Mingling with the masses...

Yesterday was the International Tourism Festival in Yichang. They invite people from all over to represent their countries in a parade. Last year I had class and missed it. This year I had class too, but I um, worked around it. (Canceling class early and offering extra credit for a cultural experience is valid, right?) Kim, Katie, Beth, and I headed into town around 3:00. Of course the streets were packed with people and you couldn't see a thing. Meanwhile I walked into a random metal rusty pole on the ground and thought I broke my pinky toe (thanks Yichang) right before I got hit in the head with a stupid umbrella. We decided to move.

We crossed over the street (by going under it) and found a small ledge to sit on. To do this we had to dip under a rope blocking off the area. As the police approached we decided to play the "foreign" card, and Katie charmed the policeman and the surrounding crowd with her smiling foreign face and Chinese skills. We finally secured our seats (we may have third degree burns on our rumps it was so hot!) and tried to see what we could. Unfortunately by the time they got to our section they were just walking and not performing. I can't decide if more people were watching us or the parade, so we just started waving like we were part of it. Katie got interviewed for some TV thing. Aiya. We decided we would be equal opportunity cheerers and cheer even if the Chinese didn't, like for the poor Japanese group.


Yes, it was freakishly hot outside, but really? Rolling your uniform pants up to expose your white ankle socks? Classy.











Kim's excellent view of the parade.













Three Gorges Cheerleaders? Never seen this in my life. And Yichang ladies
















We do love the dragon.
















After the parade, the masses dispersed and in 10 minutes it was if the parade never existed.















At this time it's about 5:00. We head to Guo Mao to observe the afore mentioned beautiful international section. We met Brad about 5:30 for a delicious curry dinner, and then make our plan for heading to the river to see the fireworks. Last year it had gotten so crowded that you couldn't even get there by taxi. We had heard different things from students. Some said it would start at 7 when it got dark, others said 8:30. It was dark at 7, so we took our chances with a taxi and made it to the river. We were suprised that it wasn't too crowded, and secured a position in good view of the bridge to see the fireworks.



Then we found out it didn't start until 8:30. Ugh. It's hot. We're sweating. We're standing. And the closer it gets to 8:30, the more people that crowd around and push. The group mentality is so scary. Time crept by slowly. It then became sort of a game to block people from coming into "our area." We were mostly successful. By the time the fireworks actually began we were dripping with sweat and not even interested in the show. But like you could get through the crowd to leave if you wanted to. The fireworks were entertaining, but maybe not enough to be worth the struggle. Once they were over, the crowd started to disperse. We knew there was no need to hurry since every bus and taxi would be full, so we just chilled for a while as brave school children came up to practice their English.

We walked all the way back to Yiling Square from the River. At this time it's about 10. Still no taxis open. It then becomes a taxi hailing competition with all the Chinese around us. We finally get in a taxi and head back to campus. The taxi driver starts jabbering in Chinese and Katie and Kim finally make out that he wants to drop us off at the University gate (a good 15-20 min walk from our apartments) because he doesn't want to go over all the speed bumps. We whine and complain until he agrees to take us all the way, but he griped the entire way. No one likes speed bumps. Get over it. Aiya!

So we arrive home around 11...I headed straight for a shower and my bed. What an exhausting day!

And to think Saturday we're leaving for Xi'an on a 15 hr overnight train to travel during October Holiday. Stay tuned...

Gonna need a raise...

Yesterday revealed a whole new standard of living for us Yichangren...the international section at Guo Mao! They completely renovated and extended this already cherished portion of our supermarket. There was screaming, smiling, jumping, and maybe a few tears. Katie even translated, "this is the best day of my life" in Chinese to one of the workers. This may not seem like a big deal to people on the West side, but this was quite a day for us. To get most of this stuff, we have to travel to Wuhan (boo) which is at least a 5 hour bus and then haul it all back. Unfun. Now it's at our very fingertips! If only we can get them to have a refrigerated section with milk and cheese!


We found...
pretzels - 10 varieties! in boxes and snack bags!
Off brands of Wheat Thins, graham crackers, Ritz, and Saltines!
A Pepperidge Farm row - cookies and goldfish!!!
Pasta of every shape and size, including the multicolored ones!
DelMonte creamed corn in a can!
Tuna snack packs (with some strange combos)
Swiss Miss hot chocolate in several varieties
Three different kinds of soy milk!
Random jello flavors, including lychee and cola?
Sunmaid raisins and other dried fruit (not craisins thought)
Kellog's cereal...yep, the Rooster and Tony
Lyndor Truffles (the kind I treat myself to every time I go to Davis Kidd)
Tic Tacs!
And much much more...

Sure all of this is a little pricey on our Yichang salaries. But for a treat, it's nice to put it in perspective that it'd cost much more to ship it from America! :)

Yaaaaaaaay!

Most recently lost bank card found. Wooohooo! PTL! And thanks to Katie for the fine assist.

Bank card woes

In America I feel like I'm a fairly responsible person. I rarely lose or misplace things. Here in China I'm not having such luck. Last term I lost my bank card, which meant I had to fill out a bunch of forms and have my account stopped for a week before I could get a new card and access my money. Not cool. Well, the other day I realized I didn't have my bank card. I always keep it in the same spot, so I got really irritated at the thought of losing it again, mostly because it makes me look so flighty. I usually go to the same bank all the time, so I went with Katie and asked if they had found any cards. Yep, there it was! Woohoo! I was so pumped. I tried to use it in several different places after that and it didn't work. So I went to the bank and tried to communicate that the card wasn't working...she said something to me in Chinese that I didn't understand. Attempted again with a Chinese speaker...found out that I found my old card - the one I'd lost last term! Aiya! Unfortunately the bank closed before we could get back this afternoon to see if they'd found my most recently lost card. I'm sure they think I'm an idiot. I guess I just keep leaving it in the ATM when I get money out. Ridiculous. So cross your fingers that they have my card tomorrow. I'm down to 4 kuai which could make traveling over October holiday really interesting if I can't access my money!

Vienna Boys Choir

This afternoon I got a call from Katie saying Jian could get us tickets to the Vienna Boys Choir performing on campus. What? The Vienna Boys Choir is in Yichang?! at Three Gorges University!? Sure! So we go to dinner trying to figure out how many tickets we can find and who can go. Yichang? Really? So we find Jian and get the tickets. He was able to find 8...yay, everyone can go (who aren't previously engaged at English competitions)! Jian hands us the tickets and Beth rolls on the ground laughing. The ticket has pictures of ballerinas all over it. Vienna Boys Choir? So we got the Vienna part right. Vienna ballet or something. After we all cracked up over the miscommunication and assumptions, we all started talking about what we hoped it would end up being. Sweet Beth, in her best Tiny Tim voice, said whistfully, "I hope it's everything to all of us!" (Begin hearty laughter.)

How true it was! Though not the best ballet I've seen by far, the evening was quite entertaining. First of course, we all posed as ballerinas on the safety rail in the gym. And when music is playing you just have to dance around. The show finally started. We were quite confused because we couldn't find any sort of plot line since the program was in Chinese and it just seemed to be a bunch of random (poorly timed) dancers in ugly outfits. We finally picked up on an "Around the World/Time Travel" theme.

We all ended up having a song or two that was just for us. For me, they played "Roxanne" from Moulin Rouge and did a tango. You all know I love that. They even had a little flapper deal with 20's Charleston later on. Beth got to enjoy a scene from "Singing in the Rain," Katie loved the Irish stepdancing, and Dawson got to hear his favorite Pavaratti song. Two Austrians even sang the Yangtze River Song to the joy of all the Chinese audience.

It was quite an evening, and we've all vowed to incorporate random dancing into our everyday lives. Who doesn't want to Irish jig to class!?

So much for the Vienna Boys Choir. I was kinda hoping they'd step on stage in leotards at the end.

The sky is falling!

So tonight was kind of a rough one. Most days you can overlook or deal with your inner demons and shortcomings. Sometimes they overwhelm you in full force. Tonight I let things get to me, had a good cry, and was moping around when I got a direct message to get over it.

I was laying on my new chaise, listening to music and thinking, when the light and fixture on my ceiling crashed to the floor. My immediate thought was, "Thank you! That could have been my head!", second thought being "Crap, I just had that light fixed." The light in my study had been out for at least a week. I'd finally learned how to say "light broken", found the madam, and communicated that I needed her to come to my apartment. We made an appointment for the next day, and for two whole days I enjoyed having a light in there. So much for that.

Truly though, I'm thankful. Had I been sitting at my table where I'd been journaling just a little while before, I could have been seriously injured. I'm over going to the hospital for stitches after last year.

Thankfully Beth was already on her way over bringing me flowers and a card to brighten my day, and she was gracious enough to help me get everything cleaned up.

Nothing like the sky falling to snap you out of a funk, make you suck it up, and be thankful.

Listening

Hey, I'm trying to make listening more interesting by using songs and stories in addition to the book. So if anyone knows of any good English songs...where the English is easy to understand, not necessarily slow, pass them on! I played "Hey There Deliliah" on the first day and it was a hit. Also, any good stories you run across that might have a good message to talk about...for example, I read "The Giving Tree" the other day and they understood that pretty well. Bring on your excellent ideas! :)

Goodness

Things are picking up here. Things are looking good. We're heading in a good direction. He always provides. Keep Thinking of us!

Pyramid!

What do foreigners do in China? They make a pyramid of course...that is, after they eat McDonald's, get stared at, stare into the sky at nothing to see how many people will look up too, get stared at some more, do a little leap frog, get stared at some more...

You think we're encouraging the staring, but trust me it happens no matter what we do. Might as well have fun in the meantime.

How tragic that I wore skirt that night and couldn't participate...

The Stinky Cheese Man and other tales

So you know the story of the Stinky Cheese Man...yep, well, that was me today. I got a call saying I had a package in the office. No suprise, I had mailed it to myself the day I flew over. It was filled with all kinds of delicious foods: cake mixes, pudding mixes, mac n' cheese, granola bars, some other essentials, and most importantly fetuccini noodles and alfredo sauce...in a glass jar. Yes, let me take a moment to encourage you to listen to your friendly postal worker when they ask you if there is anything liquid, glass, or fragile in your package. If there is, it won't make it to China. I'm not sure what I was thinking...apparently there was a lack of thinking. Needless to say busted alfredo sauce is not good...not good to have all over your food...and certainly not good to smell. I feel so sorry for the poor foreign affairs people who had to smell that rancid package in the office all day. I wonder if it even made it out of America before it busted everywhere. I was able to salvage most of the stuff in the package. A few things I took out of the box and wrote on with a Sharpie. This may beat the syrup dripping package and the graham cracker/magic shell box.

In other news...

Teaching is going pretty well. I only have a total of 54 students so far split between two classes...which is amazing! I had that many in one class alone last year. Though they are 3 + 1 students, they seem ok and I'm trying to think of creative ways to not make listening class ridiculously boring. On the first day of class we listened to "Hey There Delilah." Not bad for listening class!

Brad and I tried the new "Western fast food" restaurant on Snack Street. None of us are very thrilled at the idea of Chinese food these days, so Brad and I ventured out to see how it was. They basically only serve chicken in various forms. So we opted for the chicken sandwich meal. It came with fries and a drink...what a deal! So yeah, chicken was good. Not really about the fries. The workers haven't quite grasped how to make them. They were more like greasy limp noodles. And who doesn't love a milk tea with green jelly balls for a drink? Upsize me!













I've been decorating my apartment all week. I picked up some free cushions that had been dumped at Kim and Katie's and made my own lounging/reading/study area, complete with a little tribute to Mommaw.


Last week Beth and I found a little store tucked away in the middle of "furniture ally" that had super cute dishes. Since we hadn't gotten paid yet, we vowed to go back. Today was the day, and I'm pretty sure we made these ladies' month! The dishes are so cute! We're talking Pier One/Target cute. They even have cute holiday dishes. My favorite may be the pumpkin bowls. I don't know if they're supposed to be pumpkins, but that's what they remind me of...and who doesn't love pumkin! I'm not sure if you can read it in the picture...but please note the Target Home symbol on the bottom of the bowl. Could it be that we've finally found in China something made in China that we would buy in America?! Here are my purchaii displayed proudly below:

Schedule

Well, I finally got my schedule on Saturday. I learned I would be teaching 4 classes of listening two times a week. Sure, listening is boring. You just push a button and listen to a guy with a terrible British accent say the same thing over and over, but it's better than not teaching until October. Silly me to think the first schedule they gave me would be the final one. I realize this of course after I have already filled in my plan book (my guilty pleasure!). So I just received an email saying that I only have two classes twice a week. Let's do the math. 8 hours of teaching. My contract says I can teach up to 16. So I'm just waiting for whatever bomb is about to drop on my schedule. I wouldn't hate teaching only 4 classes, though I'm certainly not one wanting for free time. We'll see how it plays out.

I'm trying to figure out how to be a strict, respected, fun, un-boring, listening teacher for these 3 + 1 kids. Yeah, I'll let you know how that goes.