Wow, I am so overdue in writing on here. Schedule wise things have been very busy. Not so much in an I'm so insanely busy I can't function. Rather it is a goo combination of working, building friendships, and seeing the sites. I can't tell it all so I will share some quick bits about my day to day life and then a couple longer notes.
Recent experiences...
My bike had a flat tire so Janet, a Chinese worker from school, took it to a bike repair man for me. She insisted on doing this so that I would not get the "foreigner" markup. After it was fixed we went to eat at a nearby restaurant. An hour later on leaving the restaurant the tire was flat again! By then it was so late that all the bike repair men had gone home. I had to walk it all the way to my apartment, about 2 miles!
My students are not perfect! I have had a boy in my class involved in 2 recent incidents where he hit a girl!!!! One time the girl was 6! So I have been learning about dealing with parents from very different cultures and learning how the whole discipline thing works here at my new school
On the plus side... Half of my class had gone to the library from music class. There was no teacher or adult in the library at the time. When I walked in unexpectedly, all 9 students were sitting at tables quietly researching their topics for a project I had assigned THE DAY BEFORE using the very limited number of research books in the room. It caused my jaw to drop open.
Learning Chinese is DIFFICULT! For me, learning very simple phrases and remembering them is quite challenging. We have started a class at school with one of the Chinese teachers. She is meeting with 3 of us once a week. Last week we learned numbers and I have been practicing diligently. My friend Diane and I went to an art store together. Anytime I go someplace with Diane is an adventure of epic proportions, but I don't have time to share all the details at this time. Suffice it to say that there WAS some confusion in finding the correct store, and we spent quite some time in a little hole in the wall shop trying to figure out where all the supplies were, before discovering the correct shop just down the street:) When we finally got to the right store we had a great time trying to use a combination of our bad and limited Chinese words and hand motions to describe clay. Finally a girl figured out what we were looking for and led us to it. I took a package to the front to find out how much it cost. I was SO excited to use my new knowledge of numbers in Chinese to listen for the price and figure it out in English. I pointed to the package. The clerk said something that sounded like "A" (a long a sound) I carefully counted from one to ten in Chinese in my head. None of the numbers sound anything like A. I looked questioningly at him and he repeated "A" again several times. I still could not figure it out. Finally he got out his calculator and typed in 8!!!!! He was just as excited to practice his ENGLISH numbers as I was to try out my Chinese! When I said OHHHHH "BA" he realized why I did not understand. We both stood there laughing hysterically. By the time Diane and I left, I am pretty sure we had the full attention of EVERYONE in the store!
Getting in touch with nature.
Today I was excited to visit a park called Fragrant Hills. I had heard that it was very beautiful and I looked forward to getting out in nature and enjoying some peace away from the city. I think I forgot for a bit how many MILLIONS of people live in China. I have never experienced hiking in quite this way. The path we were on was to the peak of the hill/mountain we were near. My friends were not sure they wanted to climb to the top, but I said of course we have to! We can't come this far and not climb to the top! So they went along with me. Shawna with very little enthusiasm! Well, as we climbed higher, several things happened. One, the pathway got narrower, two the pathway got steeper, and three more and more people seemed to join us the higher we got. By the time we were near the top, we were surrounded by a mass of people. Some going up, some going down, but everyone moving. It was amazing to me. I was far from the city, and still packed in a mass of people. When I hike Table Rock Mt. in SC, on a busy day you might see 50 people. Usually it is more like 10. When you get to the top, you enjoy peace and quiet as you enjoy the view. At the top of this mt. THERE WERE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE! Draped on every rock, they spread newspaper on the ground to sit on, they were lining every railing and stair step. It was amazing. The people were taking full advantage of this beautiful place.
One of the fun things about this site, is that it is not one of the regular tourist stops for foreigners. It is very much a Chinese spot. Several times throughout the day a Chinese person would look at us and say with much surprise HELLO! They were so excited to see us there. Even though the day did not include a lot of peace solitude and serenity, it was definitely a fun opportunity to see and enjoy the culture of these people. I am amazed at how graciously welcoming they are to me wherever I go. Well, I guess that's all for this time. I hope it is not too choppy or discombobulated! I hope I can give you a taste of the life here that I am so completely enjoying even with a few inconvenient moments along the way!
Recent experiences...
My bike had a flat tire so Janet, a Chinese worker from school, took it to a bike repair man for me. She insisted on doing this so that I would not get the "foreigner" markup. After it was fixed we went to eat at a nearby restaurant. An hour later on leaving the restaurant the tire was flat again! By then it was so late that all the bike repair men had gone home. I had to walk it all the way to my apartment, about 2 miles!
My students are not perfect! I have had a boy in my class involved in 2 recent incidents where he hit a girl!!!! One time the girl was 6! So I have been learning about dealing with parents from very different cultures and learning how the whole discipline thing works here at my new school
On the plus side... Half of my class had gone to the library from music class. There was no teacher or adult in the library at the time. When I walked in unexpectedly, all 9 students were sitting at tables quietly researching their topics for a project I had assigned THE DAY BEFORE using the very limited number of research books in the room. It caused my jaw to drop open.
Learning Chinese is DIFFICULT! For me, learning very simple phrases and remembering them is quite challenging. We have started a class at school with one of the Chinese teachers. She is meeting with 3 of us once a week. Last week we learned numbers and I have been practicing diligently. My friend Diane and I went to an art store together. Anytime I go someplace with Diane is an adventure of epic proportions, but I don't have time to share all the details at this time. Suffice it to say that there WAS some confusion in finding the correct store, and we spent quite some time in a little hole in the wall shop trying to figure out where all the supplies were, before discovering the correct shop just down the street:) When we finally got to the right store we had a great time trying to use a combination of our bad and limited Chinese words and hand motions to describe clay. Finally a girl figured out what we were looking for and led us to it. I took a package to the front to find out how much it cost. I was SO excited to use my new knowledge of numbers in Chinese to listen for the price and figure it out in English. I pointed to the package. The clerk said something that sounded like "A" (a long a sound) I carefully counted from one to ten in Chinese in my head. None of the numbers sound anything like A. I looked questioningly at him and he repeated "A" again several times. I still could not figure it out. Finally he got out his calculator and typed in 8!!!!! He was just as excited to practice his ENGLISH numbers as I was to try out my Chinese! When I said OHHHHH "BA" he realized why I did not understand. We both stood there laughing hysterically. By the time Diane and I left, I am pretty sure we had the full attention of EVERYONE in the store!
Getting in touch with nature.
Today I was excited to visit a park called Fragrant Hills. I had heard that it was very beautiful and I looked forward to getting out in nature and enjoying some peace away from the city. I think I forgot for a bit how many MILLIONS of people live in China. I have never experienced hiking in quite this way. The path we were on was to the peak of the hill/mountain we were near. My friends were not sure they wanted to climb to the top, but I said of course we have to! We can't come this far and not climb to the top! So they went along with me. Shawna with very little enthusiasm! Well, as we climbed higher, several things happened. One, the pathway got narrower, two the pathway got steeper, and three more and more people seemed to join us the higher we got. By the time we were near the top, we were surrounded by a mass of people. Some going up, some going down, but everyone moving. It was amazing to me. I was far from the city, and still packed in a mass of people. When I hike Table Rock Mt. in SC, on a busy day you might see 50 people. Usually it is more like 10. When you get to the top, you enjoy peace and quiet as you enjoy the view. At the top of this mt. THERE WERE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE! Draped on every rock, they spread newspaper on the ground to sit on, they were lining every railing and stair step. It was amazing. The people were taking full advantage of this beautiful place.
One of the fun things about this site, is that it is not one of the regular tourist stops for foreigners. It is very much a Chinese spot. Several times throughout the day a Chinese person would look at us and say with much surprise HELLO! They were so excited to see us there. Even though the day did not include a lot of peace solitude and serenity, it was definitely a fun opportunity to see and enjoy the culture of these people. I am amazed at how graciously welcoming they are to me wherever I go. Well, I guess that's all for this time. I hope it is not too choppy or discombobulated! I hope I can give you a taste of the life here that I am so completely enjoying even with a few inconvenient moments along the way!
1 comment:
sounds like you have fun confusing people...they probably just think you are tourist or something!
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