel like myself. I wish I had a dog.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Lame First Post
Sorry, folks, but I did not anticipate the extent of the mental and physical stress (distress?) that I would be under in these first few days. Of course I anticipated a lot, but this is extreme in my experience. I'll have to get back to you after I've napped, or tomorrow morning, or something. I know ya'll are expecting Pulitzer-level documentation here, and I wouldn't want to disappoint by writing in this dazed state. Although who knows how long I will feel dazed. And confused. Please skype me. Also, parents, I got a little cheapie Chinese phone so I've turned mine off, even though I like the picture of Shadow that I have as my background, so if you try to contact me via 607-760-0268 I probably will not receive the message.
Love,
Zoe
Love,
Zoe
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)