This is Me, Being Positive

My mattress is as hard as a rock.

No. It’s harder than a rock.

And as a result, I don’t sleep very well. Or at all.

Apparently if I flipped over the mattress it wouldn't be as hard, except the teacher who had my room last year wasn't exactly clean, so my boss said that I probably wouldn't want to use that side.

How am I staying positive? Since the bed is so uncomfortable, I never waste time sleeping in.

I am not familiar with most of the food here.

I am always willing to try new things, but more often than not, I do not finish what is put on my plate.

Often times I can’t figure out from what animal the meat in front of me has come from.

How am I staying positive? I will not be spending much money on food. 

Why, hello lots money in my savings account!!

Most of the food that does, in fact, look appetizing, is way too spicy for me to handle.

Yes, I know I need to work on my tolerance for spicy things, but for now, I am a total and complete wimp.

There is also this numbing spice that makes your mouth go all tingly so you don’t realize how hot the rest of your food is until you have already eaten all of it. Then, all of the water in the world wouldn't be able to extinguish the volcano that is your mouth.

How am I staying positive? I guess I will lose a bit of weight by not eating the food given to me.

I don’t know where anything is.

Most of the time I am afraid to venture outside of my house because I feel like I’ll get lost.

My very small world currently consists of my school, my apartment, and the market 50 ft from my front door.

How am I staying positive? I get to go on daily adventures where everything is brand new.

I don’t speak Chinese. If I do get lost, I won’t be able to communicate with anyone.

Someone could be talking about me with other people right in front of me, and I wouldn't even know it.

How am I staying positive? I will look at this as a learning experience.

My teaching schedule keeps getting changed.

How is this positive? Compare it to all of my possible teaching experiences and repeat to myself, “It can only get better.”

I get charged triple the amount on everything, just because I’m a foreigner. At the mall I asked how much a purse was, and found out it was 900 yuan ($140). My boss said that for her it would only be 300 ($47).

How am I staying positive? This is only more incentive to learn the Chinese words for numbers.

The time differences between here and the US is really inconvenient, so I am never able to be on Skype at the same time as anyone else.

How is this positive? I will look forward to the weekends more. 

Feeding the Koi Fish

There is a small pond in the park near to the apartment where church is held.

The pond is FULL of koi fish.

Anyone can go to the pond, pay 5 RMB ($0.80), and feed the fish. 

With a baby bottle.

Some of the fish are massive and easily push the smaller fish out of their way to get to the food.

When I did this, I took my camera. However, I had forgotten to bring my memory card.

So, to show you what feeding the fish looks like, I got a photo from someone else’s camera. 

I plan on going again sometime this next week, so hopefully I will add more photos. 

Floating Baby Heads

Yep. You read that right.

Floating. Baby. Heads.

Sounds strange, but oddly  enough, it wasn’t.

Let me explain.

There is a little baby boutique in a very nice part of Chengdu which also has a sort of baby spa. Mothers take their precious little children to be pampered, cleaned, and “floated” at this spa. There are giant buckets that are filled with warm water which the babies are placed in. Now, these are very tiny babies. Not just toddlers, but infants.

Each baby’s body gets put through this tiny little flotation device, and then its head is secured. They are then able to float around, all the while keeping their head above the water. It’s really unusual, but interesting.

They even sell supplies so you can do it at home.  

Jumping the Fence

To get into the school I have to walk through a gate that is watched over by a guard at all times. There are three different entrances to the school. The rest of the school is surrounded by a tall gate and brick pillars. You see, students aren't allowed to leave school grounds between Sunday afternoon and Saturday afternoon. During the school week, students have to remain on campus at all times. To leave, they have to have a special pass with the official school stamp.

Over the past week there have been some changes. Apparently, some of the students found that the fence was easy to scale. Students were frequently leaving campus to buy snacks or walk around the streets. So, what did the school decide to do? Add sharp metal spikeTs on the top of the fence to make it seem even more like a prison, of course!

There are piles and piles of the spikes on the ground as men have been working to attach them to keep the students in.

Now I need to tell you about one of my students named Ben. Ben is an 11^th grader who has been in the English studies program for two years now. However, his English is significantly worse than most of my sixth grade students. In class, he doesn’t even try. And when forced to speak, his voice is hardly above a whisper.

Although Ben has absolutely no English skills, he is a very clever business man. Ben has recognized the need for outside food and drink. Students are willing to pay top dollar for non-cafeteria food. Ben can often be seen walking through the halls, attempting to hide large bags of food from the teachers that he then sells to his fellow classmates. And he doesn’t just sell his products for what he paid…there is a mark up. Usually 30%, but he can double the price for the popular items.

Now, you are probably wondering “If there are now spikes on the fences, how does Ben get his merchandise?” I wondered the same thing, and so asked one of my coworkers. He laughed and said that Ben makes friends with people with those special stamped notes. He buys them from other students, changes the date, and then uses them  to get past the guards. Clever boy, huh?

Well, I thought so, until I found out that his method is actually a lot simpler than that.

The other day I was leaving school, waiting just outside the gate for my driver to pick me up. I saw two people on bikes ride past me, both with large bags in their baskets. I watched them ride down the sidewalk and come to a stop a little ways down. They quickly picked up their bags, and passed them through the metal bars onto the school property. And who was on the other side of the gate exchanging money for the goods? Why Ben, of course.

His plan is so simple. Genius, really.

Ben may be a failure in English, but I think he’ll still be successful in life.

Fun Weekend #1

I had the opportunity to spend this last weekend in Chengdu with a family from church. They were wonderful as they arranged for their driver to pick me up and take me to their home. Their apartment is where we have church, so I had already been there. They have a spare room, and invited me to spend the weekends with them. I am so grateful that my need to be around Americans and western food has been taken care of!

Over the weekend we went shopping in the North Market. Never before had I seen so many little shops crammed into one space. The market consists of multiple 4-story buildings jam-packed with vendor after vendor selling everything from plastic buckets and faux antique jewelry boxes, to calligraphy supplies and fine china. It was fun to just look around. Everything was so inexpensive. For example, they sell these hand-carved stands for calligraphy brushes to hang on. These stands could easily be used as a jewelry organizer to hold necklaces. In the United States, I would expect to pay$30 or more for this item. The beautiful stands that I saw were only 22 RMB, or about $3.50.

I also saw bags and bags that looked like this.

At first I thought I was looking at noodles, but turns out they were rubber bands. Rubber bands of all shapes and sizes. You can truly buy anything here.

After the market, we went out to eat. We headed to one of the nicer shopping centers that had a western style restaurant. Once we got there, I laughed. It was western, all right… Peter’s Tex-Mex Grill is a chain of “American” style restaurants. The waitresses were dressed in what was supposed to be Mexican clothing, and the menu was all in English. One big difference with this place is that it didn’t just serve steak, burgers, burritos, and tacos…it also had noodles, dumplings, noodles, and did I mention noodles? Yep. Despite the English menu, I was constantly reminded that  I was still in China.

I ordered the avocado chicken salad. It was delicious. One thing that I loved is that they actually put an entire avocado on my plate. In the U.S. it seems like if you want even just a tablespoon of avocado you have to pay $2 extra. In fact, the salad was so enormous that I didn’t even come close to finishing it.

Oh yeah, I also got to feed fish with baby bottles, but that’s a story for a later day…

In Which Evann Compares Her Life to that of Gilmore Girls

The television show Gilmore Girls is brilliant. It ran for seven seasons from 2000-2007, and chronicles the high school and college experiences of Rory Gilmore and her mother Lorelai.

What makes this show so entertaining is the witty dialogue, the fast paced story lines, the clever comments, and the never ending references to music, television, news, and movies.

There is a reason why I brought the entire series of Gilmore Girls with me to China...

Gilmore Girls kept me sane while I had to spend hours and hours grading papers during my student teaching experience. Gilmore Girls kept me entertained during the summer when I had nothing else to do. Gilmore Girls taught me memorable life lessons in extremely funny ways.

Now, Gilmore Girls is saving me again. Not only does this show remind me of my time spent back at BYU, but the characters are familiar and make me feel a little less homesick.

There is a scene where two of the main characters are discussing life challenges. Lorelai is thinking about opening her own business, and Luke is telling her about his experience opening his own restaurant.

“I couldn't stay where I am if I wanted.” -Lorelai

“You’re just scared. Just like everybody else when they’re taking on something big.” -Luke

“Well then, what does everybody else do to get through this feeling?” -Lorelai

“They run in the back, throw up, pass out, then smack their head on the floor. It’s what I did on the first morning I opened the diner. Look, there’s no button to push to get you through this. You’ve just got to jump in and be scared and stick with it until it gets fun.” -Luke

“How long until the diner got fun?”  -Lorelai

“About a year." -Luke

I think that I need to take Luke’s advice. It will be hard, but eventually it will get fun. Although, I hope this gets fun sooner than a year, because in a year I will already be back home.

Oy, with the poodles already…

Mountains? So they tell me...

Chengdu is surrounded by mountains.

Supposedly.

I have yet to see any.

There is so much smog and bad weather that I can never see farther than 500 feet in any direction.

I have only experienced one day where I could see blue sky. 

And even then, it was only for a few short hours.

They say that Chengdu experiences fewer sunny days than London.

I definitely believe it.

There is a saying here that we so rarely see the sun that when it does show up, 

dogs bark because they don’t recognize it.

A famous local poet who died in the 1980s wrote about how he could see the tall white-capped mountain peaks from his home in the city. I guess this is proof of how much can change in a few short decades.

So, you say the sky is blue.

But I don’t think I can believe it any more. 

I am located right at the base of the Tibetan Plateau in the "Red Basin." 

As you can see, I should be able to see mountains of some sort, but I can't. 

The Bakery

There is a bakery at school that has some decent food. I can’t tell what most of the items sold there are supposed to be, but some are identifiable.

In the center of this photo is something quite delicious. However, it is so sweet, that I don’t think I’ll be purchasing another one any time soon. The outer layer of this dessert is some sort of gummy coating that is really thick on the bottom. Inside, there is cream and pieces of fruit on top, and a small chunk of cake at the bottom. It is really tasty, and only costs 7RMB ($1.11).

The cake on the right cost 4RMB ($0.60), and was really tasteless. I think I'll be able to avoid eating that again...

The bread on the left was really good. My Chinese coworker said they call it pineapple bread. However, it tastes nothing like pineapple. It's more like a really sweet dessert bread. 

I don’t often shop at the on-campus bakery simply because everything there is so sweet, and I already get to eat lunch in the cafeteria for free. I’d have to pay to eat at the bakery. However, there are a number of students who chose to eat in the bakery for each meal, every day. I guess this is how one could identify the really wealthy students: just look for the kids holding multiple 100RMB bills in their hands at lunch time. 

That Dang Internet

I had the goal to post something every day.

And I had been successful, until Thursday.

The internet here isn’t the most reliable thing. About a quarter of the time, I don’t get any kind of internet access. And when I do have internet access, it is often very slow.

Now, everything in China is censored. Most of the internet is blocked.

If I connect to the internet from a regular computer, out of all of the websites I usually go to, I would only be able to get into Gmail. Facebook is obviously blocked, as is Blogger, YouTube and Google. It is frustrating, but there is a way around it. That is, when it wants to be cooperative and work for me…

Enter Astrill.

Astrill is a program that you can purchase and download to essentially trick the internet into thinking you are somewhere in the world you are not.

By clicking on “Portland” of “Miami” or “Scranton” I have instant access to Facebook, Blogger, and pretty much anything else online.

This means I also have access to Netflix. Currently, only those in the United States can enjoy Netflix online. Although Netflix isn’t blocked in China, I still wouldn’t have access to anything because I’m in China. However, just as Astrill allows me to get on Facebook, it also allows me to trick Netflix into working for me.

It costs about $5 a month, but I think it's worth it.   

Another fantastic thing about Astrill is that I can trick the internet into thinking I’m in England. Meaning, I can stream anything from the BBC for free. This is my favorite thing as I can now watch the new episodes of Doctor Who!

However, Astrill does not always like to work when I want it. There are 20 different cities in the U.S. that I can connect through, but quite often, none of them work. In fact, I wasn’t able to connect to Astrill for over 24 hours earlier this week. Meaning, no blog post on Thursday.

Although, I am still grateful for the times it does decide to work for me. It allows me to keep in contact with many more people I otherwise would not have contact with. 

Chinese Knockoffs

In my limited experience here, I have already seen many items for sale that were obviously Chinese knockoffs. China is very label obsessed, especially if the label is in English. For real American goods, one can expect to pay almost triple here what they would normally pay in the United States. This makes things very expensive, as when you compare the United States to China, products in the US are already very high. This means that only the top of the top can afford items with real logos.

However, the lower classes don’t want to be left in the dust fashion wise. So, they improvise. Let’s focus on Ralph Lauren for a moment. To me, a polo is a polo, but for people here, a polo shirt with the polo player over the heart makes it infinitely better. However, those little logos are just so small. How do we make sure people can see that I am supposedly wearing Ralph Lauren? Well, let’s just make the logo five times bigger! 

I also found this website funny. It has many examples of Chinese knockoffs that I have yet to see for myself. 

Buses and Birthdays

First of all, I must mention that today is my mother's 50th birthday. 

Happy birthday mom!

Wish I could be there. 

Riding the bus in this city is always an adventure. The biggest problem is that everybody rides the bus. Even though each bus comes by every five minutes, they are still all jam-packed. If they are too full, they will just pass by a stop. If you attempt to catch a bus during a busy part of the day, odds are you will get passed by at least five buses before being allowed onto one. And even then, you will need to be willing to get really friendly with the people around you…

On most of the buses here there is no designated slot in which to place your money. Instead, there is a bus employee who walks around the bus and collects money from each rider. This way, you can get change and a receipt. Also, depending on where you are going, it might cost more for the ride. If you catch a bus in town, and you are only going to ride for a few stops, then it costs 1.50 RMB. However, if you plan on riding all the way into Chengdu, then it is 2.50 RMB. But, if you happen to get a bus with air conditioning, then it is 0.50RMB more. The money taker is there to make sure you pay the correct amount.

I do not envy the job of the money taker. She has to watch both the front and the back door for any new passengers, and then make her way towards them. This can be very difficult when the bus is really full. I have been shoved plenty of times by impatient bus employees trying to move from one end to the other.

As I was thinking about this, I realized how easy it would be to sneak onto a bus without paying. Since most of the time the bus is really crowded, the money taker generally only walks towards people with an outstretched hand that has money in it. The bus system here really counts on people being honest. Now, I know that not everybody is honest, since I have seen a few people get away with not paying anything, but for the most part, people do pay.

I say it would be very easy to get on a bus without paying, but what I mean is that it would be very easy for a Chinese person to get away with not paying. Since I stick out so much, it would be almost guaranteed that someone would notice if the incredibly tall white girl I didn’t pay. Not that I would ever actually try to get away with not paying…

This is a photo of the bus driver and the woman who takes riders' money. However, this was a slow day, so she stayed up front to collect money. 

There doesn't seem to be any dress code, and I have yet to see one who smiles. Most of them just glare and yell at people.

How does the city stay so clean??

China has consistently had a very low unemployment rate for a number of years. One would wonder how that is possible, given that it has a population of 1.3 billion people. I guess it is because China has taken upon itself the responsibility of employing every single person, even if that means they have to create (useless) jobs for people to do.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve noticed that the streets are immaculate. By that I mean that the flowers, trees and bushes are beautiful and there is no trash on the ground. However, not only is there no debris on the streets, there are also no leaves on the ground. “How is this possible?” you may ask? Well, they have leaf sweepers.

In the early morning they have someone drive through all of the streets spraying down all of the trees, knocking some of the dead leaves off of the tree. Then, later in the morning they have someone else sweep it all up using what looks like giant feather dusters. And since the city of Chengdu is so big, and there are many, many trees, there must be hundreds of people with this “leaf sweeper” title.

Yesterday I was waiting at a bus stop when a small car pulled up alongside me. Out jumped six people. Five were women who had large brooms and mops, and the other was a man, whose only job was to drive them from bus stop to bus stop. They then proceeded to all try to clean the bus stop at the same time. Five people did the work of what one person could have easily done in about the same time. 

Church in Chengdu

Sorry, no photos with this post. I forgot to bring my camera on this particular adventure. 

This past Sunday was a very happy day. I was finally able to go to church. I would have gone last week, but Tristan was sick, and so he couldn't show me the way. 

I thought that the Wong's would be able to take me...but I was wrong. Religion in China is a complicated subject, even for foreigners. Religious groups can meet in China, so long as Chinese citizens do not participate. Groups of Chinese citizens can also meet as religious groups, given that they converted while traveling or living abroad. Both groups are allowed to practice, but not preach. 

Since the Wongs are from Hong Kong, where religion is actually tolerated, they would normally be able to meet with the congregation I went to. However, they have chosen to attend the Chinese branch. And, apparently, once you pick a side, the two branches cannot interact. 

So, on Sunday, Tristan was no longer sick, so he was able to show me the way to church. We left the apartment at 8am and caught a bus to Chengdu. It was packed, and we barely had enough room to stand. We both ended up standing on one of the steps near the wall of the bus, meaning that while we both were already a foot taller than everybody else on the bus, we made ourselves even taller. We were on this first bus for about an hour. Then we switched buses. Thankfully, this one wasn't crowded, so we both got seats. We then remained on this second bus for 45 minutes. Once we got off, we ran to find a taxi to take us the rest of the way. 

To summarize, this is how much it cost to travel 2 hours into town (one way):

Bus #1: 2.50 RMB  ($0.40)

Bus #2: 1.80 RMB  ($0.30)

Taxi         20 RMB  ($3.15)

We ended up at a nice apartment complex. Once we walked through the gate, I saw many, many nice cars. Now, it's quite common to see very expensive cars here, but these were extra special. Among all of the Land Rovers, Audis and BMWs, I saw two Maseratis, and a few brand new Mercedes. 

And then I saw it...the car that caught my eye quicker than anything else in the parking long. A car that made me smile the second I saw it: a dark blue Honda minivan. Complete with BYU bumper sticker. Once I saw that, I knew we were close.

We walked past a few more apartments, and then went up a flight of stairs. We soon found ourselves standing in a massive apartment full of couches and chairs. There were about 30 people in the room, with the majority of them being children. Church started at 10am, and Tristan and I had arrived with a minute to spare. Turns out, we had shown up for a regional conference. It was strange because the presidency members had flown in from different parts of China to be with us, and they were using Skype to connect with the different people that spoke. We heard from a variety of speakers all across the province, and even had one speaker who was in Provo, Utah. Technology is truly amazing as it allowed us to double the size of the congregation with ease.

Since it was a conference, it only lasted for two hours. Then, most of the families left. However, a few stayed behind. It was at this point that I met a number of ward members. First there was Brother and Sister Weaver who own the apartment we were in. Brother Weaver works for Chevron, so he and his family have lived all over the world for a number of years. I also met a few other young families that worked for the consulate here in Chengdu.

It was so wonderful being around people who spoke English, who dressed the same way as me, and who spoke without an accent! The Weavers then invited a few of us to stay for lunch. It was fantastic. The meal was simple, and yet, it tasted like the best food I’ve ever eaten. Chicken pot pie, a green salad, biscuits, and some kind of casserole…heavenly.

Some of the women I talked to made me feel a lot better about living here. They all said it gets better after a few months. They asked what the worst parts about my experience had been so far, and I told them that my mattress was as hard as a rock. Two seconds later Sister Weaver said, “All you have to say is, ‘Sister Weaver, do you happen to have an extra mattress pad?’ And I’d be happy to give you one.” I looked at her for a second, and then smiled and said, “Would you happen to have an extra mattress pad?” She said, “Sure do. I’ll have my husband wrap it up for you.” And that was that. In a mere 10 seconds I had gone from a rock-hard bed to a very comfortable one. Sister Weaver is amazing.

The Weavers also invited me to stay with them for the weekends. They have a private driver that they said could pick me up at my apartment and take me into town, and then I could stay with them until church on Sunday. How amazing is that? I think that I will finally be able to look forward to the weekends again!

In conclusion, church was fantastic, and I’m glad I’ve already made some friends there. Maybe this place isn’t so bad after all. 

Of Noodles, Museums, and Potatoes

On Saturday I was able to go into town with my Chinese coworker Ivy. She is a teaching/office assistant in the International department. She told me she was going to go shopping over the weekend, so she invited me along. I met her in front of the school, where we then got on the bus to head into Chengdu. She was with her parents who really wanted to meet me. Her mother ended up going into town with us. This is Ivy. She is fluent in English, but her parents are not. Her parents don't even know proper Mandarin. They just know the regional dialect. 

Once we got off the bus, her mom said she was hungry, so we went into a little restaurant to get food. Ivy's mom then asked if she could take a photo of me to show her friends, and I suggested we take a photo together. Once we were done eating, Ivy's mom got on another bus to go home, while Ivy and I headed to the shopping center. 

At the shopping center, there was an entire floor dedicated to shoes. This photo only shows a small percentage of what was available in the store. It was incredible!

We also went to the very upscale shopping center where they had a Rolex store, as well as Omega, Burberry, DKNY, Dior, Louis Vuitton, and many more. One thing I noticed is that at every clothing store, they only had two of each item: one size small, and the other size medium. I guess that works when everyone in the entire country is the same tiny size...

After shopping, we went and got lunch. I don't know what the restaurant is called, or what kinds of food it was known for, but it was quite memorable. This was the first time I saw a menu in English. Of course, the translation was a bit ridiculous (thanks to Google translation software), but it was understandable. I pointed at one of the items on the menu, and Ivy laughed. She said that I had chosen a very spicy dish. I asked, "You mean, spicy for a foreigner like me?" She said "No. Spice for Sichuan people." However, nothing else looked that good, so I ordered it anyways. This is what was brought to my table.

I nervously took a bite, and then smiled. It was delicious. Yes, a bit spicy, but oh, so good. It is chicken, peppers, celery, peanuts and potato. The bits of potato are the long strips you can see in the photo. Somehow, the spices used here make potatoes taste 10 times better than anything I've ever eaten in the United States. 

After eating, we continued walking through the city. I saw that there was a public restroom, and decided to go check it out. There was a door for women, a door for men, and a door for those who are handicapped. I slowly opened the door, and then jumped for joy. Turns out handicapped bathrooms are just western toilets! I definitely used this one, since I think being American can count as being handicapped.

We kept walking, and then came across a small museum for a local poet. We didn't actually go into the museum, because it was really expensive, but I still got a photo in front of it. Ivy told me that a number of the poems written by this famous poet were carved into stone on the sidewalk. So, I obviously had to photograph that too.

We eventually got to our final destination: the Sichuan Museum. It was a very big building surrounded by many trees, with the flag of China right out front. 

As long as you had your school ID on you, tickets were free.

The museum is three stories, with a massive central opening where you could see the entire museum.

There were places all over the museum where you could buy souvenir, including pandas.

There were six different displays in the museum. There were paintings, manuscripts, bronze weapons, gold, clay pots, jewelry, fabric, and sculptures. 

There was also an entire exhibit dedicated to Tibetan Buddhism. It had many religious artifacts, traditional clothing, paintings, prayer wheels, and horns. In the photo below, I am standing next to two pillars that are decorated in traditional Tibetan fabrics. 

These are Scriptures in the Yi language. The one on the left is used to avoid contracting leprosy, and the one on the right is used in exorcisms.

English Corner Round Dos

On Friday night after dinner at the Korean restaurant, we all went to the English corner again. Once we got there, I noticed that my coworkers and I were, yet again, the only foreigners there.

I saw a few of the same people as last week, and they were surprised I remembered their names. One of them, Michael, was so excited to see me again that he brought his son over to meet me. I tried to talk with him, but he was only 11, so his English was not very good.

I also met a number of new people. One of which that I feel I need to mention. You see…she’s my twin. Yes, I have a twin. A twin who is not only Asian, but also 8 years younger than me. Her name is Catherine. It all started when she said “hello” to me, and told me that she was a student at one of the private high schools studying music composition. We then started talking about music. We quickly discovered that we liked all of the same composers. And the same symphonies. And we disliked the same composers. And disliked the same songs.

Then we started talking about other kinds of music. Turns out we had a lot more in common than just music. We liked the same exact movies, the same food, and the same books. Then, when I pulled out my camera to take a photo of the two of us, she started laughing and said that she had the exact same one!

Anyways, Catherine was a lot of fun to talk with because her English was so good. She had almost no accent, so I was surprised when she told me she did not learn English abroad. She said that her school had a very competitive English program.

She then excitedly asked if I would be back on Tuesday. Apparently, English corner is on Fridays and Tuesdays. This was news to me. I said that I couldn’t make it because it takes me so long to get into town, and I already go to Chengdu every Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Catherine said that I had to come back on Tuesdays because there is this British guy who shows up on those days. She was very insistent that I meet this guy, hinting that we should fall in love and get married. I laughed and explained to her that if she knew me and my friends from back home, we would all call her an “Emma.” She didn’t understand the reference, so I told her that she had to go read Jane Austen’s Emma. She promised she would.

I also met another incredible person with awesome English skills. 10-year-old Yuki amazed me with her very proper English, complete with her very proper British accent. This little girl had the opportunity to live abroad for a year. Lucky girl! She kept up with the conversations going on all around her, and had interesting insights on every subject. Her English was easily ten times better than anyone else in the group besides me and Catherine. 

A Little Korea in China

I went into Chengdu again today. Mrs. Wong and I managed to make it onto the bus. It took us an hour to get to our destination, but luckily today was a cooler day, so we didn’t bake in the heat. Having taken the bus all the way to Chengdu, I suddenly feel a little more comfortable with the bus system here. I now know that if I get on the 309 or the 319 going east, I will end up at the bus station in Chengdu. Then, to go home, all I need to do is get to the bus station and get on either bus and it will take me straight home! Huzzah for simple bus routes!

This is me. 

On the bus.

I am smiling because I finally managed to secure a seat. Usually the bus is packed with almost nowhere to stand. However, the closer you get to Chengdu, the emptier the bus gets. Meaning, seats open up.

Mrs. Wong and I were going into town to meet up with Mr. Wong and some of the other teachers for dinner before going to the English corner. We got to the restaurant early, so we walked around the shopping center for a little bit. I am amazed at how many different places there are to shop here. We passed some wonderful little bakeries, and lots of expensive shops.

We then went to the restaurant, which turned out to be one of Mrs. Wong’s favorite places to go out to eat. Having never experienced Korean barbeque, I too was excited.

As we sat down, I noticed a grill sunken into the center of the table. We were then able to get up, walk around to different bins around the room and pick out whatever food we wanted to grill and eat. There were all kinds of meat, seafood, and vegetable options. There were also trays of food that had already been cooked along the wall. I decided that since this was a new experience, I had to try everything.

In this photo you can see the three things I decided to grill: onions, meat (it was labeled “brains,” but anyone could see that it wasn't, in fact, brains), and green beans. I also got some of the prepared food on my plate as well. We put the oil (in the container, to the left of the grill) on the food items, and then set whatever we wanted to cook on the grill. We were also given bowls of sauces and spices, but none of them tasted very appetizing to me.

This is a photo of the most delicious noodles I’ve ever eaten. I don’t know what kind they are, nor do I know what kind of spices were on them. All I know is I went back for seconds. Also on my plate are mushrooms wrapped in bacon, and a snail. I had never eaten a snail before, so I decided that today was the day that was going to change. However, once I got the meat out of the shell, I cringed. I said “It just looks unnatural.” My coworker then replied, “Actually, I think it’s just too natural. I could easily see that in a pile of leaves.” He did have a point. I didn’t eat it.

I am now going to take a moment to say I hate metal chopsticks. They are terrible. If I am given wooden ones, I am a chopstick master. Given metal ones and I am lucky if I can get anything into my mouth. Metal chopsticks are difficult to grip, and it’s near impossible to successfully pick up anything off of your plate. Especially if it is a slimy noodle.

To finish off our meal, we also had ice cream. However, the restaurant tricked me. I decided that I wanted a little bit of vanilla as well as chocolate ice cream. My first bite of vanilla definitely wasn’t vanilla. It was like a very bitter pineapple. Then I turned to the chocolate. One spoonful had me grasping for my water cup. It tasted like something that was trying to be mocha, but miserably failed. My coworkers told me that it was, in fact, supposed to be chocolate, but I didn’t believe them. It in no way resembled chocolate, except in color.

In the end it was a good dinner. And, it only cost 65 yuan ($10). This is a pretty good price, considering it was a buffet. I think I’d like to go back there sometime. However, I still have many other places I’d like to explore first. 

Classrooms There and Here

In the United States, each teacher has a designated classroom, and the students rotate from room to room. In China, things are backwards. The students have an assigned room, and the teachers rotate from room to room.

This has both its advantages and its disadvantages.

On the positive side, this means that students can’t use the excuse, “I didn’t have enough time to get here on time from my other class!” Also, it gets rid of the necessity for lockers, as students can keep all of their belongings with them in their classroom. This cuts down on excuses like, “I forgot my textbook” or “My pencil broke, and now I don’t have anything to write with.” Students can save money on backpacks as well since they don’t have to take their books and supplies from room to room.

On the negative side, it means that teachers can’t have a room of their own. They are unable to decorate the walls of the room and no longer have constant computer access during class. Also, during the 10-15 minute passing time, they can’t really do much. If I were in the United States, I would take that time to sit down at my desk, work on a few things at the computer, or just sit and rest. Here, however, I just get to stand out in the hallway until the bell rings and I can enter my next classroom.

Luckily, when I am teaching my 10^th and 11^th graders at #7 I have my own classroom. There was an extra room on our floor in the international department, so it has been designated the Humanities Room. I haven’t decorated it yet, as I am still working on getting supplies, but it is nice to have. I have enjoyed writing things on the blackboard, and then coming back the next day and having it still be there.

Oh yeah…remember how I mentioned that students have all of their supplies with them at all times? 

Here you can see one of my sixth graders. Yes, this elementary student has a mountain of books on her desk, as well as more books in her desk. 

To the left is my 11th grade ESL student Justin. Next to him you can see the piles and piles of books that each student is responsible for. On the right you can see ONE student's supplies. Notice that her big plastic bin is filled, as is her desk. It is a bit ridiculous how much work these students have to do.