Hi,
Well, it is my last night here. I have been very busy over the past two weeks. First I had to finish my paperwork for the university. Then I had shopping and visiting to do, closing the bank account (not easy), exchanging money (not easy), arranging my home inspection (they want to be sure that I have not damaged or stolen anything), arranging transportation, dental work, none of which is easy to do. Thank you so much, fan ling! If she wasn't there, then she was only a phone call away to talk to them for me. But it is all done. Tomorrow the school will drive me to Nanjing, then I will take a train to Shanghai. I will stay overnight there, not sure where yet but I will find somewhere, and then it will be off to the airport early on Thursday to catch my 9:45am flight. I arrive in Detroit at 11:50am Thursday. Then I will have a pleasant? layover of 10 hours! I leave at 9:50pm and arrive in Ottawa at 11:30pm.
In the past two weeks, I went to the beach at Lianyungang with fan ling for 3 days (I owed her and she had so much fun! Nicest time I have had.The smiles were great to see), visited Lydia (shen hui, I think she should have been born blonde haha) and the Expo and the Bund in Shanghai, saw Lijun and her fiance in Suzhou and gathered up some gifts and had some very nice dinners with friends. It has been a busy time. I couldn't get to see many others that I wanted to but I couldn't do everything.
Fan ling has been such a great help to me and she is a sweet girl. She wants to get out of Dodge. She has lived here all of her life except for the 4 years when she was in university in Hefei about 3 hours from here. This is a small city. It is like looking for a good job in Charlottetown; not easy, and in China for a girl even tougher. This is a male-dominated society. I think it is where we were about 30-40 years ago. But catching up very quickly. She has dreams. She has never had a boyfriend. She wants to meet a foreigner. Maybe live in Canada. Or she wants to have her own English training school. She doesn't know. She just wants to speak English and live somewhere other than Ma'anshan. Shanghai would be ok with her. She wanted to be an English major but her scores in The National Exams were not high enough to give her a choice so she had to take the major that she did. I could rant on that for hours but I will save it for now. She has helped me so much over the past 6 months.
I was supposed to go to Lianyungang with Cherry (jian ping) but there were no tickets. We were both very disappointed. She is a nice person. She has been going through many difficult decisions lately but has apparently decided. She will get married next Jan 1, their 1st anniversary since their first date.
Tomorrow the school will send two people to inspect my apartment. They need two because the inspector cannot speak English. THey will arrive about 9:45. Then at 10:00, my car and driver will arrive to take me to Nanjing. THey are supposed to take me to Shanghai but the school says that they can't go to Shanghai because of the Expo. I think that is BS. So i said then you can buy my ticket to Shanghai. I never heard back on that statement. I have 3 bags plus my laptop. Tomorrow I should arrive in Shanghai about 2:00 or 3:00. I will check my baggage at the train station and then look for a place to stay. THey have a good system for baggage. You pay so much a piece per hour, not too much. There are no lockers but you are relieved of your luggage and it is safe. I think I will look near the subway stop for the maglev. That is the very high-speed train to the airport. It takes less than 10 minutes. By bus it may be 45 minutes or more if the traffic is too bad. I would like to stay further downtown but I am not sure when the subway starts. I will have dinner with Lydia (shen hui). This girl is fun to be with. She is smart but she has no sense of direction; is an English major but gets confused. Ditzy. We were to meet at 6 and it took me an hour to meet her because she was at the wrong place and didn't read my messages, etc. We got lost twice trying to get to her area of the city. This city has at least 15 Million people. I don't know where she lives! She is about 4'11 and heavy. Not fat but a solid girl. We went to Jiuhuashan and she wanted me to take a picture of her with this big concrete elephant. But she couldn't get up there. No problem.Chinese girls are light. Not her! I went to lift her up and she didn't move! So, suck in my breath and I got her up. I couldn't believe that such a small girl would be so heavy. She is not fat but she is defintely solid. I tease her unmercilessly. Not about weight or height (she is short), I test her on her ideas. I will have dinner with her tomorrow night. I enjoy her company. I push her. And sometimes she complains because I talk about things that she can't imagine. But she sent me a message the other night saying that I open her eyes to different cultures. So that is good. I guess the best way to describe it is that I push her. I want her to accomplish her goals but in order to do that she has to have a more open mind. The world is not like it was in university. There are many people who do things that I don't like but I accept their right to do them as long as it is legal. For her, she cannot accept that anyone would do anything that she does not approve of. But her approvals are slowly changing.
Anyway, I have so much to say but I need to go sleep now.
If I haven't visited you before I leave, it is not because I didn't want to. I ran out of time. At least I will get some of summer at home!
Don
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Hot and Sour Fish Soup Flavour
haha. That is the name of the potato chips that I am eating. I could have bought the squid flavoured ones but when I saw 'hot and sour fish soup flavour' I could not say no. They also have the usual ones like Canada but there are so many different flavours and tastes here that I need to try them all. These taste like BBQ chips. But a small fish taste. Very good. Maybe I will eat them again. Here, potato chips are about 30 cents for a bag.
I cannot believe that I will be home in less than 10 weeks. It has been more than 2 years since I have been there to live. I was there for three months last year but now I am moving home to live. So different. China is a nice country. Very confusing sometimes and very frustrating sometimes but still a beautiful country. Will I come back? I don't know. I have met nice people. I get angry sometimes because it is so different from Canada. But then I realise that I am in their country and I take a deep breath and I am glad that I am here.
The food is good. Maybe I will be able to cook a little Chinese food when I go home. It is not like the food in a Chinese restaurant at home. Very different. I have asked some friends to teach me about some Chinese dishes so that I can cook them at home. Maybe.
See you this summer,
Don
I cannot believe that I will be home in less than 10 weeks. It has been more than 2 years since I have been there to live. I was there for three months last year but now I am moving home to live. So different. China is a nice country. Very confusing sometimes and very frustrating sometimes but still a beautiful country. Will I come back? I don't know. I have met nice people. I get angry sometimes because it is so different from Canada. But then I realise that I am in their country and I take a deep breath and I am glad that I am here.
The food is good. Maybe I will be able to cook a little Chinese food when I go home. It is not like the food in a Chinese restaurant at home. Very different. I have asked some friends to teach me about some Chinese dishes so that I can cook them at home. Maybe.
See you this summer,
Don
Friday, April 30, 2010
Moving along
Hi,
May 1st. This is Labour Day in China and a National holiday. Like every holiday, it is a 3-day holiday. Too bad they don't do that in Canada. But, unlike Canada, it doesn't matter what day it falls on. So evferyone has Sat, Sun and Mon off. I don't work any of those days anyway except for Sunday at the training school and they don't close for holidays. Usually, they schedule extra classes for those days because students don't have school so their parents will send them to study English. I had lunch with the owner yesterday. Great lunch. I had never heard of that restaurant before but it's menu is bilingual so I can go by myself if I want. It is expensive so I won't go often but it has a great atmosphere. Very high-end. I took Krista there for supper and she enjoyed it too. She is a native of Ma'anshan but had never been there.
Lately, there have been some incidents of stabbings of children in schools. One guy has already been executed and the others will follow shortly I suspect. Justice is swift and often final here. Not much room for pleas of insanity or countless appeals. There is an appeal process but I doubt that many are successful. The same outcome was delivered to those found guilty in the tainted milk issue and in the schools that were built under standard and collapsed in the earthquake 2 years ago. China likes to send the message out that if you screw up and are caught then you will quickly be out of the picture. When you look at the population of 1.3 billion, serious crime is very low. It is a very safe country to live in. Much safer than Canada or USA...even Halifax!
75 days until I get on the plane. I will do a little visiting but not much. I would like to see Huangshan (Yellow Mt.) before I go home but I will see. Krista said that she would go with me. I would like to go with someone because it can be difficult without Chinese to visit some of the sites. She has never been there. I have seen pictures and it looks beautiful. We would have to stay over at least one night maybe two. But it won't happen until July if at all because our schedules don't mesh.
See you later,
Don
May 1st. This is Labour Day in China and a National holiday. Like every holiday, it is a 3-day holiday. Too bad they don't do that in Canada. But, unlike Canada, it doesn't matter what day it falls on. So evferyone has Sat, Sun and Mon off. I don't work any of those days anyway except for Sunday at the training school and they don't close for holidays. Usually, they schedule extra classes for those days because students don't have school so their parents will send them to study English. I had lunch with the owner yesterday. Great lunch. I had never heard of that restaurant before but it's menu is bilingual so I can go by myself if I want. It is expensive so I won't go often but it has a great atmosphere. Very high-end. I took Krista there for supper and she enjoyed it too. She is a native of Ma'anshan but had never been there.
Lately, there have been some incidents of stabbings of children in schools. One guy has already been executed and the others will follow shortly I suspect. Justice is swift and often final here. Not much room for pleas of insanity or countless appeals. There is an appeal process but I doubt that many are successful. The same outcome was delivered to those found guilty in the tainted milk issue and in the schools that were built under standard and collapsed in the earthquake 2 years ago. China likes to send the message out that if you screw up and are caught then you will quickly be out of the picture. When you look at the population of 1.3 billion, serious crime is very low. It is a very safe country to live in. Much safer than Canada or USA...even Halifax!
75 days until I get on the plane. I will do a little visiting but not much. I would like to see Huangshan (Yellow Mt.) before I go home but I will see. Krista said that she would go with me. I would like to go with someone because it can be difficult without Chinese to visit some of the sites. She has never been there. I have seen pictures and it looks beautiful. We would have to stay over at least one night maybe two. But it won't happen until July if at all because our schedules don't mesh.
See you later,
Don
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Chinese Train Innovation
The announcer sounds so familiar to me. I can only understand a little bit but the train is going from Beijing to Guangzhou, in the south of China near Hong Kong. It is train 680 I think but I can't be sure. She says the numbers too fast for my ears. When I am at a train station I listen for my numbers and ignore other numbers. But I can hear them when they are called although sometimes it is not easy. But I heard her say liu bai ba shi (pronouced leo bye ba shir). Which should be 680.
See you in 3 months. Unless I change my mind.
I am going home
Yeah, July 15 I will be going home. Will I come back? The last time I only lasted 2 months! Last time I was only here for 9 months and now it is another 15 months. I will miss so many good people.
I will visit with some friends before I go home. Pan lei will visit me on Monday. She is from Zhengzhou in Henan province. Maybe 41 years old. I have visited her before. I need to clean my home!!
On May 1, Joseph, Reena and Joel will visit. They are from India. I hope she can share some recipes with me. I love her curried food. I will stay at their home in Shanghai later. I want to visit the Shanghai Expo with them.
I will visit Amanda in Hangzhou and lijun in liyang. I want to see Rez and Jing in Changzhou. Also, Olivia, Neal's daughter. I have not seen her yet. I hope to go Xi'an to see the terracotta warriors. I only have 3 months. I still have classes and final exams. I will only work at the training school for one more month.
I finally found a restaurant that has hot and sour soup! I have been looking for more than a year. I was thinking that it is only a Canadian invention. But a new restaurant opened almost next door to me but their menu was all Chinese so I didn't go there. But last Wednesday, Krista wanted to eat so we went there. The food was great! She said they have hot soup. I said isn't all soup hot? No, she said, this is spicy soup. I said you mean hot and sour soup? Yes!!!! It was so good. Not the same of course but very very good. I can now go there and order it. Only 3rmb. I am happy. suen la tang. Or something like that. I can point to it on the menu if they don't understand me.
Am I happy to go home? I don't know. I have made many friends here. Good people. Yes, I miss my family and friends at home but now this has become my home away from home. I will go home but I am not the same person that I was when I left. China is a part of me and I will not be able to tell you how I feel about it.
I will have lunch with two students. We are going for a duck hot pot. I had it before. Very good. She is so small. I think about 155cm and she weighs 41 kg. I am more than twice that. A very pretty girl. And so small!!!
I will miss China so much. I may come back. It is difficult to spend more than 2 years meeting people, teaching, living here. My friends are here. I will miss every one of them. But it is time to go home. When I get on the airplane I will be crying. But life moves on. Will I come back? Maybe. Maybe to work or maybe to visit but everything will have changed Like it has changed at home. We always think that everything is the same, like a snapshot, but life does not stand still waiting for us. I will go home. But everyone will be different. I will miss my friends.
Don
I will visit with some friends before I go home. Pan lei will visit me on Monday. She is from Zhengzhou in Henan province. Maybe 41 years old. I have visited her before. I need to clean my home!!
On May 1, Joseph, Reena and Joel will visit. They are from India. I hope she can share some recipes with me. I love her curried food. I will stay at their home in Shanghai later. I want to visit the Shanghai Expo with them.
I will visit Amanda in Hangzhou and lijun in liyang. I want to see Rez and Jing in Changzhou. Also, Olivia, Neal's daughter. I have not seen her yet. I hope to go Xi'an to see the terracotta warriors. I only have 3 months. I still have classes and final exams. I will only work at the training school for one more month.
I finally found a restaurant that has hot and sour soup! I have been looking for more than a year. I was thinking that it is only a Canadian invention. But a new restaurant opened almost next door to me but their menu was all Chinese so I didn't go there. But last Wednesday, Krista wanted to eat so we went there. The food was great! She said they have hot soup. I said isn't all soup hot? No, she said, this is spicy soup. I said you mean hot and sour soup? Yes!!!! It was so good. Not the same of course but very very good. I can now go there and order it. Only 3rmb. I am happy. suen la tang. Or something like that. I can point to it on the menu if they don't understand me.
Am I happy to go home? I don't know. I have made many friends here. Good people. Yes, I miss my family and friends at home but now this has become my home away from home. I will go home but I am not the same person that I was when I left. China is a part of me and I will not be able to tell you how I feel about it.
I will have lunch with two students. We are going for a duck hot pot. I had it before. Very good. She is so small. I think about 155cm and she weighs 41 kg. I am more than twice that. A very pretty girl. And so small!!!
I will miss China so much. I may come back. It is difficult to spend more than 2 years meeting people, teaching, living here. My friends are here. I will miss every one of them. But it is time to go home. When I get on the airplane I will be crying. But life moves on. Will I come back? Maybe. Maybe to work or maybe to visit but everything will have changed Like it has changed at home. We always think that everything is the same, like a snapshot, but life does not stand still waiting for us. I will go home. But everyone will be different. I will miss my friends.
Don
FW: I will have visitors!
Hi,
I am leaving China on July 15. I will not be back next term. But I am finally getting some visitors. Yamin visited me last year but she is the only one and I was busy and I could not spend much time with her.
On Monday, pan lei will visit me. She is 41 and lives in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province. I need to clean my home!!! I visted her home twice. I have met her husband and daughter, mother and father, two sisters. Her mother died this year. She was a good woman. I was at her parent's home during a holiday last year. It was quite funny for me. Only lei could speak English but the others tried. They kept filling my plate with food and all of them stared at me when I ate. I was the first foreigner that they had ever seen. I have pictures. Her father offered me a fork. They had one fork. I declined. I ate with my chopsticks. Her father fought for North Korea during that fight. He had medals. Here I was sitting with them and my relatives fought on the other side. But none of that matters. I embarrassed her when I left the last time. I gave her a hug. That is what we do with someone we like. But her sister and her sister's husband were there. So I know it was not proper to do that. It was automatic for me and I didn't think. Her sister is beautiful. haha
On the weekend of May 1, I will entertain Joseph, Reena and Joel, a family from India. He taught at JPU with me last year. Joel is about 5 now and he dotes on me. I can't understand a word he says because he has about 5 languages and he uses all of them in a sentence! He speaks Hindi, and the local dialect from southern India, Maldivian because his parents worked in the Maldives, English and now Chinese. But he uses all the words at the same time. Only his parents can understand him. He is loud and won't let me out of his sight! A sweet kid. He gave me a one jiao note. It is the only one I have ever seen. It is worth about 1.5 cents. I will stay at their place and visit the Shanghai Expo with them. They are good people and I enjoy our talks. We don't always agree because of our cultural differences but we accept those differences and we enjoy each others company. They are a nice couple and we enjoy our conversations. They are very smart and it is so nice to spend time with them. We talk about many different subjects. I will miss them.
I will be leaving China on July 15 but China will not leave me. It will always be in my heart. I have met so many nice people. Judy, Cherry, Lijun, Yamin, Pan lei, and so many others. I will go home. But a part of me will always be here. Maybe I will come back but I am not sure. Even as I write this I have tears. I will miss everyone so much.
That is a big problem for me. I get too connected to everyone. If I were a cold-hearted person then it would not matter where I am or who I meet. But that is not me. I meet people, I become friends and then I have to leave them. Life goes on without us. But I will miss them so much.
Don
I am leaving China on July 15. I will not be back next term. But I am finally getting some visitors. Yamin visited me last year but she is the only one and I was busy and I could not spend much time with her.
On Monday, pan lei will visit me. She is 41 and lives in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province. I need to clean my home!!! I visted her home twice. I have met her husband and daughter, mother and father, two sisters. Her mother died this year. She was a good woman. I was at her parent's home during a holiday last year. It was quite funny for me. Only lei could speak English but the others tried. They kept filling my plate with food and all of them stared at me when I ate. I was the first foreigner that they had ever seen. I have pictures. Her father offered me a fork. They had one fork. I declined. I ate with my chopsticks. Her father fought for North Korea during that fight. He had medals. Here I was sitting with them and my relatives fought on the other side. But none of that matters. I embarrassed her when I left the last time. I gave her a hug. That is what we do with someone we like. But her sister and her sister's husband were there. So I know it was not proper to do that. It was automatic for me and I didn't think. Her sister is beautiful. haha
On the weekend of May 1, I will entertain Joseph, Reena and Joel, a family from India. He taught at JPU with me last year. Joel is about 5 now and he dotes on me. I can't understand a word he says because he has about 5 languages and he uses all of them in a sentence! He speaks Hindi, and the local dialect from southern India, Maldivian because his parents worked in the Maldives, English and now Chinese. But he uses all the words at the same time. Only his parents can understand him. He is loud and won't let me out of his sight! A sweet kid. He gave me a one jiao note. It is the only one I have ever seen. It is worth about 1.5 cents. I will stay at their place and visit the Shanghai Expo with them. They are good people and I enjoy our talks. We don't always agree because of our cultural differences but we accept those differences and we enjoy each others company. They are a nice couple and we enjoy our conversations. They are very smart and it is so nice to spend time with them. We talk about many different subjects. I will miss them.
I will be leaving China on July 15 but China will not leave me. It will always be in my heart. I have met so many nice people. Judy, Cherry, Lijun, Yamin, Pan lei, and so many others. I will go home. But a part of me will always be here. Maybe I will come back but I am not sure. Even as I write this I have tears. I will miss everyone so much.
That is a big problem for me. I get too connected to everyone. If I were a cold-hearted person then it would not matter where I am or who I meet. But that is not me. I meet people, I become friends and then I have to leave them. Life goes on without us. But I will miss them so much.
Don
Friday, April 9, 2010
I am feeling sad
Hi,
Today is not a good day. I found out that they will not offer me a new contract for next year. We have 6 foreign teachers and they think that they don't need so many. We get paid about 60% more than the Chinese teachers with PhD's. So I am out. I am much older than the rest and I think that has much to do with it; the rest are in their 20's. I want to stay here. I like this town. I have many good friends here. So now I have to make a decision...will I go home to stay and miss my friends, or will I go to another city. It is easy to get a job but do I want that? It is difficult to move to another city...new city...new university with new rules...make new friends. Maybe Beijing or Shanghai. But I don't want that. I want to be close to my friends. I don't know. I will decide before I go home in July. Maybe I will stay in Canada but I will miss so many people. I don't always agree with them but I love to listen to their life. I would miss that. If I move back to Canada I will seriously miss China. At this time I don't miss Canada. I miss family and friends but after two years here I will miss so many good people. What to do?
Will I see you again? Ever?
Don
Today is not a good day. I found out that they will not offer me a new contract for next year. We have 6 foreign teachers and they think that they don't need so many. We get paid about 60% more than the Chinese teachers with PhD's. So I am out. I am much older than the rest and I think that has much to do with it; the rest are in their 20's. I want to stay here. I like this town. I have many good friends here. So now I have to make a decision...will I go home to stay and miss my friends, or will I go to another city. It is easy to get a job but do I want that? It is difficult to move to another city...new city...new university with new rules...make new friends. Maybe Beijing or Shanghai. But I don't want that. I want to be close to my friends. I don't know. I will decide before I go home in July. Maybe I will stay in Canada but I will miss so many people. I don't always agree with them but I love to listen to their life. I would miss that. If I move back to Canada I will seriously miss China. At this time I don't miss Canada. I miss family and friends but after two years here I will miss so many good people. What to do?
Will I see you again? Ever?
Don
Thursday, April 8, 2010
long time no talk
Hey,
It has really gotten quite mundane lately. No travel...no interesting news...just doing my job (enjoying it more than the last 4 terms!). I have some beautiful girls as friends and sometimes we go out to eat or sing at KTC (karaoke) or I will have them here and cook for them. It is really nice to walk down the street with one of the girls on my arm. We get so many stares! Nice people.
I guess that I am quite used to China now and not much surprises me any more. I am comfortable. It is almost the same as a regular job at home now. Wake up, go to work, come home, get ready for the next day. Of course the beer isn't near as good as home.
I don't plan on growing old for at least 10 years and then I will be kicking and scratching. Several girls have told me that they are surprised at how young I act. I still feel young...until I look in the mirror!!! But I ride my bike, climb a mountain, fly a kite. I am willing to do whatever they want to do.
I met a couple of Chinese teachers and we went for a beer one night and we had a good time...played pool, foosball, darts. I think they are gay but I don't care. We had a good conversation. Maybe the best conversation that I have had here. They were very knowledgeable on economics and educational differences between East and West. I eally enjoyed it. I will have to do that again soon.
There is supposed to be an English singing contest here on Saturday but damned if I can find out where or when. I have asked my TA's and my liason at the Foreign Affairs Office but no one seems to know. Sometimes it is difficult to get info about anything, even for the Chinese teachers. I think there are people who are in their jobs because of nepotism or guanxi (connections). The last two terms I would only know about holidays from students sometimes. 'Oh. We don't have a class next week. Didn't you know? It is a holiday. Holiday?' It can be tough but you need to roll with the punches and accept the system. It probably doesn't matter because I work at the training school that night so if it is in the evening than I won't be able to go. But I have students who want to know and I can't tell them much. I would like to learn a Chinese song that I could sing then I would surprise the students! There was a teacher last year in Changzhou and he learned a Chinese song that he sang every year at the freshman's party. He said he only knew one song but it worked well because each freshman heard it for the first time!
I have no holidays until week 13 which is for mid-terms. We have finished week 6. In China, each holiday is a three day holiday; unlike Canada where we have one day. Their National Day is October first and that is also three days. But it doesn't matter which day it falls on. Last week was Tomb Sweeping Day. People go to the cemetery and pay their respects to their ancestors. It fell on Saturday. That meant we had Saturday, Sunday and Monday off. I don't work those days. So big deal. If it fell on a Tuesday then it would matter! THe next holiday is Dragon Boat Festival. It also falls on Saturday, so what? Obviously they don't have unions!! THere are no other holidays until July and I will be done then.
Life is good. My courses are going well. I have no idea what will happen after July but that is not unusual for me. Uncertainty is not bad. Some people need to be sure what will happen but I am flexible. I teach Consumer Behaviour and part of that course is the difference in personalities, learning methods, perceptions, etc. If you want to sell your product then you need to define your target segment. I am part of the market who is willing to try different things, who doesn't need stability, who does not place much value on acceptance by my peers, who wants to experience new things. There are many different personality traits and different needs that people are motivated to fulfill. It is an interesting course. I could give you some tests that would show what kind of consumer you are. Interesting course.
My Oral English course is going well. I am enjoying it. I make them work but I also give them some fun. THe most difficult problem is to get them to do their work in English. If I give then an exercise to do some will try to do it in Chinese and then give me the answer in English. Naturally, they want to talk to their roommates or classmates in Chinese. Some guys are especially difficult. I will make them work harder than the thers.
Have a good Spring
Don
It has really gotten quite mundane lately. No travel...no interesting news...just doing my job (enjoying it more than the last 4 terms!). I have some beautiful girls as friends and sometimes we go out to eat or sing at KTC (karaoke) or I will have them here and cook for them. It is really nice to walk down the street with one of the girls on my arm. We get so many stares! Nice people.
I guess that I am quite used to China now and not much surprises me any more. I am comfortable. It is almost the same as a regular job at home now. Wake up, go to work, come home, get ready for the next day. Of course the beer isn't near as good as home.
I don't plan on growing old for at least 10 years and then I will be kicking and scratching. Several girls have told me that they are surprised at how young I act. I still feel young...until I look in the mirror!!! But I ride my bike, climb a mountain, fly a kite. I am willing to do whatever they want to do.
I met a couple of Chinese teachers and we went for a beer one night and we had a good time...played pool, foosball, darts. I think they are gay but I don't care. We had a good conversation. Maybe the best conversation that I have had here. They were very knowledgeable on economics and educational differences between East and West. I eally enjoyed it. I will have to do that again soon.
There is supposed to be an English singing contest here on Saturday but damned if I can find out where or when. I have asked my TA's and my liason at the Foreign Affairs Office but no one seems to know. Sometimes it is difficult to get info about anything, even for the Chinese teachers. I think there are people who are in their jobs because of nepotism or guanxi (connections). The last two terms I would only know about holidays from students sometimes. 'Oh. We don't have a class next week. Didn't you know? It is a holiday. Holiday?' It can be tough but you need to roll with the punches and accept the system. It probably doesn't matter because I work at the training school that night so if it is in the evening than I won't be able to go. But I have students who want to know and I can't tell them much. I would like to learn a Chinese song that I could sing then I would surprise the students! There was a teacher last year in Changzhou and he learned a Chinese song that he sang every year at the freshman's party. He said he only knew one song but it worked well because each freshman heard it for the first time!
I have no holidays until week 13 which is for mid-terms. We have finished week 6. In China, each holiday is a three day holiday; unlike Canada where we have one day. Their National Day is October first and that is also three days. But it doesn't matter which day it falls on. Last week was Tomb Sweeping Day. People go to the cemetery and pay their respects to their ancestors. It fell on Saturday. That meant we had Saturday, Sunday and Monday off. I don't work those days. So big deal. If it fell on a Tuesday then it would matter! THe next holiday is Dragon Boat Festival. It also falls on Saturday, so what? Obviously they don't have unions!! THere are no other holidays until July and I will be done then.
Life is good. My courses are going well. I have no idea what will happen after July but that is not unusual for me. Uncertainty is not bad. Some people need to be sure what will happen but I am flexible. I teach Consumer Behaviour and part of that course is the difference in personalities, learning methods, perceptions, etc. If you want to sell your product then you need to define your target segment. I am part of the market who is willing to try different things, who doesn't need stability, who does not place much value on acceptance by my peers, who wants to experience new things. There are many different personality traits and different needs that people are motivated to fulfill. It is an interesting course. I could give you some tests that would show what kind of consumer you are. Interesting course.
My Oral English course is going well. I am enjoying it. I make them work but I also give them some fun. THe most difficult problem is to get them to do their work in English. If I give then an exercise to do some will try to do it in Chinese and then give me the answer in English. Naturally, they want to talk to their roommates or classmates in Chinese. Some guys are especially difficult. I will make them work harder than the thers.
Have a good Spring
Don
Friday, March 19, 2010
I guess spring is over
Hi,
Most people in this part of China claim that there are only two seasons; summer and winter. I believe them. If you go back to last October I sent an email wondering where autumn went. We went from the 20's to snow in a very short time. Well, it is happening again. A week ago Tuesday was one of our colder days when you count wind chill. Today it reached 31oC. Spring lasted about 4 days!
I took my bike out today for the first time since October. I rode it to buy some food. It is very windy. I was ok going but I had to walk it most of the way back. My parcel carrier was full and it was heavy going into the wind. THat's ok. It felt good to get out on it again. I really enjoy riding around on it.
This term is turning out to be fun. I am enjoying more than I have the previous four terms that I taught in China. I was dreading the Oral English but now I look forward to going to class and I am usually surprised when the bell goes to tell us that it is over. They have canceled some of my classes but I wouldn't mind teaching some more of them. There is one class that will be bothersome. There are 37 in it which is large for Oral English and there are about 10 that wouldn't do their work in English during our first class. I will come up with some means to get them involved. Some students take this course only because they need to take some electives and they figure that they don't have to do much in Oral English. I will surprise them. If they don't want to cooperate then I will work them twice as hard as the other classes. One of the students from the class, Penny, is coming for supper tomorrow night. I met her last term when she wasn't my student. She will be writing her IELTS exam soon as needs to practice some speaking.
On Tuesday, Krista (Ling) is coming for lunch and we will make dumplings. I had some students here last year trying to show me how to make them. They don't make them from scratch. They buy the dough and then roll it out and cut it into the right sizes. They also buy the fillings and then put some inside and close it up. They are shaped much like turnovers. It was easy to tell which ones I had rolled! She said we should invite some others over; so between us we will ask another 3. I only have 5 chairs.
Well, it is nice to see the end of winter. It was unusually long here this year. Quite a difference from winter in Changzhou. But we are about 3 hours farther north so it might be like Halifax and Mirimachi.
Talk to you later.
Don
Most people in this part of China claim that there are only two seasons; summer and winter. I believe them. If you go back to last October I sent an email wondering where autumn went. We went from the 20's to snow in a very short time. Well, it is happening again. A week ago Tuesday was one of our colder days when you count wind chill. Today it reached 31oC. Spring lasted about 4 days!
I took my bike out today for the first time since October. I rode it to buy some food. It is very windy. I was ok going but I had to walk it most of the way back. My parcel carrier was full and it was heavy going into the wind. THat's ok. It felt good to get out on it again. I really enjoy riding around on it.
This term is turning out to be fun. I am enjoying more than I have the previous four terms that I taught in China. I was dreading the Oral English but now I look forward to going to class and I am usually surprised when the bell goes to tell us that it is over. They have canceled some of my classes but I wouldn't mind teaching some more of them. There is one class that will be bothersome. There are 37 in it which is large for Oral English and there are about 10 that wouldn't do their work in English during our first class. I will come up with some means to get them involved. Some students take this course only because they need to take some electives and they figure that they don't have to do much in Oral English. I will surprise them. If they don't want to cooperate then I will work them twice as hard as the other classes. One of the students from the class, Penny, is coming for supper tomorrow night. I met her last term when she wasn't my student. She will be writing her IELTS exam soon as needs to practice some speaking.
On Tuesday, Krista (Ling) is coming for lunch and we will make dumplings. I had some students here last year trying to show me how to make them. They don't make them from scratch. They buy the dough and then roll it out and cut it into the right sizes. They also buy the fillings and then put some inside and close it up. They are shaped much like turnovers. It was easy to tell which ones I had rolled! She said we should invite some others over; so between us we will ask another 3. I only have 5 chairs.
Well, it is nice to see the end of winter. It was unusually long here this year. Quite a difference from winter in Changzhou. But we are about 3 hours farther north so it might be like Halifax and Mirimachi.
Talk to you later.
Don
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Mount Jiuhua (jiuhuashan) with Lydia (shen hui)
I went to Jiuhuashan on Friday with a friend. That's the first time that I have traveled with someone other than to their home. It was nice to have someone for company who can speak Chinese. We stayed overnight and came back on Saturday. She is fun to be with. It was her birthday last week so I told her I would treat her and she chose jiuhuashan. I had never been there so that was ok. It is a nice place. She has no one to talk English with and she is very anxious to practice. We had a good time. THe hotel was good. Nothing fancy but comfortable and free internet and good shower. My legs are a little stiff from climbing so many steps up the mountain. The weather was great. The scenery is beautiful but not as nice as huangshan, I am told. That will be my next trip.
I never got to go anywhere with Judy because I always thought that there was lots of time. Then, suddenly, she was going to Africa and the opportunity was gone. I learned my lesson. Never assume that you have lots of time to do the things that you want to do because maybe next week or next month she will be gone or I will be gone and then the opportunity is lost. So now if I have the chance to go somewhere with a friend I will go as soon as we can. When Lydia suggested jiuhuashan I said yes right away. I had the days free and I know that she wants to move to Shanghai in April maybe. So we won't have too many chances. I will visit her in Shanghai sometime. I want to go to the Shanghai Expo so I will stay at her place when I go. She is comical at times. She seems naive but she talks about many things that many girls would be uncomfortable with, I think. She laughs a lot and that makes me laugh and feel good. I don't laugh enough, I think.
I went to class today (3 periods) but the school canceled the class; only 10 students signed up. That is good for me. Now I have no classes on Mondays so I have a free day. I have 6 Oral English classes and the last I heard there was only one of them that was full. Maybe they will join some of the classes together. That would be nice!
The weather is starting to be springlike. It will soon be time to get my bicycle out. I can't wait! I love riding my bike. I feel free. I can go anywhere without being limited by bus routes or schedules. In the fall I rode to Caisiji. It took me about 30 minutes. It's a nice park to visit. Some day I will take a whole day, pack a picnic and go out into the country to explore. It would be great if I could find someone to go with but I will go on my own anyway.
I won't have much free time for awhile. I have more than twice the classes that I had last term so I am busy but I like it. I had too much free time last term and that is not good for me. I need to keep busy.
Don
I never got to go anywhere with Judy because I always thought that there was lots of time. Then, suddenly, she was going to Africa and the opportunity was gone. I learned my lesson. Never assume that you have lots of time to do the things that you want to do because maybe next week or next month she will be gone or I will be gone and then the opportunity is lost. So now if I have the chance to go somewhere with a friend I will go as soon as we can. When Lydia suggested jiuhuashan I said yes right away. I had the days free and I know that she wants to move to Shanghai in April maybe. So we won't have too many chances. I will visit her in Shanghai sometime. I want to go to the Shanghai Expo so I will stay at her place when I go. She is comical at times. She seems naive but she talks about many things that many girls would be uncomfortable with, I think. She laughs a lot and that makes me laugh and feel good. I don't laugh enough, I think.
I went to class today (3 periods) but the school canceled the class; only 10 students signed up. That is good for me. Now I have no classes on Mondays so I have a free day. I have 6 Oral English classes and the last I heard there was only one of them that was full. Maybe they will join some of the classes together. That would be nice!
The weather is starting to be springlike. It will soon be time to get my bicycle out. I can't wait! I love riding my bike. I feel free. I can go anywhere without being limited by bus routes or schedules. In the fall I rode to Caisiji. It took me about 30 minutes. It's a nice park to visit. Some day I will take a whole day, pack a picnic and go out into the country to explore. It would be great if I could find someone to go with but I will go on my own anyway.
I won't have much free time for awhile. I have more than twice the classes that I had last term so I am busy but I like it. I had too much free time last term and that is not good for me. I need to keep busy.
Don
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
I'm better
Hi,
My four days of suffering from food poisoning finished on Saturday. Friday and Saturday (esp Sat.) were awful. I couldn't eat or even drink water without it coming up faster than it went down. I didn't get out of bed for two days unless I had to and then I had to hurry!! I hadn't eaten anything for two days and there was still stuff coming up. I thought it might have been my entire stomach. I was going to put a blanket in there and sleep on the floor at one point. Sunday I managed to eat a little and by Monday I was eating and feeling almost normal. I have been eating a lot ever since. I am still a little weak but I am almost 100% today (wednesday). Your first thought, I am sure, was that I ate street food or in one of the small Chinese restaurants but the only food I ate the day before I got sick was at Pizza Hut!! Go figure. I hadn't eaten breakfast and I went for a late lunch about 3:00 so I had a big meal. I have only been there 3 times because it is expensive. I could have had 6 meals in a Chinese restaurant for what I paid I felt like treating myself. I ended up paying even more in the long run.
Anyway it's all over.
Don
My four days of suffering from food poisoning finished on Saturday. Friday and Saturday (esp Sat.) were awful. I couldn't eat or even drink water without it coming up faster than it went down. I didn't get out of bed for two days unless I had to and then I had to hurry!! I hadn't eaten anything for two days and there was still stuff coming up. I thought it might have been my entire stomach. I was going to put a blanket in there and sleep on the floor at one point. Sunday I managed to eat a little and by Monday I was eating and feeling almost normal. I have been eating a lot ever since. I am still a little weak but I am almost 100% today (wednesday). Your first thought, I am sure, was that I ate street food or in one of the small Chinese restaurants but the only food I ate the day before I got sick was at Pizza Hut!! Go figure. I hadn't eaten breakfast and I went for a late lunch about 3:00 so I had a big meal. I have only been there 3 times because it is expensive. I could have had 6 meals in a Chinese restaurant for what I paid I felt like treating myself. I ended up paying even more in the long run.
Anyway it's all over.
Don
Monday, March 1, 2010
new teachers
Hi,
It looks we will have two new teacher, maybe. A young American guy moved into an apartment on the 2nd floor a week ago. I didn't know he was there. Someone broke into his place on Tuesday and took a lot of stuff. I met when I was going by his place. The police were there. I think he was ready to go back to USA. I don't know if he stayed.
Then today I met woman from England who moved into the apartment across from me. She maybe about 30. Seemed pleasant.
Classes start for me on Thursday. It looks like I will be busy; 16 periods a week. Last term I had 6. So I will have 4 Consumer Behaviour and the rest English. I could protest because they hired to teach Economics but they changed my load the first two terms so I won't complain this time.
So I will be busy. But I think a good thing too. Too much time is not very much fun either.
Don
It looks we will have two new teacher, maybe. A young American guy moved into an apartment on the 2nd floor a week ago. I didn't know he was there. Someone broke into his place on Tuesday and took a lot of stuff. I met when I was going by his place. The police were there. I think he was ready to go back to USA. I don't know if he stayed.
Then today I met woman from England who moved into the apartment across from me. She maybe about 30. Seemed pleasant.
Classes start for me on Thursday. It looks like I will be busy; 16 periods a week. Last term I had 6. So I will have 4 Consumer Behaviour and the rest English. I could protest because they hired to teach Economics but they changed my load the first two terms so I won't complain this time.
So I will be busy. But I think a good thing too. Too much time is not very much fun either.
Don
Saturday, February 20, 2010
(No Subject)
Hi,
I had a nice trip. It was short but after Bahamas I was tired and not too anxious to go very far. My visit with lijun and her family was ok. I can only take her in small doses but it seems that every 6 weeks or so I want to see her. But each time I am disappointed in her. She is childish. She has dreams about her future but she mindlessly does what her parents say and won't say what she wants. She has no backbone. She talks about doing this or that but does nothing about it. Sometimes I feel like grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her but all I can do is sit and listen. My opinion doesn't count. Sometimes she asks me for advice and I tell her what I think but she won't do anything that I suggest so what is the use?
She wants to marry her boyfriend but then she will say in the next sentence that she can never marry her boyfriend because her parents don't approve of him. Then she will say that if he gets a better job and she also gets a job then she can marry him. It goes back and forth like that all of the time. I stop listening after awhile. She has met 3 guys who want her for a wife. One guy seemed quite nice. But he was an inch shorter than her so she said I can't marry him. He is too short. Where does love fit into this equation? So many rules. Rule number one: My future husband will own his own apartment (even if he has a mortgage). Rule number two: He will be older than me. Rule number three: He will have a car (although that is not as important as an apartment). Rule number four: He will be taller than me. Rule number five: He will make more money than me (that is not hard since she is not working!). Oh, Rule number one, before all of the rest: my parents will approve of him.
This is not love. This is convenience or accepting your position in life. It is more like a business negotiation. If your family has money, then you are freer to choose who you want. It will still require the family's approval but if you have money then it is not so important. Lijun's family is not rich but they are not poor by any means. Middle class or almost middle class; maybe a little poorer than the average office worker but they are far from destitute. Her father is a self-employed carpenter and does good work. He remodeled their apartment and he did a very good job. The finish work is excellent. He went to Indonesia on a contract for a month; his second trip there. Her parents are very plain people but very kind to me whenever I visit. I slept in Lijun's bed. Very hard. They sleep on boards. No such thing as a mattress. Just boards and a bamboo mat. Not very comfortable. But most Chinese and even Thai, Japanese sleep like that. Apparently they believe that it is good for your back. Maybe it is but it is not good for my knees and elbows! That is why, when I am in a train or bus station many people are sleeping on the floor. To them it is the same as their bed. They will spread out cardboard or newspapers and go to sleep. She slept on the floor in her parent's bedroom. She could have slept in her bed with me. It is king-sized and we would be totally clothed. I slept with all of my clothes because they had no heat. It was cold in their apartment. I told her that she could have slept in her bed and she said that it was a new experience for her to sleep on the floor but she was comfortable. I don't understand. I try very hard but I don't understand.THeir thinking is so much different than mine. She told me that it would not be proper for her to sleep in the same bed as me. She is so conservative in her thinking. I would not touch her. But it is ok for her to live with her boyfriiend and have baths with him. But not ok to wear short skirts or sleep with me without touching. Strange society.So she slept on the floor.
She has many men who want to marry her. I told her to be sure. Wait one year. I don't want to see her with a child while her husband goes out every night drinking with his buddies. That is common in China, Korea. The women accept that. I don't want to see her like that. i want her to be like my daughter Lindsay; strong, say what you want, stand up to the man. But too many Chinese women accept their position as a servant to their man. I want Lijun to be a strong girl but she isn't. I expect that that she will marry some guy she doesn't love. Maybe she will like him but it isn't love. It is frustrating but That is China.
Don
I had a nice trip. It was short but after Bahamas I was tired and not too anxious to go very far. My visit with lijun and her family was ok. I can only take her in small doses but it seems that every 6 weeks or so I want to see her. But each time I am disappointed in her. She is childish. She has dreams about her future but she mindlessly does what her parents say and won't say what she wants. She has no backbone. She talks about doing this or that but does nothing about it. Sometimes I feel like grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her but all I can do is sit and listen. My opinion doesn't count. Sometimes she asks me for advice and I tell her what I think but she won't do anything that I suggest so what is the use?
She wants to marry her boyfriend but then she will say in the next sentence that she can never marry her boyfriend because her parents don't approve of him. Then she will say that if he gets a better job and she also gets a job then she can marry him. It goes back and forth like that all of the time. I stop listening after awhile. She has met 3 guys who want her for a wife. One guy seemed quite nice. But he was an inch shorter than her so she said I can't marry him. He is too short. Where does love fit into this equation? So many rules. Rule number one: My future husband will own his own apartment (even if he has a mortgage). Rule number two: He will be older than me. Rule number three: He will have a car (although that is not as important as an apartment). Rule number four: He will be taller than me. Rule number five: He will make more money than me (that is not hard since she is not working!). Oh, Rule number one, before all of the rest: my parents will approve of him.
This is not love. This is convenience or accepting your position in life. It is more like a business negotiation. If your family has money, then you are freer to choose who you want. It will still require the family's approval but if you have money then it is not so important. Lijun's family is not rich but they are not poor by any means. Middle class or almost middle class; maybe a little poorer than the average office worker but they are far from destitute. Her father is a self-employed carpenter and does good work. He remodeled their apartment and he did a very good job. The finish work is excellent. He went to Indonesia on a contract for a month; his second trip there. Her parents are very plain people but very kind to me whenever I visit. I slept in Lijun's bed. Very hard. They sleep on boards. No such thing as a mattress. Just boards and a bamboo mat. Not very comfortable. But most Chinese and even Thai, Japanese sleep like that. Apparently they believe that it is good for your back. Maybe it is but it is not good for my knees and elbows! That is why, when I am in a train or bus station many people are sleeping on the floor. To them it is the same as their bed. They will spread out cardboard or newspapers and go to sleep. She slept on the floor in her parent's bedroom. She could have slept in her bed with me. It is king-sized and we would be totally clothed. I slept with all of my clothes because they had no heat. It was cold in their apartment. I told her that she could have slept in her bed and she said that it was a new experience for her to sleep on the floor but she was comfortable. I don't understand. I try very hard but I don't understand.THeir thinking is so much different than mine. She told me that it would not be proper for her to sleep in the same bed as me. She is so conservative in her thinking. I would not touch her. But it is ok for her to live with her boyfriiend and have baths with him. But not ok to wear short skirts or sleep with me without touching. Strange society.So she slept on the floor.
She has many men who want to marry her. I told her to be sure. Wait one year. I don't want to see her with a child while her husband goes out every night drinking with his buddies. That is common in China, Korea. The women accept that. I don't want to see her like that. i want her to be like my daughter Lindsay; strong, say what you want, stand up to the man. But too many Chinese women accept their position as a servant to their man. I want Lijun to be a strong girl but she isn't. I expect that that she will marry some guy she doesn't love. Maybe she will like him but it isn't love. It is frustrating but That is China.
Don
Friday, February 19, 2010
Michelle
Hi,
After I visited with lijun, I went to Jingjiang to visit Michelle and her husband. THey are late 20's maybe 30. It is not easy to guess people's ages here. THey tend to look younger than they are. I met Michelle in SHanghai bus station when I waas coming home from Bahamas. She approached to see if I needed help. Very nice woman.
THey treateed me very well. We went to Pizza Hut for supper. I ordered a personal size pizza and a soup plus a beer. THey were ordering everything on the menu it seemed. 4 large pizza, a steak filet, many fruit drinks, mashed potatoes, escargot. I think the bill must have around 500rmb. Very expensive but they would let me pay even a part of it. I was in my room by 7:30. I was tired. The next morning we met at 8:00 and went for breakfast and had a local specialty. It is a crab soup inside a steamed bun. Very tasty. I had 4 and was quite full. I wanted to lpay for breakfast but I couldn't. THey bought me 4 bags of zhu rou fu which is dried pork jerky. I like it. I have eaten most of one bag so far. Then we went for a walk in park. Very pretty. THen it was time for me to go to the bus station. My bus was leaving at 10:00 to go to Nanjing and then home to Ma'anshan from there. She paid for my bus ticket! I couldn't pay for anything. I gave her a small hug when I was leaving and shook hands with her and her husband and his younger brother. THe hug may have been a mistake. Especially in front of her husband. I wasn't going to do that but I forgot at the last minute. Just nor,mal for me. I haven't heard from her since so many it was a faux pas.
I got home about 2:00 on Thursday. I had a nice bus ride. The woman I was sitting with spoke English so we had a nice chat all of the way.
Spring has arrived. It wiull reach 13C today. I love it!
Don
After I visited with lijun, I went to Jingjiang to visit Michelle and her husband. THey are late 20's maybe 30. It is not easy to guess people's ages here. THey tend to look younger than they are. I met Michelle in SHanghai bus station when I waas coming home from Bahamas. She approached to see if I needed help. Very nice woman.
THey treateed me very well. We went to Pizza Hut for supper. I ordered a personal size pizza and a soup plus a beer. THey were ordering everything on the menu it seemed. 4 large pizza, a steak filet, many fruit drinks, mashed potatoes, escargot. I think the bill must have around 500rmb. Very expensive but they would let me pay even a part of it. I was in my room by 7:30. I was tired. The next morning we met at 8:00 and went for breakfast and had a local specialty. It is a crab soup inside a steamed bun. Very tasty. I had 4 and was quite full. I wanted to lpay for breakfast but I couldn't. THey bought me 4 bags of zhu rou fu which is dried pork jerky. I like it. I have eaten most of one bag so far. Then we went for a walk in park. Very pretty. THen it was time for me to go to the bus station. My bus was leaving at 10:00 to go to Nanjing and then home to Ma'anshan from there. She paid for my bus ticket! I couldn't pay for anything. I gave her a small hug when I was leaving and shook hands with her and her husband and his younger brother. THe hug may have been a mistake. Especially in front of her husband. I wasn't going to do that but I forgot at the last minute. Just nor,mal for me. I haven't heard from her since so many it was a faux pas.
I got home about 2:00 on Thursday. I had a nice bus ride. The woman I was sitting with spoke English so we had a nice chat all of the way.
Spring has arrived. It wiull reach 13C today. I love it!
Don
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Back from my mini-trip
Hi,
It was a nice visit. I went to Liyang to vist lijun for two days. I think you all know that Lijun was a student of mine last year at JPU and graduated with her English major. I still can't understand why they are ok living without heat. I slept with all my clothes plus a sweater and two quilts. THey have an A/C but they don't turn it on. Too expensive. So they walk around all day with multiple layers of clothes and it is ok? No hot water. They get about 7 large thermoses of hot water a day. So each time someone leaves home they leave with a thermos or three and then they drop it off at the grandparents, because they sell hot water for 1.5 cents a thermos. So they go back and forth all day with thermoses so they can have hot water to wash in or for tea. They can also heat hot water on their stove in a kettle but they don't do that often because it uses gas. I was wearing my coat while watching TV. THey wear so many clothes. And they sleep with them on. THey will go days without changing clothes, well maybe underwear but I can't verify that. It is the closest to camping that I want to get. To me it would be like sleeping in a cabin without a fireplace and no hot water. After two days I was still cold and I was glad to leave. It is a different mindset. I guess it is what you are used to. It isn't that cold. Maybe a few degrees below zero. Obviously they couldn't do that at -20C but they are quite willing to do that; it is normal. Imagine being invited to dinner at someones home and you had to wear your coat and you could see your breath. But we have very cold winters and we need indoor heating. Here the winters are max about -8C but still no heat? I have heat. But I sure wouldn't want to stay at Lijun's any more than two nights. It is uncomfortable for me.
We went for hot pot, Lijun's favourite meal. We went with her younger cousin. I have no idea if they are related because aunt or uncle could be a friend of her parents; so a cousin could be one their children. Not cousin in our meaning. They have different meanings for aunt and uncle. They have many aunts and uncles who are not related to them. They are friends of the family. But when I question them they understand the difference in meaning. So then I find out if it is a relation or a friend. She was younger than Lijun and a little chubby. We also went with a guy who is trying to become Lijun's boyfriend (he sent her 11 roses because 11 is supposed to mean 'I will love you forever') so she wanted me to meet him. I thought he was a nice guy. He didn't speak much English so I couldn't talk to him but he seemed ok. He paid for dinner so I was ok with that! 216rmb for 4 of of us. I am not a big fan of hot pot. Mostly because everything tastes the same. You throw lettuce or squid or beef in the same pot and they all come out tasting the same. Lijun is not a small girl by Chinese standards; maybe 5'6" and 120lb but not big. The hot pot was a buffet so you could choose from 64 different dishes and eat as much as you wanted. THere was also fruit, desserts, soups. I was full and they ate for almost an hour after I was done. i couldn't believe how much they could stow away! The girls were eating everything! There were some things that I didn't want to know what they were but I tried some. No pig's brains this time but other stuff that looked weird. THen they got into ice cream, and then they were back into more hot pot foods. I thought they'd never be full! It is amazing how much they ate! I was quite full. THe beer was free. I had two. And I sat sipping away while they were getting more food. OK. Either thay don't eat like this all of the time or it is not fattening. I just sat and watched at the end. Lijun was finally full. Amazing. She couldn't eat like that every day or she would weigh 200 lbs! But every time that we have gone to eat she eats a lot. It doesn't matter as long as it Chinese food. So is there a secret to Chinese food?
After that we went to KTV (karoke). They sang for 3 hours. That was boring. I sang two English songs. They were only interested in the Chinese songs or Backstreet Boys.
Her parents treated me well. I always wake up early and her father got up and made breakfast for me. Cold meats, hot rice porridge, not very tasty. The cold meats are not to my liking but there was one dish that was good. It had boiled egg, pork meatballs and other parts of pork in it. I ate a lot of that. But the pig stomach. pig ears, I didn't like the texture. THe women slept in. Each morning Lijun didn't wake until 10:00. I was up 7:00.
It is strange life for me. I have visited the family 3 times and I still don't understand. Maybe 7 days in total. I accept but I don't understand. That is their life. They are not poor like we think as poor. They have money. I have no other families to compare it to so it is difficult. Are they super frugal or normal? She will never marry her boyfriend. She lived with him without their knowledge but now her boyfriend's family ( who are poor according to Lijun) realize that so they have forbidden him from having any contact with her. Such a strange society. Love doesn't matter. It is all about your future and all about the family. Happiness, love doesn't count. While I was there she found out that her boyfriend can't see her anymore. She knew that. Her parents won't allow it. But she still has that dream where he will get a good job and she will get a job and everything will work out. It won't. Meanwhile she will be introduced to marriageable guys. She doesn't have the strength to question any of this. It annoys me so much.
Mark (Xia) is her boyfriend. A little shorter than her and not terribly ambitious. If he wants her than he needs to work hard.She is worth it. and she loves him. But he will not have a chance unless he gets a better job. her dream is that Mark will get a government job and that she will also get a good job and then they will live happily-ever-after. It won't happen.
Talk to you later.
Don
It was a nice visit. I went to Liyang to vist lijun for two days. I think you all know that Lijun was a student of mine last year at JPU and graduated with her English major. I still can't understand why they are ok living without heat. I slept with all my clothes plus a sweater and two quilts. THey have an A/C but they don't turn it on. Too expensive. So they walk around all day with multiple layers of clothes and it is ok? No hot water. They get about 7 large thermoses of hot water a day. So each time someone leaves home they leave with a thermos or three and then they drop it off at the grandparents, because they sell hot water for 1.5 cents a thermos. So they go back and forth all day with thermoses so they can have hot water to wash in or for tea. They can also heat hot water on their stove in a kettle but they don't do that often because it uses gas. I was wearing my coat while watching TV. THey wear so many clothes. And they sleep with them on. THey will go days without changing clothes, well maybe underwear but I can't verify that. It is the closest to camping that I want to get. To me it would be like sleeping in a cabin without a fireplace and no hot water. After two days I was still cold and I was glad to leave. It is a different mindset. I guess it is what you are used to. It isn't that cold. Maybe a few degrees below zero. Obviously they couldn't do that at -20C but they are quite willing to do that; it is normal. Imagine being invited to dinner at someones home and you had to wear your coat and you could see your breath. But we have very cold winters and we need indoor heating. Here the winters are max about -8C but still no heat? I have heat. But I sure wouldn't want to stay at Lijun's any more than two nights. It is uncomfortable for me.
We went for hot pot, Lijun's favourite meal. We went with her younger cousin. I have no idea if they are related because aunt or uncle could be a friend of her parents; so a cousin could be one their children. Not cousin in our meaning. They have different meanings for aunt and uncle. They have many aunts and uncles who are not related to them. They are friends of the family. But when I question them they understand the difference in meaning. So then I find out if it is a relation or a friend. She was younger than Lijun and a little chubby. We also went with a guy who is trying to become Lijun's boyfriend (he sent her 11 roses because 11 is supposed to mean 'I will love you forever') so she wanted me to meet him. I thought he was a nice guy. He didn't speak much English so I couldn't talk to him but he seemed ok. He paid for dinner so I was ok with that! 216rmb for 4 of of us. I am not a big fan of hot pot. Mostly because everything tastes the same. You throw lettuce or squid or beef in the same pot and they all come out tasting the same. Lijun is not a small girl by Chinese standards; maybe 5'6" and 120lb but not big. The hot pot was a buffet so you could choose from 64 different dishes and eat as much as you wanted. THere was also fruit, desserts, soups. I was full and they ate for almost an hour after I was done. i couldn't believe how much they could stow away! The girls were eating everything! There were some things that I didn't want to know what they were but I tried some. No pig's brains this time but other stuff that looked weird. THen they got into ice cream, and then they were back into more hot pot foods. I thought they'd never be full! It is amazing how much they ate! I was quite full. THe beer was free. I had two. And I sat sipping away while they were getting more food. OK. Either thay don't eat like this all of the time or it is not fattening. I just sat and watched at the end. Lijun was finally full. Amazing. She couldn't eat like that every day or she would weigh 200 lbs! But every time that we have gone to eat she eats a lot. It doesn't matter as long as it Chinese food. So is there a secret to Chinese food?
After that we went to KTV (karoke). They sang for 3 hours. That was boring. I sang two English songs. They were only interested in the Chinese songs or Backstreet Boys.
Her parents treated me well. I always wake up early and her father got up and made breakfast for me. Cold meats, hot rice porridge, not very tasty. The cold meats are not to my liking but there was one dish that was good. It had boiled egg, pork meatballs and other parts of pork in it. I ate a lot of that. But the pig stomach. pig ears, I didn't like the texture. THe women slept in. Each morning Lijun didn't wake until 10:00. I was up 7:00.
It is strange life for me. I have visited the family 3 times and I still don't understand. Maybe 7 days in total. I accept but I don't understand. That is their life. They are not poor like we think as poor. They have money. I have no other families to compare it to so it is difficult. Are they super frugal or normal? She will never marry her boyfriend. She lived with him without their knowledge but now her boyfriend's family ( who are poor according to Lijun) realize that so they have forbidden him from having any contact with her. Such a strange society. Love doesn't matter. It is all about your future and all about the family. Happiness, love doesn't count. While I was there she found out that her boyfriend can't see her anymore. She knew that. Her parents won't allow it. But she still has that dream where he will get a good job and she will get a job and everything will work out. It won't. Meanwhile she will be introduced to marriageable guys. She doesn't have the strength to question any of this. It annoys me so much.
Mark (Xia) is her boyfriend. A little shorter than her and not terribly ambitious. If he wants her than he needs to work hard.She is worth it. and she loves him. But he will not have a chance unless he gets a better job. her dream is that Mark will get a government job and that she will also get a good job and then they will live happily-ever-after. It won't happen.
Talk to you later.
Don
Saturday, February 13, 2010
let it snow.
Yeah it's snowing. There has been snow on the ground for three days. Today's snowfall was like a perfect Christmas Eve snow. No wind. Maybe -1 or -2C. I made a small snowman! But there is no wind. So it is very pleasant to walk around. I was surprised to see that the school had shoveled out our walkway. It wasn't necessary. The snow is only a few centimeters at the most. But it looks so pretty. It is nice to see the snow. I don't like to see a lot of snow at -20C but a little snow feels good. It covers up the dirt! I expect it will be gone by the time I get back from my mini-trip. I should be back by Friday. Liyang and then Jingjiang.
Enjoy yourself. I will. Love to live and live to love!
Don
Enjoy yourself. I will. Love to live and live to love!
Don
Happy for different reasons
Hi,
Today is the Chinese New Year. I have hung some posters on my doorway. They are supposed to bring me good fortune and good health for the year of the tiger! We will see if they work. haha. Hopefully I have not hung them upside down or backwards. They are all Chinese characters so I can't be sure. If i put them up wrong will I have bad fortune?
Disney is making money. They are selling stuffed Tiggers and Tigger pillows, etc. Tigger is the tiger from Winnie the Pooh stories. Maybe they are knockoffs and Disney may not be getting the royalties but someone is making money.
It is also my 2nd anniversary. Two years ago this day was when I left home to go to China. So much has happened since then. My life has been completely changed for the better. I was in a rut. Now I feel like anything may happen. I don't know where my life's path will lead me and I like that feeling. It is a feeling of freedom. I can choose to do whatever I want and I only have to answer to myself. Life is short and getting shorter each day. I need to experience so many things yet. I was talking to my friend in Thailand. She thinks I should go there to teach. I am very tempted. I love Thailand. It has to be the nicest place that I have ever visited. Bahamas was also nice but I can't live my life on a resort. Well, it would be close to a resort if I were working in Thailand. Good food, nice people, beaches, not much more expensive than China. The language is equally as difficult as Chinese with tones. Maybe I will consider it.
It is also Hailey's 2nd birthday. She is my niece's daughter. Happy Birthday Hailey. I have only seen her once. I was home for her first birthday. She was born while I was on a plane to China. I am sure that she is sweet.
So it's Happy Birthday, Happy Valentine's Day, Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary for me, all on the same day.
Tomorrow I go to liyang (a city that is part of Changzhou) to visit lijun and her family and then on the 17th I will go to jingjiang (a part of Taizhou) across the river from Changzhou, to visit a new friend and her husband. Jingjiang is a little bigger than Ma'anshan. I met her in Shanghai bus station on my way back from Bahamas. She helped me make sure that I was at the right gate and then waited with me to be sure that I got on the right bus. The bus tickets have no English on them so sometimes I get confused. Then I will come back to ma'anshan to stay. That is assuming that I can get bus tickets. Soooo many people traveling. It is not easy for me to get around China when it is not busy. But now it is very difficult. The lineups for tickets are so long and then I find that there are no tickets. I had to pay much more money to get home from Shanghai than I should have but I wanted to get home. That's the way it goes when traveling during Spring Festival. I have never been in China during this time. The first year I arrived at the end. Last year I went home before it started. So this is my first experience with it. Awesome. The firecrackers started at 6am. I expect that there will be many more today.
It will soon be time to start preparing for the new term which starts about March 1. I will finish about mid-June. After that? Who knows? Ain't life grand!
Don
Today is the Chinese New Year. I have hung some posters on my doorway. They are supposed to bring me good fortune and good health for the year of the tiger! We will see if they work. haha. Hopefully I have not hung them upside down or backwards. They are all Chinese characters so I can't be sure. If i put them up wrong will I have bad fortune?
Disney is making money. They are selling stuffed Tiggers and Tigger pillows, etc. Tigger is the tiger from Winnie the Pooh stories. Maybe they are knockoffs and Disney may not be getting the royalties but someone is making money.
It is also my 2nd anniversary. Two years ago this day was when I left home to go to China. So much has happened since then. My life has been completely changed for the better. I was in a rut. Now I feel like anything may happen. I don't know where my life's path will lead me and I like that feeling. It is a feeling of freedom. I can choose to do whatever I want and I only have to answer to myself. Life is short and getting shorter each day. I need to experience so many things yet. I was talking to my friend in Thailand. She thinks I should go there to teach. I am very tempted. I love Thailand. It has to be the nicest place that I have ever visited. Bahamas was also nice but I can't live my life on a resort. Well, it would be close to a resort if I were working in Thailand. Good food, nice people, beaches, not much more expensive than China. The language is equally as difficult as Chinese with tones. Maybe I will consider it.
It is also Hailey's 2nd birthday. She is my niece's daughter. Happy Birthday Hailey. I have only seen her once. I was home for her first birthday. She was born while I was on a plane to China. I am sure that she is sweet.
So it's Happy Birthday, Happy Valentine's Day, Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary for me, all on the same day.
Tomorrow I go to liyang (a city that is part of Changzhou) to visit lijun and her family and then on the 17th I will go to jingjiang (a part of Taizhou) across the river from Changzhou, to visit a new friend and her husband. Jingjiang is a little bigger than Ma'anshan. I met her in Shanghai bus station on my way back from Bahamas. She helped me make sure that I was at the right gate and then waited with me to be sure that I got on the right bus. The bus tickets have no English on them so sometimes I get confused. Then I will come back to ma'anshan to stay. That is assuming that I can get bus tickets. Soooo many people traveling. It is not easy for me to get around China when it is not busy. But now it is very difficult. The lineups for tickets are so long and then I find that there are no tickets. I had to pay much more money to get home from Shanghai than I should have but I wanted to get home. That's the way it goes when traveling during Spring Festival. I have never been in China during this time. The first year I arrived at the end. Last year I went home before it started. So this is my first experience with it. Awesome. The firecrackers started at 6am. I expect that there will be many more today.
It will soon be time to start preparing for the new term which starts about March 1. I will finish about mid-June. After that? Who knows? Ain't life grand!
Don
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Happy New Year
I went to The Bahamas last week for a vacation with my family. Me, my brother, three sisters and my mother. It was a beautiful place. So relaxing. It took me a long time to get home. From Shanghai to Ma'anshan was 9 hours. So many people are traveling. But I made it. I will only go to Liyang for the rest of Spring Vacation. It is too difficult to get anywhere. I have tried to buy tickets for other places but there are no tickets.
Don
Don
Thursday, February 4, 2010
(No Subject)
Hi,
My trip home from Bahamas was fine as far as my ticket to Shanghai went. The airline staff were great. I had seconds every meal and the drinks were free. I slept a lot. After that it was a nightmare. I arrived in Shanghai about 3pm on Wednesday as scheduled. After that it was improvising all of the way. The high speed Maglev was out of service. Great! So how do I get to Shanghai? After searching for an hour I found a bus that would get me to the train staion. The Maglev takes 6 minutes. So, right away, I knew it was going to be a tough journey. 'A hard days night' as the Beatles would say. So I am already 2 hours behind schedule. When I get to the train station every ticket is sold out. This is Chinese New Year! 10,000's of people are around. I buy a bus ticket from a scalper for almost three times the price so I can get to Nanjing. He wanted 5X but I got him down some. The bus left at 6:30pm. I get to Nanjing about 10pm and there is no way to get out of there to go Ma'anshan. The lineups are so long that it would take me more than an hour to get to the wicket and then I would expect that there are no train tickets to Ma'anshan. So what do I do? Sleep on the floor again? No. I don't want to do that. I have cash. A guy offered to take me there for 300rmb. The normal fee is 20rmb per person with 3 people. Supply and demand. I paid him 150. I didn't want to spend another night sleeping on the floor of Nanjing train station. It was comical. You need to laugh in these situations. When he approached me first it was 300; we argued in our limited Chinese and English. I would have slept on the floor for 300. So 150 is not so bad. But he wasn't even a legal taxi. Anyway we worked out a deal where he would get 50 and the real taxi got 100. And this guy was driving a BMW! He drove me for about 15 minutes to meet the Ma'anshan taxi at Zhonghuamen bus station and then he would go back to the train station to pick up another desperate traveler. Opporunity knocks and you cash in. It was comical at one point because his wife was with him and she made sure that he got a good deal. She did most of the haggling with the real taxi. I didn't care, I just wanted to get home.
My phone didn't work when I arrived in China. I couldn't call Lydia. Oh no. How am I going to find her and get my key? I found a public phone in Shanghai bus station. There are phone booths here but you need a phone car or credit card to use them. Other places have public phones that you can use and you pay after the call. I called Lydia to tell her that I was coming but I didn't know if I would make it home that night or the next morning. I wanted to be sure that we could hook up somehow. I needed to get my key or I would be sleeping outside my door.
After much scrambling I got home at midnight. What a nice welcome home! She had 5 dishes cooked for me but they were all cold obviously. I said that first I need a shower and then I will eat. She heated the food while I was showering. Great shower! She had the place spotless and had even washed the few dirty clothes that I had left behind. And I had so much food placed in front of me that I could only eat a little. Enough for 4 people! I had told her one time that I have cooked for her often and I would like her to cook sometime. So she did. She thought that I didn't like her cooking but it was very good. I told her when I left to water my plants and to eat the food in the fridge because it would go bad. She soaked my plants! And she filled my fridge with food. Maybe it got lost in the translation! haha I tease her all of the time. She is that kind of girl that you just want to tease. Naive, eager, pleasant, fun. Her English is excellent. She has good vocabulary; but she uses big words in the wrong context sometimes (isn't that spoonerism? anyway Victor Borge used to do that and it was so funny!)or she mispronouces words so that I am confused. Repeat that, please. Oh you mean this! Like she said that I am confidential. Confidential? Well, maybe. Then I figured out that she meant confident. Most English students use a smaller vocabulary so that even if they misprounce something I understand what they are saying.
She left about 1am. I was awake until about 4am. It will take me a few days to readjust. The trip from Shanghai to here was not pleasant. When you have 5 or 6 guys/girls all talking around you and you are trying to negotiate the best deal AND you are tired it is not a good feeling. But it is a good feeling to walk in the door and see dinner on the table. She is a good kid.
I don't know what she wants. But I hope she gets it.
I will send pics home soon. That was the longest that I have ever spent in going from point A to point B. I woke up at 8am EST (9pm in China) in Bahamas on Monday and I arrived home at midnight Wed China time. 51 hours later. But I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. It was so nice to see all of my family without spouses or children. And I would do it again but give me a month to recover!
Don
My trip home from Bahamas was fine as far as my ticket to Shanghai went. The airline staff were great. I had seconds every meal and the drinks were free. I slept a lot. After that it was a nightmare. I arrived in Shanghai about 3pm on Wednesday as scheduled. After that it was improvising all of the way. The high speed Maglev was out of service. Great! So how do I get to Shanghai? After searching for an hour I found a bus that would get me to the train staion. The Maglev takes 6 minutes. So, right away, I knew it was going to be a tough journey. 'A hard days night' as the Beatles would say. So I am already 2 hours behind schedule. When I get to the train station every ticket is sold out. This is Chinese New Year! 10,000's of people are around. I buy a bus ticket from a scalper for almost three times the price so I can get to Nanjing. He wanted 5X but I got him down some. The bus left at 6:30pm. I get to Nanjing about 10pm and there is no way to get out of there to go Ma'anshan. The lineups are so long that it would take me more than an hour to get to the wicket and then I would expect that there are no train tickets to Ma'anshan. So what do I do? Sleep on the floor again? No. I don't want to do that. I have cash. A guy offered to take me there for 300rmb. The normal fee is 20rmb per person with 3 people. Supply and demand. I paid him 150. I didn't want to spend another night sleeping on the floor of Nanjing train station. It was comical. You need to laugh in these situations. When he approached me first it was 300; we argued in our limited Chinese and English. I would have slept on the floor for 300. So 150 is not so bad. But he wasn't even a legal taxi. Anyway we worked out a deal where he would get 50 and the real taxi got 100. And this guy was driving a BMW! He drove me for about 15 minutes to meet the Ma'anshan taxi at Zhonghuamen bus station and then he would go back to the train station to pick up another desperate traveler. Opporunity knocks and you cash in. It was comical at one point because his wife was with him and she made sure that he got a good deal. She did most of the haggling with the real taxi. I didn't care, I just wanted to get home.
My phone didn't work when I arrived in China. I couldn't call Lydia. Oh no. How am I going to find her and get my key? I found a public phone in Shanghai bus station. There are phone booths here but you need a phone car or credit card to use them. Other places have public phones that you can use and you pay after the call. I called Lydia to tell her that I was coming but I didn't know if I would make it home that night or the next morning. I wanted to be sure that we could hook up somehow. I needed to get my key or I would be sleeping outside my door.
After much scrambling I got home at midnight. What a nice welcome home! She had 5 dishes cooked for me but they were all cold obviously. I said that first I need a shower and then I will eat. She heated the food while I was showering. Great shower! She had the place spotless and had even washed the few dirty clothes that I had left behind. And I had so much food placed in front of me that I could only eat a little. Enough for 4 people! I had told her one time that I have cooked for her often and I would like her to cook sometime. So she did. She thought that I didn't like her cooking but it was very good. I told her when I left to water my plants and to eat the food in the fridge because it would go bad. She soaked my plants! And she filled my fridge with food. Maybe it got lost in the translation! haha I tease her all of the time. She is that kind of girl that you just want to tease. Naive, eager, pleasant, fun. Her English is excellent. She has good vocabulary; but she uses big words in the wrong context sometimes (isn't that spoonerism? anyway Victor Borge used to do that and it was so funny!)or she mispronouces words so that I am confused. Repeat that, please. Oh you mean this! Like she said that I am confidential. Confidential? Well, maybe. Then I figured out that she meant confident. Most English students use a smaller vocabulary so that even if they misprounce something I understand what they are saying.
She left about 1am. I was awake until about 4am. It will take me a few days to readjust. The trip from Shanghai to here was not pleasant. When you have 5 or 6 guys/girls all talking around you and you are trying to negotiate the best deal AND you are tired it is not a good feeling. But it is a good feeling to walk in the door and see dinner on the table. She is a good kid.
I don't know what she wants. But I hope she gets it.
I will send pics home soon. That was the longest that I have ever spent in going from point A to point B. I woke up at 8am EST (9pm in China) in Bahamas on Monday and I arrived home at midnight Wed China time. 51 hours later. But I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. It was so nice to see all of my family without spouses or children. And I would do it again but give me a month to recover!
Don
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Could this be China?
This looks typical to me. It may be India but it is no different here. There is a system, believe it or not. The bigger you are then you have more rights unless I get there first then you have to yield to me. But the horns are constant even when they are not necessary. I no longer pay attention to them. If i see that I have a clear path then I go. But some car or E-bike is coming and they start the horn going. I ignore them. They can see me. The taxis are a worry because you never know what they will do. If they have a fare then their objective is to get rid of him/her as quickly as possible so they are on the wrong side of the street going as fast as is safely to do so. It is an adventure sometimes to drive in a taxi. It can be as close as you want to get to a simulation ride at Disney without having to pay the admission fee. Not all taxi drivers are like that but most are. They say that in China if you are hurt and need to go to a hospital, flag a taxi. He will get you there much faster than an ambulance. I believe it because traffic does not give way for an ambulance or a police car for that matter even with lights going and sirens. But taxis will drive anywhere. Sidewalks, even. They want to get the next fare. It can be an adventure. I have not seen too many taxis in an accident but I have seen many with dents.
By the way, every taxi that I seen in China is a Volkswagen Santana. They seem to have a monopoly here. What a market! It is never a problem to get a taxi unless it is raining. But even then you never have to wait long. Just put your hand out and one will be there. 4am or 4pm you can get one quickly. It took a long time for me before I would get a taxi because none speak English but now I can tell them where I want to go so it is not a big deal. Tomorrow I will take a taxi to Nanjing. My train leaves at 9:08 for Shanghai. So I will be at the train staion about 6:30. I can take a taxi from there for 20rmb. The train costs 18rmb. But the taxi is much faster. I will need to wait until he has 3 passengers and then he will go. On Jan 2 I was at Nanjing bus station and there were so many people that the taxis were asking 150rmb per car. But it is quieter now so 3 passengers at 20 each should be enough. When I get to Nanjing then it will take me 30 minutes by subway to get to the main train station (they have 3) and then I will catch my 9:08 train to Shanghai which arrives at 11:45. That gives me lots of time to take the Shanghai subway and the train to the airport. I figure I should be at the airport by 1:00. My plane leaves at 5:00 so I am ok. I have gone this route before. It is not easy to get from Ma'anshan to Shanghai. But I will be there.
Friday, January 22, 2010
lydia
haha, this is Lydia. Funny girl; cute, very short and fun. She breezed through my home this morning. She is moving from off-campus to an apartment on-campus and she needed to wash her drapes. She was in and out in minutes!
She has helped me many times and I have cooked meals for her and her friends. Cute, short, very good English, and not a good singer at KTV, like me, but we had fun trying. We watched Avatar in Chinese. She translated parts for me. Anyway, this is her.
Don
She has helped me many times and I have cooked meals for her and her friends. Cute, short, very good English, and not a good singer at KTV, like me, but we had fun trying. We watched Avatar in Chinese. She translated parts for me. Anyway, this is her.
Don
Thursday, January 21, 2010
(No Subject)
Sorry but I get annoyed at all of the biased comments on CBC and other Canadian sites.
I get annoyed sometimes with the preconceived notions that people have. We like to think that we are doing good and we are. But so many other countries are doing good also. Small countries. Finland, Iceland, Israel, Peru, Jordan, Iran, China, Korea, Venezuela, Mexico, etc. I read so many comments by Canadians that are bashing countries for not helping but they are helping. China had the first mobile medical unit on the ground of any country that wasn't already there and Haiti doesn't officially recognize China. Surgeons, osteopaths, gynecologists, they were ready. They had dogs on the scene within 48 hours sniffing out survivors. China is accustomed to disasters and they have teams ready to go immediately. The USA has to recon and then do something. I can't imagine watching my daughter have her leg amputated without anesthesia. I can't imagine me having to go through that
Chinese doctors have performed over 100 surgeries on the street and treated 100's of others. You can only do so much. USA and Canada get all the news but there are 100's of countries that are there. So if you hear someone complaing that so-and-so is not there then tell them to read the news. Everyone is there.
Don
I get annoyed sometimes with the preconceived notions that people have. We like to think that we are doing good and we are. But so many other countries are doing good also. Small countries. Finland, Iceland, Israel, Peru, Jordan, Iran, China, Korea, Venezuela, Mexico, etc. I read so many comments by Canadians that are bashing countries for not helping but they are helping. China had the first mobile medical unit on the ground of any country that wasn't already there and Haiti doesn't officially recognize China. Surgeons, osteopaths, gynecologists, they were ready. They had dogs on the scene within 48 hours sniffing out survivors. China is accustomed to disasters and they have teams ready to go immediately. The USA has to recon and then do something. I can't imagine watching my daughter have her leg amputated without anesthesia. I can't imagine me having to go through that
Chinese doctors have performed over 100 surgeries on the street and treated 100's of others. You can only do so much. USA and Canada get all the news but there are 100's of countries that are there. So if you hear someone complaing that so-and-so is not there then tell them to read the news. Everyone is there.
Don
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Xuzhou where Rover came to lunch
Hi,
I got back from visiting former student, Julie, in Xuzhou. I am glad that I don't live there because I could often end up in the wrong city. I can't seem to get pronunciation correct. Whenever I say the name people think I am saying Suzhou (Soo-joe) because I say shoo-joe for Xuzhou but the proper way is more like shew-joe with a different 'U' sound then we have in English. When I bought my train ticket the clerk sold me one for Suzhou so I had to write the name so she could understand what I wanted.
I only stayed one night. That was enough. Julie is a smart girl but very serious. Her friend Emma is a friendly and pleasant girl. Julie's parents were very nice. Whenever I have dinner with Chinese families I am always treated very well. They want me to be pleased with their hospitality and they worry that I may not like their food. Always very hospitable.
I arrived on Tuesday about noon and I checked into the hotel and then we went for lunch. Julie ordered a lot of food for only three of us. THere was a lot left over to take home for supper. And we had dog, gourou (go-roe). I didn't know it was dog until the next day. She told me it was duck. Well, that's what I heard but she said later that she had said dog, but with the accent and restaurant noise I heard duck. It was served with a spicy green vegetable and we rolled it a pita bread and ate it as a wrap. I found it a bit tough and dry. I can't really tell you what it tasted like because, first of all I thought it was duck so it tasted something like duck to me, and, second there were a lot of spices in the vegetables so it was difficult to tell the flavour of the meat. It was very dark, but so is duck. I only had one because there was another wrap with ground pork and another vegetable that I liked better and I had a couple of them. In Chinese rou (roe) is meat. Like jirou is chicken, yuroe is fish and niurou is beef, etc. But sometimes a special dish can use that too; like bazirou (pork cooked in a special way with a tasty sauce) so I assumed that gourou was some special dish rather than a type of meat. But gourou means dog meat. That night a bought a box of gourou to give to her family as a thank you. When I gave it to her the next day, that was when I found out that it was dog. All along I had thought that it was just some kind of specialty dish.
We saw several historical sites that were interesting. The best was the Han Tomb built around the 1st and 2nd century. They carved the tombs inside a small mountain. It covered a lot of area. It was quite interesting. We also visited a Buddhist temple, Yulong Lake (but it was too foggy) and a memorial to the PLA victory over KMT in the Huaihai campaign.
On Tuesday evening I had dinner with her family and an aunt and niece. There is a picture of part of the spread. One of the fish that we had is poisonous if not prepared properly. As usual the food was very good. Most times there are one or two that I don't care for but there are lots of other dishes to choose from. There is no excuse for getting up from the table without being full.
It was a pleasant trip but not outstanding.
Don
I got back from visiting former student, Julie, in Xuzhou. I am glad that I don't live there because I could often end up in the wrong city. I can't seem to get pronunciation correct. Whenever I say the name people think I am saying Suzhou (Soo-joe) because I say shoo-joe for Xuzhou but the proper way is more like shew-joe with a different 'U' sound then we have in English. When I bought my train ticket the clerk sold me one for Suzhou so I had to write the name so she could understand what I wanted.
I only stayed one night. That was enough. Julie is a smart girl but very serious. Her friend Emma is a friendly and pleasant girl. Julie's parents were very nice. Whenever I have dinner with Chinese families I am always treated very well. They want me to be pleased with their hospitality and they worry that I may not like their food. Always very hospitable.
I arrived on Tuesday about noon and I checked into the hotel and then we went for lunch. Julie ordered a lot of food for only three of us. THere was a lot left over to take home for supper. And we had dog, gourou (go-roe). I didn't know it was dog until the next day. She told me it was duck. Well, that's what I heard but she said later that she had said dog, but with the accent and restaurant noise I heard duck. It was served with a spicy green vegetable and we rolled it a pita bread and ate it as a wrap. I found it a bit tough and dry. I can't really tell you what it tasted like because, first of all I thought it was duck so it tasted something like duck to me, and, second there were a lot of spices in the vegetables so it was difficult to tell the flavour of the meat. It was very dark, but so is duck. I only had one because there was another wrap with ground pork and another vegetable that I liked better and I had a couple of them. In Chinese rou (roe) is meat. Like jirou is chicken, yuroe is fish and niurou is beef, etc. But sometimes a special dish can use that too; like bazirou (pork cooked in a special way with a tasty sauce) so I assumed that gourou was some special dish rather than a type of meat. But gourou means dog meat. That night a bought a box of gourou to give to her family as a thank you. When I gave it to her the next day, that was when I found out that it was dog. All along I had thought that it was just some kind of specialty dish.
We saw several historical sites that were interesting. The best was the Han Tomb built around the 1st and 2nd century. They carved the tombs inside a small mountain. It covered a lot of area. It was quite interesting. We also visited a Buddhist temple, Yulong Lake (but it was too foggy) and a memorial to the PLA victory over KMT in the Huaihai campaign.
On Tuesday evening I had dinner with her family and an aunt and niece. There is a picture of part of the spread. One of the fish that we had is poisonous if not prepared properly. As usual the food was very good. Most times there are one or two that I don't care for but there are lots of other dishes to choose from. There is no excuse for getting up from the table without being full.
It was a pleasant trip but not outstanding.
Don
Christmas in February
Hi,
I mentioned in the past about Chinese New Year's being similar to Canadian Christmas. Well it has hit home. I have not been here during the past two Spring Festivals. The fireworks have started. Chinese New Year's is on Feb 14. But it has started. Yesterday I went for groceries. The aisles were clogged. I had a hand-basket and often I couldn't get down an aisle. Like the last shopping day before Christmas! And they still have a month. The store is about the size of a usual Sobey's or Superstore. They had 50 tills and 45 were open. The other 5, I assume were on break. I didn't mind except for being constantly hit in the back of my ankles by carts or being pushed by some old woman while I was buying some ground pork and she wanted some. I wish I had my camera. It was like a bus or train staion on a busy weekend. I had to keep saying TIC, this is China. Amazing. I have never seen so many people in a store except on Boxing Day in Canada!
It didn't bother me in the least except for getting hit on the legs but that is normal. Everyone pushes here. If you don't then you will never get where you want to go. You learn to push. Too many people. Survival of the fittest. So many times I have been in line for some service and people come and move in front of me. Sometimes I will grab them and shove them behind me and they are surprised. But you need to be aggressive if you are in a hurry. It is normal to get in front. Kids, women, men will move up if there is a space. They drive the same way! Most times I will let them but if I am at a bus or train staion and I have to catch one soon then I won't take it. Once I moved to the front of the line and they looked at me and no one said anything. If you are important then you don't have to wait. Usually I will wait.
I hired cleaners for my apartment. The university sent two guys. I had to leave. They washed the floors. They never lifted a shoe to clean under it. I paid good money. They never touched the kitchen counter, toilet, a wall or window. I could've done what they did in an hour. I complained. So now there are two women here cleaning. I want walls, windows, everything. I want it to be the same as it was when I moved in. You have to complain if you don't like something otherwise no one will do anything. You can't assume that things will be done to your satisfaction. I have learned to complain. When I do, they listen and something gets done. But you have to pick your battles. Some of the teachers complain all of the time. I don't. So when I complain they listen.
Today I am going to a movie with an English major, not my student, Lydia. We will see Avatar, in Chinese, should be interesting. Nice kid; very short, chubby (well it is kind of hard to tell with 50 layers of clothes! :) but funny, good English and good company. We went to KTV (karaoke) on Thursday and she sang mostly English songs. I had to ask her to sing some Chinese songs because I like the sound of them even if I don't understand the words. Last night I was walking home from the training school and she saw me and yelled. She had a friend with her. So I invited them for supper. Good kids. We talked. I learn something new everytime I talk to some of these kids. So different. Their dreams are the same as ours but the way to get there is very different. It's almost like Victorian England; marry someone who has money, or status, or who is taller than you; there are so many rules. It seems like love takes a back seat unless you are rich. In 10 years there will be 24 million men looking for wives. If you are a woman then you should come to China. Lijun has been home for 2 weeks and has already had 3 guys interested.
Bye
Talk to you later,
Don
I mentioned in the past about Chinese New Year's being similar to Canadian Christmas. Well it has hit home. I have not been here during the past two Spring Festivals. The fireworks have started. Chinese New Year's is on Feb 14. But it has started. Yesterday I went for groceries. The aisles were clogged. I had a hand-basket and often I couldn't get down an aisle. Like the last shopping day before Christmas! And they still have a month. The store is about the size of a usual Sobey's or Superstore. They had 50 tills and 45 were open. The other 5, I assume were on break. I didn't mind except for being constantly hit in the back of my ankles by carts or being pushed by some old woman while I was buying some ground pork and she wanted some. I wish I had my camera. It was like a bus or train staion on a busy weekend. I had to keep saying TIC, this is China. Amazing. I have never seen so many people in a store except on Boxing Day in Canada!
It didn't bother me in the least except for getting hit on the legs but that is normal. Everyone pushes here. If you don't then you will never get where you want to go. You learn to push. Too many people. Survival of the fittest. So many times I have been in line for some service and people come and move in front of me. Sometimes I will grab them and shove them behind me and they are surprised. But you need to be aggressive if you are in a hurry. It is normal to get in front. Kids, women, men will move up if there is a space. They drive the same way! Most times I will let them but if I am at a bus or train staion and I have to catch one soon then I won't take it. Once I moved to the front of the line and they looked at me and no one said anything. If you are important then you don't have to wait. Usually I will wait.
I hired cleaners for my apartment. The university sent two guys. I had to leave. They washed the floors. They never lifted a shoe to clean under it. I paid good money. They never touched the kitchen counter, toilet, a wall or window. I could've done what they did in an hour. I complained. So now there are two women here cleaning. I want walls, windows, everything. I want it to be the same as it was when I moved in. You have to complain if you don't like something otherwise no one will do anything. You can't assume that things will be done to your satisfaction. I have learned to complain. When I do, they listen and something gets done. But you have to pick your battles. Some of the teachers complain all of the time. I don't. So when I complain they listen.
Today I am going to a movie with an English major, not my student, Lydia. We will see Avatar, in Chinese, should be interesting. Nice kid; very short, chubby (well it is kind of hard to tell with 50 layers of clothes! :) but funny, good English and good company. We went to KTV (karaoke) on Thursday and she sang mostly English songs. I had to ask her to sing some Chinese songs because I like the sound of them even if I don't understand the words. Last night I was walking home from the training school and she saw me and yelled. She had a friend with her. So I invited them for supper. Good kids. We talked. I learn something new everytime I talk to some of these kids. So different. Their dreams are the same as ours but the way to get there is very different. It's almost like Victorian England; marry someone who has money, or status, or who is taller than you; there are so many rules. It seems like love takes a back seat unless you are rich. In 10 years there will be 24 million men looking for wives. If you are a woman then you should come to China. Lijun has been home for 2 weeks and has already had 3 guys interested.
Bye
Talk to you later,
Don
(No Subject)
I have been reading about Haiti. I have gone to many web sites; not just CNN or CBC, Al-Jezeerah, and others. I am very disappointed in the comments that many Canadians have made. They see this as an opportunity to go country-bashing. "Oh! We have done so much but those other countries have done nothing". China had a team on the ground the next day. They are so busy jumping to conclusions that they don't have time to check the facts that are dozens of countries involved. I have seen China mentioned and middle-east. They see this as an opportunity to verify their biases. I don't care for people who have have those pre-conceived ideas.
All of the countries that were ctiticized were there. China, cuba, Mexico, Venezula, Iran, etc. but people don't hear about that so they automatically assume that they aren't there or they don't want to hear that their assumptions are wrong.
I mainly check CBC because I am Canadian. I know that they are primarily interested in getting news to other Canadians, that is thir job. But I am so disappointed in some of the comments. The biased based comments disturb me. I thought we were past that.
Don
All of the countries that were ctiticized were there. China, cuba, Mexico, Venezula, Iran, etc. but people don't hear about that so they automatically assume that they aren't there or they don't want to hear that their assumptions are wrong.
I mainly check CBC because I am Canadian. I know that they are primarily interested in getting news to other Canadians, that is thir job. But I am so disappointed in some of the comments. The biased based comments disturb me. I thought we were past that.
Don
TIC (That is China)
Hi,
I know that I have complained sometimes about the lack of heat here. My apartment is ok. Maybe 15-18C. I was chatting with some students last night on MSN and they were wanting to visit me. They have no heat and it was -8C and they were freezing. All 6 of of them could have slept in my king-sized bed; they are not very big! That would have been interesting; and would probably get me fired!
But there is no heat on the campus except for our apartments. Even the Dean's office or the classrooms have no heat so the students and teachers have about 4 or 5 layers of clothes and they sleep that way too; well, maybe they will take their coat off. Shower once a week, sometimes just a stand-up sponge bath. It is too cold for them to shower. Even in my warm apartment, when I take a shower I feel cold for a little while after I turn off the nice hot water. They don't have hot water. They have to buy it. They have these big thermoses and they put them by the road and they are filled with hot water. They will pay for that. Not much but then they can have some tea or instant noodles or wash their clothes or themselves.
The students have limited electricity. They are allowed a fan in the summer because it can be suffocatingly hot, enough power for the lights in the room (which go out at 11pm), and their laptops. There is one classroom in each building that has lights so if you want to study or sleep you can go to those rooms. No hair dryers; no kettles. No extra electrical appliances of any kind. So even if they bought a heater, they couldn't use it. They would blow the breaker. One girl had an electrical hand warmer and it blew the breaker.
Maybe they feel that it is a test of their desire to fit in. I don't know. If you want a shower then you will be with 50 others in the same room. No modesty is needed. And they are lined up waiting for the shower. I go to markets and I want to try a shirt or pants and they put up a blanket and then I can try it on. I have seen many girls do that and guys. So I can see you! Hello? No one cares. But China is conservative in so many ways but when it comes to being naked then they don't care. Not in public, mind you. But with their friends or family it is not important.
They do not have an easy life but the school is easy for them. In my courses a Grade 6 kid could pass even if they didn't come to class. I had one failure in Negotiations; She never attended a class and blew the exam. But I had others who never attended and passed.
I think it is a fascinating country. If you ever have a chance to visit, then you should do so. Put it on your list of 100 things I will do before I die. It is fascinating. I can't say that it is all good, but it is so interesting. I have lived with a Chinese family, I have visited with others, and they are such good people. i have learned so much. It has been a life-altering experience.
I think 2010 will be a good year. I hope it is for you.
TIC (That is China)
Don
I know that I have complained sometimes about the lack of heat here. My apartment is ok. Maybe 15-18C. I was chatting with some students last night on MSN and they were wanting to visit me. They have no heat and it was -8C and they were freezing. All 6 of of them could have slept in my king-sized bed; they are not very big! That would have been interesting; and would probably get me fired!
But there is no heat on the campus except for our apartments. Even the Dean's office or the classrooms have no heat so the students and teachers have about 4 or 5 layers of clothes and they sleep that way too; well, maybe they will take their coat off. Shower once a week, sometimes just a stand-up sponge bath. It is too cold for them to shower. Even in my warm apartment, when I take a shower I feel cold for a little while after I turn off the nice hot water. They don't have hot water. They have to buy it. They have these big thermoses and they put them by the road and they are filled with hot water. They will pay for that. Not much but then they can have some tea or instant noodles or wash their clothes or themselves.
The students have limited electricity. They are allowed a fan in the summer because it can be suffocatingly hot, enough power for the lights in the room (which go out at 11pm), and their laptops. There is one classroom in each building that has lights so if you want to study or sleep you can go to those rooms. No hair dryers; no kettles. No extra electrical appliances of any kind. So even if they bought a heater, they couldn't use it. They would blow the breaker. One girl had an electrical hand warmer and it blew the breaker.
Maybe they feel that it is a test of their desire to fit in. I don't know. If you want a shower then you will be with 50 others in the same room. No modesty is needed. And they are lined up waiting for the shower. I go to markets and I want to try a shirt or pants and they put up a blanket and then I can try it on. I have seen many girls do that and guys. So I can see you! Hello? No one cares. But China is conservative in so many ways but when it comes to being naked then they don't care. Not in public, mind you. But with their friends or family it is not important.
They do not have an easy life but the school is easy for them. In my courses a Grade 6 kid could pass even if they didn't come to class. I had one failure in Negotiations; She never attended a class and blew the exam. But I had others who never attended and passed.
I think it is a fascinating country. If you ever have a chance to visit, then you should do so. Put it on your list of 100 things I will do before I die. It is fascinating. I can't say that it is all good, but it is so interesting. I have lived with a Chinese family, I have visited with others, and they are such good people. i have learned so much. It has been a life-altering experience.
I think 2010 will be a good year. I hope it is for you.
TIC (That is China)
Don
What should I do?
Hi,
I am sitting here at 4pm on Saturday pondering about the future. What have I learned? I have been in Chinese family's homes, lived with them, and trying to learn the language and their culture. It is not easy to understand the differences between us. But I work hard in that I talk to them; tell me about your life, I want to know what your life is like. I think they have a difficult time. China is not an easy place unless you have guanxi Gwan-SHEE) Guanxi is connections. Your family is rich or your father has a good government job. Or your family has friends. Those who don't are under tremendous stress. I feel sorry for some very good kids who take my class. Good English, big ambitions, but they don't have guanxi. There are others who have it and they will coast through university and not learn anything. Useless. TIC ( that is China)
It is very frustrating as a teacher to see so many kids who are useless. But it is not my responsibily. But I get angry sometimes. Welcome to China. I can give you so many good kids and the rest I would throw away.
Sorry, just some anger coming out.
Don
I am sitting here at 4pm on Saturday pondering about the future. What have I learned? I have been in Chinese family's homes, lived with them, and trying to learn the language and their culture. It is not easy to understand the differences between us. But I work hard in that I talk to them; tell me about your life, I want to know what your life is like. I think they have a difficult time. China is not an easy place unless you have guanxi Gwan-SHEE) Guanxi is connections. Your family is rich or your father has a good government job. Or your family has friends. Those who don't are under tremendous stress. I feel sorry for some very good kids who take my class. Good English, big ambitions, but they don't have guanxi. There are others who have it and they will coast through university and not learn anything. Useless. TIC ( that is China)
It is very frustrating as a teacher to see so many kids who are useless. But it is not my responsibily. But I get angry sometimes. Welcome to China. I can give you so many good kids and the rest I would throw away.
Sorry, just some anger coming out.
Don
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