Tuesday morning here and I don't have much to add.
However, I just talked to momma and daddy. I need to apologize if earlier I made it sound as if momma was insensitive and not missing me. She told me that she thought about me all weekend and when they got together to do the family poitrait, she had to fight back tears because I wasn't there and it made her sad. I thought that the previous story was just funny, but I may have hurt her feelings by implying that she wasn't concerned about her eldest daughter. For that I apologize.
My parents decided that after leaving Mobile, they might as well spend some time at the beach and so they headed over towards Destin. It was almost 10:oo PM EST when I talked to them and they were just finished eating and they still had not found a place to stay. Just like always, they had made no reservations. At least I come by my laid back attitude honestly.
I am about to head off to do some last minute shopping. The first morning that we were here(and before I relized that mine was dual voltage), I broke Carole's (the renter of apartment we are staying in while she is in the states) hairdryer. Actually, it just sucked up some of my hair and I had to cut myself loose. The hair dryer still works, but there is the rancid smell of burnt hair every time you turn it on. I need to replace it. Then I am going to come home and pack, before going for one last massage with Heather tonight.
This will very likely be my last post from China.
I will be back in the states Sunday about 9:15 AM EST and back in Atlanta Sunday night at 6.
Hope you all have a lovely week.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Visa Woes
I think that I really frustrated Rachel today.
Our Visa expired today. Almost 2 weeks ago, we took our passports to the guy that was suppose to handle it, 15 days before it expired. Only when we took it in wee we told that we needed to have two passport pictures to go along with the application and our 120 kuai. And so we went and had passport pictures made and took them back the next day. A week later Rachel went to check on them and was told that they needed a copy of our departure plane ticket. So we made a copy and took it back the next day.
Last Friday, we went to pick up our passports and we were told that the guy had not taking them to the Exit/Entry Government Building place. We were told that they would be ready today. So this morning, Rachel called before we walked over to the school. The guy still hadn't taken the passports to the office! (Welcome to China.) And he told us that they needed a copy of our credit card to to verify that we had funds to facilitate our travel in country. So, we made copies and blacked out the numbers. Then we drove with the guy to government building. Now we have been told that we will be able to get our passports (with valid visas) back at 5:00 tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon. Seeing as how we leave Wednesday morning, we really need to get our passports back.
Now this whole time, Rachel has gotten really frustrated with the seeming run-around that we have been getting. I on the other hand (as it is my nature) have had a hard time getting worried or worked up about it; I tend to think that everything will work out. I guess that we will see tomorrow.
Tonight, we took Heather and Taylor out for a nice dinner to thank them for all of their help here. It was an awesome dinner. I had caviar for the first time (it was on top of me salmon) and incredible Tiramisu. (Wendy, you would have liked it because there was plenty of tall food.) I would have to save for a month to have this nice of a dinner in the states. For the 4 of us here, it was less than $90, and we each had a glass of wine. When I come back, I think that I am going to totally be in shock at how expensive things are.
Our Visa expired today. Almost 2 weeks ago, we took our passports to the guy that was suppose to handle it, 15 days before it expired. Only when we took it in wee we told that we needed to have two passport pictures to go along with the application and our 120 kuai. And so we went and had passport pictures made and took them back the next day. A week later Rachel went to check on them and was told that they needed a copy of our departure plane ticket. So we made a copy and took it back the next day.
Last Friday, we went to pick up our passports and we were told that the guy had not taking them to the Exit/Entry Government Building place. We were told that they would be ready today. So this morning, Rachel called before we walked over to the school. The guy still hadn't taken the passports to the office! (Welcome to China.) And he told us that they needed a copy of our credit card to to verify that we had funds to facilitate our travel in country. So, we made copies and blacked out the numbers. Then we drove with the guy to government building. Now we have been told that we will be able to get our passports (with valid visas) back at 5:00 tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon. Seeing as how we leave Wednesday morning, we really need to get our passports back.
Now this whole time, Rachel has gotten really frustrated with the seeming run-around that we have been getting. I on the other hand (as it is my nature) have had a hard time getting worried or worked up about it; I tend to think that everything will work out. I guess that we will see tomorrow.
Tonight, we took Heather and Taylor out for a nice dinner to thank them for all of their help here. It was an awesome dinner. I had caviar for the first time (it was on top of me salmon) and incredible Tiramisu. (Wendy, you would have liked it because there was plenty of tall food.) I would have to save for a month to have this nice of a dinner in the states. For the 4 of us here, it was less than $90, and we each had a glass of wine. When I come back, I think that I am going to totally be in shock at how expensive things are.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
So tired
So, I have been homesick this weekend. I called my family in Mobile on Friday and talked to all four of them through speaker phone. I told momma that I was homesick and her response was the following:
"I know what you mean. Just yesterday when we were still in LaGrange I was sad too."
(At this point I was thinking that she was about to tell me how much she missed me too. I was thinking that it was so sweet how she knew exactly what I needed to hear.)
"I mean everyone was already down in Mobile and I was feeling left out and ready to get there. I guess that I was sort of homesick too."
Thanks momma. That's what I needed.
Thankfully, I was kept really busy yesterday. These two friends wanted to take me around and show me things. I met them at 11 at the main shopping street downtown, The Walking Street, and my friends informed me that it would be a day of surprises.
Before I tell you about the "surprises", I should tell you about things that effected the whole day.
Unlike most days in this city of smog, yesterday (and coincidentally, today) was a beautiful sunny day. Chinese girls do not like to be in the sun and so you will see more umbrellas on a sunny day than you will on a rainy day. Furthermore, if a girl is walking along with her umbrella, she will colapse it if she walks into the shade and then she will put it back up when she walks back into the sun. It doesn't matter if she is going to be in the sun for only 5 steps, she is still going to put up the umbrella. And they wanted to watch out for me, make sure that I wasn't getting any unneccessary sun. The problem is that I am a good 5 inches taller than these girls. All day long, I had to suffer from pokes to the forehead and detangle the end of the umbrella ribs (?) from my hair. I finally thanked them for watching out for me and explained that Americans liked the sun. "See how white I am, I need the sun to give me color." They took one look at my white arms and obviously agreeed that I needed some color, for they no longer tried to offer me shade too. I came home with a nice little triangle of red where the V-neck of my shirt exposed my skin.
The other thing that I should tell you is that one of the girls, H., apparently has the memory of an elephant. She remembered things about me that I never remembered saying. I am sure that I must have told her things to make communicating easier and yesterday, it all returned. For example, maybe she had in the past said something to the effect of, "Do you like goldfish?" And I, really having no feelings one way or the other about goldfish would have replied, "Yeah, I like goldfish." It is polite and is the easy way in a conversation that is already strained by lanuage issues. And then, when I least expected it, H. would come back and show me all of the goldfish in the town all the while reminding me that I said I liked goldfish.
So. 11:00. Day of surprises.
The first surprise was the picture booth thing. Like those picture booths you see in the mall, except you have to pick out the frame for each picture that you are goinng to take and the pictures come out small and on sticker paper. (Wasn't there a camera that did this not too long ago?) These machines are all over the place and until yesterday, I thought that I was going to escape. But H. & K. decided that we needed to take 36 pictures. After spending close to half an hour of picking out borders, we finally started taking the pictures. Being the foreigner, it was expected that I be in almost all of the pictures. Furthermore, it is not enough that you just stand there and smile; you have to make faces, or throw a peace sign, or other hand gesture. (I wish that I could have remembered some of the gang signs that Rebecca and my students taught me.) And the whole time, our faces are super close. I hate people being close to my face, especially when it is over 100 degrees, and so I just tried to make as many faces as I could to end my worst nightmare as soon as possible.
Next, we were off to my second surprise. "Remember Beth, you said that you like tofu." So we went to eat at a famous tofu place. It would have certainly been more difficult for me to have originally explaing that I don't despise tofu, but it isn't my favorite, that I would eat it if I were starving and it was the only thing around. However, yesterday, I regretted not taking the time to explain.
Next surprise, a Buddist temple. She had it right. I did want to see a temple and I had not yet done this. I won't write much, because you should really see the pictures. Let me just say that I don't understand a believe system where you have to pay money to get into the house of worship, light incense in hope of catching the attention of your diety, and then rely on an elaborate combination of kneeling and bowing before a statue made of metal that is shipping away. I just don't get it.
Then we went to the antique market. For almost 3 hours we walked around this antigue market. "Remember Beth, you said that you like Chinese antiques." AHHHH!
When you have seen one jade Budda pendent, you have just about seen them all. (Momma, I do not think that I will be going antique hunting with you and Aunt Pat any time soon.)
Then to the park, because apparently at some point in the past couple of weeks, I said that I had never been to a Chinese park. At least here we got to sit down. The time was now about 6:00 PM. And even though I have been downing the bottled cold green tea, this whole time I have managed not to use the bathroom because I know that there would be no chance of a Western toilet and I didn't think that I could find a decent (if there really is such) squatty. I could very well come home with a kidney infection.
Finally, H. says that it is time for dinner. She took me to a very good pizza place. And they had Diet Coke. I could have cried.
I finally made it home a little after 8 PM. I was exhausted. And filthy. After a quick shower, I watched a cheesy movie to decompress from a day struggling with language and then I went to bed.
Today, since it was so nice, I went to the pool for the first time. It was really crowded and the little kids had the tendency of just going to the bathroom where ever. (Have I told you about the split pants? From infant-hood untit potty training, kids are dressed in outfits that have a split in between the legs. This way, whenever they have to go to the bathroom, they can just squat down and go. Anywhere. It's part of the reason you NEVER go barefoot.) But other than that, it was very lovely.
We have 2 more days here before leaving for Beijing early Wednesday morning (your Tuesday night). I will try to write at least once more, but I can't promise.
And lest she become really mad at me, I should tell you that Sara Hood is the funniest person I know, with the exception of maybe daddy who just has a sort of sarcastic and sometimes sadistic sort of humor. Sara, I had been saving your cards because I knew that they would be great. And just like I will clear the rest of my plate before starting in on the cream corn (my favorite), I have been saving your cards. You didn't dissapoint: Asphalt. Still laughing.
"I know what you mean. Just yesterday when we were still in LaGrange I was sad too."
(At this point I was thinking that she was about to tell me how much she missed me too. I was thinking that it was so sweet how she knew exactly what I needed to hear.)
"I mean everyone was already down in Mobile and I was feeling left out and ready to get there. I guess that I was sort of homesick too."
Thanks momma. That's what I needed.
Thankfully, I was kept really busy yesterday. These two friends wanted to take me around and show me things. I met them at 11 at the main shopping street downtown, The Walking Street, and my friends informed me that it would be a day of surprises.
Before I tell you about the "surprises", I should tell you about things that effected the whole day.
Unlike most days in this city of smog, yesterday (and coincidentally, today) was a beautiful sunny day. Chinese girls do not like to be in the sun and so you will see more umbrellas on a sunny day than you will on a rainy day. Furthermore, if a girl is walking along with her umbrella, she will colapse it if she walks into the shade and then she will put it back up when she walks back into the sun. It doesn't matter if she is going to be in the sun for only 5 steps, she is still going to put up the umbrella. And they wanted to watch out for me, make sure that I wasn't getting any unneccessary sun. The problem is that I am a good 5 inches taller than these girls. All day long, I had to suffer from pokes to the forehead and detangle the end of the umbrella ribs (?) from my hair. I finally thanked them for watching out for me and explained that Americans liked the sun. "See how white I am, I need the sun to give me color." They took one look at my white arms and obviously agreeed that I needed some color, for they no longer tried to offer me shade too. I came home with a nice little triangle of red where the V-neck of my shirt exposed my skin.
The other thing that I should tell you is that one of the girls, H., apparently has the memory of an elephant. She remembered things about me that I never remembered saying. I am sure that I must have told her things to make communicating easier and yesterday, it all returned. For example, maybe she had in the past said something to the effect of, "Do you like goldfish?" And I, really having no feelings one way or the other about goldfish would have replied, "Yeah, I like goldfish." It is polite and is the easy way in a conversation that is already strained by lanuage issues. And then, when I least expected it, H. would come back and show me all of the goldfish in the town all the while reminding me that I said I liked goldfish.
So. 11:00. Day of surprises.
The first surprise was the picture booth thing. Like those picture booths you see in the mall, except you have to pick out the frame for each picture that you are goinng to take and the pictures come out small and on sticker paper. (Wasn't there a camera that did this not too long ago?) These machines are all over the place and until yesterday, I thought that I was going to escape. But H. & K. decided that we needed to take 36 pictures. After spending close to half an hour of picking out borders, we finally started taking the pictures. Being the foreigner, it was expected that I be in almost all of the pictures. Furthermore, it is not enough that you just stand there and smile; you have to make faces, or throw a peace sign, or other hand gesture. (I wish that I could have remembered some of the gang signs that Rebecca and my students taught me.) And the whole time, our faces are super close. I hate people being close to my face, especially when it is over 100 degrees, and so I just tried to make as many faces as I could to end my worst nightmare as soon as possible.
Next, we were off to my second surprise. "Remember Beth, you said that you like tofu." So we went to eat at a famous tofu place. It would have certainly been more difficult for me to have originally explaing that I don't despise tofu, but it isn't my favorite, that I would eat it if I were starving and it was the only thing around. However, yesterday, I regretted not taking the time to explain.
Next surprise, a Buddist temple. She had it right. I did want to see a temple and I had not yet done this. I won't write much, because you should really see the pictures. Let me just say that I don't understand a believe system where you have to pay money to get into the house of worship, light incense in hope of catching the attention of your diety, and then rely on an elaborate combination of kneeling and bowing before a statue made of metal that is shipping away. I just don't get it.
Then we went to the antique market. For almost 3 hours we walked around this antigue market. "Remember Beth, you said that you like Chinese antiques." AHHHH!
When you have seen one jade Budda pendent, you have just about seen them all. (Momma, I do not think that I will be going antique hunting with you and Aunt Pat any time soon.)
Then to the park, because apparently at some point in the past couple of weeks, I said that I had never been to a Chinese park. At least here we got to sit down. The time was now about 6:00 PM. And even though I have been downing the bottled cold green tea, this whole time I have managed not to use the bathroom because I know that there would be no chance of a Western toilet and I didn't think that I could find a decent (if there really is such) squatty. I could very well come home with a kidney infection.
Finally, H. says that it is time for dinner. She took me to a very good pizza place. And they had Diet Coke. I could have cried.
I finally made it home a little after 8 PM. I was exhausted. And filthy. After a quick shower, I watched a cheesy movie to decompress from a day struggling with language and then I went to bed.
Today, since it was so nice, I went to the pool for the first time. It was really crowded and the little kids had the tendency of just going to the bathroom where ever. (Have I told you about the split pants? From infant-hood untit potty training, kids are dressed in outfits that have a split in between the legs. This way, whenever they have to go to the bathroom, they can just squat down and go. Anywhere. It's part of the reason you NEVER go barefoot.) But other than that, it was very lovely.
We have 2 more days here before leaving for Beijing early Wednesday morning (your Tuesday night). I will try to write at least once more, but I can't promise.
And lest she become really mad at me, I should tell you that Sara Hood is the funniest person I know, with the exception of maybe daddy who just has a sort of sarcastic and sometimes sadistic sort of humor. Sara, I had been saving your cards because I knew that they would be great. And just like I will clear the rest of my plate before starting in on the cream corn (my favorite), I have been saving your cards. You didn't dissapoint: Asphalt. Still laughing.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Number 7
My cousin Carolyn is getting married this weekend.
Momma has two sisters: Aunt Pat (the twin) and Uncle Jack have three kids- Emily, Michael and Carolyn; Aunt Marie and Uncle Keith two- Jared and Havely. When we were younger and would go to family reunions, the beach, or Six Flags together, our moms would dress us in matching outfits or T-shirts, each family having a slighty different color. I vivdly remember the parrot shirts that we all had- we Cleaveland girls got the teal shirts.
But in our family, the most famous of these shirts were the number shirts. The originals were a maroonish-brown color with yellow lettering. The front had a large number denoting our birth order (Jared 1, Emily 2, me 3, Havely 4, Rebecca 5, Micheal 6, and Carolyn 7). On the back of the shirts were our names. We have two pictures with us standing in order. The first is just us lined up. I must have just turned 6 and I was a full head taller than numbers 1 & 2. In the second picture we are all turned around so that you can see the names on the back and we are each look over our shoulder. In both pictures Carolyn, who was just an infant, is crying.
A few years ago (could it really have been 4 years ago?) Havely was the first of the grandchildren on momma's side to get married. When we arrived in Wyoming, Havely had recreated the number T-shirts in a better color scheme and included one for Melissa who was not born at the time of the original picture. We took new pictures.
And now, number 7 is getting married. Sweet Carolyn.
Okay, so she met her groom over spring break in Cancun. And so what if her married name will be Carolyn Jolly. She is happy and I even in the few times I have been around her and Todd, I have seen how much he loves her.
I am extremely sad that I am not celebrating with them in Mobile. (In fact, today has been the most homesick that I have been the whole time.) I wish them a very happy wedding and the beginning of a wonderful life together. And Carolyn, I did manage to pick up a wedding present for you over here.
Momma has two sisters: Aunt Pat (the twin) and Uncle Jack have three kids- Emily, Michael and Carolyn; Aunt Marie and Uncle Keith two- Jared and Havely. When we were younger and would go to family reunions, the beach, or Six Flags together, our moms would dress us in matching outfits or T-shirts, each family having a slighty different color. I vivdly remember the parrot shirts that we all had- we Cleaveland girls got the teal shirts.
But in our family, the most famous of these shirts were the number shirts. The originals were a maroonish-brown color with yellow lettering. The front had a large number denoting our birth order (Jared 1, Emily 2, me 3, Havely 4, Rebecca 5, Micheal 6, and Carolyn 7). On the back of the shirts were our names. We have two pictures with us standing in order. The first is just us lined up. I must have just turned 6 and I was a full head taller than numbers 1 & 2. In the second picture we are all turned around so that you can see the names on the back and we are each look over our shoulder. In both pictures Carolyn, who was just an infant, is crying.
A few years ago (could it really have been 4 years ago?) Havely was the first of the grandchildren on momma's side to get married. When we arrived in Wyoming, Havely had recreated the number T-shirts in a better color scheme and included one for Melissa who was not born at the time of the original picture. We took new pictures.
And now, number 7 is getting married. Sweet Carolyn.
Okay, so she met her groom over spring break in Cancun. And so what if her married name will be Carolyn Jolly. She is happy and I even in the few times I have been around her and Todd, I have seen how much he loves her.
I am extremely sad that I am not celebrating with them in Mobile. (In fact, today has been the most homesick that I have been the whole time.) I wish them a very happy wedding and the beginning of a wonderful life together. And Carolyn, I did manage to pick up a wedding present for you over here.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Almost Fear Factor Worthy
Last night I had hot pot for the first time. At resturants dedicated to only hot pot, there will be a big table with a metal pot in the middle over a flame and you will choose your food and it will be brought to you.
However, the girls I was with wanted to eat in the canteen (cafeteria) and it is a little different. The workers bring a big can of sterno and put it in the middle of the table and then put the pot of spicy liquid with various food over it. You are suppose to wait until it boils and then just dig in. They told me that they asked for less spicy on my behalf, but it was still spicy enough to require that the food be dipped into sesame oil before putting it into your mouth; apparently, the oil acts as a defense for your body.
So inside the pot, there was tofu, cucumbers, lotus roots, meat and pig's blood. Yes. You read correctly- pig's blood.
Imagine a jello/tofu looking substance that is dark red. Just floating around. One might confuse it for liver or someother internal organ that shouldn't be eaten.
I am never one to shy away from a culinary challenge. (When Rebecca and I finally make it onto Amazing Race, it has been decided that I will do any of the eating challenges.) The girl's kept telling me that it was good and that I would like it. I asked them to clairify exactly what substance pig's blood is, hoping that it would simply be a name for a legitimate type of meat. Alas, I was wrong:
"You know, maybe when you kill pig (at which point I should have stopped them, because when have I ever killed a pig) the blood comes out and it is saved. Maybe some tofu powder is mixed with it and it gets solid. Pig's blood. Really, it is good."
My philosophy is that I will try anything once (unless there is a chance that it might be banana flavored, then I won't touch it). I might like it and at very least it will make for a good story.
Consider it a favor from me to you: Stay away from the pig's blood.
The best way to describe it is the taste you have when you swallow after your nose has been bleeding, all wrapped up in a jello block.
I reached for my water that one of the girls had gone out of her way to buy for me. And I took a big gulp. Instead of regular water, she had bought me mint water which tastes like someone brushed their teeth with wintergreen toothpaste and then spit into my bottle of water.
All around, it is safe to say that last night was not one of my favorite dining experiences.
However, the girls I was with wanted to eat in the canteen (cafeteria) and it is a little different. The workers bring a big can of sterno and put it in the middle of the table and then put the pot of spicy liquid with various food over it. You are suppose to wait until it boils and then just dig in. They told me that they asked for less spicy on my behalf, but it was still spicy enough to require that the food be dipped into sesame oil before putting it into your mouth; apparently, the oil acts as a defense for your body.
So inside the pot, there was tofu, cucumbers, lotus roots, meat and pig's blood. Yes. You read correctly- pig's blood.
Imagine a jello/tofu looking substance that is dark red. Just floating around. One might confuse it for liver or someother internal organ that shouldn't be eaten.
I am never one to shy away from a culinary challenge. (When Rebecca and I finally make it onto Amazing Race, it has been decided that I will do any of the eating challenges.) The girl's kept telling me that it was good and that I would like it. I asked them to clairify exactly what substance pig's blood is, hoping that it would simply be a name for a legitimate type of meat. Alas, I was wrong:
"You know, maybe when you kill pig (at which point I should have stopped them, because when have I ever killed a pig) the blood comes out and it is saved. Maybe some tofu powder is mixed with it and it gets solid. Pig's blood. Really, it is good."
My philosophy is that I will try anything once (unless there is a chance that it might be banana flavored, then I won't touch it). I might like it and at very least it will make for a good story.
Consider it a favor from me to you: Stay away from the pig's blood.
The best way to describe it is the taste you have when you swallow after your nose has been bleeding, all wrapped up in a jello block.
I reached for my water that one of the girls had gone out of her way to buy for me. And I took a big gulp. Instead of regular water, she had bought me mint water which tastes like someone brushed their teeth with wintergreen toothpaste and then spit into my bottle of water.
All around, it is safe to say that last night was not one of my favorite dining experiences.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
So Close
Warning: this post is not for the easily grossed out.
I am in the home stretch. I was in the home stretch on Sunday and I thought that I was going to not have a single stomach issue. Alas, it was not to be.
Sunday night, while many of you were celebrating with your fathers, or enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon, I was lying in bed contemplating whether death by various means of torture would be better than the angony that I was in. About 11 o'clock, I had a sharp pain in my abdomen and then a moment of hesitation as if my body was trying to decided in which direction it would be faster to expel the offending substance from my body (and at various points of the night, both directions won out). Thankfully, this gave me enough time to get out of bed and make it to the bathroom. It lasted for SIX hours and was accompanied by a 102 degree fever. I was misearble. Thankfully, at about 5AM, I was able to sleep for a short while. It was obvious that I couldn't go to class when I woke up and threw up the apple juice I tried to drink. So, Monday was waste of a day. I just laid around and waited to fill better.
The irony is that I do not think that it was Chinese food that made my feel bad. This was not my stomach just disagreeing with food. I have no doubt that it was food poisoning and I think that it was from the sandwich at Subway. Sunday was the first day that the Subway opened here and my American friends were super excited about it. So we went to get sandwiches for dinner. Nevermind that only 2 days ago, the building had no glass and no equipment. The chinese have a way of leaving stuff out (like the egss are just on a random shelf in the supermarket) and so who knows how long the meat was out. I think that it was the turkey.
And another thing that is different here. There is no health code for resturants and certainly no reporter going around and telling you the rating of various restaurants. At one of my favorite places, a haven of Western food if you will, I recently watched a roach crawl across a table. (I am choosing to forget that it happened and I will henceforth put it out of my mind.) And yesterday at Pizza Hut, we watched a boy about 6 years of age walk up the salad bar, study the ranch dressing and then lick the ladle before returning it to the container. Thankfully, none of us were eating salad.
I am in the home stretch. I was in the home stretch on Sunday and I thought that I was going to not have a single stomach issue. Alas, it was not to be.
Sunday night, while many of you were celebrating with your fathers, or enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon, I was lying in bed contemplating whether death by various means of torture would be better than the angony that I was in. About 11 o'clock, I had a sharp pain in my abdomen and then a moment of hesitation as if my body was trying to decided in which direction it would be faster to expel the offending substance from my body (and at various points of the night, both directions won out). Thankfully, this gave me enough time to get out of bed and make it to the bathroom. It lasted for SIX hours and was accompanied by a 102 degree fever. I was misearble. Thankfully, at about 5AM, I was able to sleep for a short while. It was obvious that I couldn't go to class when I woke up and threw up the apple juice I tried to drink. So, Monday was waste of a day. I just laid around and waited to fill better.
The irony is that I do not think that it was Chinese food that made my feel bad. This was not my stomach just disagreeing with food. I have no doubt that it was food poisoning and I think that it was from the sandwich at Subway. Sunday was the first day that the Subway opened here and my American friends were super excited about it. So we went to get sandwiches for dinner. Nevermind that only 2 days ago, the building had no glass and no equipment. The chinese have a way of leaving stuff out (like the egss are just on a random shelf in the supermarket) and so who knows how long the meat was out. I think that it was the turkey.
And another thing that is different here. There is no health code for resturants and certainly no reporter going around and telling you the rating of various restaurants. At one of my favorite places, a haven of Western food if you will, I recently watched a roach crawl across a table. (I am choosing to forget that it happened and I will henceforth put it out of my mind.) And yesterday at Pizza Hut, we watched a boy about 6 years of age walk up the salad bar, study the ranch dressing and then lick the ladle before returning it to the container. Thankfully, none of us were eating salad.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Catching You Up
Happy Father's Day to those of you who are fathers. This week, I am on time.
Let me see if I can catch you up. I was starting to feel the pressure of writing an entry all of the time. So many of you have told me that you have been reading and enjoying it and I want to be at least a little funny. I decided that it was okay that I wouldn't be around a computer for a few days and it would give me a chance to get some new material. I was right.
Thursday night, we had a party at our house. We had the other team over and some of our friends. We watched the hour long verision of Jamie Lane's favorite movie- "The J Flick" as we call it. It was in Chinese and did not have subtitles. At least I knew what was happening with all of the fantastic sound effects.
Friday night we went to eat Indian food and were hit on by some Australian Chinese guy. He told us (Heather, Rachel, and I) that we should get a Chinese boyfriend. After dinner we went to a hairwashing place. For less than $3, we had a 40 minute hairwashing/head message. Amazing! (Though, about halfway through I decided that I like the foot massage place more than someone playing with my head and neck- m personal space issue.)
Yesterday I met one of my Chinese friends to do a study. Then we met another friend because they wanted to show me around town. 7 hours of showing me around town! I have a ton of pictures of me in front of all these random things. I have learned that Chinese people rarely take scenery pictures; instead they would rather have someone staning in the picture. And if they are alone, then the rule is that you don't smile and by all means, don't show your teeth. So we walk 10 steps and "Maybe, you take a picture here." Another ten steps and, "maybe you can take picture here." Lest you be confused, "Maybe" does not imply that I have a choice, really they are saying, "You need to take a picture here."
We went to have dinner at this dumpling place and my friends wanted me to get this meal that was only 20 kuai and you got a sampling of all kinds of foods. When I saw hers, I was glad that I passed. I did suck it up and got these rice balls with seseme seed filling. The inside was good but the outside tasted like glue.
After dinner, we walked down cell phone street. Every street has a speciality. Cell phone street. electronics street. pet street. instrument street. frame street. I don't know where I was going with that, but it strikes me as a little funny.
I think that is all for now. It is hard for me to believe that in a mere 2 weeks from now, I will be on my way home. Crazy.
Let me see if I can catch you up. I was starting to feel the pressure of writing an entry all of the time. So many of you have told me that you have been reading and enjoying it and I want to be at least a little funny. I decided that it was okay that I wouldn't be around a computer for a few days and it would give me a chance to get some new material. I was right.
Thursday night, we had a party at our house. We had the other team over and some of our friends. We watched the hour long verision of Jamie Lane's favorite movie- "The J Flick" as we call it. It was in Chinese and did not have subtitles. At least I knew what was happening with all of the fantastic sound effects.
Friday night we went to eat Indian food and were hit on by some Australian Chinese guy. He told us (Heather, Rachel, and I) that we should get a Chinese boyfriend. After dinner we went to a hairwashing place. For less than $3, we had a 40 minute hairwashing/head message. Amazing! (Though, about halfway through I decided that I like the foot massage place more than someone playing with my head and neck- m personal space issue.)
Yesterday I met one of my Chinese friends to do a study. Then we met another friend because they wanted to show me around town. 7 hours of showing me around town! I have a ton of pictures of me in front of all these random things. I have learned that Chinese people rarely take scenery pictures; instead they would rather have someone staning in the picture. And if they are alone, then the rule is that you don't smile and by all means, don't show your teeth. So we walk 10 steps and "Maybe, you take a picture here." Another ten steps and, "maybe you can take picture here." Lest you be confused, "Maybe" does not imply that I have a choice, really they are saying, "You need to take a picture here."
We went to have dinner at this dumpling place and my friends wanted me to get this meal that was only 20 kuai and you got a sampling of all kinds of foods. When I saw hers, I was glad that I passed. I did suck it up and got these rice balls with seseme seed filling. The inside was good but the outside tasted like glue.
After dinner, we walked down cell phone street. Every street has a speciality. Cell phone street. electronics street. pet street. instrument street. frame street. I don't know where I was going with that, but it strikes me as a little funny.
I think that is all for now. It is hard for me to believe that in a mere 2 weeks from now, I will be on my way home. Crazy.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Public Transportation
I have never ben a fan of Public Transportation. I am not of the belief that Marta is Smarta. And rare is the day that I will get on a bus in Atlanta.
One of the things I am learning while here is to have an appreciation for public transportation, in particular buses. However, yesterday afternoon I had a brief moment of panic on a bus here.
I spent most of the afternoon hanging out at the Coffee Beanery. I was suppose to meet Rachel and some friends at the freshman campus at 6:00. Heather and I didn't leave downtown until about 5:40 and so I was on a tight time schedule.
Now I must explain the bus situation. There are two buses that we take back and forth. The 41 is a bus dedicated to the school. It leaves the South gate of the main campus and goes to the front gate of the East (freshman) campus; it makes only 1 other stop on the way. The 336 is a city bus and makes many stops, including stops in front of our apartment complex, in front of the school, and at the back gate of the East campus.
Since we were going to be eating at the back gate of the East campus, I was going to catch the 336 when the taxi put us out at the front gate of the main campus. I would barely make it in time. When we pulled up the campus, there was a bus leaving, so I paid quickly and told Heather goodbye and hopped on the bus so that I wouldn't have to wait on another. The bus pulls off and almost immediately, I realized that I didn't get on the 336 because I got on the bus coming off campus. I was mad at myself because this meant that I wouldn't be taken straight to the back gate and I would have to walk across campus. And that is when it hit me- the bus I was on wasn't following a route that I had ever been on. In fact I didn't recognize any of where we were. I hadn't looked at the bus numbers at all and I began to fear that I wasn't on the 41 either.
Thank goodness, after a minute and a half, we passed a water tower that I recognized. I was on the 41 and it took my straight to the front gate of the east campus. Huge sigh of relief.
One other note:
Today I wore a solid white skirt and ate two full meals with chopsticks, one of which was noodles with balsamic vinegar on it, and I didn't spill a thing on my skirt. I am sure that some of you might that that this is no big deal, but let me assure you that for me it is huge. I am super proud.
One of the things I am learning while here is to have an appreciation for public transportation, in particular buses. However, yesterday afternoon I had a brief moment of panic on a bus here.
I spent most of the afternoon hanging out at the Coffee Beanery. I was suppose to meet Rachel and some friends at the freshman campus at 6:00. Heather and I didn't leave downtown until about 5:40 and so I was on a tight time schedule.
Now I must explain the bus situation. There are two buses that we take back and forth. The 41 is a bus dedicated to the school. It leaves the South gate of the main campus and goes to the front gate of the East (freshman) campus; it makes only 1 other stop on the way. The 336 is a city bus and makes many stops, including stops in front of our apartment complex, in front of the school, and at the back gate of the East campus.
Since we were going to be eating at the back gate of the East campus, I was going to catch the 336 when the taxi put us out at the front gate of the main campus. I would barely make it in time. When we pulled up the campus, there was a bus leaving, so I paid quickly and told Heather goodbye and hopped on the bus so that I wouldn't have to wait on another. The bus pulls off and almost immediately, I realized that I didn't get on the 336 because I got on the bus coming off campus. I was mad at myself because this meant that I wouldn't be taken straight to the back gate and I would have to walk across campus. And that is when it hit me- the bus I was on wasn't following a route that I had ever been on. In fact I didn't recognize any of where we were. I hadn't looked at the bus numbers at all and I began to fear that I wasn't on the 41 either.
Thank goodness, after a minute and a half, we passed a water tower that I recognized. I was on the 41 and it took my straight to the front gate of the east campus. Huge sigh of relief.
One other note:
Today I wore a solid white skirt and ate two full meals with chopsticks, one of which was noodles with balsamic vinegar on it, and I didn't spill a thing on my skirt. I am sure that some of you might that that this is no big deal, but let me assure you that for me it is huge. I am super proud.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Soundtrack
Before I write about what I really want to share, I need to make an apology. In my last post I said that my family was taking vacation without me. That was the plan before I left. Thankfully, I was wrong. Apparently Rebecca couldn't get off work and Melissa has school the week my parents wanted to go. I am just going to go on thinking that they couldn't stand the thought of a week at the beach without me. I am confident that is the true heart of the matter.
Now, on with my post...
Some friends and I (Wendy and Beth Fain) had a conversation a while back about needing a soundtrack for our lives. We discussed whether we should pick out our favorite songs or if the music should be just played in the background without our picking it out.
Here, it is not so mch an issue. In nearly every public place there are small little speakers hidden in the bushes, much like a que line at Disney World. At all hours there is music playing. Usually, it seems that whoever is in charge of the soundsystem for the day picks out one CD and then puts it on repeat. Sometimes, the music is traditional Chinese music. Sometimes the Chinese born, English singing popstar CoCo Lee, and sometimes (like on campus today) it might be a Western group like Coldplay. Yesterday, as I came back to our massive apartment complex, the music de jour was Auld Langs Syne. "Should old acquaitance be forgot and never brought to mind?...." It isn't exactly what I would pick for a day in June when the heat index topped out at 107, but I suppose that it is better than the Disney tunes played by Kenny G that they have been stuck on.
I am sorry for those of you who stayed up late last night to catch me online. We don't have class on Wednesday and so I didn't go to a internet bar. I am using Rebecca's computer while we watch the third Lord of the Rings. It is already Tuesday morning for y'all.
Have a good day.
Now, on with my post...
Some friends and I (Wendy and Beth Fain) had a conversation a while back about needing a soundtrack for our lives. We discussed whether we should pick out our favorite songs or if the music should be just played in the background without our picking it out.
Here, it is not so mch an issue. In nearly every public place there are small little speakers hidden in the bushes, much like a que line at Disney World. At all hours there is music playing. Usually, it seems that whoever is in charge of the soundsystem for the day picks out one CD and then puts it on repeat. Sometimes, the music is traditional Chinese music. Sometimes the Chinese born, English singing popstar CoCo Lee, and sometimes (like on campus today) it might be a Western group like Coldplay. Yesterday, as I came back to our massive apartment complex, the music de jour was Auld Langs Syne. "Should old acquaitance be forgot and never brought to mind?...." It isn't exactly what I would pick for a day in June when the heat index topped out at 107, but I suppose that it is better than the Disney tunes played by Kenny G that they have been stuck on.
I am sorry for those of you who stayed up late last night to catch me online. We don't have class on Wednesday and so I didn't go to a internet bar. I am using Rebecca's computer while we watch the third Lord of the Rings. It is already Tuesday morning for y'all.
Have a good day.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Monday
Huh. So, for the first time ever, the MSN messenger is working in the internet bar. I am signed on and all of you are asleep because it is, oh 2:30 in the morning for you. I did have a nice chat with Jamie Lane this morning when I used the computer in one of our classrooms and it had messenger. (It was only about midnight then.) So, if you are ever struck by a bout of insomnia, be sure to get up and log in- I just might be online.
This morning on our way to school, we left early so that we could call home and wish our dads a happy father's day. In a way it is nice to be here because even though we forgot about the holiday until late Sunday evening, we are still 12 hours ahead and so we hadn't missed it in the states. But, obviously, we were an entire week early. oh well. I couldn't track down momma and daddy anyway and so I just had to leave voicemail. Daddy, you should save it and play it next week. (Besides, I am a little put out that our family vacation at the beach is going to the the week before I get back. That's rotten.)
When I wrote my last post, I forgot to tell you that on Friday we went to the Panda Research/Conservation Place on Friday. I got to see many a Giant Panda and a few kid Pandas. I took lots of pictures and I think that they will be a better description than anything I could write. In addition to the Giant Panda, there is apparently another Panda, frequently called the "Red Panda," or (with less regards to the Panda's self esteem) the "lesser Panda." Really it looks nothing like any panda that you would imagine. We had the opportunity to hold and have our picture taken with one for a mere 50 kuai (appx. $6). Part of me wanted to hold the panda, because when in the world am I going to have the chance to hold a panda again? But then the rational part won out- If I came back with a picture of me holding this sort of ugly racoon looking thing, there is no way that I would be able to convice my cynical family that it was really a panda, so I would have been just wasting my money. It was a good decision because the panda decided to prove to my friend Taylor that he isn't "lesser" by biting Taylor's arm.
Saturday was a big festival here: the Dragon Boat Festival. (The following knowledge is proof that I am paying attention in culture class.) It commenerates the death of a great poet who wanted his part of ancient China to stand up for themselves and not be overrun by whoever was trying to conquer their land. Many people disagreed with him and their province/area merged with the neighboring province. He was so upset by this, that he thought it would be better to wrap his arms around a giant rock and then jump into the river, drowning himself. When everyone learned that the poet had done this, they were very sad and they threw food into the water so that the fish would eat the food instead of eating the poet. (How kind, right?) Eventually they decided that the dead poet needed food and so the zhong zhi was born. It is a pyramid of sicky rice with some random culinary surprise in the middle and the whole thing is wrapped in a palm leaf and tied with a string. Now, I don't really know why it is called the dragon boat festival, but the present day practice is to get together with family and eat some zhong zhi. At sundown, people go down to the river and put a tea light candle in a paper boat that they have written their wishes upon and then set the boat in the river. Thousands upon thousands of little flaoting lights. It was very beautiful and thanks to extended exposure, I have some very nice pictures of it as well.
What wasn't as beautiful was the 4 zhong zhi that I had to eat. You could see the look in their eyes. It said, "Oh there is a foreigner and I bet she doesn't know about our festival. I should give her one of our zhong zhi." The first had some sort of bland meat, the second (and best of the 4) had what I think was figs, and the last two, bean curd. yum.
Even though I wasn't so much a fan of the zhong zhi, I have been eating things that I never would have thought of going together. For instance, today for lunch, I had a type of fried rice (peas, carrots, and pork that looked more like Spam than pork) and it was covered by a very thin fried egg (think omelet) and topped with catsup. Sounds gross. In actually, it may be one of my favorites. That or the tomatoes and eggs dish.
Finally, a note on the poor packing advice that I received before leaving the states. I was warned over and over about the food and told to bring planty of stomach medicine. So, I have 4 bottles of Pepto tablets that I have yet to touch. (Honestly, I think that I have enough that I could be taking three a day.) And yet, I wasn't told about the bugs and so I have absolutely no misquito repellent. And I haven't been able to find any here that works.
Bug bites prior to weekend with Pandas and hanging out by the river: 6 on right ankle and 8 on left for a total of 14
Bug bites after weekend spent in mosquito havens: 12 on right leg, 10 on left leg and 4 on each arm for a total of 30.
Still no one online. Hope you are all having sweet dreams. Good night from the Steller Cyber Cafe. (For real, I can't make that sort of thing up.)
This morning on our way to school, we left early so that we could call home and wish our dads a happy father's day. In a way it is nice to be here because even though we forgot about the holiday until late Sunday evening, we are still 12 hours ahead and so we hadn't missed it in the states. But, obviously, we were an entire week early. oh well. I couldn't track down momma and daddy anyway and so I just had to leave voicemail. Daddy, you should save it and play it next week. (Besides, I am a little put out that our family vacation at the beach is going to the the week before I get back. That's rotten.)
When I wrote my last post, I forgot to tell you that on Friday we went to the Panda Research/Conservation Place on Friday. I got to see many a Giant Panda and a few kid Pandas. I took lots of pictures and I think that they will be a better description than anything I could write. In addition to the Giant Panda, there is apparently another Panda, frequently called the "Red Panda," or (with less regards to the Panda's self esteem) the "lesser Panda." Really it looks nothing like any panda that you would imagine. We had the opportunity to hold and have our picture taken with one for a mere 50 kuai (appx. $6). Part of me wanted to hold the panda, because when in the world am I going to have the chance to hold a panda again? But then the rational part won out- If I came back with a picture of me holding this sort of ugly racoon looking thing, there is no way that I would be able to convice my cynical family that it was really a panda, so I would have been just wasting my money. It was a good decision because the panda decided to prove to my friend Taylor that he isn't "lesser" by biting Taylor's arm.
Saturday was a big festival here: the Dragon Boat Festival. (The following knowledge is proof that I am paying attention in culture class.) It commenerates the death of a great poet who wanted his part of ancient China to stand up for themselves and not be overrun by whoever was trying to conquer their land. Many people disagreed with him and their province/area merged with the neighboring province. He was so upset by this, that he thought it would be better to wrap his arms around a giant rock and then jump into the river, drowning himself. When everyone learned that the poet had done this, they were very sad and they threw food into the water so that the fish would eat the food instead of eating the poet. (How kind, right?) Eventually they decided that the dead poet needed food and so the zhong zhi was born. It is a pyramid of sicky rice with some random culinary surprise in the middle and the whole thing is wrapped in a palm leaf and tied with a string. Now, I don't really know why it is called the dragon boat festival, but the present day practice is to get together with family and eat some zhong zhi. At sundown, people go down to the river and put a tea light candle in a paper boat that they have written their wishes upon and then set the boat in the river. Thousands upon thousands of little flaoting lights. It was very beautiful and thanks to extended exposure, I have some very nice pictures of it as well.
What wasn't as beautiful was the 4 zhong zhi that I had to eat. You could see the look in their eyes. It said, "Oh there is a foreigner and I bet she doesn't know about our festival. I should give her one of our zhong zhi." The first had some sort of bland meat, the second (and best of the 4) had what I think was figs, and the last two, bean curd. yum.
Even though I wasn't so much a fan of the zhong zhi, I have been eating things that I never would have thought of going together. For instance, today for lunch, I had a type of fried rice (peas, carrots, and pork that looked more like Spam than pork) and it was covered by a very thin fried egg (think omelet) and topped with catsup. Sounds gross. In actually, it may be one of my favorites. That or the tomatoes and eggs dish.
Finally, a note on the poor packing advice that I received before leaving the states. I was warned over and over about the food and told to bring planty of stomach medicine. So, I have 4 bottles of Pepto tablets that I have yet to touch. (Honestly, I think that I have enough that I could be taking three a day.) And yet, I wasn't told about the bugs and so I have absolutely no misquito repellent. And I haven't been able to find any here that works.
Bug bites prior to weekend with Pandas and hanging out by the river: 6 on right ankle and 8 on left for a total of 14
Bug bites after weekend spent in mosquito havens: 12 on right leg, 10 on left leg and 4 on each arm for a total of 30.
Still no one online. Hope you are all having sweet dreams. Good night from the Steller Cyber Cafe. (For real, I can't make that sort of thing up.)
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Driving Stories and More Tells of Buying Stuff
So today I have random stories for you.
The first one actually happened last Wednesday and I just forgot to write about it. I was on the bus going to the other campus and we stopped at a traffic light. There was a van right next to us with 3 people in it. I swear to you, while we were at the light, all three people in the van got out and all three switched seats. A real life Chinese fire drill. I was alone, but I almost died laughing.
Two- On Thursday night, Rachel and I wanted to go eat dumplings and get another massage. I have a map of the city (which makes me very happy) and the dumpling place was marked. I showed the driver, but I could tell immedicately thart he had no clue as to where we waned to go. So, we called Rebecca and had her tell him in Chinese. She told him the road name and that it was close to the American Consulate building. He nodded and off we went. Almost immediately, he started talking in Chinese obviously thinking that we would understand if he just kept talking. It should have taken 15 minutes. Forty-five minutes later, he has asked no less than 20 random people on the street and other taxi drivers. At one point he asked a police officer and for a hile we had our own police escort. The problem was that I wasn't entirely sure about where we were going. We had only been there once and I think that it was in my first few days of fog. Still, when we got to the consulate, I told him to pull over and let us out. I headed in the direction that I thought should be it and in three blocks we were there. It gave me even more confidence in my directional apptitude. And I paid attention to the number of this taxi driver in case we have to come back through this city on Amazing Race- we will know not to get in his taxi. And I treated myself to a 90 minute massage. Alls well that ends well.
My buying stories: Today I got my first order back from the tailor. I had a skirt copied and it came out awesome for only $4. I also purchased some CDs, one of which I was planning on buying off Itunes for at least 4 times as much. It is a good thing.
I am a little frustrated becasue my friends keep canceling on me. I was suppose to hang out with some girls yesterday afternoon and they told me that they couldn't because it was too hot. And then today, I was suppose to go shopping with a girl and she canceled because today is the dragon boat festival and her parents wanted her to come home at the last minute. I am fighting feeling like I am not doing anything worthwhile, but I know that is a lie. Let me just warn you, well those of you who love schedules and planned out days, this is not the place for you.
Have a good weekend.
The first one actually happened last Wednesday and I just forgot to write about it. I was on the bus going to the other campus and we stopped at a traffic light. There was a van right next to us with 3 people in it. I swear to you, while we were at the light, all three people in the van got out and all three switched seats. A real life Chinese fire drill. I was alone, but I almost died laughing.
Two- On Thursday night, Rachel and I wanted to go eat dumplings and get another massage. I have a map of the city (which makes me very happy) and the dumpling place was marked. I showed the driver, but I could tell immedicately thart he had no clue as to where we waned to go. So, we called Rebecca and had her tell him in Chinese. She told him the road name and that it was close to the American Consulate building. He nodded and off we went. Almost immediately, he started talking in Chinese obviously thinking that we would understand if he just kept talking. It should have taken 15 minutes. Forty-five minutes later, he has asked no less than 20 random people on the street and other taxi drivers. At one point he asked a police officer and for a hile we had our own police escort. The problem was that I wasn't entirely sure about where we were going. We had only been there once and I think that it was in my first few days of fog. Still, when we got to the consulate, I told him to pull over and let us out. I headed in the direction that I thought should be it and in three blocks we were there. It gave me even more confidence in my directional apptitude. And I paid attention to the number of this taxi driver in case we have to come back through this city on Amazing Race- we will know not to get in his taxi. And I treated myself to a 90 minute massage. Alls well that ends well.
My buying stories: Today I got my first order back from the tailor. I had a skirt copied and it came out awesome for only $4. I also purchased some CDs, one of which I was planning on buying off Itunes for at least 4 times as much. It is a good thing.
I am a little frustrated becasue my friends keep canceling on me. I was suppose to hang out with some girls yesterday afternoon and they told me that they couldn't because it was too hot. And then today, I was suppose to go shopping with a girl and she canceled because today is the dragon boat festival and her parents wanted her to come home at the last minute. I am fighting feeling like I am not doing anything worthwhile, but I know that is a lie. Let me just warn you, well those of you who love schedules and planned out days, this is not the place for you.
Have a good weekend.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Catching On
First of all, I should tell you that I am feeling quite a bit better. Thank you for all of your chats with Dad to this end. I slept the better part of 10 hours last night and they remained fever free. I have only taken one evil allergy tablet today, though I think that I will take one more for good measure. Along with the fever, my headache has almost completely disappeared. My throat only hurts a little and, like the heartache of an unrequited love, I only notice it when I start to wonder, "Am I over it?"
So I was thinking just now on the bus, that I am beginning to catch on to why people love this place so much. I was a little dissappointed with myself last week, because I just didn't understand and I didn't feel a real draw to the country and, in a lesser sense, even to the people. Maybe I am just a slow learner. Today I have decided that I could really grow to love it here. I still don't understand very much, but I am okay with that.
It makes me laugh that no matter how little Chinese I actually speak to someone, they automatically assume that I am fluent. I ask, "How much for this?" and when it becomes clear that this is the extent of my command of the English language, it does not seem to matter. The guy at the bag store continued to explain the quality construction of the knock-off Nike messanger bag that I was eyeing (and eventually bought because it is just way too hot to be carrying a book bag on your back). He was just so happy to show me all of the different models and colors and really all I could do was stand there and nod.
Last night on my way home, I made my first purchase on my own. Not like a store purchase- those are easy. You just take your stuff to the counter and they ring it up and you can see the numerals on the display so it is okay if you can't quite tell if the person behind the register said 3 or 4. I have made plenty of those purchases. But last night, I was by myself and I bought roses from the lady outside our apartment complex. Twenty-one beautiful yellow roses. It may sound so simple, but I had to ask how much, listen to her answer, translate the numbers in my head, and then decide if it is a good purchase. Major thinking that would be automatic if I spoke the language. There is a good possibilty that I should have bargained with her, like you should do with all street vendors, "Oh, that is too expensive. Could you do cheaper?" But it was only 4 kuai. 21 beautiful yellow roses for the equivalent of 50 cents.
Yeah, I am beginning to think that coming home will be difficult in its own way too.
So I was thinking just now on the bus, that I am beginning to catch on to why people love this place so much. I was a little dissappointed with myself last week, because I just didn't understand and I didn't feel a real draw to the country and, in a lesser sense, even to the people. Maybe I am just a slow learner. Today I have decided that I could really grow to love it here. I still don't understand very much, but I am okay with that.
It makes me laugh that no matter how little Chinese I actually speak to someone, they automatically assume that I am fluent. I ask, "How much for this?" and when it becomes clear that this is the extent of my command of the English language, it does not seem to matter. The guy at the bag store continued to explain the quality construction of the knock-off Nike messanger bag that I was eyeing (and eventually bought because it is just way too hot to be carrying a book bag on your back). He was just so happy to show me all of the different models and colors and really all I could do was stand there and nod.
Last night on my way home, I made my first purchase on my own. Not like a store purchase- those are easy. You just take your stuff to the counter and they ring it up and you can see the numerals on the display so it is okay if you can't quite tell if the person behind the register said 3 or 4. I have made plenty of those purchases. But last night, I was by myself and I bought roses from the lady outside our apartment complex. Twenty-one beautiful yellow roses. It may sound so simple, but I had to ask how much, listen to her answer, translate the numbers in my head, and then decide if it is a good purchase. Major thinking that would be automatic if I spoke the language. There is a good possibilty that I should have bargained with her, like you should do with all street vendors, "Oh, that is too expensive. Could you do cheaper?" But it was only 4 kuai. 21 beautiful yellow roses for the equivalent of 50 cents.
Yeah, I am beginning to think that coming home will be difficult in its own way too.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Two in One Day
My two o'clock appointment had to cancel. Something about someone coming to visit maybe? I didn't really understand, but that is a state I am getting use to. Here, I rarely understand fully what is going on around me.
I think that has been one of the hardest lessons for me. I like my independance and I like being able to manage on my own. Here it is a little difficult and I am constantly having to ask how to get somewhere, or say something, or even do simple things. It has been very humbling, which is probably something that will be good for me.
I promised two stories-
Monday's lunch by myself went as well as could be expected I guess. I decided to eat in a restaurant that I had already visited and I decided that I would have sweet and sour pork since I knew that they served it. Well, when I tried to order, the waiteress looked at me with a blank expression. I showed her in my book the characters and she said that they did not have it. (I was a little frustrated becasue I know that we ate it there last week.) I pointed to another dish that I had never tried but someone had told me was good and she nodded that they had it. In English it is called "fragrant like fish chicken," which sounds really nasty, but isn't so bad. I also had to ask for rice and I apparently said it funny because the waitress went and was laughing at me with the guy at the bar. I have decided that it is okay that they laugh, at least I am trying. There was a sort of awkward moment when I was done, becasue all of the waitresses were sitting down eating and I didn't want to disturb them to find out how much I owed. (Unlike the states, the waitress brings you your food and then doesn't come back. She doesn't come back to fill up drinks because the Chinese do not drink with their meals and so you have to bring your own drink if you expect to have anything.) I just picked at my food until she got up and I felt like I could ask for "mai dan"- the bill. I ate at the smae place yesterday with some friends and we had sweet and sour pork. Maybe they just don't serve it on Mondays.
Rachel and I had some time to blow Monday afternoon and so we decided to go into the coffee shop that is outside th back gate of the East (Freshman) Campus. The window of the shop says "Savor Our Coffee. Savor Your Life." We decided that we liked it a lot becasue it was air conditioned, they brought water as soon as we sat down, they played American country music, and they had a bilingual menu. Rachel got a chocolate iced coffee that she swears tasted just like any Frappachinno. I decided to be adventerious and ordered the Mexico Sunrise Iced Coffee. The menu didn't have descriptions, just the name. Since it was on the page with the Irish Coffee, I fugured that it would have some sort of liquor. However, I started to get a little worried when I saw her reach for the bottle three times. The two women behind the counter labored for a long time on my drink. Rachel's drink came and she was 3/4 of the way finished before mine was ready.
The bottom 1/4 of the glass had a clear liquid (I think that it was peppermint syrup)
The next fourth of the glass had a green peppermint liquor.
The top half of the glass was the ice coffee (I suppose that it is to represent the red in the Mexican flag, maybe?)
Upon further inspection, I found that there was something floating around in the glass. The sun. More commonly identified as a raw egg yolk. I VERY carefully fished out the egg yolk and then drank the rest of the drink.
I think that next time, I will stay with something I can recgonize.
I think that has been one of the hardest lessons for me. I like my independance and I like being able to manage on my own. Here it is a little difficult and I am constantly having to ask how to get somewhere, or say something, or even do simple things. It has been very humbling, which is probably something that will be good for me.
I promised two stories-
Monday's lunch by myself went as well as could be expected I guess. I decided to eat in a restaurant that I had already visited and I decided that I would have sweet and sour pork since I knew that they served it. Well, when I tried to order, the waiteress looked at me with a blank expression. I showed her in my book the characters and she said that they did not have it. (I was a little frustrated becasue I know that we ate it there last week.) I pointed to another dish that I had never tried but someone had told me was good and she nodded that they had it. In English it is called "fragrant like fish chicken," which sounds really nasty, but isn't so bad. I also had to ask for rice and I apparently said it funny because the waitress went and was laughing at me with the guy at the bar. I have decided that it is okay that they laugh, at least I am trying. There was a sort of awkward moment when I was done, becasue all of the waitresses were sitting down eating and I didn't want to disturb them to find out how much I owed. (Unlike the states, the waitress brings you your food and then doesn't come back. She doesn't come back to fill up drinks because the Chinese do not drink with their meals and so you have to bring your own drink if you expect to have anything.) I just picked at my food until she got up and I felt like I could ask for "mai dan"- the bill. I ate at the smae place yesterday with some friends and we had sweet and sour pork. Maybe they just don't serve it on Mondays.
Rachel and I had some time to blow Monday afternoon and so we decided to go into the coffee shop that is outside th back gate of the East (Freshman) Campus. The window of the shop says "Savor Our Coffee. Savor Your Life." We decided that we liked it a lot becasue it was air conditioned, they brought water as soon as we sat down, they played American country music, and they had a bilingual menu. Rachel got a chocolate iced coffee that she swears tasted just like any Frappachinno. I decided to be adventerious and ordered the Mexico Sunrise Iced Coffee. The menu didn't have descriptions, just the name. Since it was on the page with the Irish Coffee, I fugured that it would have some sort of liquor. However, I started to get a little worried when I saw her reach for the bottle three times. The two women behind the counter labored for a long time on my drink. Rachel's drink came and she was 3/4 of the way finished before mine was ready.
The bottom 1/4 of the glass had a clear liquid (I think that it was peppermint syrup)
The next fourth of the glass had a green peppermint liquor.
The top half of the glass was the ice coffee (I suppose that it is to represent the red in the Mexican flag, maybe?)
Upon further inspection, I found that there was something floating around in the glass. The sun. More commonly identified as a raw egg yolk. I VERY carefully fished out the egg yolk and then drank the rest of the drink.
I think that next time, I will stay with something I can recgonize.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
ill
I am sick.
I started feeling bad Monday towards the end of language class and it has been down hill since then, which is why I didn't make it up here to post yesterday.
Daddy, before you get too worried and try to rush a passport application to come get me, I do not think that it is the bird flu. Rather, I think that it is just a common sinus thing or small cold. I am running a low grade fever that rises and falls in a directly inverse correlation to the amount of Ibuprofen in my blood stream. I also have a headache that pretty much does the same (by the way, the Chinese way of saying headache sounds like "toe tongue.") My nose has not been stuffy and I am able to breath with my mouth closed, even at night. The worst part is my very sore throat and mild ear ache. From what source the excess mucus is orginating, I do not know, but I wish that it would stop and I could have a Sudafed free day. If I was a bit more lethargic and if I had not already had this particular "you should only get once in your life, like chicken pox" disease twice, I would say that it is mono; the glands in my neck are certainly large enough.
I think that I have written in a previous post about how I always call home before taking medicine because I never seem to remember the side effects of decongestants and antihestimines. Well, obviously, it was a little more difficult to call home this time and besides, it seems as though I only brought one type of cold medicine with me. (What was I thinking?) So on Monday night, I took the knock-off Target cold and sinus medicine. As soon as I swallowed, I remembered that the decongestant in it is the generic Sudafed, which I do not do well with at night. For a moment, I thought about gagging myself before I could absorb the medicine, but decided that throwing up would hurt my already sore throat too much. And so I settled down for a night of little sleep. You know how sometimes you will just be laying still and then all of a sudden you will jump for no reason? Or when you are about to fall asleep in class and as your head falls, you suddenly jerk awake? That was me, all night long. During the little sleep that I managed to get, I had strange dreams. One of you, my dear readers, made it into my pseudoephedrine-hyped dreams, though you will remain nameless since you had three heads and you really didn't come out in the best light.
Since Monday, I have decided that I will have to make do on Advil only through the night.
My goal for today is to make it until 4 oclock. I have a lunch appointment and then one at 2.
I don't have time for more right now, but I must remember to tell you about my first experience dining alone and about my coffee drink on Monday.
I started feeling bad Monday towards the end of language class and it has been down hill since then, which is why I didn't make it up here to post yesterday.
Daddy, before you get too worried and try to rush a passport application to come get me, I do not think that it is the bird flu. Rather, I think that it is just a common sinus thing or small cold. I am running a low grade fever that rises and falls in a directly inverse correlation to the amount of Ibuprofen in my blood stream. I also have a headache that pretty much does the same (by the way, the Chinese way of saying headache sounds like "toe tongue.") My nose has not been stuffy and I am able to breath with my mouth closed, even at night. The worst part is my very sore throat and mild ear ache. From what source the excess mucus is orginating, I do not know, but I wish that it would stop and I could have a Sudafed free day. If I was a bit more lethargic and if I had not already had this particular "you should only get once in your life, like chicken pox" disease twice, I would say that it is mono; the glands in my neck are certainly large enough.
I think that I have written in a previous post about how I always call home before taking medicine because I never seem to remember the side effects of decongestants and antihestimines. Well, obviously, it was a little more difficult to call home this time and besides, it seems as though I only brought one type of cold medicine with me. (What was I thinking?) So on Monday night, I took the knock-off Target cold and sinus medicine. As soon as I swallowed, I remembered that the decongestant in it is the generic Sudafed, which I do not do well with at night. For a moment, I thought about gagging myself before I could absorb the medicine, but decided that throwing up would hurt my already sore throat too much. And so I settled down for a night of little sleep. You know how sometimes you will just be laying still and then all of a sudden you will jump for no reason? Or when you are about to fall asleep in class and as your head falls, you suddenly jerk awake? That was me, all night long. During the little sleep that I managed to get, I had strange dreams. One of you, my dear readers, made it into my pseudoephedrine-hyped dreams, though you will remain nameless since you had three heads and you really didn't come out in the best light.
Since Monday, I have decided that I will have to make do on Advil only through the night.
My goal for today is to make it until 4 oclock. I have a lunch appointment and then one at 2.
I don't have time for more right now, but I must remember to tell you about my first experience dining alone and about my coffee drink on Monday.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Week Two
I just finished with my English class for today. I do pretty well in understanding what is being asked, but I am still struggling with replying. This weekend's trip to the frabric market helped my competancy at buying things. I am getting much better at recognizing the numbers, which is helpful when someone wants you to pay for something and you aren't really sure which bill to get out. (Earlier last week sometime, I had an experience with a shop owner whom I needed to pay for three Cokes. I thought that he was saying that it would be 4 kuai but he was really saying 6. This little 10 year old girl translated for me, "It is 6 kuai." and then to her friends and under her breath, "Americans" in an exasperated tone.)
By the way, I learned that kaui is the correct spelling for what you say when you talk about the basic unit of money, but when you are writing it, you write juan. And there are two words for "two"- er and liang; I have not managed to figure out the rules of when to use which. i think that there are these random things just to be confusing, because Chinese isn't confussing enough on it's own.
This weekend was relaxing and we got to spend time with American friends. Last night we went over to hang out with Sonya and Travis. They ordered Pizza Hut and let us call home on their phone that has a US number. (Vonage has done wonders in international calling. You can get a number in your home area code and then you get unlimited in calling. So I called home and gave momma the number. She called back and it was like calling a number in Mississippi for her, free for the Todds.) They also have satellite TV and so we saw the news for the first time since leaving Atlanta. I had no clue about the AL girl who went missing in Aruba or about Michael Jackson's sudden mysterious sickness. Maybe I should start checking news websites when I come to check email. Thank you Lila for introducing me to the Todds while they were in town. They have been extremely generous and kind to us.
Our other big task for the weekend was doing laundry. It wasn't a big task becasue we have so many clothes, but rather, because everything was written in Chinese and I can only assume that the temperatures are in celcius. I am not the best at doing laundry when I understand the buttons I am pushing; now I am taking the clothes out and smelling them to see if they smell like they had a run in with the detergent. And I don't know what we are going wrong, but it is taking like 3 hours to dry one load. (But that could be a humiduty issue. Did I mention that when I get into bed, my sheets feel damp because it is so humid?)
I also got the tread mill working. If my conversions are correct, I ran 3.8 miles yesterday. (Rebecca, I know that I was suppose to do 5, but I was sweating more than I have ever sweated in my life. I am thinking that if I can just maintain at about 4 miles a few times a week, then I can get back on schedule when I come home. Do I need clearance from my trainer to make this decision?)
And for a little LaGrange update: Momma told me last night that LaGrange is going to get a Country's Barbecue. Scheduled to open Labor Day. I know that for many of you, this means little. But for me, it is just one more thing to draw me back home. (Momma, the link worked but the access code and password didn't. I am glad you told me over the phone.)
Finally, this weekend was my 10 year high school reunion. I was not so sad to miss it, but it did make me think about how much has changed in 10 years. If you had asked me then where I would be in 10 years, I probably would have said that I would be doing my pediatric residency. I would be married and probably expecting my first child (or children- I'd like twins). There is no way that I would have guessed that I would be spending a month in China, and certainly I would have argued with you if you had told me that I would be a teacher. Funny how things change.
I actually was asked where I saw myslef in ten years as one of the final Top Ten questions in the Miss & Mr Troup High School Contest. We got a list of possible questions before the evening and momma must have been working because I remember daddy going over the list with me and helping me come up with good answers. This is cheesy and I think that daddy came up with it, but my answer to the 10 years down the road question was that I didn't know what I would be doing, but I wanted to be "happy, healthy, and helping others." (Could I have been anymore of a dork? I might as well have thrown in that I wanted to be instrumental in bringing about world peace.)
Today, Rachel already had plans for lunch and so she went over to the other campus. This means that when I wrap things up here, I will be ordering my first meal on my own. It could prove to be interesting.
I will probably then head over to the other campus and see if I can meet with a few girls. However, I am not feeling all that well today- sore throat, headache, and runny nose- and so I might go home.
By the way, I learned that kaui is the correct spelling for what you say when you talk about the basic unit of money, but when you are writing it, you write juan. And there are two words for "two"- er and liang; I have not managed to figure out the rules of when to use which. i think that there are these random things just to be confusing, because Chinese isn't confussing enough on it's own.
This weekend was relaxing and we got to spend time with American friends. Last night we went over to hang out with Sonya and Travis. They ordered Pizza Hut and let us call home on their phone that has a US number. (Vonage has done wonders in international calling. You can get a number in your home area code and then you get unlimited in calling. So I called home and gave momma the number. She called back and it was like calling a number in Mississippi for her, free for the Todds.) They also have satellite TV and so we saw the news for the first time since leaving Atlanta. I had no clue about the AL girl who went missing in Aruba or about Michael Jackson's sudden mysterious sickness. Maybe I should start checking news websites when I come to check email. Thank you Lila for introducing me to the Todds while they were in town. They have been extremely generous and kind to us.
Our other big task for the weekend was doing laundry. It wasn't a big task becasue we have so many clothes, but rather, because everything was written in Chinese and I can only assume that the temperatures are in celcius. I am not the best at doing laundry when I understand the buttons I am pushing; now I am taking the clothes out and smelling them to see if they smell like they had a run in with the detergent. And I don't know what we are going wrong, but it is taking like 3 hours to dry one load. (But that could be a humiduty issue. Did I mention that when I get into bed, my sheets feel damp because it is so humid?)
I also got the tread mill working. If my conversions are correct, I ran 3.8 miles yesterday. (Rebecca, I know that I was suppose to do 5, but I was sweating more than I have ever sweated in my life. I am thinking that if I can just maintain at about 4 miles a few times a week, then I can get back on schedule when I come home. Do I need clearance from my trainer to make this decision?)
And for a little LaGrange update: Momma told me last night that LaGrange is going to get a Country's Barbecue. Scheduled to open Labor Day. I know that for many of you, this means little. But for me, it is just one more thing to draw me back home. (Momma, the link worked but the access code and password didn't. I am glad you told me over the phone.)
Finally, this weekend was my 10 year high school reunion. I was not so sad to miss it, but it did make me think about how much has changed in 10 years. If you had asked me then where I would be in 10 years, I probably would have said that I would be doing my pediatric residency. I would be married and probably expecting my first child (or children- I'd like twins). There is no way that I would have guessed that I would be spending a month in China, and certainly I would have argued with you if you had told me that I would be a teacher. Funny how things change.
I actually was asked where I saw myslef in ten years as one of the final Top Ten questions in the Miss & Mr Troup High School Contest. We got a list of possible questions before the evening and momma must have been working because I remember daddy going over the list with me and helping me come up with good answers. This is cheesy and I think that daddy came up with it, but my answer to the 10 years down the road question was that I didn't know what I would be doing, but I wanted to be "happy, healthy, and helping others." (Could I have been anymore of a dork? I might as well have thrown in that I wanted to be instrumental in bringing about world peace.)
Today, Rachel already had plans for lunch and so she went over to the other campus. This means that when I wrap things up here, I will be ordering my first meal on my own. It could prove to be interesting.
I will probably then head over to the other campus and see if I can meet with a few girls. However, I am not feeling all that well today- sore throat, headache, and runny nose- and so I might go home.
Friday, June 03, 2005
As Opposed to Yesterday...
Today, I do not have a lot to say. I have sort of settled into a routine.
Last night we had dinner with a group of college students (actually, we just met the girl half of the team) from Atl who are here for a the summer as well. Rebecca and Heather fixed pasta, garlic bread, and broccolli (they even had lemon juice); it was a nice change to have something different.
This morning I slept in until about 8:30 becasue we don't have class on Friday. When I finally got going, I had to head out to the freshman campus to meet my friend from Wednesday for lunch. What I thought would be maybe an hour or hour and a half at best turned into 4 hours. (I think that she would have been content to hang out well into the evening except I told her that I had to get back.) She took me up to her dorm room becasue I had never seen one and she wants me to meet her dormmates.
What an eye opener. First of all, she lives on the 6th floor and the rule is that a building gets an elevator only if it is 7 or more stories tall. Her room is very small and she has SEVEN roommates. The beds are just flat peices of thin wood with some sheets thrown on them and there is no air conditioning. They have one sink and no closets or bookshelves. There is one desk in the middle of the room, but each girl lines her personal things along the edge of her bunk bed next to the wall. (It reminded me of how Rebecca use to hide books and flashlights down the side of her bed when we were little. Seriously, at any given time, you could find 15 books in her bed.) Like most people I have met, this girl's favorite singer is Celine Dion and she absolutly loves "My Heart Will Go On." I have known her for 3 days and she has sung it for me 4 times. "Near. Far. Wherever You Are....." I am beginning to think that I will be haunted by this song for the rest of my life.
Tonight we have been invited over to a cookout with a family that has been living here a while. Tomorrow I think that we will be going to the fabric mart to pick up some material to take to the tailor. Then we have been invited to a pool party followed with dinner at an Indian place. It should be a good weekend and I will be sure to give you an update.
To those of you who have been sending emails, thank you. If I don't have a chance to respond individually everytime, know that I do appreciate it.
If you haven't been sending emails, well, shame on you (especially you Moeisha- you are my sister!). Not really, I will hold no hard feelings.
And those of you who gave me cards before I left, I have set up a schedule because I think that I have enough to read one every other day. (Last night, I read Nicky's first one and she told me about a news report that said you could lose a significant amount of weight in a year if you just tapped your finger while you were sitting down. Nice.) Sara I am still holding off on yours for a rainy day.
I hope that you have a great Friday and weekend.
Last night we had dinner with a group of college students (actually, we just met the girl half of the team) from Atl who are here for a the summer as well. Rebecca and Heather fixed pasta, garlic bread, and broccolli (they even had lemon juice); it was a nice change to have something different.
This morning I slept in until about 8:30 becasue we don't have class on Friday. When I finally got going, I had to head out to the freshman campus to meet my friend from Wednesday for lunch. What I thought would be maybe an hour or hour and a half at best turned into 4 hours. (I think that she would have been content to hang out well into the evening except I told her that I had to get back.) She took me up to her dorm room becasue I had never seen one and she wants me to meet her dormmates.
What an eye opener. First of all, she lives on the 6th floor and the rule is that a building gets an elevator only if it is 7 or more stories tall. Her room is very small and she has SEVEN roommates. The beds are just flat peices of thin wood with some sheets thrown on them and there is no air conditioning. They have one sink and no closets or bookshelves. There is one desk in the middle of the room, but each girl lines her personal things along the edge of her bunk bed next to the wall. (It reminded me of how Rebecca use to hide books and flashlights down the side of her bed when we were little. Seriously, at any given time, you could find 15 books in her bed.) Like most people I have met, this girl's favorite singer is Celine Dion and she absolutly loves "My Heart Will Go On." I have known her for 3 days and she has sung it for me 4 times. "Near. Far. Wherever You Are....." I am beginning to think that I will be haunted by this song for the rest of my life.
Tonight we have been invited over to a cookout with a family that has been living here a while. Tomorrow I think that we will be going to the fabric mart to pick up some material to take to the tailor. Then we have been invited to a pool party followed with dinner at an Indian place. It should be a good weekend and I will be sure to give you an update.
To those of you who have been sending emails, thank you. If I don't have a chance to respond individually everytime, know that I do appreciate it.
If you haven't been sending emails, well, shame on you (especially you Moeisha- you are my sister!). Not really, I will hold no hard feelings.
And those of you who gave me cards before I left, I have set up a schedule because I think that I have enough to read one every other day. (Last night, I read Nicky's first one and she told me about a news report that said you could lose a significant amount of weight in a year if you just tapped your finger while you were sitting down. Nice.) Sara I am still holding off on yours for a rainy day.
I hope that you have a great Friday and weekend.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Automatic Celebrity
Warning: I have a little extra time today and so this post is going to be long. Complain all you want, but not to me. I like to think that you are sitting there everyday getting much enjoyment out of my tales.
Yesterday was an extremely long day. We met some friends and I ended up talking to this girl for nearly 4 hours. Not only is it draining to focus on one person for that long, but also, my personality just isn't wired for it. I am always self consciencious about the dead air time, but apparently she didn't mind. Rachel went off with another girl and so i was on my own. (I have to admit that it was actually quite nice.)
We were sitting under a pavillion type thing in the middle of this lake and there were some really cute elderly people. (Sara, I took pictures for you.) There were also these three boys that hung around all afternoon. They would throw things at the goldfish for a while and then they would go play in the stream and then go buy something to eat at the convience store type place. They always came back loaded down with junk food and since they knew I wasn't from there, they would always offer me some. I don't know what flavor the potatoe chips were suppose to be, but I think that it is safe to say that we don't have them. Should you ever come here, I would also reccommend that you stay away from the bean curd ice cream. really. Rebecca (another American) and I gave the three boys English names, Toby, Teddy, and Bobby. Even though the had prblems pronouncing their new names, they found great delight in runing around calling to one another.
Rebecca and I went to dinner outside the back gate of the campus and she introduced me to (the spelling is based only on how I would spell it) chow cow. Basically, you walk up to the place and get a basket. Then you choose what you want to eat- I had eggplant, mushrooms, green beans, lotus root, quail eggs, and beef. (Other choices included imitation crab meat, liver, some sort of dough, and a few unreconizables.) Every thing was ona skewer and after making your selection, you give your basket to the woman. She dips it in a spiced oil and then grills it. Awesome. I will take pictures the next time I go back.
After chow cow, Rebecca showed me this place to get what can best be described as fried apple turnover. Add in a fresh peach smoothie (no smoothie king here, just peach, ice, and sugar) and you have a perfect finish to a lovely meal. It was really nice to spend time with Rebecca and to here about her year here. She is returning home to Atlanta soon but will come back again in August and will be living with one of my good friends.
Rachel and I had decided to hang around campus last night because we had word that there was going to be an English corner. It is suppose to be a time when students come together to practice their oral English skills and we thought that it would be a nice opportunity to meet people. And meet people we did. At any given time, there were 20 students standing around trting to ask their questions. I have never talked so much in my life. Nor have I ever felt so much like an instant celebrity. Like Paris Hilton, I had done nothing to deserve the attention, but still they all wanted to talk to the American.
Somehow, Rachel got all of the girls and I ended up with a mess of boys crawed around. And you should note that since they mostly get to pick their own English names, I was talking to IceMan, Napolean, Shrimp, Anger, and so forth. Just as soon as I would try to answer a question, someone new would walk up to the group, get right in my face (which you all know I loved) and start asking their questions: "Hello, Are you from America? And are you a student there? And do you like our country?"
But this is a transcription of my favorite conversation:
Student: In America I think that it is much like American Pie?
Me: I'm sorry?
S: American Pie, you know the movie?
Me: Yes, I know the movie. I think that it is funny, but I do not think that it is what all of America is like.
S: Yes. I think that in America, all boys are interest in is chase skirt.
Me: (a little confused and taken aback look)
S: You know what I mean, chase skirt?
Me: Yes, I know what you mean, and I think that there are some boys in Amearica that are very much interested in chasing skirt, as you would say, but I do not think that it is true of all boys in America. Hollywood exaggerates and not all of America is like that. Especially where I am from. I am from the Southern US and we tend to be more conserervative there. Do you know what I mean?
S: Yes. We have Chinese saying: Beauty is better from afar.
Me: Ok. (I am not really sure that we are connecting, but I am doing my best)
Friend of Student: You have governor that is Swatn... (it trails off into something I can't even begin to recognize)
Me: Say that again. I didn't understand.
Friend: Swatzn..... You know, the Terminator. "I'll be back."
Me: Oh yes I know. But he is the governor of California and I don't live there. I live in Atlanta, GA. Our govenor is a man named Sunny Perdue.
Friend: Do you think that Swatzn... is very attractive?
Me: I think that he is too big. His muscles are maybe too much. (Notice that I have begun to slip into the practice of just throwing in random maybes like they do.)
Friend: Do you think that my firend (orginal student) is too big, or is he attractive?
At this point, thank goodness, some one new walked up and saved us from this conversation. Not long after that we left, promising to return to the English corner next week.
I hear that it has been cold and rainy at home. Here it has been nothing but balmy. Hot and incredibly humid (I serioulsy do not think that it would be an exaggeration to say that it is close to 95% humidity today). Every morning we have to walk a mile to class. (Well, we actually only have class 3 days a week, but that is besides the point. I still have to get up and walk the mile to catch the bus anywhere.) Within 2 minutes, I am sweating up a storm. My hair has just settled into a state of big. Nothing I do helps. And unfortunatly, my skin does not seem to be adjusting well. My forehead looks like Rebecca's did in 7th grade (Sorry Becs.)
Today for lunch, I ate with a new friend and I let her order. Tofu cubes. It wasn't so bad, but not something I would like at every meal. So far, all of my conversations with have been very surface level, but I am hoping soon for the chance to share my story and what is close to my heart.
I think that is all I have for now. I hope that you have a great Thursday; it has been a good one for me. It is weird for me to think that you are all still asleep ( it is now 2:30 AM for you) and my day is almost over.
And one last thing, do you know what is very hard to get here? Diet Coke or Coke Light. Wouldn't you know that as soon as I made the switch, I would come to a country where no one drinks it. Of course, rare is the Chinese person who needs a diet...
Yesterday was an extremely long day. We met some friends and I ended up talking to this girl for nearly 4 hours. Not only is it draining to focus on one person for that long, but also, my personality just isn't wired for it. I am always self consciencious about the dead air time, but apparently she didn't mind. Rachel went off with another girl and so i was on my own. (I have to admit that it was actually quite nice.)
We were sitting under a pavillion type thing in the middle of this lake and there were some really cute elderly people. (Sara, I took pictures for you.) There were also these three boys that hung around all afternoon. They would throw things at the goldfish for a while and then they would go play in the stream and then go buy something to eat at the convience store type place. They always came back loaded down with junk food and since they knew I wasn't from there, they would always offer me some. I don't know what flavor the potatoe chips were suppose to be, but I think that it is safe to say that we don't have them. Should you ever come here, I would also reccommend that you stay away from the bean curd ice cream. really. Rebecca (another American) and I gave the three boys English names, Toby, Teddy, and Bobby. Even though the had prblems pronouncing their new names, they found great delight in runing around calling to one another.
Rebecca and I went to dinner outside the back gate of the campus and she introduced me to (the spelling is based only on how I would spell it) chow cow. Basically, you walk up to the place and get a basket. Then you choose what you want to eat- I had eggplant, mushrooms, green beans, lotus root, quail eggs, and beef. (Other choices included imitation crab meat, liver, some sort of dough, and a few unreconizables.) Every thing was ona skewer and after making your selection, you give your basket to the woman. She dips it in a spiced oil and then grills it. Awesome. I will take pictures the next time I go back.
After chow cow, Rebecca showed me this place to get what can best be described as fried apple turnover. Add in a fresh peach smoothie (no smoothie king here, just peach, ice, and sugar) and you have a perfect finish to a lovely meal. It was really nice to spend time with Rebecca and to here about her year here. She is returning home to Atlanta soon but will come back again in August and will be living with one of my good friends.
Rachel and I had decided to hang around campus last night because we had word that there was going to be an English corner. It is suppose to be a time when students come together to practice their oral English skills and we thought that it would be a nice opportunity to meet people. And meet people we did. At any given time, there were 20 students standing around trting to ask their questions. I have never talked so much in my life. Nor have I ever felt so much like an instant celebrity. Like Paris Hilton, I had done nothing to deserve the attention, but still they all wanted to talk to the American.
Somehow, Rachel got all of the girls and I ended up with a mess of boys crawed around. And you should note that since they mostly get to pick their own English names, I was talking to IceMan, Napolean, Shrimp, Anger, and so forth. Just as soon as I would try to answer a question, someone new would walk up to the group, get right in my face (which you all know I loved) and start asking their questions: "Hello, Are you from America? And are you a student there? And do you like our country?"
But this is a transcription of my favorite conversation:
Student: In America I think that it is much like American Pie?
Me: I'm sorry?
S: American Pie, you know the movie?
Me: Yes, I know the movie. I think that it is funny, but I do not think that it is what all of America is like.
S: Yes. I think that in America, all boys are interest in is chase skirt.
Me: (a little confused and taken aback look)
S: You know what I mean, chase skirt?
Me: Yes, I know what you mean, and I think that there are some boys in Amearica that are very much interested in chasing skirt, as you would say, but I do not think that it is true of all boys in America. Hollywood exaggerates and not all of America is like that. Especially where I am from. I am from the Southern US and we tend to be more conserervative there. Do you know what I mean?
S: Yes. We have Chinese saying: Beauty is better from afar.
Me: Ok. (I am not really sure that we are connecting, but I am doing my best)
Friend of Student: You have governor that is Swatn... (it trails off into something I can't even begin to recognize)
Me: Say that again. I didn't understand.
Friend: Swatzn..... You know, the Terminator. "I'll be back."
Me: Oh yes I know. But he is the governor of California and I don't live there. I live in Atlanta, GA. Our govenor is a man named Sunny Perdue.
Friend: Do you think that Swatzn... is very attractive?
Me: I think that he is too big. His muscles are maybe too much. (Notice that I have begun to slip into the practice of just throwing in random maybes like they do.)
Friend: Do you think that my firend (orginal student) is too big, or is he attractive?
At this point, thank goodness, some one new walked up and saved us from this conversation. Not long after that we left, promising to return to the English corner next week.
I hear that it has been cold and rainy at home. Here it has been nothing but balmy. Hot and incredibly humid (I serioulsy do not think that it would be an exaggeration to say that it is close to 95% humidity today). Every morning we have to walk a mile to class. (Well, we actually only have class 3 days a week, but that is besides the point. I still have to get up and walk the mile to catch the bus anywhere.) Within 2 minutes, I am sweating up a storm. My hair has just settled into a state of big. Nothing I do helps. And unfortunatly, my skin does not seem to be adjusting well. My forehead looks like Rebecca's did in 7th grade (Sorry Becs.)
Today for lunch, I ate with a new friend and I let her order. Tofu cubes. It wasn't so bad, but not something I would like at every meal. So far, all of my conversations with have been very surface level, but I am hoping soon for the chance to share my story and what is close to my heart.
I think that is all I have for now. I hope that you have a great Thursday; it has been a good one for me. It is weird for me to think that you are all still asleep ( it is now 2:30 AM for you) and my day is almost over.
And one last thing, do you know what is very hard to get here? Diet Coke or Coke Light. Wouldn't you know that as soon as I made the switch, I would come to a country where no one drinks it. Of course, rare is the Chinese person who needs a diet...
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