So after a week of winter-like weather, we got the call that our down jackets were finished, and that someone could take us to get a space heater for the apartment. Obviously, that means that the next day was about 62 degrees, and well above 50 for the subsequent days. We haven't broken in our jackets yet, and pretty much refuse to until it's actually cold. We have, however, started to use the space heater, which doesn't really do much for the living area. I think the area of the room is too big, so we sit really close to it and snuggle our blankets around it. It works well enough for now, but I'm not sure how it will do when winter actually sets in. We've tossed around the idea of building a fort in the main room, to create a smaller space that the space heater could actually have an impact in. I also think the fort would simply be for entertainment purposes. We would be hilariously entertained in building it, and hanging out inside it. The other entertainment would come from any Chinese person that would see it, most likely thinking that we are even more bat-shit crazy than they originally thought.
I've been teaching my students about Thanksgiving, telling them about the first celebration, and the traditions that occur today. All the way down to watching (American) football after we eat lots of food. They don't really understand turkey, but explaining it as something like chicken seems to work, and pumpkin pie is beyond them because they don't have ovens in China, so most baked items are also off the radar. I did get them to tell me some things they are thankful for, most students mention their parents, siblings, families, etc. Every once in a while, they are thankful for me, which is so endearing. It's been a little tough sharing my thoughts, because it makes me so much more aware of what I'm missing from home, but my students seems to understand and they do what they can to make me happy. For the holiday we will be having dinner at Chen's in-laws, the people who have essentially become our adoptive Chinese parents. Chen's mother-in-law is an amazing cook, so even though the food won't be traditional Thanksgiving fare, we'll be eating very well. It will also be nice to have something to do, as a bit of a distraction.
This weekend Senior 2 will put on a "party" for us, which will be a lot like a talent show, and our friend Christine will come visit. She was supposed to be here last weekend, but came down with the flu and had to postpone the trip. Laura and I will partake in one of my Thanksgiving weekend traditions, and we will watch White Christmas. Usually we watching it on the day after Thanksgiving while making Christmas cookies for the upcoming season, but we'll have to wait until Sunday night. We both teach on Friday, and will have the Senior 2 party that night. Sunday will be a good way to wind-down a less than normal Thanksgiving for the two of us. Then before you know it, December will be upon us. Hard to believe, isn't it???
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Back from Shanghai, to an early Winter
We made it back from Shanghai safe and sound. It was quite the trip and I'm a little sad to be back. Part of me was very ready to get back to a slower lifestyle with less people, but of course as soon as I'm back, I miss Shanghai. Apparently the grass is always greener, even in China. Anyways, the adventure started with the bus ride down. We got to the station in order to catch a 7:20a bus to Shanghai. We get everything situated and start driving, only we are doing laps around the main road in Siyang. All of a sudden the bus stops and they tell everyone to get off and move us to a different bus. The second bus was cold, dirty, and had people smoking in it. We continues to troll for passengers until the bus was full and we were finally on our way. The ride was horrible from using bus stop bathrooms with no doors, to having someone dig their knees into the back of my seat (even though it wasn't reclined AT ALL) to the man in the back that sounded like he was hacking up a lung for the last 2 hours of the ride. BUT we finally arrived, navigated the metro, and made it to our hostel! The first night we decided to take it easy and stuck around the hostel for some beers. We ended up meeting two guys from Boston and stayed up till like 4am playing 
P&A and just sharing China stories. They were heading back to the States the following day, and we were a bit jealous. But it was great to meet people and speak English again.
The following day we met up with Christine and went to the SUPER BRAND MALL. All Western stores and a Starbucks. We were in heaven. It's been so long since I've had REAL coffee. We have a French press here which is good, but nowhere near the real thing. Anyways, we went shopping all day (H&M was great!), ate lunch at Subway, saw the Pearl TV Tower (which is hideous by the way) and then made plans to meet up with one of Laura's friends from home who is now living/working in Shanghai. We got to his place, lugging a suitcase that he is so awesomely taking back to America for us so we don't have to deal with it when we travel after the term, and he showed us around the area. He lives in a super Westernized part of town complete with a Costa Coffee and a Starbucks within spitting distance of his apartment complex's guard station. We went to an American-style sports bar for late dinner and drinks and just had a great time hanging around Western people. Friday was a bit of a bust because it was raining all day. We were going to walk around the park and visit temples, but opted for Pearl City bargain hunting instead. It was awesome. I got a lot of cool stuff for myself as well as gifts for the family. I'm super excited about all of it, but can't be more specific because I like to think that people actually read my blog, and I don't want to give anything away. Friday night consisted of more drinking and meeting people as did Saturday,
to the point where we had to change our bus tickets because we weren't ready to travel so early Sunday morning. Saturday during the day though, it was nice out and we decided to play actual tourists and visited People's Park, and the Shanghai Museum of Art.
All in all it was a great trip, but when we got back to Siyang, winter had decided to stop in early. It was lightly snowing as we were picked up from the station, and it continued to fall all night. These past few days have been freezing. In central and southern China, they do not believe in central heating because it doesn't get "that cold". Coming from Wisconsin, I believe them. Temperatures around 30F aren't that bad, except when the inside of your apartment and school is also that temp. The stone buildings don't hold much heat in winter and we have no heating units outside of our bedrooms, or offices at school. It's really hard to adjust to. Not to mention the solar powered hot water we have, which means that in the morning when I wash my face, the water is pretty much ice cold. It's hard to get warm after that. We resorted to buying a large thermos which we keep in the bathroom filled with hot water so we can wash our faces. We've also booked down jackets, which annoyingly aren't done yet, and we hope to buy a small space heater so we can at least stand to be in our kitchen/living room for more than 2 minutes. I sleep in more clothes than I ever thought possible and I'm p
retty sure the next time I take an honest to goodness shower (not just using a tub and washcloth or washing my hair in the faucet) will be when I travel somewhere and stay in a hostel/hotel.
I hate to whine so much, but it's really not fun to be cold all the time. I've already managed to catch a cold, and I fear that it won't really go away until I come home. Talk about learning not to take things for granted. China sure is toughening me up, and forcing me to appreciate many, many things in my life.
P&A and just sharing China stories. They were heading back to the States the following day, and we were a bit jealous. But it was great to meet people and speak English again.The following day we met up with Christine and went to the SUPER BRAND MALL. All Western stores and a Starbucks. We were in heaven. It's been so long since I've had REAL coffee. We have a French press here which is good, but nowhere near the real thing. Anyways, we went shopping all day (H&M was great!), ate lunch at Subway, saw the Pearl TV Tower (which is hideous by the way) and then made plans to meet up with one of Laura's friends from home who is now living/working in Shanghai. We got to his place, lugging a suitcase that he is so awesomely taking back to America for us so we don't have to deal with it when we travel after the term, and he showed us around the area. He lives in a super Westernized part of town complete with a Costa Coffee and a Starbucks within spitting distance of his apartment complex's guard station. We went to an American-style sports bar for late dinner and drinks and just had a great time hanging around Western people. Friday was a bit of a bust because it was raining all day. We were going to walk around the park and visit temples, but opted for Pearl City bargain hunting instead. It was awesome. I got a lot of cool stuff for myself as well as gifts for the family. I'm super excited about all of it, but can't be more specific because I like to think that people actually read my blog, and I don't want to give anything away. Friday night consisted of more drinking and meeting people as did Saturday,
to the point where we had to change our bus tickets because we weren't ready to travel so early Sunday morning. Saturday during the day though, it was nice out and we decided to play actual tourists and visited People's Park, and the Shanghai Museum of Art.All in all it was a great trip, but when we got back to Siyang, winter had decided to stop in early. It was lightly snowing as we were picked up from the station, and it continued to fall all night. These past few days have been freezing. In central and southern China, they do not believe in central heating because it doesn't get "that cold". Coming from Wisconsin, I believe them. Temperatures around 30F aren't that bad, except when the inside of your apartment and school is also that temp. The stone buildings don't hold much heat in winter and we have no heating units outside of our bedrooms, or offices at school. It's really hard to adjust to. Not to mention the solar powered hot water we have, which means that in the morning when I wash my face, the water is pretty much ice cold. It's hard to get warm after that. We resorted to buying a large thermos which we keep in the bathroom filled with hot water so we can wash our faces. We've also booked down jackets, which annoyingly aren't done yet, and we hope to buy a small space heater so we can at least stand to be in our kitchen/living room for more than 2 minutes. I sleep in more clothes than I ever thought possible and I'm p
retty sure the next time I take an honest to goodness shower (not just using a tub and washcloth or washing my hair in the faucet) will be when I travel somewhere and stay in a hostel/hotel.I hate to whine so much, but it's really not fun to be cold all the time. I've already managed to catch a cold, and I fear that it won't really go away until I come home. Talk about learning not to take things for granted. China sure is toughening me up, and forcing me to appreciate many, many things in my life.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Fall Break?
Time seems to flying by off of a sudden. The crazy thing is that after we got back from Halloween, we found of that mid-terms would be coming up and we would each be getting a day or two off. The catch is that our school is so big, they test different grades on different days. So, technically, Laura and I would have different holidays. She was supposed to have Monday-Wednesday of this week off, and I would have Wednesday-Friday off. Kind of makes it difficult to plan a trip when you only share one day of vacation in the middle of the week. Or so we thought. What really happened is that the teachers of Laura's grade decided that they didn't want her to teach after the exams because all the classes would be discussing the tests and going over scores and whatnot. And my teachers decided they didn't want me to teach the 2 days before the tests because the students would need more time to prepare. So, we have the week off. We'll be leaving for Shanghai early Wednesday morning, and should arrive sometime mid-afternoon. After 4 nights of exploring, eating Western food, and most likely spending way too much money, we'll head back to Siyang.
We've tossed around the idea of having a party at our apartment for some of our colleagues, but we're not sure how beer pong and flip cup would go over with them...we'll see. The idea of just a party with drinking, not a dinner/drinking party is somewhat beyond most of the people in our town. There really is a rift between the social practices of the people in the modern, large, somewhat Westernized cities and those of the people in true small town China. We'll ask around and see what people think. If anything, I'm sure most people will want to come and see what our apartment looks like, and how the Americans do things. It could be quite the evening. We figure our apartment is great because it is so sparsely decorated that there is plenty of room for all sorts of people and activities.
It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving in just over 2 weeks away. I will spend the next two weeks of English Corner talking to my students about the holiday and what sort of traditions people have. I also think we might make "hand turkeys" and do the whole "What are you Thankful for?" game. That will get all the students to talk and think of something on their own to share with everyone. It might get a little tough for me though. It's so hard to be away from family over holidays, especially when you're in a place where no one really knows anything about what the day is. Also, regardless of Thanksgiving, Chinese families are really close, and I'm sure most students will bring that up when they talk about what they are thankful for, so it will just be an additional reminder of what I miss. I'm sure it will be okay though, and I can pretty much promise I'll end up video chatting or skyping my family from here anyways. Besides, after Thanksgiving is Christmas!
I've never been away from my family on Christmas...I've been away from home, but I've always had my parents around whether it be in Spain, Wisconsin, Italy, etc. Laura and I have already decided to exchange gifts, and we even set a price limit because we want to budget our money so we can travel after the term. My sister has mentioned my "list" as has my mom...and I really can't think of much. I don't want things shipped here by chance they don't make it, and to minimize what I need to bring home. It's so pathetic but money is really what's on the list. I want to be able to travel and I hate worrying about money. It's not a big deal though, I think I just want to wait until I'm back and make a "Christmas list" then, because I'll have a better idea of what I actually need/want!
Anyways, I feel like such a blabbermouth on here. Welcome to the inside of my head, if you can manage to keep up at all, I congratulate you. I should probably think about packing for Shanghai, and planning all that we want to see; the Bund, the pearl TV tower, the museums, etc. It should be a great trip and I can promise I'll have lots of pictures and stories upon my return...
We've tossed around the idea of having a party at our apartment for some of our colleagues, but we're not sure how beer pong and flip cup would go over with them...we'll see. The idea of just a party with drinking, not a dinner/drinking party is somewhat beyond most of the people in our town. There really is a rift between the social practices of the people in the modern, large, somewhat Westernized cities and those of the people in true small town China. We'll ask around and see what people think. If anything, I'm sure most people will want to come and see what our apartment looks like, and how the Americans do things. It could be quite the evening. We figure our apartment is great because it is so sparsely decorated that there is plenty of room for all sorts of people and activities.
It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving in just over 2 weeks away. I will spend the next two weeks of English Corner talking to my students about the holiday and what sort of traditions people have. I also think we might make "hand turkeys" and do the whole "What are you Thankful for?" game. That will get all the students to talk and think of something on their own to share with everyone. It might get a little tough for me though. It's so hard to be away from family over holidays, especially when you're in a place where no one really knows anything about what the day is. Also, regardless of Thanksgiving, Chinese families are really close, and I'm sure most students will bring that up when they talk about what they are thankful for, so it will just be an additional reminder of what I miss. I'm sure it will be okay though, and I can pretty much promise I'll end up video chatting or skyping my family from here anyways. Besides, after Thanksgiving is Christmas!
I've never been away from my family on Christmas...I've been away from home, but I've always had my parents around whether it be in Spain, Wisconsin, Italy, etc. Laura and I have already decided to exchange gifts, and we even set a price limit because we want to budget our money so we can travel after the term. My sister has mentioned my "list" as has my mom...and I really can't think of much. I don't want things shipped here by chance they don't make it, and to minimize what I need to bring home. It's so pathetic but money is really what's on the list. I want to be able to travel and I hate worrying about money. It's not a big deal though, I think I just want to wait until I'm back and make a "Christmas list" then, because I'll have a better idea of what I actually need/want!
Anyways, I feel like such a blabbermouth on here. Welcome to the inside of my head, if you can manage to keep up at all, I congratulate you. I should probably think about packing for Shanghai, and planning all that we want to see; the Bund, the pearl TV tower, the museums, etc. It should be a great trip and I can promise I'll have lots of pictures and stories upon my return...
Sunday, November 1, 2009
November arrives...
As one of my favorite festivals (haha, the British English is rubbing off on me) has passed, November is upon me and it's coming in with fury! Laura and I got home from Nanjing today, and while watching some movies tonight, the weather has gotten out of control. Not a ton of rain, but so much wind, it sounds like a hurricane out there...or at least what I think a hurricane would sound like.
I've been teaching my students a little bit about Halloween because it was the next approaching American holiday. I asked them to tell me what they knew about the day, even though China doesn't celebrate, their answers were relatively on the mark. They knew about trick-or-treat, and some kids knew the date. They also told me about making "pumpkin lanterns" and wearing costumes. The funny thing though is that the only costume they knew of was a ghost...and every once in a while a "monkey king". I explained that costume choices were pretty much limitless and you could be whatever you wanted. It got entertaining when they asked me what I would be for Halloween. As I mentioned before, our students all wear track like jogging suits as their school uniforms. Well, Laura and I managed to get our hands on our own sets and decided to go Siyang Middle School students for Halloween. So, I told my students I would going to be one of them, and they thought that was pretty cool! We even got some sweet hair accessories to complete the look. Fashion in China is...unique, and somewhat juvenile, so we had fun with that.
Anyways, this past weekend we decided to head back to Nanjing to celebrate Halloween with some other Americans. It wouldn't have been too much of party here in Siyang, co
nsidering Laura and I would be the only 2 people in the entire city who would be taking part in the festivities. So off we went. Our friend, Christine, is teaching in a super small town too and needed to get away, so we thought this would be the perfect weekend. We got in on Friday night and met up with everyone, and decided to get dinner at this place called Himalaya. The best Nepalese food I've ever had, and a bottle of booze to go with it. Needless to say we were feeling awesome after dinner and decided to hit the town. After a stop at a favorite bar nearby, we headed out to KTV. This would make it my 3rd time at a KTV and we had so much fun! Actually singing karaoke with people that speak English is hilarious. I think we were out until about 4am. I can't remember the last time I was out that late. On Saturday we headed back to our old stomping grounds and ate at our FAVORITE place, Wu's Noodles and Fried Meat Buns. Then stopped by a DVD store and picked up a ton of movies, including the new Harry Potter. All in all, a successful shopping trip.
Finally it was time to suit up and head out for the celebrations. We got into our costumes, Laura and I as students and Christine as Tom Cruise from Risky Business, and went out for dinner. We went to this amaz
ing Italian place, and had one of our best meals in China yet. We were a little self-conscious about being in costume, until a table of about 20 Westerners came in completely dressed up and way more extreme so we calmed down. We finally met up with everyone and had a blast. The costumes were creative and funny and even some Chinese people were dressed up too. There was a house party with a bunch of Westerners and then we were off to the clubs. The evening was ridiculous, and hilarious, and just all around fun. Granted, it really made me miss Madison Halloween. But, the weather was cold and rainy, so that made me feel at home. I swear it's impossible to have a nice night to just dress up and party!
We made it back to Siyang safe and sound though, ready to get back into the swing of things and ready to make plans for our next excursion. The plan right now is to head to Shanghai. We might have a day off from classes for mid-terms, and hopefully that will work out, otherwise we may take a personal day and head down over Thanksgiving. Christine is planning to visit sometime this month as well, so we'll be able to show her around Siyang, and hopefully give her another escape weekend from her city.
Time is moving along here. Sometimes faster than others...but, ultimately, I can't believe that it's already November. Plus, it's quite chilly here now, all the way down to 40, I hope that I can adjust :)
I've been teaching my students a little bit about Halloween because it was the next approaching American holiday. I asked them to tell me what they knew about the day, even though China doesn't celebrate, their answers were relatively on the mark. They knew about trick-or-treat, and some kids knew the date. They also told me about making "pumpkin lanterns" and wearing costumes. The funny thing though is that the only costume they knew of was a ghost...and every once in a while a "monkey king". I explained that costume choices were pretty much limitless and you could be whatever you wanted. It got entertaining when they asked me what I would be for Halloween. As I mentioned before, our students all wear track like jogging suits as their school uniforms. Well, Laura and I managed to get our hands on our own sets and decided to go Siyang Middle School students for Halloween. So, I told my students I would going to be one of them, and they thought that was pretty cool! We even got some sweet hair accessories to complete the look. Fashion in China is...unique, and somewhat juvenile, so we had fun with that.
Anyways, this past weekend we decided to head back to Nanjing to celebrate Halloween with some other Americans. It wouldn't have been too much of party here in Siyang, co
nsidering Laura and I would be the only 2 people in the entire city who would be taking part in the festivities. So off we went. Our friend, Christine, is teaching in a super small town too and needed to get away, so we thought this would be the perfect weekend. We got in on Friday night and met up with everyone, and decided to get dinner at this place called Himalaya. The best Nepalese food I've ever had, and a bottle of booze to go with it. Needless to say we were feeling awesome after dinner and decided to hit the town. After a stop at a favorite bar nearby, we headed out to KTV. This would make it my 3rd time at a KTV and we had so much fun! Actually singing karaoke with people that speak English is hilarious. I think we were out until about 4am. I can't remember the last time I was out that late. On Saturday we headed back to our old stomping grounds and ate at our FAVORITE place, Wu's Noodles and Fried Meat Buns. Then stopped by a DVD store and picked up a ton of movies, including the new Harry Potter. All in all, a successful shopping trip.Finally it was time to suit up and head out for the celebrations. We got into our costumes, Laura and I as students and Christine as Tom Cruise from Risky Business, and went out for dinner. We went to this amaz
ing Italian place, and had one of our best meals in China yet. We were a little self-conscious about being in costume, until a table of about 20 Westerners came in completely dressed up and way more extreme so we calmed down. We finally met up with everyone and had a blast. The costumes were creative and funny and even some Chinese people were dressed up too. There was a house party with a bunch of Westerners and then we were off to the clubs. The evening was ridiculous, and hilarious, and just all around fun. Granted, it really made me miss Madison Halloween. But, the weather was cold and rainy, so that made me feel at home. I swear it's impossible to have a nice night to just dress up and party!We made it back to Siyang safe and sound though, ready to get back into the swing of things and ready to make plans for our next excursion. The plan right now is to head to Shanghai. We might have a day off from classes for mid-terms, and hopefully that will work out, otherwise we may take a personal day and head down over Thanksgiving. Christine is planning to visit sometime this month as well, so we'll be able to show her around Siyang, and hopefully give her another escape weekend from her city.
Time is moving along here. Sometimes faster than others...but, ultimately, I can't believe that it's already November. Plus, it's quite chilly here now, all the way down to 40, I hope that I can adjust :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
