World Cup

It's actually kind of interesting being in another country for the World Cup, especially since America is well known for its apathy regarding "the Beautiful Game."  People in China are very mixed about it and I do find a significant number of people that are genuinely interested in watching it and will stay up all night watching their favorite teams.

Qingdao also has more Europeans than it does Americans, so all the bars are constantly playing the matches.  The timing ends up being at 10PM, 12AM, and 2AM so it really works out for the bars here.  I've actually ended up watching a lot of games by simply being out during the weekend.

This is the theme song that you may (or may not) have heard, but I hear it all the time: on the radio, on the bus, on the TV, etc.  It's pretty catchy so listen away!

Qingdao Sprummer

 Even though its early June, I still feel like it's Spring because of the mid-70's weather during the day, light breeze, and blooming flowers.  Qingdao really is a beautiful city and here are some photos of what I've been up to the past few weeks:

My parents, Mark and Shauna came to visit me in Qingdao!  Here is a photo of my parents sitting on my couch amidst all my teaching junk.  

It was a great weekend and there will be more pictures of their visit to follow, once everyone gets back to the US of A.  Mark and Shauna are still in Hong Kong or Macau and my parents are on the plane back to Amurrrrica as I am typing this post. 

I barbequed outside with some other teachers at a restaurant near the beach.  Yes, it was outdoors and under a tent that was actually made of PVC and metal pipes with plastic tarp strung up to make walls and a roof. 

We roasted all sorts of meat, seafood, vegetables, and bread on the wire pit and the Korean-style pan.  It was a great Friday night and a very Qingdao experience.  Plus, we had beer in a plastic bag.

So that is my spring-summer-sprummery life as of late.  Basically trying to spend as much time as possible outside and enjoying the seaside resort town lifestyle.  One month left until I leave this beautiful city.  Sigh.

Who the !#%(@ is Da Shan?

This guy.  

He's basically the most famous white-person in China but completely unknown outside of the country and despised by most, if not all, foreigners trying to learn Chinese in the country.  He even has a ridiculous name: 大山, Da Shan ("Big Mountain").  You have to be kidding me, Mark Henry Rowswell. 

He's really famous because he hosts a show on CCTV-9 (English channel) teaching foreigners how to speak Chinese.  Many Chinese even believe that he speaks more clearly/ better than most Chinese. I have to admit that this is true, but is quite remarkable for the Chinese people to say this too. 

His TV segments are kind of "The Wiggles" meets "Mr. Rogers" meets China CCTV.  He sits at a desk or on a stool wearing solid color shirts with the overlay boxes displaying the sentences he's teaching and repeats them slowly and articulately.  Then there are little role-plays that he introduces which are followed by another Da Shan teaching minute. 

Apparently he has all sorts of TV performances and skits, of which I've never seen because after all the "Learn Chinese" shows I've seen, he really makes me cringe. 

"The Chinese people immediately fell in love with his big eyes, sexy hair, expressive facial features and aura of cleverness."

He was even allowed to carry the Olympic Torch in 2008 in a city that granted him honorary citizenship and that he considers his hometown.

Da Shan is the ultimate symbol to China of a Westerner being fascinated by the Chinese culture and fully immersing themselves in the culture (which we are always reminded is the oldest civilization in existence) and pretty much giving up living in the Western world to live in China.  Not to mention speaking ridiculously good Chinese. 

So thanks, Da Shan, for making the rest of us Chinese students look like idiots.  But on a larger scale, fueling the Chinese desire to essentially take over the West and the belief that Chinese culture is unquestionably superior over the rest in the world. 

FMCL and MCLIG at the same time

Today was a great day for the following reasons:

1- I got paid.
2- I watched movies with my students all day.
3- I got not one, but TWO care packages!
4- I also received Matt's graduation announcement.

Mail crazy funtimes!

I have to say, I was just thinking last week about how much I missed Cheetos and actually screamed when I opened Kendra's box to find a bag of Cheetos Puffs and a huge box of Cheerios!  She also packed me some peanut butter, clif bars, and some nail polish.  The best part, though, is the magazines that I received from her and Sarah!  English magazines are hard to find here and once you get them, they tend to be really outdated and very expensive.

So thanks, ladies, for being some of my best friends and for staying closer than ever across the world from me! 

Goodbye, Tian Laoshi

Fifteen minutes before the end of my Chinese lesson on Friday, Tian laoshi asked me how long I had been his student.  I was pretty taken back by this question and answered, since November, so I guess about five or six months.  Then he told me he was leaving the school. 

That's right.  Leaving.  

I was in so much shock that I didn't believe him for a while and thought I had misheard him (which I didn't) or he actually meant he was going on vacation (he's not).  He's actually getting a job at a trade firm in downtown Qingdao because he's only 25 and still has time to pursue a career.  I don't blame him.  I mean, I'm not a teacher by training either, but enjoy it at the moment.  God bless those who teach as a career, though! 

I asked him when his last day was and he said it was this Thursday to do some paperwork, but I was actually his last student.  Now that was the real kicker.  We agreed that we'd be friends but he also joked that if he saw me in the future, my Chinese better be improving or else he'll be angry. 

So that's the end of Tian laoshi.  I guess I'll just be referring to him as Tian Jian from now on.

There is such a special bond between language teacher and student, partially because there needs to be a certain level of friendship in order for the language to be learned well and in a fun manner (bad relationship = miserable class, we've all been there).  The other half is that with a language teacher, you can talk about anything and it still counts as learning so the teacher learns all sorts of crazy stuff about the student and vice versa. 

I'll definitely miss him as my teacher and I know that my next instructor will have some metaphorically big shoes to fill (because I'm almost as tall as Tian). 

Labor Day Weekend... China style

I went out for pizza with Derek and Wes and drank my sorrows at losing yet another Chinese teacher.  Then we went to New York Bar, listened to a Filipino band play Beatles and Lady Gaga covers in Alice in Wonderland costumes and called it a night. 

I spent my Saturday and Sunday teaching my younger students at Joe's and tutored Helen at my place.  I lead an exciting life. 

Monday I headed out to Fu Shan (浮山) with Brian, Derek, and Wes to enjoy the first summery day of the season.  The hike was pretty nice and the view would have been great had it the city and sea not been covered with a thick layer of smog. 

We failed at finding the hidden tunnels underneath the mountain, but did have a pretty great time outside. 

This old guy BAMF was scaling rockwalls with only a wooden stick.  Seriously.

Then towards the end, the hacking began and I was unable to fully inhale without coughing up a storm.  When I got back to my apartment, I saw that the Air Pollution Index (API) for Qingdao was around 108... meaning that the air was "slightly polluted" but not really measuring exactly which cases were making it polluted that day. 

So thanks again China, for shortening my life.  Also for a memorable ending to my attempt at enjoying a seemingly wonderful summer day outside.  FMChinaL... My China life is great.

Hello there, Spring

Yesterday afternoon I went over to Zhongshan Park with Allie to see the cherry blossoms which are now opening up.  It was a perfect day, 60 degrees with clear blue skies and a slight breeze.  It was also a Friday afternoon so there weren't too many people out there.

And by "not too many" I really mean this by China standards.  It was still super crowded by American terms and resembled DC during the peak times of the Cherry Blossom festival.  Another thing reminded me of DC too:

wedding photos with the cherry trees!  We saw several couples posing, but this couple was probably my favorite on so many levels.  That pink!  The poof!  The hair!  His bad mariachi band outfit!  Damn, like seriously.

Then there are the Chinese girls who take photos with the blossoms with little-to-no expression on their faces but with some important body placement.  Lots of leaning against trees and smelling the flowers, not to mention the couples wearing matching outfits in front of the trees.

When in Rome, right?  入乡随俗.

I also went out to dinner to celebrate my friend Anna (from Poland)'s birthday with some of her other friends.  We had some really yummy Korean barbeque and then finished it off with a XiYangyang cake.

We all went out to Le Bang for drinks and dancing, so I sent Tian Jian a text message and he showed up with his drunk friends.  It was a really fun night!  Here is a photo of Anna, Tian, Kana (from Japan), me, and Chris (from the UK). 

Overall, Spring is here!  It's finally here!  I could not be happier for its arrival.

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.

CANADIA FTW

Conversation between me (A) and an elderly foreign teacher from Canada (C)

C: Hi, my name is *********.
A: Nice to meet you, I'm Alison.
C: Your English is really good.
A: Thanks...
C: 为什么? (Why? *also tone-less)
A: 我是美国人。 ( I am an American.)
C: Oh have you lived abroad?
A: I grew up in America.
(Canadian looks really puzzled and then leaves)