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. :)