Life in China

I realized I haven't taken time to share some of my day-to-day experiences, so I will share some of the typical things that happen...

There are some things Sara and I have noticed during our time in China. Because they learn British English more often than American English, they say things differently than we do. Such as: have a sit, or have a rest. Face is a big deal in China. They are concerned about “saving face” and not “losing face”. So, instead of telling us what to do, they make suggestions until we pick the correct choice. That way, it sounds like we have a choice, and they don't make us lose face. Instead, it drives us crazy! Maybe should really be taken out of their vocabulary, because if they use maybe, they really mean you should do whatever they suggest.

Here's a real situation:
Cathy: Dinner is ready, are you coming now?
Ann: Yes, Cathy, we just left.
Cathy: Will you come by bike or on foot?
Ann: We are walking, is that ok?
Cathy: That's ok, but the food is hot now, so maybe you should ride your bike.
Ann: We would like to walk.
Cathy: Maybe you'd better ride your bikes.
Ann: Ok, we'll ride our bikes.
Cathy: Ok, see you in a little bit.
(Note: The food was not ready when we got there.)

OR

Sally: You need to come to the office to sign an important document, is it convenient?
Ann: No, Sally, it's not convenient.
Sally: Ok, I will wait a few minutes then.
Ann: Ok, we'll be down in a little bit.

They also like to wait until the last minute to tell us about something big. Such as classes being canceled, or having to teach on the weekend. Most of the time it isn't an issue, but one time, we found out on Wed, that we wouldn't have classes Thur or Fri. We could have gone somewhere for a four day weekend. But then on Thur evening, we found out we would have Fri afternoon classes. And then about an hour before my class, I found out I would not have it. So, I still didn't have any classes, and Sara had two.

Sometimes, we get lucky and find out details ahead of time. Like about two weeks ago, I found out by accident that Sara and I will have next week off! Sally wasn't going to tell us because it wasn't here yet. But since we found out so early we had plenty of time to plan a getaway. We are going back to Hangzhou to visit three teachers there, and also to Wenling to visit six teachers there. We are so excited to see our friends and have some different people to talk to! Anyway, the reason we have off is that our students will have mid-term exams Mon-Wed, and there will be a sports meet at our school Thur-Fri. I think this means a track meet. I would like to see it, but if I have five days off, I'm going somewhere!

Teaching is going well. Sara and I are getting better at planning lessons. I made a worksheet for the students this week. I thought it would be too easy, but it seems to challenge most of them, so that is good. We are also teaching about Halloween. We put together a powerpoint with pictures and simple explanations of typical Halloween things such as costumes, Trick or Treat-ing, bobbing for apples, hayrides, haunted houses, and jack-o-lanterns. The students LOVE it! They want to know if I have done these things, and I tell them “Yes! I have done all of these things many times.” They can't believe it!

Now for a couple top ten lists (in no particular order).

Things I love
1.Everything is amazingly cheap. I bought shoes for 79 RMB which is about $10.50. In America they would probably cost $50. Also, lunch at the cafeteria typically costs between 1-3 RMB or 13-40 cents!
2.The weather is beautiful, still a cool 75-80 degrees with very little humidity. (The Chinese people are already wearing long sleeves and jackets.)
3.Pearpples. The greatest fruit ever! It looks like a yellow apple, but tastes like a pear. The texture is something in between. Delicious! They just call them pears, but I gave them a new name!
4.Dried pineapple. Guangdong Province is known for its dried fruits and pineapple is my favorite.
5.Shoes! Shoes! Shoes! They don't even have to match your clothes!
6.The music played between classes. It is a beautiful piano tune.
7.Traditional artwork such as tassels, knots, paper cutting and folding.
8.The teachers' kids when they smile because they recognize us.
9.The people who make an effort to talk to us and learn more about us.
10.Teaching! It is so fun when the students have fun with it!

Things I don't like
1.The music played at 6am. Especially the national anthem on repeat.
2.Bones in meat (the best meat is closest to the bone).
3.Trying to talk with people who don't speak English very well. It really takes a lot of energy.
4.Our “jail cell”. Just kidding! We have bars on our windows which makes it obvious where we live.
5.Teaching on the sixth floor.
6.Our bikes. They are too small and very awkward to ride.
7.Being stared at everywhere I go because I am American.
8.Cafeteria food. I usually get the same thing all the time, I'm not sure I will be able to stand it for a whole year.
9.Being so far away from home. I miss everyone so much!
10.Teaching. Some of the students just don't care and won't even try.

I told some of you that I expected to be told that I am fat. I was a bit disappointed when every time I asked someone if I am fat, they told me "No! You are very slim!" Well, yesterday I was told by two people at two different times that my face looks a little fat in some pictures. Especially when I have my hair straight. I'm not sure if that means my face looks thinner now, or if curly hair just makes it look thinner...

Thanks to all of you who check my blog regularly. Your support is much appreciated!
Happy Halloween!

Hong Kong 10/3-7

Right after Mid-Autumn Day is National Day on October 1. This is the Chinese Independence Day. This is the first of our major school breaks. We had a week off from school and decided to go to Hong Kong with Brandon and Caroline. This was quite an ordeal because Sara and I still had not gotten our residency permit which we needed in order to get back into China. We got it just in time, and since everything was so up in the air, our friends didn't get us bus tickets in time. We ended up going Wednesday through Sunday. It wasn't long enough, but it was worth it anyway. We stayed with our friends in Hong Kong. Sara and I stayed with Rob and Judy, while Brandon and Caroline stayed with Mark and Sue.

On Thursday, we learned how to use the MTR (underground train) and Octopus cards (credit card like cards that hold money that can be used to ride the MTR and buses, or in random shops like 7 Eleven or sometimes restaurants). Octopus cards are extremely handy! The only problem is it's easy to spend it because you don't see it, and it's hard to remember to check it to make sure you don't run out of money on it. Otherwise, they are wonderful! Anyway, we didn't have a plan, so we wasted a lot of time, but we did find a street with lots of vendors to buy souvenirs. And we found some cool places to take pictures, too.

On Friday, we went to an area called Stanley to the market to buy more souvenirs. I don't like shopping for other people because I don't know what they will like, so if you have something in mind that you would like from China, let me know (within reason of course)! After lunch, we went to the zoo. What? Hong Kong has a zoo? Yes, even though most people that live there don't know they have a zoo, they do. It isn't very interesting, but it was worth checking out once. They had mostly monkeys and birds, but there were other things, too. There were lots of stray cats running around teasing the monkeys, so that was entertaining!

On Saturday, Sara and I ventured out alone to check out Ocean Park. It is an amusement park and aquarium, with pandas. Very random, but also cool! It is situated by some mountains, and split into two parts. The only way to get to the main part is to take the cable car. It is scary being up so high, but the view was amazing! We had a lot of fun there even though we only had a couple hours. We saw the pandas twice because they are so cute! I took a video of one of them eating bamboo! We also liked the shark tank with stingrays and the sea lions. Their idea of fair food is a little different than ours... such as Mr. Squid... hmmm... The park was also decorated for Halloween with skeletons all over the place, but the thing that made me laugh, was a wooden cart with some hay and a pumpkin or two on it. A bunch of Chinese people were standing around taking pictures of it. The most boring decoration! I wish I had taken a picture of them...

That evening, Rob and Judy prepared a dinner and some other friends, Adam, and the Gurgel's came. It was a wonderful dinner! Real rolls, meat, salad, things we don't get here in China. Then, much later, at about 9:30, we finally decided to leave and check out Victoria's Peak. It is a very scenic spot in Hong Kong. It was the one place that I most wanted to go to and we saved it for last. We took a ferry across to the island, then a tram up to the Peak, then escalators up to the top, and then the view was amazing! Rob let me use his tripod so I got some fantastic pictures! Check them out on Snapfish!
I can't wait to go back! I loved Hong Kong!