The Chinese word for "jeans" is 牛仔裤, which literally translates as "cowboy pants"
I don't know how I didn't know this before. Yet another reason why I love learning Chinese so much.
Showing posts with label random. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random. Show all posts
Friday, May 14, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
What I learned today
Apparently the Chinese have a little custom that if they burn their hands on a pot or scald their fingers on a mug of hot water, they touch the tips of their ears because it is the coldest part of the body.
Why don't we have anything like this?
Why don't we have anything like this?
Friday, April 16, 2010
FAIL
I know this is completely unrelated to China, but I had to share this with any other blog viewers out there.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, March 29, 2010
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!"
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.
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.
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!"
Monday, February 8, 2010
Beware the H1N1
This video plays in every single airport in China as well as on the buses, subways, and flights. It's all really an American conspiracy.
On an unrelated note, being in America is pretty awesome and I have been hacking down on the food list
To eat:
On an unrelated note, being in America is pretty awesome and I have been hacking down on the food list
To eat:
- Cupcake (CHECK! 2/5: Sprinkles pumpkin cupcake)
- Milkshake (CHECK! 2/6: Palo Alto Creamery peanut butter oreo shake)
- Grilled cheese (CHECK! 2/4: Max's Diner ultimate grilled cheese)
- Cheese in general (ongoing...)
- Bread (ongoing...)
- Ben & Jerry's (CHECK! 2/4: Ben & Jerry's flipped out brownie)
Friday, February 5, 2010
旧金山欢迎你！
Chinese people do some funny stuff on planes (and trains too, I guess, but it’s always weirder on a plane). Maybe it’s because the majority of the country does not normally travel by plane nor has ever stepped foot on a plane. Jenna was even once asked if airplane food was any good by a student!
“We’re here!”
On every domestic flight I’ve ever taken in China, at least one person jumps out of their seat immediately after landing and still on the tarmac to reach to the overhead bins and gather their stuff. Then a frantic stewardess has to sprint down the aisle to tell them to sit down until we reach the gate. This sometimes works, but they are always so surprised to hear that it might be dangerous to be walking around when the plane has just landed (I’m talking wheels touching the ground here!).
Free food?!
You don’t get snacks on a train, so it doesn’t surprise me that Chinese people get very excited about plane snacks. I’ve gotten some pretty interesting plane snacks, including
dried jujubes and
a giant package of parsley-flavored(?) crackers.
There’s also the inevitable wiping of the face using the complimentary wet napkin, which always grosses me out. On my last domestic flight between Kunming and Beijing, we got the most random assortment of sacks I’ve ever encountered: a dinner roll with jam, a brown cupcake (I don’t know what flavor it was, just brown), and a packaged soy sauce hard boiled egg. Then I looked over and the man and woman next to me ate the jelly with a fork and wondered why it tasted so sweet.
Lights out!
On my flight to San Francisco, the lights went out after dinner, the normal attempt to try to get everyone to sleep to adjust to the time better. I didn’t sleep much and watched two movies, The Road and The Men Who Stare at Goats. There were also some American movies (and one about the Cultural Revolution… shocking) but they were dubbed over.
Anywho, when the lights went out, the guy sitting diagonal of me yelled “EHH???” and then whistled at the stewardesses before he and his friend figured out that they could simply turn on their own lights from their seat. I laughed silently in my seat.
So I guess typing this on the plane will be my last of the China-tastic experiences for a while. I mean, unless I happen to go to a Chinese grocery store with my mom (very likely) or go to NYC Chinatown (also likely).
On a side note, the Rockband app for the iPhone is insanely awesome.
“We’re here!”
On every domestic flight I’ve ever taken in China, at least one person jumps out of their seat immediately after landing and still on the tarmac to reach to the overhead bins and gather their stuff. Then a frantic stewardess has to sprint down the aisle to tell them to sit down until we reach the gate. This sometimes works, but they are always so surprised to hear that it might be dangerous to be walking around when the plane has just landed (I’m talking wheels touching the ground here!).
Free food?!
You don’t get snacks on a train, so it doesn’t surprise me that Chinese people get very excited about plane snacks. I’ve gotten some pretty interesting plane snacks, including
There’s also the inevitable wiping of the face using the complimentary wet napkin, which always grosses me out. On my last domestic flight between Kunming and Beijing, we got the most random assortment of sacks I’ve ever encountered: a dinner roll with jam, a brown cupcake (I don’t know what flavor it was, just brown), and a packaged soy sauce hard boiled egg. Then I looked over and the man and woman next to me ate the jelly with a fork and wondered why it tasted so sweet.
Lights out!
On my flight to San Francisco, the lights went out after dinner, the normal attempt to try to get everyone to sleep to adjust to the time better. I didn’t sleep much and watched two movies, The Road and The Men Who Stare at Goats. There were also some American movies (and one about the Cultural Revolution… shocking) but they were dubbed over.
Anywho, when the lights went out, the guy sitting diagonal of me yelled “EHH???” and then whistled at the stewardesses before he and his friend figured out that they could simply turn on their own lights from their seat. I laughed silently in my seat.
So I guess typing this on the plane will be my last of the China-tastic experiences for a while. I mean, unless I happen to go to a Chinese grocery store with my mom (very likely) or go to NYC Chinatown (also likely).
On a side note, the Rockband app for the iPhone is insanely awesome.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
See ya later, China!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Alone.
I got back to Qingdao yesterday afternoon and ran around the train station for about 45 minutes trying to find my bus after which it took me about one and a half hours to get back to good ol' Qingdao Hotel Management College. This was only to come back to a frigid apartment because the heat has been turned off on campus because school is out. So I've basically holed myself up in my bedroom with the door closed, AC/heater and little space heater blasting.
About 31 hours left of this...
It's weird being back here thinking that there is no one on campus besides myself and a few security guards. All my students are back at their respective homes, enjoying yummy food, hanging out with their friends, and sleeping in their own beds. Do you remember the first break after coming to college? It was such a blast meeting up with everyone from high school and comparing notes about our new lives. It's also strange thinking that Jenna doesn't live upstairs anymore and that I don't know who I'm going to go eat dinner with every night across the street. I'll just have to see what the new semester brings me, student and coworker-wise.
Getting my fill of China
I'm probably going to miss being here during the month I will be in America and Ireland. No, I definitely am going to miss being here. Yesterday I pretty much set my bags down and immediately went to the grocery store to get food (post-vacation empty fridge, we've all been there) and walked around the aisles thinking about all the snacks and foods that I'd miss and want to share with others when I was back in the States.
Today I ran more errands, including picking up my new qipao (!!), and was wondering about the whole readjustment thing because I am so accustomed to life here right now. I'm used to getting shoved in and out of buses and being in a constant crowd of people. America is going to be a weird place to go back to.
And here is the list that will change and grow throughout the next few days and weeks...
Things I will miss:
- street food
- mantou and rice
About 31 hours left of this...
It's weird being back here thinking that there is no one on campus besides myself and a few security guards. All my students are back at their respective homes, enjoying yummy food, hanging out with their friends, and sleeping in their own beds. Do you remember the first break after coming to college? It was such a blast meeting up with everyone from high school and comparing notes about our new lives. It's also strange thinking that Jenna doesn't live upstairs anymore and that I don't know who I'm going to go eat dinner with every night across the street. I'll just have to see what the new semester brings me, student and coworker-wise.
Getting my fill of China
I'm probably going to miss being here during the month I will be in America and Ireland. No, I definitely am going to miss being here. Yesterday I pretty much set my bags down and immediately went to the grocery store to get food (post-vacation empty fridge, we've all been there) and walked around the aisles thinking about all the snacks and foods that I'd miss and want to share with others when I was back in the States.
Today I ran more errands, including picking up my new qipao (!!), and was wondering about the whole readjustment thing because I am so accustomed to life here right now. I'm used to getting shoved in and out of buses and being in a constant crowd of people. America is going to be a weird place to go back to.
And here is the list that will change and grow throughout the next few days and weeks...
Things I will miss:
- street food
- random music playing on the street corners
- being able to ignore absolutely everything
- talking about people and them not being able to understand you
- rice snacks, milk candy, alpenliebe chocolates, hi-chew candies
- everything being so cheap
- hot soy milk
Things I am excited for:
- family and boyfriend!
- Facebook
- cheese and a real milkshake
- my full wardrobe
- TV
- real sized dogs
- a haircut
- uncensored internet
It's weird packing right now and trying to figure out what to bring back/ wear in America and what to leave here. Needless to say, I haven't packed much yet. I have a growing pile of stuff on the floor and some of my clothes are drying in the next room.
Oh, and I think Flickr is blocked again in China but I will upload photos from my January Adventure when I get to the US!
My new qipao that I will wear to Matt's 100th night banquet at West Point!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Yatah!
My itouch volume button fixed itself and I no longer have an annoying
box on top of the screen! Plus I can actually control the volume!
Yippee!!
I forgot to mention this earlier but I also managed to buy a camera
power cord and only missed one day of photo opportunities. Knock on
wood, but I think my tech problems are over!
I mean, minus the lack of phone money thing, but that's actually my own
fault.
box on top of the screen! Plus I can actually control the volume!
Yippee!!
I forgot to mention this earlier but I also managed to buy a camera
power cord and only missed one day of photo opportunities. Knock on
wood, but I think my tech problems are over!
I mean, minus the lack of phone money thing, but that's actually my own
fault.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Oops
I grabbed my US cell phone charger instead of my camera charger. Good thing Jenna has a EOS! I would have been stealing her photos anyway.
Monday, December 28, 2009
We're having a party...
I got a call this evening from one of my student inviting me to a New Years party that Class D2 was having so I gladly headed over after dinner.
It was so much fun to see my kids in a non-academic environment and just having fun! First we watched a slideshow consisting of various class photos doing different activities. Apparently they have also had a lot of field days and even a dumpling making party! This class is a hard-working and cohesive one, so I'm not surprised by this at all.
I found it amusing that their snacks were mainly fruits, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and very few chips. There was also something about feeding each other bananas, which I dodged because of my fruit allergy. I guess my allergy comes in handy, finally.
Then I met their homeroom teacher, who turned out to be really cool. Then a food fight ensued and sunflower seeds, banana peels, orange peels, and various cookies were thrown across the room.
This food fight ended after they ran out of ammo and it was all on the floor. There was also a growing number of girls hiding behind me. Apparently they thought I was immune to the attacks, which was proven wrong later. Don't worry girls, Ms. Alison will protect you!
Then we lit the birthday cake, which had this really awesome flower on it. When you lit the top wick, the petals all came down slowly and there was a huge flower flame in the middle as it played the tune of "Happy Birthday." Oh these Chinese people. This cake was everyone's birthday cake and essentially was for the New Year too. There is an old Chinese belief that you should just celebrate everyone's birthday on that one date, or something like that.
And then this ensued...
I was involved in my first legitimate food fight, complete with icing smashed into my hair and thrown around the room. I eventually washed my face off in the sink, but when it's about 25 degrees F outside, this was not a fun thing to do! I told my kids "this is how much I love you!" and they laughed.
So thank you, class D2, for an eventful Monday night that I will never forget. Just another day in my life.
Then it was karaoke hour...
Then we lit the birthday cake, which had this really awesome flower on it. When you lit the top wick, the petals all came down slowly and there was a huge flower flame in the middle as it played the tune of "Happy Birthday." Oh these Chinese people. This cake was everyone's birthday cake and essentially was for the New Year too. There is an old Chinese belief that you should just celebrate everyone's birthday on that one date, or something like that.
So thank you, class D2, for an eventful Monday night that I will never forget. Just another day in my life.
An Almost White Christmas
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Have yourself a very China Christmas
The idea of Christmas exists in China and the Chinese are all very aware of the holiday. However, it's like if you hyper-secularized what we have in America and called it a holiday but didn't give anyone any time off. I know that in America it has become a secular holiday, but here it is even more so because there is no context or deeper meaning (even if you don't believe in God, you still know why we have Christmas).
There are random Christmas decorations in shops, restaurants, and even my gym, mainly consisting of "Merry Christmas" signs, Christmas trees, and cut-outs of Santa. It's mainly because of the fascination with anything Western.
Here is an article from the People's Daily, everyone's favorite English propaganda paper, about the growing zeal for Christmas in China.
Alison, what did you do this fine Christmas Eve?
Oh well, gee, I'm glad (maybe not) you asked! I taught two classes, ate lunch at the cafeteria, then wrote my final exam for my students which starts tomorrow. Then I ate Japanese food with another teacher and topped that off with a McDonalds hot fudge sundae.
Tomorrow I will be teaching one class and giving them part one of their final exam as a Christmas present. This will be followed by Skyping family and friends and possibly going downtown for a little taste of home.
Peace Apples
Another thing that I discovered last week is that Chinese people gift each other apples for Christmas. They gift wrap them in cellophane and ribbon and present them to their friends, coworkers, and teachers as presents. This is because the word for apple ( 苹果 ping2guo3) sounds like the word for peace (平安 ping2an1).
Misconceptions galore
This week I had to explain to my students that we don't give apples as presents and explain who Santa is because they see him all the time (圣诞老人, literally "Christmas old man"). They didn't really know the story of Santa except that he gives everyone presents on Christmas.
I also taught the kids several Christmas songs these past two weeks. First I taught them "Jingle Bells" because all they knew was the "Jingle bells jingle bells" part and then they just kept repeating that throughout the song. This week I've been teaching them "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" and "Deck the Halls." I knew they wouldn't do it, but no one sang "Fa ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra."
So that is my little Christmas from over here in the Middle Kingdom. Merry Christmas to you and your family and may it be filled with love, good food, and a healthy new year. Be thankful for your family and don't forget to think about those who cannot be home for Christmas -- not me, but the soldiers around the world. And now from the city I miss desperately...
There are random Christmas decorations in shops, restaurants, and even my gym, mainly consisting of "Merry Christmas" signs, Christmas trees, and cut-outs of Santa. It's mainly because of the fascination with anything Western.
Here is an article from the People's Daily, everyone's favorite English propaganda paper, about the growing zeal for Christmas in China.
Alison, what did you do this fine Christmas Eve?
Oh well, gee, I'm glad (maybe not) you asked! I taught two classes, ate lunch at the cafeteria, then wrote my final exam for my students which starts tomorrow. Then I ate Japanese food with another teacher and topped that off with a McDonalds hot fudge sundae.
Tomorrow I will be teaching one class and giving them part one of their final exam as a Christmas present. This will be followed by Skyping family and friends and possibly going downtown for a little taste of home.
Peace Apples
Another thing that I discovered last week is that Chinese people gift each other apples for Christmas. They gift wrap them in cellophane and ribbon and present them to their friends, coworkers, and teachers as presents. This is because the word for apple ( 苹果 ping2guo3) sounds like the word for peace (平安 ping2an1).
Misconceptions galore
This week I had to explain to my students that we don't give apples as presents and explain who Santa is because they see him all the time (圣诞老人, literally "Christmas old man"). They didn't really know the story of Santa except that he gives everyone presents on Christmas.
I also taught the kids several Christmas songs these past two weeks. First I taught them "Jingle Bells" because all they knew was the "Jingle bells jingle bells" part and then they just kept repeating that throughout the song. This week I've been teaching them "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" and "Deck the Halls." I knew they wouldn't do it, but no one sang "Fa ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra."
So that is my little Christmas from over here in the Middle Kingdom. Merry Christmas to you and your family and may it be filled with love, good food, and a healthy new year. Be thankful for your family and don't forget to think about those who cannot be home for Christmas -- not me, but the soldiers around the world. And now from the city I miss desperately...
圣诞快乐！
Sunday, December 13, 2009
What's that song?
Today I heard Akon's "Smack That" blasting from the speakers of street vendor selling fried chicken strips. Possibly the randomest song I've head on the streets, considering I hear some really weird ones every day, but this one had me bent over laughing.
Oh China.
Oh China.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
William
I caved and had dinner with my student last Tuesday because he was preparing for an oral English exam as part of a summer work program. It sounds really sketchy and borderline illegal, but basically these students apply to a program where they pay a fee and then go to work in the US at a variety of different jobs including working at McDonalds, as is shown in the photo on the brochure. I am against this on so many different levels and also want my students to get a better view of American than this warped cheap labor one.
It's marketed as some sort of "Work & Travel" program where they work for 3 months and then have money to travel around the US for a few weeks. I question the legitimacy and legality of the whole thing.
So one of my students, William, is applying to this program and asked me to practice speaking English with him after class to prepare for the test. I invited Jenna along so we could tag-team test him, but it was simultaneously the strangest, most hilarious and awkward dinner I've ever had with a Chinese person.
After we grilled him on some basic interview questions, the conversation took a turn to all sorts of weird topics.
It's marketed as some sort of "Work & Travel" program where they work for 3 months and then have money to travel around the US for a few weeks. I question the legitimacy and legality of the whole thing.
So one of my students, William, is applying to this program and asked me to practice speaking English with him after class to prepare for the test. I invited Jenna along so we could tag-team test him, but it was simultaneously the strangest, most hilarious and awkward dinner I've ever had with a Chinese person.
After we grilled him on some basic interview questions, the conversation took a turn to all sorts of weird topics.
- William asked us what we thought about love, and apparently this meant homosexuality (quote, "What about boy and boy or girl and girl?). We told him that it was perfectly fine for a man to love another man and a woman to love another woman and he said this was just wrong and not correct while making all sorts of faces at us. Moving on...
- Apparently the poor kid has an ex girlfriend that he is still in love with and still is his cell phone background. They broke up at the start of the school year, but he says he is still in love with her. He also said that she was "up here" and he was "down here" (then we couldn't really describe to him how to say 'out of your league').
- Then he declared that he "wants a wife!" and basically spends all his extra time out of school looking for a girlfriend. This is actually pretty common with students and they are obsessed with finding a significant other.
- William was perplexed that Jenna was single and had no desire to have a boyfriend. He just didn't get it. No matter how many times we said it, he would just be flabbergasted and say "I don't understand!" This is also a pretty common feeling in China. We then tried to explain to him about the American desire to get to know yourself before you settle down and look for a wife/husband and he just didn't get it. You'd think we were speaking a completely different language or that we were from a completely different planet.
- Jenna is probably going to teach in Taiwan after this semester is over. When she told William, you would think someone killed his puppy because he yelled "NOOO!!" and the color drained out of his face. I laughed hysterically and was pretty much tearing at this point.
- Then he decided that he wanted to be Jenna's boyfriend and kept asking her out to be his girlfriend.
Americans : casual --> Jenna : American --> Jenna : casualThis ended in a standoff and a "joke" about whether he could hug her off campus. On the whole, this was a very awkward dinner on many levels but shed light on many cultural differences between us as Americans and the Chinese. I have a feeling I'll be mentally digesting this one for a while...
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
I'm China-trendy
Many Chinese people wear face masks to shield themselves from dust, sickness, and pollution. They are very rarely plain face masks and attempt to be fashionable, with rhinestones, cartoons, and patterns on them.
I felt it was necessary to finally embrace this trend and sport my own look!
So yes, I have had a China-tastic week so far and have gone on a mission to get as much cute stuff as possible.
The "Twilight" marathon begins again tomorrow. I told one of my classes today that they will finish it next week and they actually squealed and then applauded. This week I had them do an actual lesson, I promise! I'll post about that later, because it was a very good one and their dialogues were very interesting.
New Moon sucks. Sorry if you paid money to see that.
I felt it was necessary to finally embrace this trend and sport my own look!
I actually wore it to LiCun yesterday and found it quite nice that I didn't have to hold my breath and dust my face off when crossing the street! However, it does make my glasses fog up and I ended up taking it off once I was back on campus.
Yes, the mask is a little cartoon covering his mouth and saying "NO!" -- isn't it adorable?
During the night market on Monday, I also finally caved and got some people to put what is basically a giant sticker on the back of my phone. They come in many different designs, but because my phone is so small, I picked one that wasn't a cartoon (as much as I am in love with Xi Yang Yang right now) but was equally as obnoxious.
Basically, they take the giant sticker and use a lighter very quickly to make it soft and mold exactly to the shape of your phone. Then they use a scalpel to cut it exactly to the edges and make an opening for the battery cover, cell phone charm hole (I want to get a Mei Yang Yang one but I have yet to find the perfect charm), and the bottom part where it charges. It was all so precise and I actually sat there with my jaw open watching the man do it with a lighter and a blade. Weird.
So yes, I have had a China-tastic week so far and have gone on a mission to get as much cute stuff as possible.
The "Twilight" marathon begins again tomorrow. I told one of my classes today that they will finish it next week and they actually squealed and then applauded. This week I had them do an actual lesson, I promise! I'll post about that later, because it was a very good one and their dialogues were very interesting.
New Moon sucks. Sorry if you paid money to see that.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Chinese Internet: FTW or FAIL?
I tried to google "freedom toast" this morning and was stopped by the Great Firewall. Apparently they have no tolerance for quasi-politically correct breakfast foods. I decided that this is a good time to address the limitations of my internet connection in China.
Proxy servers
There are many proxy servers that work here, the main one being HotSpot Shield. Unfortunately this does not work for Macs and will probably be the only moment that I wish I had a PC. It's only a fleeting thought though and I immediately go back to being a Mac fanatic.
I use a proxy server and a web-based proxy server to access Blogger and Facebook, although I cannot post anything or interact with Facebook in any way. It's pretty annoying, but has forced me to email people a lot more often than just doing the random 1-3 sentence post on walls. This is a big plus, I guess, because email is much more thoughtful and personal than a Facebook message.
Blocked Sites
So how do I know if something is being blocked from me because of the Firewall? Basically, when I try to load a website, my browser gives me the error message that says "Page has taken too long to load" even though it had only taken one or two seconds to get to that page. Alternately, the website just never fully loads and the browser stays in the thinking position for a while.
Google images is interesting because sometimes the thumbnails show up, and other times they don't. Then there's also the possibility of when you click on a thumbnail that you want to see, you'll get the browser error message. This used to happen to Flickr two years ago, but that issue seems to have been resolved.
The list of blocked sites
- Facebook
- Youtube
- Blogger (anything .blogspot.com)
- Google's Picasa
- Google image search
- sometimes Gmail goes out for a few hours, but is usually restored within the day. This has only happened once this time.
- and growing...
Proxy servers
There are many proxy servers that work here, the main one being HotSpot Shield. Unfortunately this does not work for Macs and will probably be the only moment that I wish I had a PC. It's only a fleeting thought though and I immediately go back to being a Mac fanatic.
I use a proxy server and a web-based proxy server to access Blogger and Facebook, although I cannot post anything or interact with Facebook in any way. It's pretty annoying, but has forced me to email people a lot more often than just doing the random 1-3 sentence post on walls. This is a big plus, I guess, because email is much more thoughtful and personal than a Facebook message.
Blocked Sites
So how do I know if something is being blocked from me because of the Firewall? Basically, when I try to load a website, my browser gives me the error message that says "Page has taken too long to load" even though it had only taken one or two seconds to get to that page. Alternately, the website just never fully loads and the browser stays in the thinking position for a while.
Google images is interesting because sometimes the thumbnails show up, and other times they don't. Then there's also the possibility of when you click on a thumbnail that you want to see, you'll get the browser error message. This used to happen to Flickr two years ago, but that issue seems to have been resolved.
The list of blocked sites
- Youtube
- Blogger (anything .blogspot.com)
- Google's Picasa
- Google image search
- sometimes Gmail goes out for a few hours, but is usually restored within the day. This has only happened once this time.
- and growing...
Thursday, December 3, 2009
My Christmas Tree
My Christmas tree still isn't without Chinese characteristics and is topped with a pretty scary looking Santa that was included in one of the decoration packets.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Apparently I moved to the Bay Area
This morning I woke up and thought my windows were fogged up for whatever reason, but really it was the insane fog that has descended upon Qingdao.
This is seriously thick fog! I feel like I'm walking around in the Bay Area, or into an elven forest looking for the lost members of the Fellowship.
It was really eerie - as though when I blinked my vision would clear, but it wouldn't. I walked at my normal pace to my first classroom building until I had to walk through this:
Craziest feeling ever. Please insert metaphor here.
That is all. Today I had my morning class sing "God Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts. It was just me making stuff up because they had already seen "Twilight" with another English teacher. And man it was funny. Some of these guys really get into singing karaoke!
Happy December!
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