Exploring Tianjin

Well, 2 weeks ago I started to feel a bit homesick. This was mainly because of some issues with the foreign language department that made me angry. How they deal with things over here is SO different then how things are done in the States that it can be very frustrating- 3 hour lunch breaks, issues not dealt with quickly enough (from my perspective) or brushed aside, etc. This all just puts you in a negative frame of mind which definitely is NOT they way to live in a foreign country because you start looking at everything negatively. At this point, I stumbled across a book, "Survival Kit for Overseas Living", in our office (which is currently 'under construction'...one of those previously mentioned issues haha). The book looks horribly outdated and full of pretty pointless graphs. However, it did have some useful advice for getting through those bouts of homesickness.

One of the suggestions in the book, was exploring your environment. Yes, I have lived in Tianjin for over 3 months, but a lot of it I have yet to see. One of the main tourist attractions is Ancient Culture street and I have never even been there. It is a shopping area filled with the typical chinese goods from all different types of minority groups. I went here with one of my students, who is pretty good with her oral english so it is easy to carry on a conversation with her (it is nice to actually be able to joke with a chinese person and they understand your sense of humor etc). We were able to do a bit of holiday shopping and Rosa was incredibly helpful because she was able to bargain with the shop keepers (whitey alert: raise the prices!). Therefore, I was not totally ripped off thankfully. It truly was a wonderful shopping day and totally helped me get over my little bit of homesickness (darn holiday season gets you every time).
Me throwing up the "V for Victor" sign like all my students do haha

My student, Rosa, rubbing the foot which brings 'good fortune'

All about FACE

By now I should come to expect/accept the cultural differences that I encounter on a daily basis...but there is just one thing I can not accept is the lack of responsibility I see here. Let me explain:

The foreign teachers have been having some issues with some customs students who are living in the same hotel as us. I had one try and enter my room and a drunk customs student tried picking a fight with another teacher. Needless to say, we complained. We were told by the International Office that they would take care of the problem etc etc. On both accounts, the chinese customs students lied. They told me that the guy made a mistake about trying to enter my room and that I was 'blowing it out of proportion'(next time you are in a strange country and a guy is entering your room, you let me know if you are frightened by it or not). And in regards to the drunk student picking a fight, that it was actually the foreign teacher who was the aggressor...WRONG!

Instead of taking responsibility for their actions, you often have people over here try and blame someone else or pass the buck. It often works out to their advantage, because their are so many layers of people you have to jump though that you can actually do this. Also, the whole concept of "saving face" means you never admit to being wrong. THAT IS SO FRUSTRATING to me because I think one of the greatest aspects of a civilized culture is the ability to admit your mistakes and realize what you have done wrong SO THAT YOU CAN GROW FROM IT.

So just in case you ever encounter a giant, fat customs official when traveling in China and he obviously has a dislike for foreigners (and his favorite swear words are 'f*** your mother' in both English AND Chinese)...you will know it is our fine friend who tried attacking one of the teachers.

P.S- Because of these incidents, the customs students have been removed from our floors... but they have now told everyone that it is our fault for both occurrences. Let's just keep shifting the blame and changing the stories- ARGHHH

Adverts

This past week I had the students create their own commercial. Their only goal was to try and sell the audience something they thought was needed. It had to have been one of the best assignments I have done because it was asking them to be creative. You can tell they LOVE this kind of stuff...probably because they do not get to be imaginative in their other classes. The products ranged from miracle weight loss to being able to eat your books and that is how you would learn the material. I loved what they had to show me and I am definitely doing something like this again next term (maybe have them script out their own comedy??).

Exploring Tianjin

Well, 2 weeks ago I started to feel a bit homesick. This was mainly because of some issues with the foreign language department that made me angry. How they deal with things over here is SO different then how things are done in the States that it can be very frustrating- 3 hour lunch breaks, issues not dealt with quickly enough (from my perspective) or brushed aside, etc. This all just puts you in a negative frame of mind which definitely is NOT they way to live in a foreign country because you start looking at everything negatively. At this point, I stumbled across a book, "Survival Kit for Overseas Living", in our office (which is currently 'under construction'...one of those previously mentioned issues haha). The book looks horribly outdated and full of pointless graphs. However, it did have some useful advice for getting through those bouts of homesickness.
Told you the book looked ugly haha Random find in our torn up office:


One of the suggestions in the book, was exploring your environment. Yes, I have lived in Tianjin for over 3 months, but a lot of it I have yet to see. One of the main tourist attractions is Ancient Culture street and I have never even been there. It is a shopping area filled with the typical chinese goods from all different types of minority groups. I went here with one of my students, who is pretty good with her oral english so it is easy to carry on a conversation with her (it is nice to actually be able to joke with a chinese person and they understand your sense of humor etc). We were able to do a bit of holiday shopping and Rosa was incredibly helpful because she was able to bargain with the shop keepers (whitey alert: raise the prices!). Therefore, I was not totally ripped off thankfully. It truly was a wonderful shopping day and totally helped me get over my little bit of homesickness (darn holiday season gets you every time).
Me throwing up the "V for Victor" sign like all my students do haha

My student, Rosa, rubbing the foot which brings 'good fortune'

Halloween = a big "HUH?!"

It is interesting being the ambassador for something as awesome as Halloween. Trying to teach my students about the importance of a holiday- where girls have an excuse to dress up in skimpy outfits, you get to demand candy or else foul play will be involved, and general weirdness is acceptable- is hard work.

I started by teaching them Halloween vocab such as Vampire, Goblin, Jack-a-Latern etc. This led to one of my students asking why I was teaching them something that they do not know about. It was so hard for me to not go- "Duh?! Isn't teaching you NEW things what a Teacher is supposed to do?" However, I refrained and explained the cultural importance of Halloween, its history, economic impact etc. Once I pointed out that everything you get for Halloween is 'made in china' and that if the west stopped celebrating this weird holiday then china would loose a lot of money, they finally understood its importance.

I also subjected myself to watching "Hocus Pocus" 10 times and now have that movie completely memorized. This was a children's movie, yet they still found it difficult to follow the plot line and I had to do a summary of events haha It did manage to frighten a few students (especially when SJP jumps out from under the bed). When my English classes were leaving, I made them say "trick-or-treat" if they wanted to get the candy I brought with me to hand out. I told them that they had to say the magic words and their response was 'teacher can I please have candy' after I told them like 7 times that the magic words were 'trick-or-treat'... I do not think they really listen to me hahah oh well

For my non-major students, I joined with another foreign teacher and created a mini haunted house. I blacked out all the windows, had toilet paper draped over the doors and walls, tea lights lite up around on tables, and a fog machine going. It was pretty awesome room considering what we had to work with and not being able to find Halloween stuff in China. (You might be wondering where the fog machine came from but that was a random find in one of the offices that I had made. Apparently a past foreign teacher also taught Halloween because we also found a huge bag of costumes and a big hairy spider to put on the wall) We bought apples and I made caramel sauce for the students to eat. I also made 'sensory boxes'- you take a shoe box and put something in it and without looking the student has to feel what is in there. I had brains (noodles) and eyeballs (grapes) which freaked out the students sufficiently.

We also made the students play the "Mummy Wrap" game. I divided them up into teams and handed them each a roll of toilet paper. Before I even explained the rules of the game, they were already cheating and wrapping up their person. I told them to stop and roll the paper back up because we were all going to start at the same time, but they would not listen. Jim (the other teacher) and I had to go around to each group and roll the paper back up and tell them DO NOT START UNTIL I SAY TO. It was so funny though because once they started they really got into it.

Of course, after this was all over everyone wanted their pictures taken with the witch (that is me hah). I posed for 20 mins taking pictures with my students. They found the whole thing pretty cool even if they had a big 'huh?!' face the entire time... perhaps that was their attempt at a costume ?!?

A little taste of home...

One of my closest friends from the States visited this past weekend. It was SO wonderful to see her and experience some good ole' western logic. The things you miss when living over here seem so peculiar-- but it was so refreshing having someone who understands your sense of humor and how you think, come to this county and see what you see every day.

My friend Abbie and her friend Leah came to China for a one week whirl-wind tour. They arrived off the plane at 10pm on Saturday, where I promptly greeted them in their hotel lobby for a night out in Beijing. Nothing quite like getting off a 14 hr plane flight and then being subjected to the Chinese nightlife. But I say instant immersion into insanity is the best way to rip that 'sissy western ideals' bandage right off! HAHA That night was so hilarious- Abbie nearly got engaged 3 times, I was forced to prop-up an Asian man named "Alan" while his friend chased down a street kid who stole 100 yuan, we all danced in a style that was a cross between eastern european techno and bizarro chinese fusion HAHA All in all, it was a fabulous night. Since it was after 3 am when we devoured our street cart hotdogs (these hotdogs are delicious and are all beef(i hope)) we decided it was time to head home. Abbie and Leah did have to be on the bus 3 hours later to begin their 'cultural' tour of china...I think walking the Great Wall slightly tipsy and hungover is the best way to see it anyhow :)

((sorry last post was done in the wee hours of the morning so there are a lot of run-on sentences and typos... fixed some of the typos but couldn't care less about the run-ons haha))

There is nothing you can not doooo in Chengduuuuu

(sorry the title sounds like it should be a song hah)

Last week was the Chinese National Holiday and everyone got to have a lovely 8 day vacation. There is nothing quite like witnessing the Chinese take a holiday though. I boarded the aircraft to begin my 5 day trip to Chengdu in the Sichuan Province. The plane ride had to be the strangest thing I have ever been a part of- there were passengers getting up and walking around during takeoff, people taking off their seat belts so they could peer out the windows during the landing, a lady diagonally from me throwing up because of the turbulence and some man with a video camera getting a shot of the only 'whitey' (that's what I have taken to calling myself over here) on the plane. It was insanity!

Since I arrived at the hostel late in the evening, I started my explorations of the city the following day. The town has started creating these 'old' shopping streets- meaning they were recently built but they did them in the ancient style. So, now I can pretend Starbucks is really a traditional drinking location and not feel guilty about drinking my green tea frappuccino :)
My next stop after a brief time travel back into 'old' china, was the "People's Park." This place was really amazing because of all the strange activities going on in one location. There were people joining sing-a-longs, old people dancing all over the place, people in boats on the lake colliding into one another, spun sugar candy making, and my favorite bizarre activity-EAR CLEANING. Yep, that is right, you can have a cup of tea at one of the tea houses and have your ears cleaned by a man and a tuning fork. It probably was one of the strangest things I witnessed and definitely did not want it done (though I was asked a BILLION times) because I did not see them clean their instruments from one person's ear to another's ear...GROSS

Chengdu is also home to the largest Mao statue. This guy definitely ate his Wheaties for he is a big one:

The following day was my trip to the Panda Breeding and Research Center. This had to be the best experience of my whole trip because for the low, low price of $150 you can have a 'baby' panda sit on your lap! Honestly, it was totally worth the money when you think what a cool experience it was- well at least I do, and that is all that matters haha
There is absolutely NO WAY, you would have been able to do something like this in the U.S unless you paid 10 times as much. It was so incredible and I am glad that I was able to spend one weeks pay on having a panda sit in my lap HAHAH
That evening, after my "panda high" I decided to go to the Sichuan opera. This is famous for its 'face changers', 'fire breathers', and shadow puppets. It was pretty cool and very entertaining. I spent the extra 5 dollars and sat in the "VIP" section haha which just meant that I could feel my eye brows being singed by the fire breathers (if you are interested in what this might have been like, check out the Travel Channels Samantha Brown's trip to Chengdu on like youtube).
On Tuesday, one of the other female travelers staying at the hostel and I headed 2.5 hours by bus to Mnt. Emei so that we would be able to 'climb' one of the 4 sacred Buddhist mountains. I put climb in quotations because we really took a bus from the base of the mountain to about halfway up (2.5 hours of winding roads, fog, and 2 accidents that we had to wait through), walked 1 mile of stairs, and then took a cable car from there to the top of the mountain. After 7 hours of travel, we finally made it to the top of this sacred mountain to look out on a lovely view of FOG! Yeah, we could not even see the famous golden statue at the top (we originally thought it was a weird smoke formation caused by the burning incense sticks) until we were right underneath it. Once we made it to the highest temple, we were constantly harassed by Chinese tourists to let them take their pictures with us...WHITEY ALERT! It was all so anti-climatic coming to this sacred place, that Sonja and I ran down the mountain to escape the paparazzi to only then be attacked my monkeys. These monkeys have now taken to stealing food from tourists. I witnessed one grab peanuts from a man wearing a poncho--taking the peanuts and tearing the poncho haha The funniest thing though, is if you are completely lazy, you do not even have to walk ANY part of this mountain (Sonja and I at least walked up a million stairs it seemed like). If walking seems like too much you can be carried- two men will put you in a jampan (sedan style chair) and run with you up and down the stairs! I was content with the fog, sore legs and feeling the altitude sickness that I did not want to ruin it by being carried and dropped down the steep steps haha

Like I said in my title, there is little that you can't do in this town (or anywhere in China really)...there is only a price that has to be negotiated ;)

The Great 'fire'Wall of China

As you might have noticed, it has been 3 weeks since my last post. This was due to the Chinese government systematically shutting down all of the free proxy servers. They did this to prevent communication to the outside world during their National Holiday. Any sites dealing with freedom of expression- blogs, facebook, etc- are all blocked because the government does not want people writing about China in any negative light. The government insists on controlling information and therefore many sites are blocked, especially any news sites that might not show China at its absolute best. Expats living in this country have no choice but to throw their fists up at Hu Jintoa (current leader) and buy an outside service.

I am now the proud owner of a VPN, which allows me to get on any site I want because I have an american IP address. The Great Wall of China was built to keep enemies from harming the people. The Great 'fire'Wall of China was created to keep 'bad' information from getting to the people. However, history repeats itself- the Hun army made it past the defenses of the Wall and so now Facebook has made it through the 'fire'Wall! muwahahahahah I attack* from within... (*dear chinese government, please note this is a joke- do not arrest me!)

Beijing Birthday

I just had a lovely 25th birthday weekend spent with my friend Sean in Beijing. One of the greatest things about Tianjin is that there is a bullet train that carries you at over 339 km/hr to arrive in less than 30 minutes in Beijing. Tianjin is a nice city, but it still is very isolated-- One of the fellow foreign teachers said it is "China's largest village." This is such a true statement because there is still that 'village mentality' that reigns in this city. It definitely is not as cultural as Beijing, even though its population is over 12 million.

It was so great this weekend being able to walk around and not constantly be stared at. Beijing is home to a ton of expats, so one more white chick walking around is nothing new. In Tianjin, however, I am always being pointed at and whispered about for they are none too subtle here. Most of my students say I am the first foreigner they have ever met-- oh joy, once again with the celebrity/pariah dichotomy going on haha. Hence, the reason the trip to Beijing was so refreshing was because I could blend in (not necessarily with the Chinese, but with the other expats hah).

Making this decision to come and live in China, was mainly because I was facing the quarter-century marker. I did not want to celebrate my 25th back home...no offense to friends and family, but I HAD to be somewhere other than Pennsylvania. It is just such a momentous occasion for me because I never really pictured my life past the age of 25. I did not want the reality to be that I was living at home and did not possess a real job hahah So now I am in China trying to come up with a 5 year plan (I have never planned longer than a few months in advance before) and this milestone birthday seems like a good time to start. Wish me luck or else my parents had better watch out-- for I will be moving back in! eeks hahahaha

"China Belly"... it is never just a fart

:: THIS POST MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN, MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY, OR THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT TO READ::

I know so many of you are wondering about this topic (and some might be grossed out--STOP READING) so I have finally decided to talk about IT...AKA, "CHINA BELLY"

Ever since coming to this country, I have feared what all travelers to countries that you cant drink the water fear- incontinence. Let me just tell you all, this is not a one time thing... this is the way of life here. I now fondly refer to it as "china belly" and it happens basically ever day. Even though, I only drink bottled water everything is so different here (food and how it is cooked, what you are eating, cleanliness, etc) that you can not escape this dilemma. I have finally given up the dream of having a regular bowel movement and have now replaced it with the dream that I don't poop my pants! With this said, I give fair warning to travelers- always excuse yourself for it is never just a fart!

Service That Stalks

If you decide to come to China, beware: SERVICE PEOPLE STALK YOU! When entering any store to do a bit a shopping, you end up with a shadow who follows you everywhere you go. This is not just a phenomena that they reserve for westerns, everyone gets a stalker (it is a communist country after all--> Equal stalking status is granted to locals as well). As someone who likes time to browse the selections, this is very disconcerting to have someone hovering RIGHT beside you. I am sure that they think that this is 'excellent customer service' but to be honest I often get put off by this behavior and end up not buying anything.

The staff probably do this for two reasons: Number one, there is actually enough people in China, and you can employ them cheaply, so that every customer has a sales associate/stalker. Number two, this probably cuts down on shoplifting- you definitely need excellent slight of hand skills to lift something in front of the eagle eye of these clerks.

At a small store in any western country there might be a staff of 2 or 3...here there are AT LEAST twice that many. I bet peter pan never guessed his shadow was truly a little chinese woman trying to make him buy sugared almonds...

"Huh?!"... A Chinese student's favorite expression

The reason I was hired to come to China was to teach oral English to University level students. Therefore, I prepared my tentative course syllabus with that in mind. It did not take me long to realize that even though they might be English majors, they are not that great with oral comprehension. The students are excellent with reading or writing- but not with thinking on their feet, which is needed when having a conversation. I thought as a way to get to know them we could play "would you rather" (you give someone two options and they have to pick one of them). It seemed like a good way to break the tension...

Me: Would you rather have a third eye or webbed feet?
Class: Huh?! ::quizzical look, scrunched up faces, disgusted shock::
Me: You have to stand up for one of them. Who would rather have a third eye?
Class: Huh?! ::no one stands, look to their neighbor::
Me: You HAVE to stand up for one of these two! You would all prefer to have webbed feet? Stand up if you would rather have webbed feet.
Class: Huh?! ::still no one stands, mouths open in shock::
Me: Oh never mind...let us try something else

Hypothetical questions... just don't ask them in this country!

From there I moved on to playing "2 truths and 1 lie" which they seemed to understand- THANK GOD! I gave them an example:

1) I have my pilot's license (lie)
2) I did a zipline on top of the tallest mountain in Europe (truth)
3) I was awarded the Presidential and Congressional Award for Volunteer Service to America (truth)

Then I asked them to guess which was the lie and a majority of them did not get it right, BUT at least they were guessing. I then asked them to write down 3 statements and as a class we would go around and guess. I told them to be creative and try to think of things their classmates would not guess-- "not to just say 'I am 20 years old' and in reality you are 19." Oh just an FYI: CHINESE PEOPLE HAVE NO IMAGINATION! I had so many "lies" that were "I do not like basketball"- they do, "I have a sister"- they have a brother, and "I am gay"- wtf?!

Thankfully, that little exercise took up the majority of class time or I would've been screwed. It is like pulling teeth to get them to talk and we are there for ORAL english.

I told you I eat "real food"

All right, after my last post I felt it was necessary to prove that I am eating the local cuisine (and not surviving on McDonald's and weird flavored potato chips). This past week I found myself in some great dining establishments and all by chance. One of the fellow teachers arrived this week and we decided to do some exploring of Tianjin. For our first experience, we hopped into a taxi and with my Chinese guide book in hand, asked the taxi driver: "Can you recommend a nice seafood restaurant?" The taxi driver proceeded to call up someone else to ask for advice, while we sat patiently in the car hoping we did not ask: "Can you make us into seafood?" After speeding around town (and I do mean speeding- with no seat belts), we arrived in the middle of a slum-like area where they had built this palatial restaurant in the middle. With that lovely juxtaposition greeting us, we went into the main lobby where there was tank after tank of live goods. It was then that we realized the taxi driver took us to the best seafood restaurant in town. John and I wandered around trying to figure out exactly what we were supposed to be doing, when finally a hostess took us up to a private dining area meant for six people. Then we were led back to the lobby where we walked around with our hostess and pointed to the dishes we wanted. I am not sure what I was eating exactly, but it was GOOD! With dinner over, we walked outside and realized there were no taxis around. After asking the nice hostess if she could call us a cab, we went back outside. Next thing we see, the hostess is running over the dirt and trying to make her way to the main road- they do not have a number to call for a taxi company, you just flag them down. I felt super guilty making this poor woman run around this area for a taxi. She was unable to get one, so she had us pile into a friend of her's car and they drove us to a main area where we could then grab a cab. So there, I do eat Chinese food...and get into precarious situations!

Tiny onions exist in China too!

So, I hate to admit it but I love the little onions that they put in a Mcdonald's cheeseburger. Don't ask me why, but they are the best aspect of that sandwich. I am happy to report that, yes, China also appreciates these little devils. I gave in and ate at McDonald's because I was so tired of eating ramen and succumbed to the call of the arches.
McDonald's in Downtown Tianjin

Therefore, if any of you fear that when you go abroad your food will be different- do not worry. You can always get a McDonald's cheeseburger with the tiny onions!

((Do not fret I am eating local cuisine... I swear hahah))

The ground is dirty

Ok, so this just seems like an obvious statement, but hear me out: The ground in China is DIRTY. You often read about in chinese tour books how spitting is an issue that the government is trying to curb its citizens from doing because westerners find it disgusting. However, what you do not read about in tour books is how it is perfectly acceptable to pee or poop on the street. This is especially true with children. Parents just squat on the ground with the kids and just let them go. No need for a diaper when there is perfectly good asphalt around, I guess.

As a result, the country fears touching the street. You do not just sit on the ground- you either squat or put newspaper down. Therefore, when waiting for a subway or in line, you see a whole bunch of chinese just squatting around. This of course makes me stick out even more for I am left the only one standing. I might try attempting this squatting pose in the future, but I am afraid I might loose my balance and end up on the dirty ground...

First Week in China...

I arrived a week ago in Beijing, after a 14 hour plane flight, with no clue what I was getting myself into. With only the ability to say ‘hello’ in Chinese, I set off on my 5 month stay in this country. Thankfully, my friend Sean met me for a brief introduction to the country before I found myself thrown in a car traveling 130 km/hr to my teaching site of Tianjin.
Sean In Tiananmen Square- Everything is under construction for the 60th anniversary celebration of Communism in October

After that crazy ride, I spent two days sleeping and living off of nature valley bars and peanut butter. I was just so exhausted from the flight and lack of sleep while in Beijing to do anything. Finally, I emerged from my hibernation to go to the ‘body doctor’, which had to be done to validate my working visa. This had to have been the most efficient, yet scary, experience so far. I was sent running, literally running, from one room to another getting poked, prodded, and scanned.

I Am A Yuan'naire!! j/k I was reimbursed for my flight haha

I have been checking out this city where I will be living and am getting used to the fact that I am constantly stared at (I feel like I am treated like a cross between a celebrity and a social pariah...oh joy). The most fun I have had is grocery shopping, because I have no idea what the packages say and what I eat is basically a mystery. Also, they have the weirdest flavored things: texas beef, italian meat sauce, lychee, and stewed chicken are some potato chip flavorings I have found. What a feast for my palette...eeks!


Blueberry and Mango Flavored Potato Chips...yummmm?!

The Street I Live On In Tianjin

Site Overhaul

I have not written here in awhile. However, this will now be my blog about my experiences in China. I hope you enjoy :)

Still Job Searching... HAHAH

Hmm... Three months later and I am still at it. Every company I talk to keeps giving me the same line: "Come March we will start hiring again." I do not know if I believe them based on what I am seeing in the news anymore. If they will not start the hiring process till March, that means I will not have a job until at least May. I say that because by the time the company posts a job, waits one month for people to get their applications in, and then starts the weeding out and interview process, it is AT LEAST two months. I was hoping to get a job before the new batch of college kids graduate. I figured my chances would be better HAHAHA

I have given up the substituting gig. I dislike the not knowing aspect of it all. When/Where am I going? What am I teaching? Substitutes get the shaft to say the least! I truly did not enjoy the last minute wake up to rush somewhere and teach a subject that I know nothing about. Also, this experience has taught me that I could only teach AP classes or at the collegiate level-- classes need more than one-sided conversation. I just do not want to spend the rest of my life waiting for the next period to start. As a result, after I got the position at Borders, I quit substitute teaching. It was way too much hassle.

So now I am working part-time at Borders, but they have now cut back all the hours. With the economy acting like it is, they had to scale back and now full time is 25 hrs and part-time is like 12 hours a week! Therefore, I am not really bringing home the bacon and can not save like I had planned. Basically, I am making enough to pay my student loans and that is it! (I am grateful beyond words that I at least have a roof over my head)

Back to the grind of job searching and networking in an attempt to find a suitable career in this crap market hmmmmmm

keep on keepin' on