Teacher's Aid

Please help! My culture class is currently studying common misconceptions that people develop around America and Americans based on the representation of media. Its been extremely enlightening to them to learn things like:

*The majority of Americans are not blonde or blue eyed
*The poverty rate in China is lower than in America
*Americans eat vegetables

The next part of their assignment on this topic requires some assistance from my American friends. I am wondering if you could respond to this blog post with some beliefs you have about China or the Chinese people. Many of you have never visited China, and all the knowledge you have of it is in effect, media driven. Even the reports I give you are tainted by my point of view. The assignment will be for them to take the misconceptions or generalizations made about China and respond - either in defense of the misconceptions, or in expansion of the original assertion. I think this is going to be a great opportunity for them to learn about an outsiders perception of China, and a challenge for certain.

Don't hesitate to make a statement that may seem inflammatory or contrary to the guidelines I have previously given - in culture class, everything goes.

New Term, New Identity Crisises

Each new semester offers me great amusement as my students pick their English names. Inevitably, my classrooms are full of Bobs, Bills, Amys, and Michael Schofields, but there are always the random, unique, or extremely misguided choices to enjoy. Perhaps it makes me a bad teacher, but I often let them use whatever name they want so that the laughter in my head aides my sanity in a difficult teaching day. Here are some fun ones from this semester:

Jusicate
Bruss Li and Forest Gun...
Cooler Black
Mongo and his partner Jabulani
Muge
July, October, May and February
Toru
Coco, Debbie and Lily...who are all male
Tete
Dobby, and the partner who obviously won the arguement, Harry
Mukhter
David Bush, and his classmate W Bush, and his other classmate Obama

When the Mama came to China

Two weeks ago, my mother came to China and I saw what life in China looked like through a little emperor's eyes...and it is hard to go back!That's not the point of this story though...

The day that Angelyn and I returned from Paris (a trip to be blogged about at a later date, I promise), my mother and my second cousin-possibly-once-removed-but-its-all-very-confusing Jeanie were also on a plane to Beijing for a 10 day tour of my home. Well, to be factual, Jeannie was on a plane to Beijing, and my mother was on a plane to Tokyo, which would be something to complain about if not for the miracle of flight. (Thanks Lucy, funny!) They both arrived eventually, and began a whirlwind 24 hours in Beijing. We stayed the night in a hostel that looked a bit like a pink light palace to my mind, but delighted them with tiny doors and China dogs. We traveled to the wall, and though Jeannie was incredibly sick she managed to at least sit on it - dream fulfilled. We walked around Tiananmen square, and I got to watch my delighted mother get hit on by a Communist guard. But time was up, and I had a guy I was anxious to get home to, so we boarded the train to Shiyan.

Only my mom story: I had warned my mom and Jeannie that on a China train, and any public restroom in the country, there is no seat to greet you, but a hole in the ground which you have the pleasure of squatting over. These women were troopers, and were all for experiencing China in all its glory. For my mother, that meant nearly peeing in a drainage hole in the corner of an open sinkroom in front of a train attendant! Luckily, she was averted but in her defense, there was "a hole in the ground"!

We arrived in Shiyan to 5 days of rain and cold, not the best weather for everything we had wanted to do, like exploring the city and climbing Wudang mountain. I was disappointed, but it ended up being the perfect excuse to stay inside and spend more time chatting with each other, and having in depth discussions with all my wonderful Chinese friends. They got to meet our Chinese family, my favorite class, friends like crazy Christina, and most importantly to any China experience, Florance. They played mahjong with Mike, got to help teach class at Trent's school, rode a crazy bus, and nearly died in a freak hot pot explosion. They got to spend time with our foreign friends, including Xiangfan Carie, and have their hair and nails done for ridiculously cheap. And my mother finally got the wish of her heart fulfilled when she got to see split-pants in action.

Thursday night we took the overnight train to Xi'an, one of my favorite cities in China...and not just because they had a Starbucks...where I was spoiled from hostels forever when I discovered there are hotels in China with BATH TUBS. We spent two days there, going to the Terracotta Warriors (no LingLing boys, one pyramid sighting) and exploring the Muslim Quarter. As expected, they went a little crazy with all the bartering, and I was running around like a crazy person, shouting "How much?", "Too much", and "Make it cheaper!". Trent and I received our first engagement present, a coveted Terracotta Warrior Chess set, though at the time I had no idea what it was intended for as I was still wearing my girlfriend label - that came off Saturday night.

You know the story, but what you don't know is how fantastically my mother exercised her acting abilities to help pull off the proposal. She lied about having my ring, convinced me she didn't know a thing, and actually pulled out tears for a fake goodbye to Trent in Shiyan! She got me dressed nicely for night on the town (though still couldn't convince this wanderer to wash her hair!), and then she and Jeannie dragged me through a sea of at least 4,000 Chinese people to stand in a spot where Trent could find me. The woman deserves an Oscar.

It was so incredible to show some of the people I love my home. And I was SO proud of my family! They were the perfect guests, reveling in China's unexpectedness, eating and loving everything they could get their hands on, and really embracing our Chinese friends' personal stories. They were intrigued, full of questions, and ready to experience everything...and giving out hugs like candy to everyone who said they looked young! There was no McDonald's on their agenda, no Western toilet requirements, and no complaints. I was bursting with pride, and so sad to say goodbye! Love you crazy Ladies!

God's Sense of Humor

As my fiance would say, "He's a jokester"

I know I am far behind on blogging, and there are a million things I would like to catch you up on...my European vacation, the new semester in China, my mother's visit to Shiyan...but all of those things of the "past" kind of fade into the back ground when you are looking at the rest of your life.

Last weekend, Trent asked me to marry him and, of course, I said YES!

STORY
My mother came to visit last week and unknown to me, she brought with her a gorgeous ring that he had picked out for me. (I know everyone says their ring is beautiful and we all think...uh huh...but mine really is...). She and my cousin visited for a week, and at the end of the week I took her for a few days in Xi'an, an ancient city in another province that is one of our favorites. Trent had told me he couldn't come because he had to teach a class on Saturday morning.
We spent two days there, and the last night we were going to this big musical light show that happens every night in front of a pagoda outside of town. There is this enormous square fountain with multicolored lights and water that comes out in patterns to the music playing - I had never been and from what I saw of it, it was really beautiful. We went there, and my mother eventually manipulated me into standing in the middle for a photo. ...and there he was. I was shocked, but managed to hear his incredible words, watch him go down on his knee, and squeak out a yes!
He turned me around, and all of our friends from Shiyan were there - cheering and preparing the champagne...they had all made the long trip from Shiyan to celebrate with us, which was so special to me. To have my mother there, my China family, and the man I love asking me to spend my life with him - it was perfect.
So inevitably, you will all want more details...of which I have none. Eventually I might have some photos of the night from Angelyn (I was understandably preoccupied) I have no news on weddings, life plans, or even location for living - our lives are very up in the air right now! But I can tell you that God has a sense of humor. To take two people, who knew each other in every other way than romantically for years, place them in countless situations together and keep them blind, and send them to the opposite ends of the earth, only to bring them back together in the most unlikely of places...to see something different in each other, fall in love, and choose to stay that way...He's pretty clever. We are very happy, and trust it because you can see His hand.

More Proposal Photos

Pure Exhuastion

Four weeks in Europe.
Four countries, if you include a touchdown in Russia.
Too much money down the drain.
Too many memories made not to be worth it.
Over 1,000 photos taken.

Less than one week back in China.
One mother in the country.
One cousin in the country.
8 billion water drops from the sky
Too much laughter.

16 teaching hours on the horizon.
16 weeks of repetition ahead.
Too little sleep submitted to jet lag.
1,000 butterflies anticipating something incredible to come...
So much left to be said...another time...

Before I Go...

Where has the time gone? In less than 8 hours Angelyn and I will board a train to begin our 3 day journey to Paris, France! Finally fulfilling a dream, I will spend the next three weeks traveling through France and Spain. I will try to blog if its a possibility, otherwise, you'll hear from me in a month. When I return, I'll be bringing my mother and cousin back to Shiyan to see my home.

School is on break for another month for the spring festival - the students are gone and the campus is quiet. Friends have slowly been saying their goodbyes and making there way to equally exciting places, from Budapest to Malaysia. China is shutting down, travel is insane as 1.6 billion people travel to their hometowns.

Its been nice staying around town a little longer than usual. We were able to complete a plan two years in the making and spent a few days in Hong Kong with our good friend Carole before she moves back to the states. Hong Kong - expensive, busy, beautiful, and CLEAN. View: On The Island - Hong Kong Photos

Most importantly, I was able to see my darling friend Dacy get married, and experience a little bit of post-Christmas snow. View: Off To A Great Start - January Photos

Its 2009, and this year is already full of blessings, excitement and challenges. Viva La Vida!

Just in case you snobby Americans had any unrealistic expectations

The following is the booking confirmation email I received after booking Trent and I a hostel in Hong Kong...it just cracked me up so I had to share it with you. If it helps to envision this more clearly, we paid $10 American dollars a night each, to sleep on a plank of wood behind a curtain in a room with 12 other people and 2 laundry machines.

Friendly Reminder: We ask our precious customers to read the whole passage below thoroughly so that you will solve most of the possible problems or have a clearer picture about our hostels, or even hong kong hostel-style.

1. The Hostelbookers.com company does not have the categorization-of-room-ty pe function on their website at present (they are establishing now). We can only sell our standard rooms on their website. So we fail to differentiate our deluxe rooms from other hostels.

2. Foreign customers from America and Europe easily have wrong expectation because the hostel in their country are large with a comparable low price because their country is large also.

3. As above, they always think the rooms of hostels in Hong Kong are very tiny. That's what I always observe form the reviews on the website. They think they should receive similar rooms in Hong Kong as they got in their country with the same price. They don't understand that the land in Hong Kong is among the highest in the world.

4. Customers, after traveling to the mainland China, always complain that our rooms are tiny as compared with what they get in China. They don't understand that China is a still developing country. Their land is a lot cheaper than that in Hong Kong. Though Hong Kong is returned to China, they two own two separate and different systems. This is the famous policy 'one country, two systems'.

5. Customers doesn't know that the room rates are fluctuated and decided by the market. I sometimes come across some customers asking why the room rates at certain period is a lot higher that what he got in the past. I have given up answering this kind of foolish questions (not offending).

When students imitate Ghostbusters for a grade

Scene 1
Ghost 1: Oh! I'm thirsty. I want to drink some fresh blood
Ghosts 2: Oh! I'm hungry. I think children are delicious. It's time for supper now. Let's go and look for some children.

Scene 2
Child 1: What's wrong? Why are all the lights turn off?
Child 2: Brother, I am a little afraid. Oh! Look, what's that?
Children 1,2: Father, Mother, these are two ghosts in our house. Help!
Father: Don't worry. We will find them out. What did they look like?
Child 1: They are long black hairs which covered their faces.
Child 2: When the wind blowed away their hairs I saw their white eyes and long teeth.
Child 1,2: Oh! That's terrible! We are afraid.
Mother: Oh...my God! I need a cross which can protect us. Ghosts always afraid of it.
Father: Stay calm! I better take my gun. Okay! Lets go and see what happened.

Scene 3
Father: Heads up! I will shoot anyone who moves. Who are you? Where are you from? What are you going to do?
Ghost 1: We are lonely ghosts and live in the underground world.
Ghost : Though, what we look like is terrible, we don't want to harm you if you can afford some fresh blood and meat.
Mother: Oh! I killed a turkey just now, there is some blood and fresh meat. I think you'll like them.
Ghost 1: Thank you! You're very nice. In fact, we are angels in heaven. The God want to see whether you dare to help someone who looks terrible and frighten you.
Ghost 2: Now, our task is over. Your performance is perfect. May God bless you.
Ghost 1,2: May your family be happy forever. Bye-bye!
Family members: See you!

AIDS can't be transmitted by mosquitoes

Chinese Aids Video-Musical that plays on our K5 bus...
...its hilarious and educational.
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTkPyw7DmiU

Meanwhile, today I saw a little Sharpe dog wearing an American army outfit, complete with a plastic gun on his hip, old people in a square performing a new years dance for each other, and a row of pigs hanging in the street...I love China today.

Tis the Season for Overwhelming Yourself

(For recent, December photos, click here)
You would think that outside of America, in a country where the vast majority of people have NO IDEA what the Christmas season really entails...that one could enjoy a nice relaxing holiday season. One would be wrong...December is filled not only with holiday happenings, but final exams, spring festival preparations and all the usual day to day activities. Oh yeah, and lets throw in some puppies! Amidst all the craziness, I once again neglected to write on the last three weeks events until the last minute. My apologies are becoming redundant, so lets forgive with the spirit of Christmas cheer and move on.

Three weeks ago, two of my favorite former students (current friends) called me to say that they had an emergency and wanted to see me immediately. They arrived in my home, I left the room for two seconds, and when I came back there was a puppy sitting on my couch! An adorable, shovel faced China puppy! Squealing, I scooped her up and smothered her with love, only to see another little brown ball of fur come bounding at me from across the room. TWO puppies! Turns out, Lawrence and Christina had been plotting the perfect birthday present, and wanted to give Angelyn and I something to attempt to fill the void in our pet lives after the loss of Lucy. So that is the story of how SimSim Bashful and Trixi came into our lives. They have destroyed my house, doubled in size, and kept me up at all hours of the night...and we love them! Angelyn and I are once again extremely proud parents, and developing conniving ways of keeping them, despite the insistence of our waiban that you...and I quote..."Can't have dogs, because their smell is harder to get rid of than cigarette smoke" (Yeah, like 2 packs a day for 10 years smells better than our Pantene Pro-V pampered pups)
The day we got the puppies, we had already broken the apartment code of conduct, so it seemed like a good time to climb the mountain behind our house and illegally cut down the traditional Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. Barry and Trent were our mountain men, and toppled the tree that Barry and I carefully selected. However, our eyes were bigger than my living room, and the Charlie Brown tree became a gigantic force to be reckoned with. After some giggling hysterics on my part, we set to work pruning the beast and she is currently lit and fulfilling her Christmas destiny. Sadly, she is doing it postmortem, as the puppies consistently drank her dirty tree water until she passed...some 10 days later.
Barry and I have had our hands full these past few weeks judging various speech and song competitions. It is the 3rd Annual Foreign Language Cultural Festival, which is a truly terrifying time for the foreign teachers, as its the time our students get serious about showing off their English chops, and the caliber of our teaching is on display for all the world to see. Its hard not to compare yourself to the other teachers by way of your students' skills. Barry and I had some moderately friendly banter on the pronunciation of the other's students, or their singing abilities, and whether or not they waved at us from the stage (and how many times). The Singing Competition was 60 students, singing one minute each of an English song, and sitting there in the front row I could finally see why Paula and Randy love the first few rounds of American Idol so much...it was absolutely delightful to listen to 15 students butcher Yesterday Once More (Katherine, you would have died). We got through it by making jokes with each other, criticizing the other's scoring methods, and unfairly rating our own students much higher than the others. But the real highlight of the event was the finals of the Speech Competition. Oh, if only I had video for you of the opening act...6 girls in "juicy double" track suits bouncing, grinding and shaking what their mothers gave them to "Hollerback Girl" in front of 200 students, 50 faculty, the dean of their college, and the president of the university. The speeches were what was to be expected for the most part...until I heard a voice that made me perk up and feel...at home...that would have been the boy who spent weeks memorizing Barack Obama's entire victory speech and then used it to form 98% of his dissertation on "Flying with My Dream". His intonation was flawless, I was so impressed with his gumption I had to give him a 90. Cheating, plagiarism, these things are nothing in China...and by the time he was finished it was clear no one else had a chance.

I turned another year older. Some of my sisters stayed over the night before and we had a sweet old-fashioned slumber party complete with goodies, hair dying, boy talk, and a photo shoot. My birthday was a day filled with breakfast...mimosas, potato pancakes, bagels and quiche. I got all my birthday wishes: I was not required to do a thing that I didn't want to do, time with friends, a nap, a good book, a Christmas movie, and a full night's sleep with no dogs to wake me (Thank you Breelands!)
Lawrence was one of my very first students, and has since become a friend of mine. A few weeks ago he traveled to Beijing to apply for his visa to America. We spent a lot of time preping him for his interview, trying to form his answers so they could be assured he wasn't just looking for an American wife, or that he wouldn't disappear into the crowd and never return. Luckily, his puppy-dog like excitement and smile won them over and he got it! He left yesterday for Wuhan to catch his plane to Columbus. He has been accepted to Ohio State University's engineering program, and I'm so excited for him. We took him out the night before he left for some classic Chinese food and one last round of KTV - turns out he's wild for it and I think he'll be heart broken to know its not so popular among the Waiguoren. Knowing that he'll probably have to wander into some western bar on a Wednesday night to sing "Man, I feel like a Woman" in front of 30 drunk, ambivalent strangers to get his karaoke fix kinda breaks my heart. He has all the nervousness and unrealistic expectations of anticipating his life in America, so we spent a lot of time talking about what he would find there. We encouraged him to plug into college ministry, or to find a Chinese family to worship with, and to make friends with those who would build him up and love him as a brother. He just recently began expressing interest in the Word, and I am really hoping he finds people in the states to lead him into the light. It was hard to say goodbye to him. I never realize how protective and mother hen like I get over these young adults...until I have to truly put them in the Father's hands.

As of now, I'm in the midst of finals craziness, and have another to give this afternoon. Tonight John, Megan, Trent, Angelyn and I will board a train to meet our Xiangfan friends in Xi'an for a pre-Christmas get together. Hot springs, the Muslim quarter and Starbuck's toffee nut latte's...here we come.

(Although, this trip has a high standard to live up to...and I will be thinking of your dear friend!)