Nihao!
Currently I am teaching English in China. This is my blog...
Before this post I have not mentioned Melanie and I have my reasons for that. Here’s a little dialogue that occurred right after our exit from the train while in Guilin City.
Mel- So what now.
Me- I’m not sure. I’m thinkin’ we’ll just go out and look for a bus to Yanshuo.
Mel- What’ do you mean you aren’t sure?!?!?! Jess, how do you NOT know where we are going?!?!?!
Me- Well, I think we can catch a bus right outside the train station.
Mel- Are you serious?!?! You don’t have tickets or anything?!?! What if we can’t find a bus?! I can’t believe you don’t know what we are doing next!!!
Me- Look, Mel, I planned this trip and if anything goes wrong, YES, it is MY FAULT…but you are here only to follow me. You did nothing to plan this trip so you can either follow me or go follow someone else but I’m not going to put up with this shit for another minute.
After that was said she gave me a little break. Mel is about eight years my senior and she had a bit of trouble adjusting to many of the changes we faced in China. I met every challenge with a smile whereas Mel sort of did the opposite. Don’t get me wrong, I shared some great laughs about the culture among our foreign friends… such as when one is buying shampoo or lipstick you must go through four people to complete the task….hahaha, I should explain further but maybe that’s another post, but I never let it put a frown on my face. Also, for as many things as I would liked to have changed about the way business is carried out I appreciated another thing about the culture. Give and take, I suppose. Ben actually confessed to me after our bike ride that he had trouble understanding why someone such as she would even come to China. We shared a really good moment sitting there on the side of the road, on top of our bikes. We talked for about an hour letting traffic and pedestrians pass us by as we discussed the situation between Mel and I. It was there that Ben and I got on the same level and I made a friend.
But about that bus…
Just as I had hoped, there was a queue of busses outside the train station! (oh how badly I wanted to be immature and say “nah nah nah nah…I told you so!!! but I didn’t)
There was a fellah who spoke a little English wanting us to pay 15 RMB for the bus ride. This price is more than reasonable. However, little did he know that I had been on busses in China…and you never pay before you get on.
Dude– You give me 15 yuan for bus to Yanshuo.
Me– No, I’ll pay when the bus is moving.
Dude– No, you pay now.
Me– No. I know what you are trying to do. You are tricking me.
Dude– *Laughing* I not trying trick you… what about 10 yuan?
Me– NO, *laughing* I’m not paying you!
Mel– do you know what you are doing???
Me– Yes, Mel, let me take care of this, please.
Dude– So whatchyou doing Yanshuo… Holiday?
Me– Yes, I am an English teacher in Northern China. We are taking a holiday here.
Dude– OOOHH, OK. Good. Good. You be here before?
Me– No, I just know that you always pay after the bus starts moving.
Dude– OK OK, *laughing* you are smart.
So we got on the bus and started on our way and as we were in motion about 25 people jumped on one at a time. I love China. The bus filled up and we wound around the ancient peaks of limestone carved by millions of years of rain and wind. The mountains here remind me of russian stacking dolls all scattered around you, each being different and unique. It was so picturesque that I couldn’t think of anything other than being so amazingly lucky to experience being tucked between them.
Here’s a view of Yanshuo from one of the tippy tops of the mountains.
Earlier that week I had emailed a woman who calls herself Monkey Jane. Monkey Jane owns a guesthouse in Yanshuo and she seemed like a pretty groovy chick…here’s the email she sent me.
My last night in Zibo was precious. I went to dinner with Lewis, Ben, and Dave… ordering my favorite Shandong dishes before my departure. I can still taste the “Fung Whey Choudzuh” which was my favorite dish comprised of eggplant that was covered in brown sugar and then fried with hot peppers and fresh coriander. We had a couple of beers with dinner and the mood was quite somber. I miss them all very much, they were good people who really made me feel welcome and despite knowing that they were going to have to say goodbye to me they still opened up and really let me into their lives. We went back to my empty apartment to have another beer or two and wait for my taxi to the train station. There were hugs all around as I said goodbye to my friends.
You never want to be late for a train in China. You also never want to be too early for a train in China. People start lining up for their gate about 2 hours before they are actually allowed to board, which to me seemed silly until I was “on time” for my trip to Guilin. I cut it a little close boarding my train and had to hustle a bit to my cabin. I was on a sleeper this time which was quite awesome compared to the train ride to Beijing. I stowed my luggage as the train set into its sluggish movement and prepared myself for a 36 hour ride through the heart of China.
It was as soon as I got settled into my top bunk and the lights dimmed that I had an extremely religious experience. Don’t laugh. I’m being completely serious.
I turned on the iPod and immediately went for Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Up in my little cove near the ceiling of the train I took every note and every lyric in as if it were the last thing I would ever hear. Here are the lyrics to the song that really changed my outlook…
Breathe, breathe in the air
Don’t be afraid to care
Leave but don’t leave me
Look around and chose your own ground
For long you live and high you fly
And smiles you’ll give and tears you’ll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be
Run, run rabbit run
Dig that hole, forget the sun,
And when at last the work is done
Don’t sit down it’s time to dig another one
For long you live and high you fly
But only if you ride the tide
And balanced on the biggest wave
You race toward an early grave.
The song gave me purpose and meaning, a direction that I didn’t have previously. I must see and do as much as I can before it’s too late. But, I also have to remember to take it easy, not forgetting to take it all in. Life isn’t a race of any sort, it’s about making the most of every moment. Whether it’s a never ending train ride through China or a cup of tea and a good book in the comfort of your Lazy Boy. For me, what meant the most was “All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be.” This called to me, sending my brain in to a frenzy of “where do I go next?” (I think I’m pushing towards Argentina or Chile, but that is another story entirely!) But it doesn’t matter where I go next, as long as I’m not forgetting to be me and enjoy and live life the way it should be lived… well.
I had the best nights sleep on that train. I don’t even remember hearing much after the first four or five songs and when I woke up I had two new passengers in my compartment who must have boarded sometime in the middle of the night. Later on in the train ride I will teach them, mother and daughter duo who don’t speak a lick of english, how to do a Sudoku puzzle.
Eating on the train is tricky, you have to be waiting, money ready, at the exact time that the cart goes by. I had packed a bag of nuts and fruit but I’m a dummy and I left it in the cab.
It was a long train ride…I’m really glad I didn’t remember the fruit and nuts though because I would have really really hated to have to poop on that train. Haha, sure you can laugh here but it’s really not funny when it’s you. Squatting over a hole in a train as the train rocks and rolls down the tracks is tricky even when you are peeing because you really don’t want to touch anything. I would really hate to be an uncoordinated person in this situation and I found myself extremely thankful for my agility while squatting over these potty’s during the train rides.
I got to see a lot of the countryside during the day time and it’s beautiful. I still haven’t seen any houses, which is so strange to me. In this communist style of government there is only communal living. People have their privacy by having their own apartment or living space but they mostly live in large buildings comprised of many smaller living spaces. It seemed to me as though most of the people out of the city make their living by farming. I saw nothing but farms for at least a day’s train ride. It was beautiful. All of the different vegetables and fruits, there is so much variety! I knew then how much I would miss China. But, oh how wonderful it will be to see my friends and family again!
Right now I’m struggling a lot with leaving Zibo and coming home. It’s almost like I just got used to being in this country…kind of finally getting a grasp for the people and their culture and now I am having to leave and come home. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to see my family, especially my sister. Snuggling with her and my Mickey-roo is a thought that brings nothing but warmth and joy to my insides even when it’s smoggy and cold outside and I’m halfway around the world. But, I can’t help but escape the fact that I’m just getting used to being in this foreign culture and now I must leave. It’s nothing like the stress I felt before coming, that is for sure…as the environment I’m moving to is not foreign to me. But, there is still an element of stress and anxiousness to coming home. I’m leaving a bunch of my things here in China. Lewis is letting me keep a box of my things at his apartment. That is how sure I am that I will return to China in the near future.
Lewis told me a few days he was anxious to see how I turned out. That statement made me very curious. I wonder often how I will turn out. I think I’m a very mailable person who is open to new ideas and opinions but there are certain beliefs that I will never give up. I think that I might be a victim of wander-lust after this trip. I want to see everything and I don’t want to stop until I do. I want to meet as many different people as there are to meet and I want to befriend them all as long as they are honest and good. I want to experience everything. From talking to people from all over the globe I have a really mild taste of what it is like to be in different places and I want to taste it even more boldly than I have here in China.
I’m not ready for the 36 hour train ride to Guillen. I am ready, however, for 5 days in Yangshuo. It’s a place where playing outside is the only source of entertainment. I plan on volunteering myself to teach english every evening while I’m there. I hope I meet someone to climb mountains with while I’m there as well. I’m certain that I will.
Like most big cities, Zibo isn’t really a place to play outside. It’s not just difficult, it’s different. Escaping people, shoppes, cars, bikes and factories is nearly impossible for the typical foreigner who doesn’t know the lay of the land. And even when you do escape most of those things the nature here is much different. I’m also realizing more and more that the people around here don’t really have a love for nature as I do. I was talking with one of the other foreigners here about it and he explained to me that most of the culture lies in the home. The government divided up the land years and years ago and there was just no space for a back yard to play in or parks for people to go. Most of the culture here is reliant on a warm family atmosphere in the home rather than outside at a barbecue or picnic. Ben was telling me that some of the very wealthy people would travel outside of the city on a holiday or vacation and now this luxury is being offered more and more to the middle class thanks (maybe) to the rise in automobiles being made cheaper in China.
As a foreigner who is only staying here for a short period of time, I didn’t take the time or money to procure my own means of transportation and I have been extremely reliant on taxi cabs and buses. My dad used to tell me how when he was in NYC he would ask the cabbie to take him for a ride around central park. I can’t really get into a cab and tell him to drive me out in the country thanks to that amazing language barrier. But, like I mentioned before, it’s not just a language barrier…it’s a culture barrier. My cab driver would probably think I was nuts even if I could communicate that idea to him verbally. So, I’ve basically been trapped in a city for six weeks. Until today, well, I guess we didn’t get far enough out for my liking but, we got out a little bit.
I went upstairs to see what Ben was up to and we got to talking about many things, one thing we talked about was this factory out side of the city. He was telling me how it’s a frightening sight to see because it was deserted a long time ago and now there is a megaphone at the entrance that repeats something in chinese. His best guess was that it was repeating, “danger, stay out.” The megaphone idea is prevalent here. Even little shoppes will have a megaphone saying something like “buy our fruit…buy our fruit” only in Chinese, of course. It’s really one of the more annoying things about this highly capitalist society.
So, we decided to go for a bike ride. He asked me if I could ride a push bike…I was confused, what the heck is a push bike? There are so many different types of bikes here that are alien to me that I was worried he might be talking about some strange bike. Turns out that a push bike is just a bicycle. Well, of course I can ride a push bike, now that I know what it is! Every one of my summers were spent on a bike in High School and riding my bike in the boro was my favorite way to get to class. You could leave home so much later and still make it on time, brilliant! He showed me his mountain bike, one I’ve never seen before as he keeps it in his room so that it doesn’t get stolen, and it was one of the nicest bikes I have ever seen. I know a lot of people at home who would be jealous of that bike. So we rode straight out of town and onto a dirt road. It was simply amazing for me to get out of Zibo even for a minute or two.
Here are some of the pictures I took from the bike.
We saw some pretty nasty shit that day. Some people living in some pretty unsettling conditions. I guess it’s good to see sometimes to remind you of how very luck you are.
A few days ago Julia, Mel and I went to an old walking street. A little touristy place in Zibo City. There we were able to visit the Zibo art museum. Here are some of the photos we took that day.
These guys here are reenacting something…not sure if it is for a wedding or an army event. Julia didn’t know either. Either way it was cool, they walked up and down the street all day banging a gong. Fun!
This is Julia, she is just plain fun to be with. When I come back she is going to teach me how to speak Chinese and I’m going to help her with her English : )
Help! I’m trapped in a little box and I can’t get out!
Julia, struttin’ it…
After taking this one, of the camel, I got yelled at for taking pictures…but still did anyways…
I absolutely LOVE this photo of Julia. She is so stinkin cute!
The lighting is perfect and she is just so adorable!
We had a lot of fun that day, Ju and I get along so well it’s amazing! I can’t wait to return to Zibo to see her and Laura again!
Mel and I are lucky enough to be in a part of the city with many foreigners and one of them even went to the nearby “Big” city to get a real turkey! So we scooted out there for a huge spread for many of the foreigners. Here are some photos of my new friends : )
This is Blair, making a big deal out of having been asked to cut the turkey.
This is some more of the awesome spread that Genesis threw down for us…Those of us who came from Jang Dien (the center of Zibo) and traveled about 30 minutes to Linzar (where we had Thanksgiving) it was pretty hard for us to bring anything but wine. So, we brought lots of it! Too bad I had 8 o’clock class in the morning or I would have been able to get a little tipsy! But, alas…
This is Shonna, demonstrating the need to loosen her belt after eating. And Raphael who really put on a clinic my brothers would be proud of!
This is Elise, Jessie, and Carly…all from Appalachian State University. They are really cool chicks, probably girls that my girls and I would have enjoyed spending time with at home! I’m lucky they are around, we have a lot in common…on the ride home Elise and I even pulled out the same shade of Clinique lipstick and we wear the same perfume! It’s crazy!
This is the chef herself, Genesis. She’s a sassy girl from Alabama who
did a wonderful job at cooking a southern-style Thanksgiving feast for all of us. Behind her is one of the other teachers from Linza, Sergio.
I’ll see if I can get one of the big group shots for you…I think the girls have one. I’ll throw it up as soon as I get it!
No one left here hungry or unhappy, it was a really nice Thanksgiving, even if I was away from home!
Classes keep going really well, and it’s getting easier and easier to anticipate my students’ needs. I just adore all of them so much and I’m going to be really sad when it’s time to go home. My students are all sad that I’m leaving in two weeks as well : -(
Pop Culture– The students in China love Popular Culture. Michael Jackson is a HUGE deal here and the students love to talk about his movies, dancing, and music. They also love to talk about movie stars like Hillary Duff, Beyonce, and High School Musical stars.
American Families– Students here are baffled by my large family and they love hearing about how I have so many brothers and sisters. This idea isn’t new to them but they are still fascinated by having someone who can attest to what they have seen in American movies and TV shows.
Traditions in America–The students, like I said in an earlier post, are extremely traditional and they love to hear about how Americans are traditional as well. Thanksgiving is a prime example, as well as Christmas, New Years, and the Fourth of July.
Candy–This method is commonly used by foreigners to get the students talking and asking questions. When the students are bribed with candy they magically speak in complete sentences, volunteer to answer questions, and can even think creatively. For example, today in my Middle School lessons I opened up the class for questions and before I pulled out the candy, the students only whispered amongst themselves. When they saw that I had candy, three hands went up…after the first three questions there were 10 hands, and then soon, nearly every student asked a question about me, American culture, sports, music, etc.
The lesson that I taught today went amazingly well, I wish I had recorded it for you. I thought that it might be a little difficult to get the students under control because they were all riled up after their little marches that they do before third class but it wasn’t difficult at all. I simply placed my finger over my lips and all of the students were instantly quiet. I had a student boot up the computer for me and then I began by showing the students where I was from, and what University I attend. I showed them a few pictures on the PowerPoint and passed around my postcards from PA. They were fascinated by the post cards as well as the PowerPoint. There was a little bit of discussion going on which usually means that the higher level students are translating for the lower level students. I have gotten used to this. A few weeks ago I was slightly taken aback by all of the chatting that was taking place but now I understand that they are used to having a teacher who can translate every word for them in Chinese, which I cannot.
Before class was over I think I had over 30 different students ask questions, and when I corrected their grammar or pronunciation they weren’t embarrassed as some students are when you correct their english, instead they would say, “okay” and then correct themselves. The students asked so many wonderful questions that class actually went past the bell by five minutes…I don’t think they wanted me to leave! Finally, when I thanked them for being such wonderful students they thanked me (in unison, which is soooo cool) for coming to their class. I put my jacket on and they were still waiting for something…Finally a student stood up and told me to say “Class is over.” So, I did, and I almost jumped back when all of the students stood up at the same time and said “Thank you and goodbye Miss Jessica!” It was really cool. I honestly don’t think I would have changed anything about that lesson, it went so amazingly well that I couldn’t stop smiling. The students’ level was really high for their age and they impressed me greatly with their skills. I told them so and then said, “you must have a very good English teacher” and they said “yes, Miss Wong.” I later met Miss Wong and told her how wonderful her class was. She was pleased and asked if she could sit in on my lessons, and I of course, said yes.
The next class was the same level and they received the same lesson. These students’ english skills weren’t as good as the previous class but they still understood me without too much trouble. I think they were weary of translating to each other though, because Miss Wong was there and gave them a little speech before class. I don’t know much Chinese but it was easy to tell that she was saying “Make sure you behave for Miss Jessica, no talking, etc.” This class went almost as well as the first class, with many students asking questions and expressing an interest in the topics. I was really pleased and Miss Wong was pleased as well.
I can’t wait to go back to these classes next week and see these kids again, it was by-far the best class I have had so far. I love having a class that asks questions and participates and as long as you are able to get the students interested in the topic, they don’t stop talking. American students are different in that they start talking amongst themselves, here, the students raise their hands, and when they are called on they stand up. I like this custom. I love teaching here, the kids are so cool!!
I did not want to be spending Thanksgiving away from my family and friends. Those of you who have gone to school with me the past three years know that I like to throw down a mean spread for all of you. And if you would have asked me 5 months ago what I would be doing for Thanksgiving I would have said, “Why, I’m going to Alaska to spend Thanksgiving with Amanda!” But, alas, I am in China for one of my favorite holidays. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that turkey doesn’t exist in China but, I was. I suppose you could stuff a duck, or a goose, as those do exist but, I don’t think that it would be the same. Instead of cooking for my friends and family I’m going to cook for my students.
Monday I gave a lesson on Thanksgiving traditions. The Chinese, being a very traditional culture, love hearing about American customs and my students greatly enjoyed the lesson. I’m not sure they enjoyed the lesson in table manners that followed nearly as much; although, it did elicit a strong response from them. The students were flabbergasted that it is rude to slurp your food, to put elbows on the table, and to chew with your mouth full. We put all the desks together in the room and sat around them, like a dinner table, and discussed traditions and etiquette. They did a wonderful job with the discussion and I have found that once a good topic is started in English, they keep talking in English. I think this is the best practice for their conversational skills and as an instructor I can actually see them progress in their listening and speaking skills as each lesson goes on. It does seem however, that we have to start from scratch each lesson, and trying to get them to stop using their Chinese is really difficult.
The lesson went really well on Monday and after the lesson on Thanksgiving and table manners we discussed how we would celebrate Thanksgiving in our classroom. We discussed who would bring what foods and other materials for the dinner. We came up with a really nice list of foods and the students were very excited that we were able to celebrate the holiday in the classroom.
Today I stopped by the classroom early to recruit a few students to help me carry some things from my apt. over to the class. The students came by during their break and carried over the mashed potatoes, stuffing, plates, napkins, chopsticks etc. We set up the classroom to suit the dinner and we set up the spread. I reminded the students of their manners and also to speak English the entire time. They did a very good job with their manners during the entire dinner and it was sooooo awesome to hear “Please pass the mashed potatoes” with a Chinese accent. I’m surprised with how well the students enjoyed the western foods as they gobbled them right up! My mom would be so proud that I was able to make 10 pounds of mashed potatoes, and 10 pounds of stuffing with only one rice maker, one pot, and one wok. The stuffing wasn’t nearly as good as hers is, and the mashed potatoes were a little lumpy as I only had a fork to whip them with. Still, I know, mom, when you read this you’ll certainly be proud!
Here’s a photo of our awesome spread!
And Jack, being a gentleman and serving everyone stuffing : )
The diet here is really healthy and everyone loves their fresh fruits and veggies, which is soooo nice!
I was really thankful that I was able to share one of my favorite holidays with the students in Bob’s class.
During dinner we went around the table, explaining what we were thankful for. Laura said the most amazing things about Mel and I which made me feel really warm and fuzzy inside and reminded me of my friends at home and how thankful I am for them and my new friends, as well.
Here’s a video of us sharing what we are thankful for…
Disclaimer: I have only been in China for a little over a month. I don’t know enough about the culture…I just know the affect it has had on me.
I’ve never had too many issues with my own image but I have learned a lot about myself in coming to China. Maybe this will be my most introspective post so far and I’m worried about losing face here (which I never would have been worried about before), but I still want to paint an accurate picture of what’s going on.
I never cared before what people thought of me, or how they saw me. Sure, I try to look nice and whatnot, and dress the part, I know all about that, but I never actually took the time to step outside of myself to try and see me through other people’s eyes. It’s not that I didn’t want to…I just never cared how people saw me before. It was like, well, if you don’t like me then, well you can go to h e double hockey sticks. (Yes, that expression explains exactly how long I have believed this) Sort of, the “I am who I am, deal with it” attitude. But here, in China, it’s much different. I’m struggling with being stared at everywhere I go. Don’t get me wrong, at first I loved it, every girl likes to be stared at sometimes, but, now, I wouldn’t say that it has made me self-conscious, as I could never be too self-conscious, but it has made me more aware of how people see me. Don’t get me wrong again, it’s not that I’ve never been self conscious before. I have, but it never had a strong grip on my actions…I know I have a really positive self-image, no…I’m not a perfect 10 but I’ve got those things that make up for it, you know? I really value myself…not to sound arrogant, as most of you know, I’m pretty humble, just straight up, that’s all. I’m lucky and thankful. I think this is part of our American culture, embracing yourself for who you are. Alternative culture has based itself on a person being themselves…and I used to think that it was all about being different. But, now I really think that American beatnik/hipster culture is more about being yourself. I can really identify with this. There is no alternative culture here, none. Everything is pop culture. When I think of pop culture and whatnot I think of Holly and John Mitchell…listening to pop music, dressing trendy, etcetera, but that’s not who they try to be, it’s who they are…they aren’t trying to fill some mold, you know? But here, here it is different; everyone is trying to fit that mold.
You know how some movie characters have so much grace and ease, like the old black and white movie star women, they just have this ease about them…they know how other people see them and they can play off of that skill. This is a skill I have never learned. I was somewhat aware of this when I left…my Dad told me to never kiss ass, we never pretended to be anyone who we weren’t growing up, which I always felt lucky for, but now, I’m realizing that it’s actually an important skill. I’m still really thankful for the way I was raised, and I wouldn’t change an inch of it but, I see now, more than ever, what an important skill it would have been to have. The people I surround myself with, in America, kind of…embrace their awkwardness, and their idiosyncrasies…capitalize on them, in a way. Here, there is none of that and it sort of makes me question those values I have. I’m leaning towards my American perspective, still, but I’m seeing now that there is more than one way to go about embracing your personality.
Now, I’m not talking about being phony… really, I’m not. And I’m in no way saying that the people here are phony because they are not. It’s just a culture thing. In fact, I’m realizing the irony that was me bringing “the catcher in the rye” to China. It was really an innocent act at the time, it’s one of my favorite books, and now I think it is saving my sanity! I haven’t given up my principals or my beliefs in any way, and I’m still really honest. I even caught sight of that in the states, honesty giving me some troubles with people, but before coming here I didn’t care. I’m not saying that it has really changed me as a person, yet. It’s just different now that I have gotten a real glimpse of “Face”. Honesty was always the best policy and that has always been my religion (and maybe still is). So, it hasn’t caused me to change much about myself, but it definitely has given me another perspective. Maybe I’ll come back more graceful than I was…maybe I’ll come back more brash, as manners here aren’t what they were in the states, maybe I’ll come back the same, who knows? Maybe I’ll have to come back to China and figure it out.
I guess what I’m talking about is what I learned in my multicultural comm class (wish I would have taken that one seriously, instead of just going through the motions, the class really was really really interesting), face is important.
I had no idea…when I nodded at my prof. while he would go on and on about it, I thought I knew what it was like. I thought it was like being embarrassed, and having someone lose respect for you in a way, and it is…but it is also more than that. I’m finding more and more that it is MORE than that. For instance, the girls upstairs, the Chinese women that I absolutely adore, they are my friends, I can trust them, they have been nothing but complete and total guardian angels the whole time,…I’m afraid to show them my tattoo. Tattoos are totally taboo here…if you have a tattoo, most Chinese think you are a bad person or a criminal. Now, before coming here I would have said, “Well, quit being so judgey and close minded” But, now, I’m thinking its close minded of me to think that they are close minded for not liking tattoos, as they have never been exposed to such things in their culture. I don’t regret getting it, still…I love my tattoo, it represents a lot of me, and a really big chunk of my life…but, I’m glad I got it somewhere where I can hide it, because, here, it is totally taboo. I hope I’m being clear here, as some of the feelings I have about this place are hard to put into words.
Even how some of the things we do at home are hard to put into words. This is something that will never leave me…
Laura–What do you and your friends do at home for fun?
Me–My girls and I, we usually go out and are fabulous together. (This is really the only way I could explain what we do. We feed off of each other’s energy and read each other’s minds and just straight-up love being together.)
That is exactly what we do…but it is beyond language barrier. Even if I took the time to learn Chinese, it’s not that language barrier that makes it difficult. It is culture barrier. I feel like I’m headed towards a Sienfeld moment where I say “not that there’s anything wrong with that.” I like it, I’m not in love with it, but think the whole thing has been good for me, honestly. I wouldn’t say that it has changed me too much, because I have different beliefs, but it has given me a different perspective on myself, and gender roles. Here if I went out in public and behaved like I would at home…boisterous, animated, etc. I would lose face. People would think that I’m a crazy person if I were to walk down the street with friends here the way that I walk down the street at home. I would be talking with my hands, volume a little raised, trying to get a rise out of my company…but here, here I can’t/won’t do that. And that’s okay. I have to find other ways to express my energy and my ideas.
I wouldn’t say that I’m struggling to fit in here because I’m not. Everyone is fascinated with us. The Chinese have been so amazingly hospitable, friendly, kind, caring, amazing, beautiful, wonderful…I love them, I will miss the company I keep here! In a way, we are being treated like royalty. But, I will say that I miss being uninhibited with my friends and family. I’ve made friends here, like I said, the two Chinese english teachers upstairs are my friends, I feel comfortable around them, and I’m always honest with them, a little more gracefully than I would be with my home-friends though. But, I’m afraid to lose face with them and I have a different self-image because of my relationship with them and the rest of the Chinese people that I have encountered. I’m still myself around them, I just try to be more graceful, I guess. I guess the take-home message from all of this is that I have changed, as much as I hate to admit it…
I really truly have a different way of looking at myself. Trying to be more graceful has been good for me. I’m not saying I’m denouncing the “be yourself!” attitude because I still am myself…I’m just trying to be a little more careful on how I reveal myself to other people without being phony. It’s a battle. I like it. I love China. I think this is the most I have ever written without saying “I love China” a million times! It’s so true though, I love this place; not just for the sights or for the affect it has had on me, but the people here are truly beautiful, just in a different way than the people in America are beautiful.
Laura & Julia—I know you will read this, and if you want me to show you my tattoo, I will, and I’ll even tell you the whole long story behind it. I know you’ll say “it doesn’t matter” because you are both so amazing, I just really hope it’s true! I adore both of you so much, and I would be lost without you!!
With our return from Beijing came the reality of having to teach class on Thursday. We received our class schedules from Laura and both Mel and I were expecting to teach class on Thursday morning. I spent the night preparing for my lesson and coming up with an assessment for them. I prepared a list of English names for both the boys and the girls and thought I would make up a seating chart while the students in the fourth grade wrote in paragraphs about their favorite and least favorite things to do after school, subjects in school, foods and places to visit. The second graders were going to write only in sentences. **Fourth grade here is like our 8th grade and second grade is like our 6th grade**
However, as things rarely go as planned, Laura told me Thursday morning that my classes would be taking their mid-term examinations instead of having me for class. I was bummed, really really bummed, and Laura could see that. I told her that I was going to die of boredom so I offered to call Brooke to see if I could at least sit in on one of her classes. Then she told me that she would love to have me in her classes the next two days! She was really excited that I would want to teach her classes. Laura, Julia and I have become very good friends the past few weeks. We are so close in age and the topic of boys and relationships translates really well across a language barrier…so we talk about boys, and how stupid they are quite a lot.
Thursday morning Laura and I got together to discuss what we could do together with her afternoon classes. I showed her the Jeopardy game and we changed some of the questions to make them harder for the students and to include some topics that she has been discussing in her classes. The students loved the Jeopardy game and were sad that I didn’t have a second one prepared for them, as she has the same students for two periods in a row. They did very well with the game and afterwords we had a discussion about American holidays and customs. We talked a little bit about the differences between Chinese schools and American schools (many many differences) and the students shared what they thought would be better…they wanted to have the two hour lunch break and still get out at three o’clock. Haha. The topic changed to dating in America vs. dating in China which should have been anticipated by me, seeing as how these students are 16 years old. I told them how boys usually ask girls out, if they are brave enough, to dinner or a movie. The students really enjoyed the discussion.
Friday
Laura said that her students enjoyed having me and that she wanted me to come up with some more English games for the students. She came over last night and we made some flashcards for a game that involves one student holding a flashcard, another student with their back to the flashcard, and another student facing the other two students, the student facing the other two students tries to get the student in the middle to guess the word on the flashcard only using English words. The students really enjoyed this game, and it worked perfectly with the small class size. Here’s a photo of the students playing this game.
This game works well because the students are forced to use their English skills to describe the vocabulary word and it gets them out of their seats, which is great because that is a luxury that they don’t often have.
We also played “Words in Words” where the students take a big word and make many smaller words out of the big word. They worked in groups of three for this game and they seemed to enjoy this as well. The students are very competitive and keeping score is a great way to keep the students on task. I was very impressed by how well the students worked together and I think I will use the flash card game again in the future.
Later on that evening, Laura told me that the lessons went really well and her students enjoyed having me for classes, which was really nice to hear. She said that they can easily understand me and they like to hear my pronunciation of the English language. I was glad to hear this even though it is really hard for me to talk so slowly. One of the students came up to me and asked me if I talk like I do in class all the time. I gave her a really fast explanation, to kind of demonstrate how I talk when I’m around my friends and family and her chin dropped when she heard how fast I usually talk. We shared a laugh and later we walked for a while, I was on my way to the bank and she on her way to the bus. Most of the students are shy at first until you encourage them. The kids are really great here and I’m really enjoying all of my time spent in the classroom.
Bill left Mel and I on Monday night and the two of us had the day on Tuesday to travel by ourselves. Our plan was to go to the Summer Palace, where all of the Chinese royalty would hang out in the summer. The tour book said it would be amazing to go during the summer to see everything in bloom and waking up to five inches of snow kind of bummed us out. I say us, but in reality I was really really excited about it! The night before, Mel and I were having dinner in the hostel bar and we met a guy named Grant, who is traveling alone in China and is also from the states. The summer palace was on his list of things to do as well and he asked if he could travel with us. Of course he could travel with us! We picked up another traveler that morning at breakfast, his name was James. The four of us made very good companions throughout the entire day. We hopped on the subway (or “the tube” as our English friend, James called it) and made about seven transfers and finally made it to our stop. We could see the summer palace from the station but we ended up walking about a mile, in the slush and snow, around a big brick wall trying to find the entrance. Finally we found the entrance, but only after Grant was maimed by one of the granite walls. He saw me try to avoid a big puddle of slush by hopping over one of the 2 foot granite walls (I slipped but recovered) and tried to do the same, he failed…twice and tore his hand up pretty badly. Luckily James had a first aid pack in his rucksack. Standing outside the entrance we really had no idea what was ahead and decided to buy the full ticket instead of just the entrance ticket. Upon entering, there were so many workers trying to remove all of the snow from the walkways. 
Here, they are just shoveling the snow down into man-holes.
We walked to the right of the entrance and we had two choices: “Garden of Virtue and Harmony” or “Garden of Harmonious Interests”, they both sounded good to us! We ended up choosing the Garden of Harmonious Interests and just followed that path all the way to the top of a giant hill. At one pavilion there was a couple playing hackey sack. This game is very popular among older people here and it reminds me of how my friends and I played all through high school and college, outside of 142!
As you can see, their hackey sack is a little different than ours, they attach feathers to theirs and instead of a bag filled with sand or beans it is a group of washers, the heaviest at the bottom.
Further up the path we saw this wonderful group of Chinese people who were having a blast rolling around in the snow. One woman had fallen and was laughing hardily along with the rest, she was fabulous, it reminded me of me and my friends. Here are some photos from our hike up to the top…
This beautiful bridge leads to the island in the middle of the lake, which is the centerpiece for the Summer Palace. When we got to the top of the hill, the same Chinese family who was rolling around in the snow, started a playful snowball fight with us.
Here’s one of all of us, post-snowball fight. The tallest one is Grant and the shorter English fellow is James, our two traveling companions. The woman on the far left was such a riot, every time the photographer would take a picture she would make a different animal noise, it was hilarious! They were all so wonderful! Here’s one of just the four of us…
They were a lot of fun to travel with!
Here are some more photos from our hike around the Summer Palace
This is the view from the top of the island in the middle of the palace grounds.
Here is one of me…I was taking a picture of the beautiful scenery behind me and one Chinese man who was also taking pictures motioned for me to give him my camera, and I complied, then he shooed me over to this location and took my picture for me : ).
This Buddha was so amazingly stunning, I can’t even describe what it was like to stand beneath this sculpture. I wish my Buddhist friends were here to see this; to many of the people here this was a religious experience. I think it was for me as well, just in a different way.
This is the outside of the building where the Buddha is housed. Hundreds of little sculptures decorate the outside.
One of the many beautiful snow-covered buildings.
Stopping for a break…and a strange snack…
The large rectangular building in the back is where the Buddha lies. This is the view from the bridge seen in the previous photos. And some more…
These lions guard the edges of the bridge and make for fabulous photos! Each lion is different from the last!
This reminded me of Amanda…I think that she forever lives in the Hall of Embracing the Universe. I miss you!
This was truly the highlight of my trip to Beijing, traveling with new and old friends, playing in the snow with strangers and climbing a big hill just for the fun. This is more my style than the Forbidden City, but I think maybe that the fresh snow is enough to make anyone feel really warm inside, despite cold toes and noses.
The Palace was so huge that in order for us to get back to the subway it would have taken us nearly 40 minutes of walking. Luckily enough there was a Jitney driver outside one of the gates that knew a few words…”Subway…take you there…10 quai”. We paid him the ten quai and he took us very close to the subway…driving the wrong way down a four lane road…eeek! He laughed with us as we scolded him jokingly to not drive down the one-way. It was just great, and I think of Kevin here, who is constantly yelling “Jitney” on the streets of Pittsburgh, hoping for a ride! I love China.
