FAIL

I know this is completely unrelated to China, but I had to share this with any other blog viewers out there. 

I promised myself I wouldn't, but I'm afraid I've fallen in love with a little dog here in China.  She lives on my campus and is owned by a grounds keeper woman who has a little hut on the school grounds.  Jenna and I met her as a puppy last term when she was just a little thing with a gimp leg and now she has grown into a full grown 15-lb dog with a gimp leg.

I really love animals and it's always such a comfort to me to play with one.  I've refused to give her an English name in my head but have all sorts of nicknames for her (1st Violation).  She waits for me when I'm walking past her home and runs to greet me to quickly roll over so I can give her a belly rub.  If I try to walk away, she gets up on her hind legs and asks me to carry her (2nd Violation).

I've been trying to resist, but I actually looked up how to bring a dog back to America last night (3rd Violation).  I know that I couldn't do it because firstly, she kind of has an owner and secondly, my mom would throw both of us out.

Chinese people have a very different view of keeping a pet than we do in the West.  Dog's aren't revered as "man's best friend" and most people are actually kind of scared of dogs, even the tiniest "punt" ones.  The woman that owns this dog has another huge German Shepherd who is actually kept in a cage all day and it breaks my heart.  I also think I might be the only one to love on this little dog!

Well, I walked to class this morning to play with her (4th Violation) and found her tied to a fence behind the house with a 6 foot long chain.  She just looked so sad that I want to buy a wire cutter and hide her in my apartment until I go back to America.  This really breaks my heart and I don't know if i I can talk to her owner!  So this is my latest dilemma and it's really been bothering me all day.  I miss my dog at home, Albert, and can't wait until I can actually get a dog of my own.

My not so 老 老师

I was really excited that 田老师 invited me to his apartment for a party and had a fleeting thought that it might be his birthday.  Turns out I was right!  I had a really fun Friday night but it was not without its own strange occurrences and funny stories. 

不好意思, Holy !#%@& I am embarrassed

I thought that I had 田健 (my teacher's name is Tian Jian)'s phone number because he had been texting me off and on over the past few months.  So yesterday afternoon I texted him to figure out how to get to his apartment and this is what happened (all in Chinese, this is a translation):

Me: How do I get to your apartment?  Which bus do I take?
田老师: What are you talking about?
(incoming phone call)
田老师: Eh, Wu Laoshi (my Chinese name as a teacher)?  Foreign Teacher?  Do you remember me?  Did you send me a text message incorrectly?
Me: Oh god.  I am so embarrassed.  I am sorry, I do not remember who you are!
(text messages)
田老师Haha, it's okay. 
Me: I am so embarrassed, my Chinese teacher's name is also 田老师!
田老师: Haha, no problem. Next time I can teach you Chinese. =)

At this point I am:
(1) laughing because so many Chinese people have the same last names,
(2) embarrassed because I had mixed up my own Chinese teacher with someone else who decided to text me and
(3) mortified because I have an unknown stalker of sorts. 

I know that this other mysterious Tian laoshi has to be a teacher on my campus somewhere and there are only a few that I've given my number to, so this narrows it down quite a bit.  The problem is that I don't remember what any of these teachers look like!  I try to keep my head down here on campus because I hate being asked to teach other people English.  My life is so awkward. 

Happy Birthday, 祝你生日快乐田健!

I finally got myself over to 田健 (Tian Jian, my Chinese teacher)'s apartment and was greeted by many of his students.  They were all Japanese except for myself and Anna, a Polish girl who also studies at the school but isn't technically Jian's student.  It was really nice getting to know other expats who are not from Western countries and their children were just too cute for words!

Tian Jian and his roommates cooked us a big dinner which was delicious and really made me want to learn how to cook Northern Chinese food.  They claimed it was simple, but I doubt it and I think it's also great that these men know how to cook up a storm!  We had some classic dishes including eggs and cucumbers, mushrooms and pork, and the local specialty, Qingdao gala (clams).  Tian Jian even cooked up 酸辣土豆丝 (vinegar chili shredded potatoes) which were really good, but I joked that if we got 拉肚子 ("pulled stomach" or indigestion) tomorrow it would be his fault. 

Then Tian Jian toasted to his 25th birthday, to his friend the chef, and to all of us his students.  He said that an important part of teaching is to actually like your students and to feel happy when going to teach class.  Not only is studying well important, but also a special friendship between teacher and student and that it is fate that we were all brought together. 

It was really touching, and as a teacher myself, I couldn't agree more!  To me it is also important to have a close relationship with my Chinese teacher and to feel comfortable asking questions about anything and to make stupid mistakes during class.  I could not be more appreciative that he feels the same way and I am so glad that I have him as a teacher. 

And, well, after this touching moment occurred, the debauchery broke out in the form of beer and sake.  We did a lot of 干杯 ("empty cup", cheers, or bottoms up!) and he had to go around and drink with everyone.  I also had to hold up my own honor and "face" as an American and drink a lot just because I am from the US of A, the land of binge drinking.  Thanks a lot, Hollywood. 

Then there was a birthday cake complete with birthday torch candle that played "Happy Birthday" over and over again.  Let me tell you, Chinese cakes are delicious.  They are made with real cream frosting and the cake is perfectly moist and spongy.  It's also great because they're not overly sweet and you don't feel like you're going to develop Type II diabetes after ever single bite. 

Plus, they come with a paper crown, which should really be a part of every birthday party.  The down side of birthday parties in China is that the Chinese have this strange idea that it is normal to have a food fight at parties and smear icing all over your friends for luck. 

I didn't get too badly covered and only got a bit on my cheeks and a schmear or two in my hair by his roommate.  Also note the giant bottle of sake next to the mirror that was given as a gift by one of the Japanese students.  Needless to say, Tian Jian was tucked into bed by his roommates before midnight and left sleeping on the floor under a pile of blankets (but with a bucket!).  This was also before midnight and the friends then proceeded to leave the apartment to celebrate his birthday... without him.

Way to go, friends.  I'm just glad that's never happened to me! 

Beware the Jabberwocky

I also saw Alice in Wonderland in 3D tonight with Althea and it was pretty good.  It was a different interpretation of the story than the cartoon version and it was a lot trippier.  I kind of liked it and loved Johnny Depp's performance.  This was my first legal movie watching experience in China and it was kind of fun to actually go to a movie theatre again. 

Spring is arriving quickly and I no longer have to wear a puffy coat or tights under my jeans.  Yippee!

No word for 'bored'

I've been a bad little blogger recently.  I've just been so busy with my new schedule and such that I've neglected to share my witty comments and random banter about my life over here. 

This is my life, basically:
1- I have no weekends because I teach.
2- I have no life because I teach on the weekends.
3- In my spare time I plan out what I am going to teach.

I'm not complaining, though.  I do still really love my students and my job, but I feel like I might burn out earlier in the semester than I expected I would.  I've already started making plans to turn my Cooperation classes into "Gossip Girl" class where I teach them oral English, idioms, and casual speech using the show.  And well, for selfish reasons too.

Laowai or Old China Hand?

Last weekend my friend Cathy came down to visit with a large group of abroad students who are doing the same program I did two and a half years ago.  It was really cool to hang out with them and show them around Qingdao.  We ate a lot of seafood, drank a lot of fresh "raw" (not quite sure what this means, but it is good!), and shivered our way through the weekend. 

This is when I will continue to complain about the weather and lack of warmth in Qingdao.  It is still cold and very, very windy here.  On a good day, the temperature gets up to 60 but at night it is always in the 30s and 40s.  With huge winds, too.  And no heat in my apartment because it was turned off two weeks ago. 

On the plus side, I feel like I have finally hit my stride with the Chinese classes, almost a month into taking classes three times a week.  This excites me to no end because I no longer feel like an idiot that is unable to read and put together words. 

I feel like I'm accomplishing a lot now.  I finally got QQ this week, because my students begged me to get one.  I was also invited to hang out with my Chinese teacher at his party this weekend.  Woo!

没有意思

This roughly translates as "no meaning" but can be used in many different ways, including:
- not intersting
- no meaning
- boring

I find this interesting that in Chinese there is no real concept of calling something "boring", but instead that something that just lacks meaning.  This may be worse than just being boring, actually now that I think of it. 

I will blog more, I will blog more, I will blog more.

Life lessons

This weekend I started another side-job with a coworker who gives English lessons out of his home.  I taught two classes on Saturday: one group which consisted of three 13 year olds and another group of nine 11 year olds.  It was definitely a change of pace from teaching college students!  I also taught another class on Sunday which had three 14 year old girls, who cracked me up the entire time.  I am really looking forward to seeing them next week. 

Basically I did things like "The Hokey Pokey", "Never Have I Ever", "Categories", and this activity where I cut pictures out of magazines and the students had to tell me how to move my body to make myself look like the model in the photo.  This is not a hard task when you are speaking in your second language.  Directional words and propositions really trip students up! 

Alas, I have lost my weekends to even more teaching, but at least I am getting paid extra money and really enjoy the experience of working with pre-teens. 

我住了在德州/ I lived in Texas!

Today in my Chinese class, 田老师 asked me if there were many 杀人 (murderers) in America.  I paused, grumbled a bit, and asked him why he was wondering.  Then he said that there were towns (plural) in America where people were killed by 电链锯 (electric chainsaws). 

Turns out he watched The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and now thinks that there are places in America where people are murdered by Leatherface. 

This is exactly what America needs in the minds of people around the world.  I wish I had something witty to comment about this, but I think the conversation stands alone.

ROAR!

I was Skyping with my adorable 3-year old nephew, Alex, today when he decided to put on his dinosaur costume.   He calls me "E.E." the name for "mother's sister" in my mom's dialect.

Alex: EE, where is your dinosaur costume?
Me: I don't have one.
Alex: It's okay, you can look at mine.
Me: Yes, it is really cool, little dude!
Alex: Why don't you go and buy one?  You should buy one.  Mommy, I told EE to buy a dinosaur costume.
Me: That sounds like a great idea!

Moral of the story: I need a dinosaur costume and it should be more acceptable for anyone to walk around as a dinosaur saying "roar!"

It's a trap!

Today I was going to get some dinner and I purchased this winner of a 帽子 (hat):

I also bought this one because it was just too good to pass up:

I purchased both for 31 kuai, or slightly over US $4.  I'm still a little miffed that she wouldn't lower it more, but I was cold and hungry.  And well, really wanted the hats. 

Current addictions

- NPR podcasts: The Diane Rehm Show, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me, Fresh Air, This America Life, etc.

- White Rabbit Candy: It might be dangerous and possibly poisonous but, damn, is it good. 

 - 红烧茄子 (hong shao qie zi): braised brown sauce eggplant, an addiction I have fueled since Summer 2007
- My VPN

- Studying Chinese with 田老师

  (borrowed from Liuzhou Laowai)

- Pretending I am in America

- Starbucks in China, pretending I am in America while studying Chinese
- Rob's copy of The Economist that is sent to him from Singapore and passed on to me

- Pretending to DJ for my students during break:  I am determined to make them like more than just sappy love ballads and pop groups from the 90's. 

- Yogurt: The yogurt I get here is so freaking good.  Probably because it's made with whole milk, but I also like to think that since I buy the Mongolian milk brand, it's a little tastier. 

to be continued...