(taken from PostSecret)
Get a proxy like the rest of us, dumbass.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
And I'm baaaaaaack!
I have a whopping nine classes this semester, seven of which are the same as last term. This means I have about 500 students total. There are pros and cons to having the same students.
Pros
- I don't have to learn 500 new names.
- I don't have to re-train the students to do what I want.
- They are used to my voice and rhythm of speech.
- They know I mean business because they saw the grades I gave last term.
Cons
- I can't reuse lesson plans from last term.
- Those that I failed or gave bad grades to may be harboring ill will towards me.
- I have to think of new tricks, games, and methods of keeping them in line.
- More work for me, basically.
International Women's Day
Nevertheless, this week started out pretty nicely with Monday being International Women's Day. I received a nice card and a flower from one of my classes and then was bussed over to a ladies' luncheon hosted by my university for all the female employees. It was a huge lunch complete with karaoke and raffle prizes!
After the lunch the women were given half of the day off and there were buses going downtown and to various shopping areas but I totally missed the memo on this (I was told about the lunch about 5 minutes before I had to get on the bus) so had no money and came back to campus. Some people get the whole day off! America should really take note and celebrate the holiday. I also got a chance to see my boss drunk at lunch, so that was a bonus treat.
And the weirdness starts...
Chinese students are trained from the time they are young to stand up and greet the teacher in unison but I have been spared this form of mass forced screaming until this week. Basically, when the bell rings, the class monitor shouts (in English):
"STAND UP!"
After which all the students say,
"GOOD MORNING MISS ALISON!"
Then the monitor says,
"SIT DOWN!"
And they sit down as I laugh at them and then they nervously laugh at me, because they know that I think this is all very funny.
I also had some students that decided to rename themselves over break, including:
- Naruto
- bluice (I convinced him to go by Blue, complete with a capital letter and not a fake compound word)
- Lone Los (previously Andy Zhang who tried to name himself Amvipe last semester, a pretty brilliant attempt at phonetically spelling out 'MVP')
- Danny Nowitski (previously just Nowitski but I think he realized that it was a little ridiculous so he added a first name to his sirname)
It is tuesday and I am already over half done with my teaching hours this week. I guess that is what happens when you have two classes on Monday and FOUR on Tuesday. Meaning, I am teaching from 8am to 5pm with only a break for lunch.
Otherwise, I'd really appreciate a slice of chocolate cake, a curry puff, and a hot fudge sundae right about now.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
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!
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