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
Monday, September 27, 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
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