Here is a little thing about Chinese men.. I like to make them nervous. I like to try and flirt with them because they get scared and giggle. Chinese men giggle.. it's cute. This is the first time I have experienced this kind of reaction to one of my comments. Usually I just tell boys they are handsome or a compliment like that. Well... I ended up with a Chinese boyfriend and his name is Milk.. haha.
My story is as follows.. I was hanging out at an impromptu English corner. It is a place for students to practice their English and ask foreigners questions... not so much fun, but still.
So I get to this one group of students and they are all just hilarious. I finally sit down and there is this one guy that just keeps talking to me.. eye contact and all. Eye contact is not normal for Chinese people.. especially guys to girls. Anyways.. we chat.. blah blah blah. When I'm leaving.. Milk follows me down the stairs... eye contact boy. He asks for my email so we can chat on msn. I say sure.. I like new friends. He pulls out his phone and it's an Iphone. I just say.. "Is that an Iphone? I love you!" his reply is a smile and "I have a car too."
I didn't even know how to react because I never get reactions like that. It made me giggle and nervous. I only say he's my boyfriend because last night we exchanged phone numbers. We are now more than computer dating. haha. He has invited me to hang out during the holiday next week.. should be fun. anyways.
Another thing about Chinese men.. when they are hot they pull their shirts up over their stomachs. I don't think this is very fair.. not only am I pouring in sweat, but they act like they are so cool looking and if I were to even think about pulling up my shirt to even wipe the sweat off my brow.. they would all croak. crazy. I don't think that's very fair. They definitely do not need to think they look good when they do that.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Nostalgia
I think the best way to make someone nostalgic is to put them in a place that they loved so much. I returned to Hangzhou this last weekend and it was my demise. The minute I got back it felt like home. I knew where I was at all times, what I was doing. I could understand the local Chinese. They speak Hangzhou hua.. not crazy Ningbo hua. I was seeing people from my life before. It was like I never left. I felt like I was home.
The first story I have is from the taxi ride to my friend's school. We were at a red light and there is a taxi next to us.. and he hawks a huge nasty lougee. He proceeds to spit outside my window.. then looks over and smiles at me. I just shook my head in disbelief with a smirk on my face. He asked me where I was from and I said "Mei Guo" (America). He then says.. "Mei Guo Ren Mei Nu" (beautiful American woman). I just shook my head and yelled.. you just said that with the same mouth you spit that nastiness out of??? crazy man. He just laughed at me. Gross.. somethings in China.
The rest of the weekend consisted of meeting new Americans in Hangzhou, Mexican food, Pizza, Night Market, Starbucks, Chinese food, Subway, Family, Hot Pot, Hair straightening, Chinese food, Old students and friends. It was absolutely amazing. I missed the people the most. I love my old students and friends and it was so wonderful to just be with them. I got to see my old skating crew and I got to see my old hairshop boys.. at least 2 of them. I got to do so much.
The new family there is wonderful. I hung out with Steve and Beth the most. It was great to get to know them. Then there were Rachel and JP and Bev. All so sweet. I will be visiting quite often. Hangzhou is a wonderful place to do things and visit. Lots to see... anyways.. commercial over.
Jackie and Cammie are another of my favorite parts of Hangzhou. They are who I stay with in general downtown. Even when I lived there.. I was at their place for most weekends. They are wonderful. We just fell right back into it all. It was just so normal. We laughed and had a blast. We went to Maya for food like normal and then enjoyed the company of many other foreigners. Something we always did well was meet new foreigners. It was just wonderful.
Today Bekah decided to get her hair cut.. that was fun. We found a guy that is great at it. He knows what he is doing.. which is hard to find in China. It only cost 10 yuan.. which is about $1.50. Amazing. I have never known it to be so incredibly cheap. Even at our old shop it was like 25 yuan. crazy. THen we went over to the coffee place that our friend Bill opened. It is great. Except that everytime it turns into English Corner.. Freshmen wanting to practice their English with the foreigners.. not fair. We just want to hang out. oh well.. we got banana splits and the sugar was definitely more than we were used to. We were all cracking up. Bekah and Jessica and I went. We 3 girls have so much fun when we're together. Always laughing and feeding off each other's humor. It's wonderful.
Sleep is coming soon.. It's my friend Chris's birthday and so happy birthday from China. You get an extra 13 hours to celebrate. Love you all..
The first story I have is from the taxi ride to my friend's school. We were at a red light and there is a taxi next to us.. and he hawks a huge nasty lougee. He proceeds to spit outside my window.. then looks over and smiles at me. I just shook my head in disbelief with a smirk on my face. He asked me where I was from and I said "Mei Guo" (America). He then says.. "Mei Guo Ren Mei Nu" (beautiful American woman). I just shook my head and yelled.. you just said that with the same mouth you spit that nastiness out of??? crazy man. He just laughed at me. Gross.. somethings in China.
The rest of the weekend consisted of meeting new Americans in Hangzhou, Mexican food, Pizza, Night Market, Starbucks, Chinese food, Subway, Family, Hot Pot, Hair straightening, Chinese food, Old students and friends. It was absolutely amazing. I missed the people the most. I love my old students and friends and it was so wonderful to just be with them. I got to see my old skating crew and I got to see my old hairshop boys.. at least 2 of them. I got to do so much.
The new family there is wonderful. I hung out with Steve and Beth the most. It was great to get to know them. Then there were Rachel and JP and Bev. All so sweet. I will be visiting quite often. Hangzhou is a wonderful place to do things and visit. Lots to see... anyways.. commercial over.
Jackie and Cammie are another of my favorite parts of Hangzhou. They are who I stay with in general downtown. Even when I lived there.. I was at their place for most weekends. They are wonderful. We just fell right back into it all. It was just so normal. We laughed and had a blast. We went to Maya for food like normal and then enjoyed the company of many other foreigners. Something we always did well was meet new foreigners. It was just wonderful.
Today Bekah decided to get her hair cut.. that was fun. We found a guy that is great at it. He knows what he is doing.. which is hard to find in China. It only cost 10 yuan.. which is about $1.50. Amazing. I have never known it to be so incredibly cheap. Even at our old shop it was like 25 yuan. crazy. THen we went over to the coffee place that our friend Bill opened. It is great. Except that everytime it turns into English Corner.. Freshmen wanting to practice their English with the foreigners.. not fair. We just want to hang out. oh well.. we got banana splits and the sugar was definitely more than we were used to. We were all cracking up. Bekah and Jessica and I went. We 3 girls have so much fun when we're together. Always laughing and feeding off each other's humor. It's wonderful.
Sleep is coming soon.. It's my friend Chris's birthday and so happy birthday from China. You get an extra 13 hours to celebrate. Love you all..
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Major Culture
China is such an amazing place. I know that none of you will understand this.. at least not thuroughly. It is truly an incredible place with amazing people. I have always truly loved eyes. I think they tell so much about a person. How they look at someone and what you can see in them. You can tell exhaustion, true happiness, and sadness, and age by the eyes.
Today a few of my students took me to the market to buy food and then cook me dinner. The people that sell the food at the market are truly amazing people. Everyday they come out and set out their goods and rely on us to pass up one vendor and pick them so they can make money for their families. There are all kinds of people at the market. Since it is what a Chinese grocery store is.. everyone shops there. The floors are wet and dirty from the buckets of splashing fish.. and the children's split pants. The food is just laying out on the table. There are vegetables, spices, rices, meats, seafood. Everything just sitting out. No refridgeration.. or anything. If you want to be cured of your middle class ways.. go to a Chinese market.
The dinner my students cooked was possibly the best Chinese meal I have ever eaten. It was amazing. We had pork and potatoe soup that was to die for. I had 4 helpings.. and then we had pork adn pepper, pork with greens, mushrooms, and carrots.. it was awesome! We also had shrimp that was huge and so so good.. till i got the pregnant one.. then i was kind of grossed out. And then we had my favorite.. Chicken Feet. I love chicken feet. There isn't much meat, but it's so good. They are so tasty. I know that freaks you out a little, but it's amazing.
It was nice to have people in my apartment and cook for me.. and I learned some things. I learned the secret ingredient that i didn't know about. It's why my chinese food never tastes right. I have it now though.. it will always taste right now. I love Chinese food and people. It's just been one of those days where the culture really revieled itself today.
Classes are going really well.. most of my students English is so good.. that is nice because it means that I can do my more complicated thinking lessons. I am excited about that. I seem to be well liked and feared which is a plus. I do not have to listen to Chinese so much in class because they think I will cry. It's nice to know they will follow the rules.
Really.. you should all go try some chicken feet.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Sometimes We Wait on a Typhoon
Well, this weekend has been quite boring. Chuck and Nelda came on Thursday night.. We had a wonderful dinner with them on Friday night. It was nice to see them. I was going to go to Hangzhou to visit some friends, but everyone told me it would be very dangerous because the Typhoon was coming. It was going to hit on Saturday morning.. then Saturday afternoon.. then night.. then Sunday morning.. then Sunday night... and now today. We have had a little sprinkle and no typhoon like weather. So..
This weekend we played Sultans of Fury aka Settlers of Catan. It's this addicting game where you build settlements and make trades until you reach 10 points. I love it. It's a luck game.. even if you have strategy.. it's all about luck and the roll of the dice. We have taught a couple of our Chinese friends how to play. It's been fun. Other than that.. we went to Tesco for a little bit of foreign groceries. Today we are going to Metro for some real foreign shopping. I'm excited to stock my fridge with turkey, chicken, and olives. Salsa too..
Classes are going really well. My students are wonderful. I am so glad I wrote out my lesson plans before I came. So much less work to do now. It's nice to have all of that finished and having a plan for the semester is wonderful. I'm hoping to show them the moving Remember the Titans. It has so much American Culture in it and tells all about Integration and American Football. American high school.. and teenage life. It's just a great movie with a great message. There is so much discussion to come out of it as well. We'll see if I can get a media room.
Ningbo is so different than Hangzhou. A great way I heard it described was.. Ningbo is like Abilene and Hangzhou is like Dallas.. not Fort Worth, but Dallas. So it's taking a little adjusting. It's not as easy to get things here like Hangzhou. It's not as clean or pretty of a city either. I miss my West Lake and Wushan Square. I just love Hangzhou and it's going to be hard to adjust, but it's working out. Having a group of people around me is really helping. If I were in Hangzhou I would basically be alone. So yeah.. and the fact that I can visit Hangzhou is really nice.
I think we might go to Beijing for the holiday. I will probably not stay as long as everyone wants to. I'm thinking of going somewhere else that week too.. I've done the Beijing thing and I'm not really interested in being there the whole time. but we'll see. depends on everyone else. I've found some really cheap hostels and such. It'll be fun.
Family meeting is amazing. I forget what it's like to have family in other countries. It's so small and quaint and everyone is so wonderful. I'm so blessed to have these experiences. There are so many new friends joining our family. Our Dad is really working around us and growing his flock in so many surprising people. It's amazing to witness and be apart of. I'd like to say that we American family members are doing a lot of it, but it all starts with our friends here.. and their work. their talking about our Dad with their friends. The way they all shine is just incredible.
This weekend we played Sultans of Fury aka Settlers of Catan. It's this addicting game where you build settlements and make trades until you reach 10 points. I love it. It's a luck game.. even if you have strategy.. it's all about luck and the roll of the dice. We have taught a couple of our Chinese friends how to play. It's been fun. Other than that.. we went to Tesco for a little bit of foreign groceries. Today we are going to Metro for some real foreign shopping. I'm excited to stock my fridge with turkey, chicken, and olives. Salsa too..
Classes are going really well. My students are wonderful. I am so glad I wrote out my lesson plans before I came. So much less work to do now. It's nice to have all of that finished and having a plan for the semester is wonderful. I'm hoping to show them the moving Remember the Titans. It has so much American Culture in it and tells all about Integration and American Football. American high school.. and teenage life. It's just a great movie with a great message. There is so much discussion to come out of it as well. We'll see if I can get a media room.
Ningbo is so different than Hangzhou. A great way I heard it described was.. Ningbo is like Abilene and Hangzhou is like Dallas.. not Fort Worth, but Dallas. So it's taking a little adjusting. It's not as easy to get things here like Hangzhou. It's not as clean or pretty of a city either. I miss my West Lake and Wushan Square. I just love Hangzhou and it's going to be hard to adjust, but it's working out. Having a group of people around me is really helping. If I were in Hangzhou I would basically be alone. So yeah.. and the fact that I can visit Hangzhou is really nice.
I think we might go to Beijing for the holiday. I will probably not stay as long as everyone wants to. I'm thinking of going somewhere else that week too.. I've done the Beijing thing and I'm not really interested in being there the whole time. but we'll see. depends on everyone else. I've found some really cheap hostels and such. It'll be fun.
Family meeting is amazing. I forget what it's like to have family in other countries. It's so small and quaint and everyone is so wonderful. I'm so blessed to have these experiences. There are so many new friends joining our family. Our Dad is really working around us and growing his flock in so many surprising people. It's amazing to witness and be apart of. I'd like to say that we American family members are doing a lot of it, but it all starts with our friends here.. and their work. their talking about our Dad with their friends. The way they all shine is just incredible.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
It's China
I find myself saying this a lot lately.. "It's just China." There is nothing within my control here. I like that feeling. I like being reminded on a daily basis that I have no power in this World. Things that have taught me this.. I went to buy a bicycle yesterday. The campus is very large and I teach about a mile from where I live. I needed a bicycle.
One of my students went with bekah and I to buy a bicycle. We looked and bargained and I found a silver one that would work.. and I was content... and then out of the corner of my eye I found the perfect bike. It was a dark blue purple color with some light blue flowers on it. It's beautiful.. and a big black basket. It was perfect. I bargained and finally got a deal. They set me up and I wheeled off on my new purple bike and Bekah on her new Pink bike. We were very happy little girls on our bicycles. We were all the way on the other side of campus and mine started to feel funny and then.. my pedal fell off. hmm.. I was fine. I just got off and put it my big basket (happy to get to use the basket for the first time) and then walked all the way back to the shop. About a quarter of a mile. They fixed it and laughed at me and sent me on my way again.. Then we get to about the same spot that the pedal fell off and my back tire blew up! It sounded like a gun shot. So loud.. the only difference in this happening in China is that no one hit the deck. They dont' know what a gun shot sounds like. So then I get off of my bike and assess the situation. Bekah is frustrated at this point and I'm exhausted and pouring in sweat. So.. I just decide to wait till today to go back and get the tire fixed. Bekah could not believe I was so non-chalant about the whole thing.. I guess when you've been in China you just know that things happen. You dont' control things here and bad things happen all the time. It wasn't that big of an inconvenience.. I would just walk to class till it was fixed. No big deal.. but people new to China don't realize that life in China is unpredictable. Things break, busses aren't on time, and life just happens around you. It's OK. It's nice to have that feeling of carefreeness where I don't worry about what will happen. You just take life as it comes. The other thing that I love about China, is that as I was walking my bike to my apartment.. broken tire and bent frame.. we passed our gate and a cute lady and her husband sell bikes and fix bikes there. She grabbed my bike from me and fixed it without me even having to ask or anything.. she gave me a better tire and a tube that fit my bike and bent back my frame. I just stood watching in complete aww that she would do that for me.. just because it needed to be done. She didn't expect money or anything.. she just wanted to help me. Our Dad keeps showing himself to me through his people here who dont' even know he's in them..
Another thing that happened yesterday.. we were all standing outside a restaurant, getting ready to meet our friend for his birthday dinner, and we're all just talking.. no big deal and all the sudden bekah leans across our whole group and pushes this chinese man in the back and says "Hey!" We were shocked because that's not normal behavior from our sweet little Bekah.. and we look at the man and he has a pair of tongs in his hand.. Bekah explained that the man was pick pocketing Graham. It was so weird. We were all in shock.. this is my first pick pocket experience in China. The man just walked away.. We didn't really know how to react at all.. we should have yelled or something, but just all stood there in shock and laughing at Bekah for pushing a Chinese man. It was so strange. Needless to say I am glad my bags have zippers and I dont' keep things in my pockets...
I live on the 4th floor of our apartment building so my legs are getting strong. The girls have a lunch/thought time every Thursday.. there are 3 of us and we get along great. We also go walking/jogging every night together and with one of the foreign students that is from the Czech Republic. She is really sweet.. there are about 70 students from Mexico and Europe here studying Chinese.. so we see foriegners often. I will upload apartment pictures and bicycly pictures soon. It's wonderful.
One last quick story.. I had my first Chinese boy ask me if I was single because he was looking. I walked into Jessica's apartment last night to play games and her friend Bill is there. He is a 3rd year and nice. I said hello and started to ask where they were from and Bill blurts out.. "Are you available? I am looking." I continued to ask where they were from and ignore him.. I wasn't sure how to act and everyone started looking at me.. so I asked to make sure I heard him correctly and everyone just laughed at me. I was definitely thrown off. The best part about Chinese boys is that they don't want an American girlfriend and so it's fun to make them nervous, but he definitely succeeded in making me nervous. I just giggled it off and said no.. I did not want to be his girlfriend.. haha. We are friends now.. haha so if any of you american girls want a nice Chinese boy.. I have one for you. He owns a little coffee shop which is great! I love coffee!
My students are fabulous and so excited for this term. Only one really shy class that will be hard to deal with. It's hard to teach a conversational English class to students who are scared to look at you, let alone speak to you or anyone else... The other teachers I am with are wonderful. Our group has really come together. We girls are always laughing about something and it's refreshing. It's nice to have so much support right here. It feels good to be here and with the people I am. I am so glad I'm not in control of my life and I can have this experience with people who are so great. The boys are great leaders and I am so thankful for that. It's going to be an amazing adventure.
One of my students went with bekah and I to buy a bicycle. We looked and bargained and I found a silver one that would work.. and I was content... and then out of the corner of my eye I found the perfect bike. It was a dark blue purple color with some light blue flowers on it. It's beautiful.. and a big black basket. It was perfect. I bargained and finally got a deal. They set me up and I wheeled off on my new purple bike and Bekah on her new Pink bike. We were very happy little girls on our bicycles. We were all the way on the other side of campus and mine started to feel funny and then.. my pedal fell off. hmm.. I was fine. I just got off and put it my big basket (happy to get to use the basket for the first time) and then walked all the way back to the shop. About a quarter of a mile. They fixed it and laughed at me and sent me on my way again.. Then we get to about the same spot that the pedal fell off and my back tire blew up! It sounded like a gun shot. So loud.. the only difference in this happening in China is that no one hit the deck. They dont' know what a gun shot sounds like. So then I get off of my bike and assess the situation. Bekah is frustrated at this point and I'm exhausted and pouring in sweat. So.. I just decide to wait till today to go back and get the tire fixed. Bekah could not believe I was so non-chalant about the whole thing.. I guess when you've been in China you just know that things happen. You dont' control things here and bad things happen all the time. It wasn't that big of an inconvenience.. I would just walk to class till it was fixed. No big deal.. but people new to China don't realize that life in China is unpredictable. Things break, busses aren't on time, and life just happens around you. It's OK. It's nice to have that feeling of carefreeness where I don't worry about what will happen. You just take life as it comes. The other thing that I love about China, is that as I was walking my bike to my apartment.. broken tire and bent frame.. we passed our gate and a cute lady and her husband sell bikes and fix bikes there. She grabbed my bike from me and fixed it without me even having to ask or anything.. she gave me a better tire and a tube that fit my bike and bent back my frame. I just stood watching in complete aww that she would do that for me.. just because it needed to be done. She didn't expect money or anything.. she just wanted to help me. Our Dad keeps showing himself to me through his people here who dont' even know he's in them..
Another thing that happened yesterday.. we were all standing outside a restaurant, getting ready to meet our friend for his birthday dinner, and we're all just talking.. no big deal and all the sudden bekah leans across our whole group and pushes this chinese man in the back and says "Hey!" We were shocked because that's not normal behavior from our sweet little Bekah.. and we look at the man and he has a pair of tongs in his hand.. Bekah explained that the man was pick pocketing Graham. It was so weird. We were all in shock.. this is my first pick pocket experience in China. The man just walked away.. We didn't really know how to react at all.. we should have yelled or something, but just all stood there in shock and laughing at Bekah for pushing a Chinese man. It was so strange. Needless to say I am glad my bags have zippers and I dont' keep things in my pockets...
I live on the 4th floor of our apartment building so my legs are getting strong. The girls have a lunch/thought time every Thursday.. there are 3 of us and we get along great. We also go walking/jogging every night together and with one of the foreign students that is from the Czech Republic. She is really sweet.. there are about 70 students from Mexico and Europe here studying Chinese.. so we see foriegners often. I will upload apartment pictures and bicycly pictures soon. It's wonderful.
One last quick story.. I had my first Chinese boy ask me if I was single because he was looking. I walked into Jessica's apartment last night to play games and her friend Bill is there. He is a 3rd year and nice. I said hello and started to ask where they were from and Bill blurts out.. "Are you available? I am looking." I continued to ask where they were from and ignore him.. I wasn't sure how to act and everyone started looking at me.. so I asked to make sure I heard him correctly and everyone just laughed at me. I was definitely thrown off. The best part about Chinese boys is that they don't want an American girlfriend and so it's fun to make them nervous, but he definitely succeeded in making me nervous. I just giggled it off and said no.. I did not want to be his girlfriend.. haha. We are friends now.. haha so if any of you american girls want a nice Chinese boy.. I have one for you. He owns a little coffee shop which is great! I love coffee!
My students are fabulous and so excited for this term. Only one really shy class that will be hard to deal with. It's hard to teach a conversational English class to students who are scared to look at you, let alone speak to you or anyone else... The other teachers I am with are wonderful. Our group has really come together. We girls are always laughing about something and it's refreshing. It's nice to have so much support right here. It feels good to be here and with the people I am. I am so glad I'm not in control of my life and I can have this experience with people who are so great. The boys are great leaders and I am so thankful for that. It's going to be an amazing adventure.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Impossible
Our Dad does the impossible everyday.
I have arrived in China and am happy to report that I am safe and happy. Everything is going really well and I have started teaching. It has been an interesting day of teaching. These students are very different than my old students. These are much more shy and scared to speak very loud. Some are harder to understand and I think that it makes them more shy when I ask them to repeat themselves. I know that this year will work out fine and I hope I can help build their confidence even more.
Today I was riding a little San Wen Che to class.. a motorized buggy/bicycle thing. and a truck in front of us dropped part of his load of vegetables.. my buggy man stopped and waved down an empty buggy and proceeded to steal the vegetables while other people ran up and grabbed fallen veggies.. The truck never even looked back. So I guess I was part of a vegetable hiest today...
I love the new experiences everyday.. I love the food and the things that this life is offering me right now. I have already made so many new friends and am so happy to be apart of their lives. Even when there is such a thick language barrier and cultural barrier.. Our Dad breaks those down in someone and gives us a way to share with this new culture and new people. It amazes me.
Only one week and I have already experienced so much. I am genuinely happy with my job and life here. It feels amazing to be doing what I love and know that I am existing where I belong.
I have arrived in China and am happy to report that I am safe and happy. Everything is going really well and I have started teaching. It has been an interesting day of teaching. These students are very different than my old students. These are much more shy and scared to speak very loud. Some are harder to understand and I think that it makes them more shy when I ask them to repeat themselves. I know that this year will work out fine and I hope I can help build their confidence even more.
Today I was riding a little San Wen Che to class.. a motorized buggy/bicycle thing. and a truck in front of us dropped part of his load of vegetables.. my buggy man stopped and waved down an empty buggy and proceeded to steal the vegetables while other people ran up and grabbed fallen veggies.. The truck never even looked back. So I guess I was part of a vegetable hiest today...
I love the new experiences everyday.. I love the food and the things that this life is offering me right now. I have already made so many new friends and am so happy to be apart of their lives. Even when there is such a thick language barrier and cultural barrier.. Our Dad breaks those down in someone and gives us a way to share with this new culture and new people. It amazes me.
Only one week and I have already experienced so much. I am genuinely happy with my job and life here. It feels amazing to be doing what I love and know that I am existing where I belong.
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