So kinda by accident, i joined a Chinese volleyball team. Now most people know that i love sports, but volleyball has never been my specialty. However, i am 100 thousand times better than almost everyone on the team...and I'm modest, so it makes me that much cooler. Actually, there are a few decent players, but only one real standouts. Anyway, Abby and i went down to play one day with one of our Chinese friends, who is also a PE teacher, and before we knew it we were officially on the team. So everyday, about 5:30 or so, we have to go and practice with them. its interesting because they don't really play by any rules. In essence it's the same, but they occasionally kick the ball over the net (or at least attempt to). In any case, it's still fun.
Oh, and they also practice at 7:30 in the morning...but i still don't think double days are helping them much. I opt out of the morning practice because i tell them i have to get my beauty rest. Ok, that's a lie, but i do tell them that I'm busy in the morning and that i don't have time to take a shower before i have to teach class. The Chinese may not have a problem with being sweaty, but i do!
I guess that our first game in on Oct 11, so i will let you know how our first game goes. Wish my team luck!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
This Is China...
China is a random place. Things that you never imagined, or never thought possible can happen here. i will make you a list of just some of the things i have witnessed or experienced.
1. There is no such thing as strategic planning, or scheduling, or timing in China
Yesterday i was supposed to have a 4:15-4:55pm class. it was my third week of classes, so i assumed i would be teaching at that time. At 3:00 i receive a call from my waiban Sophia saying that my schedule had been changed and that i now have a 3:25-4:05 class on Tues and Thurs afternoon. So, even thought she knew the day before about the scheduling change, she waited til a half hour before my class to tell me. So i reluctantly went. When i arrived at my class and began teaching, another Chinese teacher came into my class and told me i wasn't supposed to be there, and that my class wasn't until the next period. i tried to persuade her otherwise, but those Chinese women are persistent, so i stopped arguing, and gave in. So in a nutshell, i had to teach my original class, at the original time.
2. Beggars
Beggars always come up to Abby and i because they assume we have money because we are foreigners. Little do they know! Anyway, as we were leaving dinner the other night, with leftovers, a beggar woman (that is VERY familiar with us) decided to follow us. Having no money, we continued to walk, giving her nothing, and then because she won't leave, Helen yells at us to run away from her so that she will leave us alone. And by run i mean sprint. Only in China would someone tell you to sprint from a beggar! So we gave her our leftovers instead!
3. Police
We had to go to the police station yesterday so that we could finish up our applications for our semi-permanent visas. We were told that the were going to ask us questions, easy questions. Instead they just made us fill out paperwork and take photos. So first they take Abby's photo...nice enough, and then they take mine. Granted i didn't really do my hair yesterday (actually i never do anymore), so it didn't look great, but who really cares, i'm in China. It's far too humid to do anything with my hair but put it up. If i don't, i look like mushroom head by 10:00 in the morning! Ok, so back to the photo. They lady who took it noticed i had a few stray pieces of hair, so she starts to photoshop them out. Then she starts erasing much more. Before i know it, i have a Chinese mullet, and less than half the hair i started with. Only in China will they alter a government issued photo, in a police station.
4. Humidity
Like i said, it is more humid here than anywhere else i have ever experienced. I am ALWAYS sweating, and so is everyone else. There is no way to escape it, and I'm still the only one who tries.
5. The Stares
Chinese people act as though they have never seen anyone with light skin. As you all know, my skin is lighter than most, but still it's quite ridiculous how much they stare at me. Foreigners are quite the commodity here, but there is no way of escaping it. It can be frustrating, believe me, but i'm learning to be patient, and i'm learning to adjust.
6. The AirCon
So we call the air conditioner AirCon, cause it's funny. And everyday we go outside it feels like it's raining. Not because it is, but because the air conditioners drip like crazy, from all the stories! I get wet every time i go outside! People have buckets sitting out on the sidewalks to catch the drips, but most of the time they don't' work. they drip from so high up that it will either miss the buckets completely, or just bounce right out!
7. English Names
Abby and i both have about 15 classes, so out of all those children, there are bound to be ones with funny names. We have heard names like Tom Hanks, Kobe Bryant, a boy names Fashion, a girl named Frank, Bob Pig, Pandora..but my favorite is still Grubby! Who names a child grubby?! Believe me, they don't pick their own English names!
8. Socks
The last thing i want to share with you today is the enormous sock problem here in China. Everyone wears sock, with everything! They're not really even socks though...they're little nylon socks, flesh colored! They wear them with dresses, and shorts and open toed shoes! It's awful!
Ok, so i'm done ranting for the day. I promise to share some more entertaining stories with you in the future. :)
1. There is no such thing as strategic planning, or scheduling, or timing in China
Yesterday i was supposed to have a 4:15-4:55pm class. it was my third week of classes, so i assumed i would be teaching at that time. At 3:00 i receive a call from my waiban Sophia saying that my schedule had been changed and that i now have a 3:25-4:05 class on Tues and Thurs afternoon. So, even thought she knew the day before about the scheduling change, she waited til a half hour before my class to tell me. So i reluctantly went. When i arrived at my class and began teaching, another Chinese teacher came into my class and told me i wasn't supposed to be there, and that my class wasn't until the next period. i tried to persuade her otherwise, but those Chinese women are persistent, so i stopped arguing, and gave in. So in a nutshell, i had to teach my original class, at the original time.
2. Beggars
Beggars always come up to Abby and i because they assume we have money because we are foreigners. Little do they know! Anyway, as we were leaving dinner the other night, with leftovers, a beggar woman (that is VERY familiar with us) decided to follow us. Having no money, we continued to walk, giving her nothing, and then because she won't leave, Helen yells at us to run away from her so that she will leave us alone. And by run i mean sprint. Only in China would someone tell you to sprint from a beggar! So we gave her our leftovers instead!
3. Police
We had to go to the police station yesterday so that we could finish up our applications for our semi-permanent visas. We were told that the were going to ask us questions, easy questions. Instead they just made us fill out paperwork and take photos. So first they take Abby's photo...nice enough, and then they take mine. Granted i didn't really do my hair yesterday (actually i never do anymore), so it didn't look great, but who really cares, i'm in China. It's far too humid to do anything with my hair but put it up. If i don't, i look like mushroom head by 10:00 in the morning! Ok, so back to the photo. They lady who took it noticed i had a few stray pieces of hair, so she starts to photoshop them out. Then she starts erasing much more. Before i know it, i have a Chinese mullet, and less than half the hair i started with. Only in China will they alter a government issued photo, in a police station.
4. Humidity
Like i said, it is more humid here than anywhere else i have ever experienced. I am ALWAYS sweating, and so is everyone else. There is no way to escape it, and I'm still the only one who tries.
5. The Stares
Chinese people act as though they have never seen anyone with light skin. As you all know, my skin is lighter than most, but still it's quite ridiculous how much they stare at me. Foreigners are quite the commodity here, but there is no way of escaping it. It can be frustrating, believe me, but i'm learning to be patient, and i'm learning to adjust.
6. The AirCon
So we call the air conditioner AirCon, cause it's funny. And everyday we go outside it feels like it's raining. Not because it is, but because the air conditioners drip like crazy, from all the stories! I get wet every time i go outside! People have buckets sitting out on the sidewalks to catch the drips, but most of the time they don't' work. they drip from so high up that it will either miss the buckets completely, or just bounce right out!
7. English Names
Abby and i both have about 15 classes, so out of all those children, there are bound to be ones with funny names. We have heard names like Tom Hanks, Kobe Bryant, a boy names Fashion, a girl named Frank, Bob Pig, Pandora..but my favorite is still Grubby! Who names a child grubby?! Believe me, they don't pick their own English names!
8. Socks
The last thing i want to share with you today is the enormous sock problem here in China. Everyone wears sock, with everything! They're not really even socks though...they're little nylon socks, flesh colored! They wear them with dresses, and shorts and open toed shoes! It's awful!
Ok, so i'm done ranting for the day. I promise to share some more entertaining stories with you in the future. :)
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Fire in the Sky
Has anyone ever seen that movie? well, if you haven't, don't...it's horribly disturbing, especially if you are 7 years old. anyway, China is s a very random place. the other day, well night actually, fireworks were going off outside, so Abby and i decided to watch. every time there is a wedding, or death, there are fireworks. (and we wonder why the opening and closing ceremonies were the best thing the Olympics have ever seen...) So, we're checking out these fireworks and then out of nowhere, we see what looks to be a fire in an apartment. We live on the 7th floor, with no stairs, so we have a pretty good view of the area around us. we continue to watch, and sure enough there is an apartment fire right across the way from us. it was on a higher story that ours, so I'm guessing maybe the 12th floor or so. We see this crazy fire blazing, while everything else around it has taken peace in the dark air. we quickly snap out of our mesmerised state when the thought crosses our minds that maybe we should do something about this obscure scenario. So, we call our waiban (the lady sorts taking care of us here). She makes a call to the fire dept and then calls us back saying that yes, it is a fire and that they have already received a call for it. Thank goodness!! Needless to say, there was nothing about it in the paper the next morning.
So the real reason i wanted to blog today was to explain a little bit about Chinese weddings. So far, our Chinese friends are trying to set Abby up with a very "handsome" PE teacher at the school, and even gave her a wedding brochure just in case she was interested. i think it's safe to say that Chinese girls are crazy, for no particular reason, they just are. Haha! Fiona, one of our English teacher friends (who is Chinese) says that her goal for the year is to get married so that we can be her maids of honor. I hope she succeeds :) We are on the lookout!
We crashed a wedding yesterday. It was great! Abby, Helen (another Chinese English teacher friend), and i had just come back from an event for celebrating teachers at a theater, and then it was off to the wedding. A teacher at out school was getting married, so i guess that means anyone associated with the school can come :) it was in a hotel, but I'm not exactly sure if it was the whole ceremony. i think it was, but the bride was wearing a normal white wedding dress. i was expecting a red one. I was told that you were red gowns for your wedding, so you can understand my confusion. there was a tiny stage and a ridiculous MC. It was almost like a bad tv show. the host was alright, but the acoustics were awful! they both walked down the aisle as the host said something, and then there were speeches given by both of the parties' bosses. The head master of our school gave a rather lengthy speech, and the groom's boss gave an even longer one. Then the parents of both bride and groom came up and received gifts. these gifts are silly and meant as a joke (apparently), but i didn't really understand them considering everything they said was in Chinese. During and after the ceremony, food was brought out to each table. the contents ranged from boiled frog to fried ducks feet...neither very good. The bride and groom, followed by their parents, came around to each table and took a toast with the members of the table. we just drank orange juice, but the bride and groom had to take a shot of this very clear, very strong alcohol. And there were probably around 15-20 tables...so by the time they got to our table, i don't think they minded us being there.
i guess my first Chinese wedding was pretty good. let's hope im actually invited to the next one i show up to.
So the real reason i wanted to blog today was to explain a little bit about Chinese weddings. So far, our Chinese friends are trying to set Abby up with a very "handsome" PE teacher at the school, and even gave her a wedding brochure just in case she was interested. i think it's safe to say that Chinese girls are crazy, for no particular reason, they just are. Haha! Fiona, one of our English teacher friends (who is Chinese) says that her goal for the year is to get married so that we can be her maids of honor. I hope she succeeds :) We are on the lookout!
We crashed a wedding yesterday. It was great! Abby, Helen (another Chinese English teacher friend), and i had just come back from an event for celebrating teachers at a theater, and then it was off to the wedding. A teacher at out school was getting married, so i guess that means anyone associated with the school can come :) it was in a hotel, but I'm not exactly sure if it was the whole ceremony. i think it was, but the bride was wearing a normal white wedding dress. i was expecting a red one. I was told that you were red gowns for your wedding, so you can understand my confusion. there was a tiny stage and a ridiculous MC. It was almost like a bad tv show. the host was alright, but the acoustics were awful! they both walked down the aisle as the host said something, and then there were speeches given by both of the parties' bosses. The head master of our school gave a rather lengthy speech, and the groom's boss gave an even longer one. Then the parents of both bride and groom came up and received gifts. these gifts are silly and meant as a joke (apparently), but i didn't really understand them considering everything they said was in Chinese. During and after the ceremony, food was brought out to each table. the contents ranged from boiled frog to fried ducks feet...neither very good. The bride and groom, followed by their parents, came around to each table and took a toast with the members of the table. we just drank orange juice, but the bride and groom had to take a shot of this very clear, very strong alcohol. And there were probably around 15-20 tables...so by the time they got to our table, i don't think they minded us being there.
i guess my first Chinese wedding was pretty good. let's hope im actually invited to the next one i show up to.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Afternoon Delight...
Ha! So this is my first official Chinese Blog, well, i guess it's my first official blog in general. if there's one thing you need to know about me, its that i hate blogging, but maybe ill learn to love it after my year here in China. Oh, and if you're wondering about the title, i just found out that i got the afternoon off from teaching, so don't be thinking anything else. Dirty, dirty people.
Anyway, some of you have already heard a little bit about what i am doing here. I'm teaching English at a Chinese middle school...among other things :) i have an average of 60 students per class, so its a bit overwhelming at times, but i think I'm learning to like it. China has been wonderful so far! You're probably already fed up with my lack of good descriptive words, but mind you, its hard to communicate with anyone here with words that are longer than 2 syllables...so spare me! But this is life for me, at least for the next ten months. i love the town that i am in, and the teachers are my school have been so welcoming and friendly. My roommate is very cool and we get along and live together well. Her name is Abby. She sorta reminds me of my freshman year roommate from APU, but in a hippy sort of way. Similar personalities, but MUCH different interests. Though both great people. There is also a married couple that live in our town and came with our group, but they're from Michigan. Kelly and Gavin McGraw! This is their second year in Hangshi, and they loved it enough to return, so i am hopeful.
This town is relatively close to a few other APU alumni that are also teaching. They live and teach in Wuhan at a high school. Their names are Cory, Ernesto, Jessie, Stasi, and Taylor. (If i give you names now, it will make it easier later :) A wonderful group, though i am sad to say that i will only see them about once a month. Huangshi, where i live, is a much smaller town, and only has about 2.5 million people. still, regardless of where i go, someone knows me as the foreign teacher from school #8. Haha! its weird, I'm telling you! And you thought i was popular before! Wuhan has about 9.5 million, so it's just a bit bigger...but they have WAY more imported food, so its a good place to shop. But honestly, i think Huangshi is a better fit for me...even if i can't get peanut butter here. Which btw, I'm addicted to now!! Ill explain later!
Ok, so i think that's good for my first entry. Maybe in the future i won't direct it to a crowd (especially since less than a crowd will be reading this), but keep in mind i rerely have any idea what i'm doing. Alright, bye for now!
Also...last thing, real quick...i am 15 hours ahead of you west coast folk, so when i get my computer remember that so we can skype. my skype name is becca.pilgrim. i know, real creative, but at least its easy.
Anyway, some of you have already heard a little bit about what i am doing here. I'm teaching English at a Chinese middle school...among other things :) i have an average of 60 students per class, so its a bit overwhelming at times, but i think I'm learning to like it. China has been wonderful so far! You're probably already fed up with my lack of good descriptive words, but mind you, its hard to communicate with anyone here with words that are longer than 2 syllables...so spare me! But this is life for me, at least for the next ten months. i love the town that i am in, and the teachers are my school have been so welcoming and friendly. My roommate is very cool and we get along and live together well. Her name is Abby. She sorta reminds me of my freshman year roommate from APU, but in a hippy sort of way. Similar personalities, but MUCH different interests. Though both great people. There is also a married couple that live in our town and came with our group, but they're from Michigan. Kelly and Gavin McGraw! This is their second year in Hangshi, and they loved it enough to return, so i am hopeful.
This town is relatively close to a few other APU alumni that are also teaching. They live and teach in Wuhan at a high school. Their names are Cory, Ernesto, Jessie, Stasi, and Taylor. (If i give you names now, it will make it easier later :) A wonderful group, though i am sad to say that i will only see them about once a month. Huangshi, where i live, is a much smaller town, and only has about 2.5 million people. still, regardless of where i go, someone knows me as the foreign teacher from school #8. Haha! its weird, I'm telling you! And you thought i was popular before! Wuhan has about 9.5 million, so it's just a bit bigger...but they have WAY more imported food, so its a good place to shop. But honestly, i think Huangshi is a better fit for me...even if i can't get peanut butter here. Which btw, I'm addicted to now!! Ill explain later!
Ok, so i think that's good for my first entry. Maybe in the future i won't direct it to a crowd (especially since less than a crowd will be reading this), but keep in mind i rerely have any idea what i'm doing. Alright, bye for now!
Also...last thing, real quick...i am 15 hours ahead of you west coast folk, so when i get my computer remember that so we can skype. my skype name is becca.pilgrim. i know, real creative, but at least its easy.
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