Merry MardiEasterValentineHalloweenNewYearChristmas! Ho Ho Ho?

I’m going to have to admit that my Christmas day was fairly low-key this year. I hung out at home most of Christmas day, had a nice dinner with Tony and then had a friend come over and visit. But the highlights of the Christmas season? My Chinese sister, YiQi, coming to visit for two days from Shenzhen and Christmas Eve. I’ll start with YiQi…

We had a fabulous time – I so enjoyed having her here with me! We had a game night with Tony and my roommate, we spent a day shopping together and we celebrated Christmas Eve in a very unique way (see below). She left on Christmas afternoon, the time went too fast!

Now for Christmas Eve… My NGO in China was asked to participate in a big charity event that night, proceeds going towards one of our projects which helps disabled children. So, we rounded up some people who were willing to participate and plans began. The event was hosted by one of the big movie theatres in town which happens to be located on the busiest walking/shopping street in Tianjin…especially on Christmas Eve. You see, young Chinese people know that Christmas is a big holiday so they want to celebrate but they have no idea HOW to celebrate so they all go out to this walking street, put on their best Mardi Gras mask, bunny or demon ears and they walk around…in the freezing cold. They don’t have it exactly right, do they? It’s a big spectacle and one that I don’t actually enjoy but I went because it was for a good cause! J

We started the night at our friend’s house so that we could practice (our part of this event was to sing four songs right before midnight). There were 14 of us and we laughed, practiced and prepared our songs. Then, at about 10:00 pm we left for the walking street. It was chaos! People everywhere and a HUGE stage set up –totally not what I was expecting! There were “snow makers” on either side of the stage which were spitting out soap bubbles, which I suppose did look somewhat like snow, and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” country-line dance style being blasted from the speakers. This song, by the way, continued to be blasted for the next two hours…

By the time we were ready to perform it was close to midnight and the crowds had died down a bit…but the wind had not died down, it had picked up and was blowing fiercely. Suddenly, the stage was swaying and the “snow” looked like someone had put it into a blender and opened the top in the middle of the process. It was FREEZING. So, what could we do? We put on our happy faces and got on the stage to sing our four songs. It was a weird mix of people…several Americans, some Chinese (including YiQi and Tony), a German, some Dutch and a Canadian. We attempted to sing three songs…it was hard because the wind was so strong that my hair was stuck to my recently applied lip gloss and we couldn’t hear the guitars so I’m sure none of us were singing together! Even in the midst of this poor performance, people flooded from everywhere to watch the foreigners attempt to sing in Chinese. They had to bring in a whole line of cops to guard the stage.

After our first three songs we were shuffled off-stage so that they could do the Christmas Eve countdown…yes, just like New Years Eve. *sigh* We waited for the countdown and watched the final performance before the countdown…five Michael Jackson impersonators with a lot more thrusting than needed! We counted down…5, 4, 3, 2, 1…MERRY MARDIEASTERVALENTINEHALLOWEENNEWYEARCHRISTMAS! What holiday is this again?? Then, as the crowds were going wild we ran back up on stage to sing our final song, “Silent Night.” That’s the perfect song to sing to a raging crowd, don’t you think? J I was told that our performance was being taped for the local news the next day but I’m not sure if it made it on there or not!

But the night is not finished yet! After singing Tony, YiQi and I hurried to find a taxi before everyone started looking but it was already too late…no taxis available and on a cold night like that we knew it was going to be very difficult. So, we headed to a corner where there were no people waiting and by some miracle, a taxi came around the corner. I flagged it down and we were walking towards it when I saw some fast movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked to be sure and confirmed a quick, black figure going for OUR taxi! So, I took off running, leaving Tony and YiQi in my dust. I reached the cab before that other boy and was so hot…if any of you have ever played a game with me, you know I’m competitive. J I turned around and started yelling at him in English, giving him a real piece of my mind for trying to steal our taxi. The nerve! He “lost his face” in front of his friends because a girl…and American girl beat him…take that! J

We finally made it home, talked with my family on Skype, opened our Christmas presents and crawled into bed around 2 am. What a night to remember!

They Call it a Fairytale

You know the one. A prince kisses a sleeping princess. The prince slays the dragon. Another princess kisses a frog. Yet another just wishes to be human. One wants to protect her land. One dreams of her face covered in make-up, yet looks in the mirror and only sees soot. One falls in love with the beast. You know the one, right?

I’m no princess and Tony is certainly no frog-disguised prince but on that magical night it was somewhat like a fairytale, created by the stroke of some Disney writers’ pen.

Some people call it woman’s intuition…well, that’s what I had on Saturday, December 12. Somehow, I just knew it was the day. Maybe it was because Tony wanted a big date night and we usually have our “date night” on Wednesdays. Maybe it was because Tony showed up at my workplace somewhat dressed up (sure it was no Aladdin-style Arabic costume…thank goodness…but more of a rugged John Smith-type of look instead of the usual t-shirt and jeans).

We headed out to a fancy Thai restaurant (my favorite!) and dined in a private room. Tony still wouldn’t budge about giving away what I knew was to come but inside I could feel the excitement building. The next stop was the Renaissance Hotel…one of the nicest hotels in Tianjin. Okay, sure, it was no castle and I didn’t let him climb up my hair to get to the window but it was still a nice suite on the 40^th floor. When I walked in the door the first thing I saw was a bouquet of 99 red roses. In Chinese language the word for 9 is ‘jiu.’ This word also has another meaning, forever. So, 99 roses symbolizes “forever, forever.” I bet those 7 dwarves never figured that one out while trying to woo Snow White!

As I was taking off my coat, I was suddenly embraced in a huge hug and Tony was saying a bunch of wonderful things and asking me to marry him. At first, I didn’t respond because my mind was thinking, “holy crap, its happening! My fairytale moment is coming true!” When he finally looked at me and asked, “yes?” I responded in Chinese saying, “I WILL!” Later I had to ask him to tell me what he said again since I really couldn’t remember!

Tony recounted to me how he had called my parents the week before and asked them for permission…this is especially sweet because in Chinese tradition there is not even a proposal, just two families and the children making the decision to get married. He really went out of his way to make this special FOR ME and so I was very touched that he knew to call them. He also e-mailed my best friend in the states to ask her opinion and he spent a lot of time googling, “How to propose,” “How to propose to an American woman,” etc! Prince Eric and Simba, you’d better get in line!

In the end, it didn’t feel like I was rescued but it did feel like I was swept off my feet and carried off into the sunset.

Fairytale? Real life? I don’t care…just as long as we live happily ever after….

A Story

Picture this: You get off work at 9:00 pm and it's cold and windy outside. You know that your lone bike is waiting by the construction zone where 40+ migrant workers are nailing and drilling and quickly putting up that new skyscraper which seems to almost appear before your eyes. You realize that everyone who comes to work just 12 short hours later will look upon the new construction with eyes of disbelief, wondering who was there and thinking maybe it was those elves who come and fix your shoes during the night. You will be joining them as they come bleary-eyed and coffee-deprived but you know the truth.

As you step into the frigid winds, you know they have one goal: to blow dust in your eyes until you weep. You tell yourself that you live close, you don't have too far to go but you are tired at the end of a day full of teaching, correcting and practicing the utmost patience. You wish for the billionth time that you had a car but then you remind yourself why you don't have a car in this city...you value your life.

You walk to your bike and see a figure in a dark jacket standing nearby. You recognize the way the figure walks then smiles as you get near and you feel a warmness spread through your body, despite the violent wind echoing through your ears. You remember all over again what it's like to be in an intercultural relationship and what small surprises that can bring. You begin to understand that he will always be there, every night waiting next to the lone bike and the crowd of migrant workers who are anxious to get a look at the foreign yellow-haired one... He gives you a quick hug, hops on the front of the bike and you sit on the back balanced perfectly, like a gymnast on their beam.

You forget the cold....

Thanksgiving with Chinese Characteristics

Thanksgiving for me this year was celebrated in two parts:

Part 1: My Show Competition

This competition took place at work and as one of the newbies (along with my friend, Joel) we were 'volunteered' to organize and run this event...even though we'd never seen it, never heard of it. That's what new people get to do, right?! :) It turned out to be fine but we were running all over the place for a couple days leading up to the competition. The My Show Competition is one of the biggest advertisements for our center as it shows students giving speeches or performing skits, showcasing their English levels. We had 9 groups/individuals sign up to perform this year, based on the theme of Thanksgiving. It was everything that a competition should be...music, prizes, a host to lead the event, judges and visual aids. Most of the students did speeches on being thankful for parents or teachers and there was one really amazing skit where the students totally got into character...it was pretty amazing to see them do that! One of our favorite students, an older guy who is a doctor but also wants to learn English, chose the topic, "We should be thankful for the contributions of white people." At first we were thinking, wHaT in the WoRLd??? but it ended up being a very well-done presentation. Another quick story about this guy...I had him in an English corner once and during EC's the students are supposed to come with topics that they want to discuss. They almost always say things like travel, shopping, food or TV shows but one day I asked them what they wanted to talk about and without missing a beat this guy said, "Somali pirates." I love him! :) Anyways, back to the competition...when it was over we served up some roasted chicken in the Thanksgiving holiday spirit, a hit among the students!

Part 2: A non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner

I decided that since I had to work on the day that all my international friends would be celebrating Thanksgiving, I would make my own meal on the actual day and invite some friends to join me. This was the first time that I planned a big meal and made it on my own in China! I never cook here!! I had soooo much fun, though...planning the menu, buying (searching) for all of the things I needed, and then cooking with Tony and my roommate. This is what we made: Oreo ice cream pie, lemon bars, stuffing, mashed potatoes and broccoli salad. Then, we bought three different kinds of roasted chicken and some baguettes. We invited some other friends to join us...it was really a great night! So, my American holiday consisted of eating and celebrating with 7 Chinese friends and Sonja, my German friend. Hehehe...not the typical holiday at all but still with every bit of the meaning. :)

Get the Fire Out!

Last semester I wrote a blog about the Chinese massages that I get about once a month...the cheap, yet somewhat painful two-hour long massages. But, what I didn't mention are some of the other "treatments" that are available at the masseuse...and no, I don't mean THOSE kind of services! What I am talking about are two kinds of treatments that are meant to put a person's "ying and yang" into balance. When the ying is stronger, they will eat some ginger to balance it out. When the yang is stronger, they will do one of the procedures that I'll tell you about in the following. Chinese people also believe that your body's ying and yang represent the fire in your body and if they are off-balance than it is easier for you to get sick. So, when they feel a cold or other illness coming on, they will head to their local masseuse for one of two treatments: fire-cupping or gua sha.

Fire-Cupping: Take approximately 12-14 glass bulbs and light a fire under those puppies! Then, immediately stick it to the skin on your back which creates a kind of suction. After 10 minutes you are finished and ready to go. The only take away is the bruises it leaves behind...like you can see on my friend's back in the picture below! I have another friend who fondly calls this method, "octopus hickey's!" But, be cautioned...don't try this at home!

Gua Sha: This is another method that will balance your ying and yang but will leave you looking like you just came out of a butter knife fight. They take a small tool, usually the horn of a cow, and proceed to "scratch" your back in the same place, about 8 strokes. It is enough to leave a red mark but not enough to break the skin. They will do this along both sides of your spine and then across your shoulder blades and down to your lower back, about 12 marks altogether. In the picture above, you can also see a type of gua sha if you look at the marks between the fire-cups. Often times, these two procedures are done at the same time.

After both of these procedures you are meant to feel relaxed and free from any aches or pains. I haven't tried it yet... What do you think? Would you???

Obamao

You've probably heard that Obama spent 3 days in China recently and there was a lot of talk about him and his visit. One of the really interesting things was how they stopped all sales of a very popular item while he was here, Obamao t-shirts, key chains and posters. They have Obama's face printed and he is wearing a hat like Mao's Red Guards used to wear. He is also posed in a way that is very similar to a famous portrait of Mao. China decided that this might be offensive to Obama so they stopped all sales of the item while he was here. I don't dare write much more so if you're interested in the whole story and in seeing the pictures, just check out this link: http://www.chinahush.com/2009/11/15/china-bans-obamao-t-shirt-during-obamas-presidential-visit/

Another thing that really got Tony and his friends talking was about the meal that Obama and the president of China, Hu Jin Tao, shared together. They had a private meal and meeting that lasted for nearly 3 hours and during this time the lunch that was served consisted of 4 dishes and a soup. You may think that for two people this is plenty but if you ask any foreign visitors to China about their "VIP meal experiences" they will tell you that the amount and variety of food that arrives at the table is extraordinary. I remember going to a meal once in Hangzhou and losing count at 25 dishes for 9 of us. In Tony's words, "next time we go out for a meal, we're going to order the same dishes as Hu and Obama did...a meal for common people!"

I told some of my students that the biggest problem with Obama's visit was that he forgot to call me! As if!

Pumpkin Lamps

For Halloween this year I decided to break out of my anti-social, work all-the-time phase and invite some past students (friends) over to make Jack o' Lanterns. It was very spur of the moment but we ended up going to dinner and then going back to my house for carving craziness! First, we went to the local market and checked every vegetable stand to find the biggest and most beautiful pumpkins available. Our choices were somewhat limited but we found 3 small-medium sized pumpkins that I thought would work out okay. We had dinner then got to work! I gave the girls a run-through of how to carve a Jack o' Lantern and we looked up some pictures online so they could get some ideas...they've never done this before, barely even heard of it! I made them draw sample pictures on paper before they started drawing on their pumpkins. I was a little surprised at how they dug right in to get all of the guts out of the pumpkin...I thought they might be kind of "girly" about it. Then, they started drawing and carving. Each girl had a distinct style...

Angela. The smallest of the girls needed my assistance every step of the way. I held the pumpkin while she used both hands to push the knife through. Along with holding the pumpkin, I had to look inside to let her know when she got all the way through. She would say, "Am I through?" "Nope." 2 seconds later... "Am I through?" "Nope." Another 2 seconds... "Am I through?" "YES! Good job!" A few times when I glanced up her arms were shaking, she was trying so hard. I will be fair and say, though, that since the pumpkins were smaller, it was a lot tougher to get through the outside. She was dedicated and even though she ended up chopping off one of the intended teeth for her pumpkin, we were able to cut in a replacement.


Carmen. I don't think I heard a word out of her mouth from the time she started drawing to the time she finished carving. She was HACKING at that thing though and I had to warn her several times to move her fingers and not touch the blade directly. True dedication. When she finished, all I heard was a sigh as she examined her work and then started talking about all the things that she did wrong. Perfectionist!


Laura. I think that Laura was the least confident in her pumpkin carving skills. After every move, she exclaimed, "Help me! I did something wrong! It's not right! How do I fix it?" She ended up cutting out both teeth that were in the original plan and each time she lost one she just burst out laughing. Her Jack o' Lantern ended up being furthest from the drawing on the paper...we'll just call it the work of an artist, changing as she went along.


The finished products! From left to right: Angela's pumpkin, Carmen's and Laura's. Not bad for beginners, eh?


As the girls were leaving, they had a lot of questions about their "pumpkin lamps" (the literal translation from Chinese.) For example, how long can we keep them? Is there a way to make it last longer? And my favorite....

Can I eat it?? :)

A Day at the Waterpark

Way back at the beginning of October, during the national holiday week, Tony and I took a trip to the Tianjin Waterpark. It has recently been renovated and now it's open to the public for free! The day we went was so beautiful with a rare blue sky backdrop but apparently the rest of the city had the same idea as we did! It was so packed in there with people that it made it almost difficult to enjoy. Nonetheless, we had a nice time and got some good pictures. Some of the pictures are from the water fountain show and some are of the city landscape...you can see the Ferris wheel and the TV Tower in the background.

A Serious Case of Writers' Block

This is my diagnosis. Self-diagnosed and unable to think of a cure. Any doctors (or just wise people) who want to make a suggestion?

Welcoming Committee

My friend, Kathy, sent me these pictures a while back and I've been thinking about them as I get ready to hop on a plane back to China. As the swine flu scare was starting to hit every country around the world, the Chinese government took prevention action. I've since heard that they are still doing this... Before any flight of people into China can get off the plane, they send in some fully-uniformed temperature-takers to test everyone on the plane for fevers. If you've got one, into quarantine you go! I've been quarantined once before in my life but that was in the comfort of my own home and I'd really like to get back to my Tianjin apartment and not have to sit in a hotel for a week upon arrival. If you could send up some prayers about an uneventful trip back into China for me, I'd really appreciate it!



I fly out of Des Moines tomorrow morning so this will be my last posting from the states - I'll see ya on the other side! :)

Summer in Review

As I sit here at Bre's house, with my little niece napping in the other room, I am reflecting on my summer back in the states and thinking again about how blessed I am to have this amazing life! I get to spend 11 months of the year living in an incredible country and meeting unforgettable people and then I get to come back to my roots for a month and reconnect with everyone I love here. It's such a unique opportunity, I hope I never take that for granted...

This summer has been pretty packed with really great things! Some of the highlights...

The week of vacation in Wyoming with my mom, Tony and YiQi...camping in the mountains with my grandparents and 4-wheeling with my aunt and uncle.

Hanging out in Cedar Rapids with my wonderful friends there.

Spending several days with my grandparents in Bettendorf.

My annual college roommate reunion (held in Des Moines this year). These ladies, how can I describe them? They keep me going...they nurture my soul.


Showing Tony around and seeing the states through his eyes - this experience taught me so much and gave me a greater appreciation for where I grew up.

My sister's wedding - the event of the year! Having all of the Ingleby's in one room, doing what we do best - dancing and celebrating! This weekend will be remembered and talked about for many, many years - I am so blessed to have been a part of it!


Spending time with my growing niece and seeing the joy on her beautiful face.


There were so many other good times, laughs and great food. See ya again next summer!

Edit, Edit, Edit - FASTER!

I am just about caught up on the blog posting that I missed out on while under the Great Firewall of China! I have a few solutions to get around the firewall once I get back to China, so I am hoping that one of them will work and I can continue to document my experiences! Thanks to all of you who are faithful readers!

My last two weeks in China before coming to the states for the summer can only be described as pure and utter chaos. I thrive in chaos! But, even amidst the chaos, the stress settles in.

I was going along fine with just two weeks left - my job was settled, I'd chosen an apartment and I was moving swiftly on my TESOL certification work. Then, the big money job came along and I couldn't turn it away....

First of all, I should tell you that sometimes in China things are done with a sense of immediacy. For example, a student wants me to write a recommendation...okay, no problem...and it needs to be done in 4 hours...problem! There is an unspoken assumption that if you have a connection with someone than they will be available to you at any time. Americans don't work like that! Another example...a department in our school asked Tony to translate 15 chapters of a beginning English language textbook and find a native English speaker to record it (me). We did the translation and I was ready to record but then there was no word from the department about moving forward - literally silence for months! Tony just told me that the department recently contacted him with 15 more chapters to translate and they expected everything (including recording and editing) to be done within 2 weeks. Why the sense of immediacy all of a sudden??

Anyways, back to my original story... I was all set to get back to the states when a co-teacher called and asked if I had some time to help him translate a book. At first I hesitated then agreed after I heard how desperate he was for help! The school had given him a book, approximately 320 pages, and told him they needed it in a week. WHAT!?!? Edit an entire book in a week...don't they know how long it takes to edit something like that? So, after settling on a price of 5,000 yuan for 5 days of hellish editing, I got to work on my half of the book. The book was all about the Olympics - I think they were trying to document every logistical detail. The editing in some of the chapters went smoother than in others. All in all, it took me about an hour to edit 5 pages. 5 pages per hour X 160 pages = a lot of hours! Did I mention I only had 5 days? It would have been better if they had not been calling every couple of hours to check on my progress...and remind me that I needed to hurry. I pretty much canceled everything in my week, stopped all work on my teaching certificate and didn't pack a thing for my move. Anyone who saw me that week can testify to my mood...stay clear!

In the end I finished and was satisfied with my work on the book but I will never understand the emergency that was crouching behind my shoulder throughout the entire week, threatening to rear its ugly head if I slowed down for even a moment. Geesh, people, plan ahead next time!!!

One of the Family

Both of my parents have always been the types to have an open door when it comes to friends, neighbors, relatives, even strangers sometimes! So it's no big surprise to me that my family keeps expanding as "new members" are allowed in. This was again shown to me at my stepsister's wedding this past weekend. During the song, "We are Family," there were about 10 friends of the family who just naturally joined us as "one of the Ingleby's." I love this about my family. Along with accepting friends of the family, my parents also seem to take on extra kids every once in a while. My dad has Brock, both parents have Erick and my mom now has YiQi, her foreign exchange student from China.

YiQi lived with my mom all of last year while attending Marshalltown Community College and as my mom opened her doors to YiQi, she also became the "2nd mom" to a few Koreans, a Japanese girl and the Russians who lived in our basement for a week. It has been so cool to see my Marshalltown home become such an international dwelling place...it suits me just fine!

This past June YiQi even came to visit me in Tianjin! She brought her dad along and I was the official tour guide (strange concept, huh? The American showing the Chinese around!) Here's a picture of YiQi and her dad at a hot pot restaurant...


YiQi has brought a lot of joy to our household as our Chinese mei mei (little sister) and she has been a part of a lot of family celebrations throughout the last year - a trip to Michigan to see Laura, a trip to Philly to see Lindsey, Christmas with the family and a trip to Wyoming with my mom, Tony and I this summer. The pictures below are from that trip!


One of the best things about YiQi is how she can make us laugh at the most random things! One of the recent things she said that cracked us up: "Does this movie have Jack Hughman (Hugh Jackman)? I LOVE Jack Hughman!" Hehehehehe....


Now that you're in, you're in for good, YiQi! Welcome to the family!

Janis: She's Not Just a Rocker

She's my new roommate!

In October, I am going to be getting a roommate! Her name is Janis and she is actually one of my former students...from my very first semester of teaching. Ever since that semester we have met pretty regularly for dinner and kept in frequent contact. Our conversations are full of laughter...she's very funny and she has the most contagious laugh! I feel very comfortable around her and am excited to hang out with her more!

Janis is a senior this year and desperately wants to move out of the dorms. In fact, she's had her own apartment this past year but her parents would really prefer that she doesn't live alone and since I have plenty of room, we worked out a deal! I know that she will help me out a ton with language and I can also help her - we have built-in language partners!

Janis is unique among my students in that she has goals for her a life...a lot of them. So many of my students are in the dark about what they want to do or what they can be good at...and they settle for taking a common route. Not Janis. Over the past 2 years we have had many discussions about what she wants to do with her future. To name a few: professional tennis player, Hollywood director, Matt Damon fan club president :) and psychologist. In fact, I am going to take a few of my old psych textbooks back for her to look through this semester. I don't know what she'll end up doing after this year but she has great ambition so I know she will succeed. She also has a gift for languages...not only does she speak fairly-fluent English but she is taking Korean lessons in her spare time.

It's been a while since I've had a roommate but I'm really looking forward to it! You can see Janis in the picture below...she's the one on the far right, sitting on the floor in the cream sweater.

What a Week!

I have another interview/story to report! I interviewed for this one, via e-mail, way back in April and it just got printed in the Central College Alumni Newsletter this week! You have to scroll about halfway down the page to see my story. Enjoy!

http://www.central.edu/abroad/newsletter/

P.S. There seems to be a bit of a malfunction with the way I linked this site...if it takes you to a site that says, "Leaving Facebook," just click "Continue" and it should go to the right page!

Apartment Hunt: Part 3

Pictures of my new place!

Walk in the front door and this is what you see...these doors open up and lead into the two bedrooms. But, first...turn right...


You are now facing my living room!


Turn slightly to the right... Here's the couch and dining room table. The table is set immediately to the right of the front door.


Okay, now turn slightly left again and walk forward, towards the window... Here's one of the balconies (aka: coffee sippin' room).


Go through the doors and look out the window... View from the window. The black building is my absolute favorite hot pot restaurant! This side of the apartment gets very, very noisy.


Now walk back to the front door, facing the closed double doors. Turn to your left... Here we have the kitchen!


Now go out of the kitchen and walk towards the double doors...stop before you open them. Turn left and see the bathroom that causes me stress!


Open the double doors... Directly in front of you is a big storage closet.


Turn right and find the spare bedroom on the side of the apartment by the restaurant.


Now, go back to the left of the double doors and you find yourself in my bedroom!


Take a quick glance outside my window to see the courtyard below.


Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Apartment Hunt: Part 2

My New Apartment:

2 bedrooms, 1 bath
1 large kitchen
2 balconies - one for cooking, one for drying laundry and/or drinking morning coffee
1 large living room
1 50" plasma TV (yes, included!)
fully furnished with 2 bedroom sets, a washing machine, a white sofa and chair, the TV, 3 glass-top tables, patio furniture and some cooking appliances

First thing, for those of you who want to know, I did sell my lime green couch....it's in a very nice home now and my very expensive trend of getting a new couch each year continues. *sigh*

Let's see - my apartment is on the 5th floor of a newer building in a very nice apartment complex. It's located about 5 minutes from the back gate of my old campus, in fact, I can see my old teaching building out my bedroom window! Oh, and when I say that my apartment is on the 5th floor, this is in a building with no elevator. Apartment buildings with 6 floors or fewer are not required to put in an elevator! So, for me this means four things:

1. I'm lucky I'm not my upstairs neighbor.
2. I've gotten into a good habit of standing at my door and thinking about my day before I walk down the stairs. This eliminates forgetting something and having to walk back up the stairs.
3. I have really awesome friends who actually volunteered to move me in.
4. I'm really out of shape.

Now that I have to pay for my own apartment and utilities I actually have to learn HOW to do all of that. My landlady is covering the cable - check. Tony's friend is taking care of the internet - check. Tony and my new roommate will be helping me to turn in the payments for water, electricity and gas - check! Before this lovely system turns from my own ideals to reality, though, I have to figure some of it out on my own. Here's an example from my first 9 days in the apartment before I left for the states:

Electricity... In China, you have to buy units of electricity for your apartment and when those units run out, well...you're sitting in the dark. No one warned me during my first two days that running the wall air conditioner would pretty much zap all of my electricity credit. (I mean, I'm used to running it whenever I feel like it in my old place...even all night!) After the second night of doing this I woke up, was checking my email and boom - all systems down. I thought...no big deal, I'll just hop in the shower and then go buy some more units. After hopping in the shower, I hopped right back out as I realized that my water heater runs on electricity. Thinking I'd dry my soaking hair I went for my hair dryer...electricity. Apparently I am super dependent on electricity because I then went to charge my dying phone... Duh! Eventually, I got the point but as you can see, it took me a while!

There have been some other things that I've suddenly realized I have to do with the help of friends, not just by picking up the phone and asking the school to take care of it. Fixing the rusted shower, trying to make a device to keep my bathroom from flooding each time I take a shower and attempting to stop the stinky sewage smell...again, the bathroom!

After all of this, I've realized that I had it REALLY GOOD these past two years. Oh, someone please take care of me!!! :)

Apartment Hunt: Part 1

After I signed the contract for my new job in the middle of July, I knew the next big thing was still ahead before leaving for the states on August 10th. I had to move! Since I was no longer working at the university, I was no longer provided with the free campus housing. I knew that I wanted to remain in the same neighborhood (also where my new school is located) and so the search began!

Renting an apartment in China is totally different from renting in America for one main reason...there is no apartment complex to go to because each apartment is individually owned. When apartment buildings go up in China, they are built structurally complete but with nothing finished on the interior. A newly married couple, for example, might want to buy an apartment to move into and so they buy it based on an empty room with no colors, no flooring, no kitchen utilities (cupboards, counter tops, etc) - nothing. Then they must decorate the apartment on their own, according to their own tastes. This includes choosing paints, light fixtures, flooring and everything else that you can think of that goes into a home to make it a home. This is similar to building your own home in America, right? So if you have an apartment building with 50 apartments, there are 50 different owners with totally different interior decor.

About two weeks before I had to move I went into a small rental agency (they're just randomly scattered around areas with a lot of apartment buildings). Immediately they got to work, trying to find an apartment within my pricing and location requests. About 20 minutes later, I was looking at my first apartment! That week I looked at about 9 apartments but eventually chose the second one that I looked at. Since each apartment is individually owned you have to look at not only the actual apartment and location but at the landlord/lady to make sure that you will be able to work with them if anything goes wrong.

In the next post I'm going to talk about the apartment that I chose but I want to tell you about some of the ones that I didn't choose!

* the one that had a 6-inch glass platform covering the entire living room floor...GLASS...and under that glass was a variety of rocks and other "sea" items. The landlady said that it was a compromise with her son because he had wanted LIVE fish under there (um...how do you get them out when they die?!?!?) The best part of this was when she flipped a light switch and bright orange lights started blinking under the glass. Gross.

* the one that didn't have live fish but sure smelled like fish...of the dead kind

* the one with the naaaaasty bathroom

* the one that was actually my second choice but I ended up passing on it because it was located in a hotel and i wasn't sure what kind of business my neighbors were up to!

I'm really happy with the apartment I ended up with - more stories about my apartment adventures and pictures to come!

Claim to Fame

Several months ago, after some of my Marshalltown friends came to visit me, Kathy told some stories to her parents about their trip to China. I received an email shortly after saying that they had told the local newspaper that I should be interviewed since I'm doing something a little different than the norm. I agreed and we decided that it would be easier to conduct the interview in person, once I had returned to Marshalltown for the summer. I had the interview last week and today it was in the paper. You can see the story at the link below!

http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/519323.html?nav=5005

Airbus

My friend, Dietrich, sent me this e-mail awhile back and I thought I'd include it...just to show some Tianjin pride!

The next time you get on an Airbus, you might not want to automatically assume the jet was assembled in Europe.

That's because "the first Airbus A320 jet assembled outside Europe made its maiden flight Monday after its assembly in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin," The Associated Press reports. The Chinese Airbus facility is scheduled to begin delivering its first jets to customers next month.

As for the maiden flight, AP adds "the jet successfully conducted a four-hour flight from the Tianjin International Airport, (the The Airbus Final Assembly Line China) said. The plant is expected to be able to produce four A320s a month by 2011 and a total of about 300 A320 planes by 2016."

So, why is Airbus assembling some planes in China? To try and gain a leg up on Boeing, of course. AP says "the decision by Toulouse, France-based Airbus to make aircraft in China is seen as part of its long-term strategy to win a greater share of the Chinese market that for years was dominated by Boeing."

Still, the move doesn't come without risk to Airbus. For example, Reuters writes the company now "faces criticism from European unions who say the move adds to outsourcing fears amid the recession and could result in the loss of European technology to a potential jet-making rival."

The first Airbus A320 aircraft assembled outside of Europe lands at Tianjin Binhai International Airport following a four hour test flight. By Reuters/China Daily.

Would you believe that white girl is Japanese?

This was the question that an entire group of Chinese people were asking and discussing amongst themselves at the bus station several weeks ago.

Why?

Well, Tony who is ever-patient and tolerant of all the attention I get in China, finally got fed up. Here's the background... When I go anywhere in Tianjin the first question that people ask me is, "where are you from?" If I happen to be with another Chinese person than the question is directed at them, "where is the waiguoren (foreigner) from?" Since I spend a lot of time with Tony, he gets this question CONSTANTLY. I'm talking, 2-3 times a day! That can get really annoying day after day but he always answered cordially to all of their inquiries. Eventually, he decided to vary his answer, since it causes no harm to those curious askers. Instead of saying, "she's American" he started saying, "she's Irish...or Australian...or Norwegian..." amongst others. I always got a laugh out of it and it helped him to break away from the mundane!

So, back to the bus... It was a Sunday morning and we were waiting for the bus to church. My good friend Christina was also with us. She is another person who has to answer this question relentlessly! A woman approached Tony and asked, "where is she from?" For some reason, probably because she was somewhat rude and didn't even greet him first, this rubbed him the wrong way and he immediately (no hesitation) said, "she's Japanese." Both mine and Christina's jaw dropped and then we both just smiled like we had a secret.

Obviously, the woman had a hard time believing this and the next 5 minutes went something like this...

Woman: She can't be Japanese! Look at her hair and eyes! (she comes closer to examine me)
Tony: She is...just talk to her in Japanese, she'll respond to you. (he said this knowing that she can't speak Japanese).
Woman to crowd at station: He said she's Japanese...what do you think?
Crowd: No, can't be... (crowd of 10-15 people form circle around me)
Woman: But, her friend said she is! She MUST be!
Christina: (muffling her laughter)
Me: (glaring at Tony for bringing more unwanted attention to me!)
Woman to newcomers at station: Look at this girl! She's Japanese!
Newcomers: She can't be!
Woman: She is! She is! Incredible!
Me: (plotting my revenge on Tony)
Tony: (still convincing people that it's true)
Student at my university to me: I'm from our school (in English) and I've seen you on campus...I think you're American, right? (totally doubting himself as he's also starting to believe that I'm Japanese)
Me: AHHHHHH!!! (in my head)
Bus: (pulling up)
Me: (getting on bus, pulling a hysterical Christina and Tony behind me!)

Guangxi Province: Yangshuo

In mid-June I took a trip to Guangxi province in Southern China. You can see it on the map below, circled in red.


I actually received the invitation to go several weeks before the trip but, financially, didn't know how I could swing it. So, on the Wednesday before the weekend trip my friend, Echo, called me up and said, "I'm buying you a plane ticket...see you in a few days!" She's so sweet! I was especially excited because I knew that Mark and Ari-Anne Fuctman were planning to be there...both of whom I was friends with in college. Mark and I went to Hangzhou together for study abroad our junior year and all three of us worked at a summer camp together after our senior year. I was really excited to catch up with them since I hadn't seen them since their wedding several years ago.

So, I traveled all day Friday and finally found them that evening where we spent some time just catching up on life. The next day we rented bikes and took a bike trip through the mountains right outside of Yangshuo. Being in Yangshuo was really different for me because it is such a tourist city...I hardly felt like I was in China, there were so many white faces! Here are some pictures from the bike ride.



After the bike ride we partnered up and got on some bamboo boats. Each boat had two seats and a guy in the back who row, row, rowed the boat. We coasted down the Li River at a very leisurely pace for about 2 hours - long enough for us fair-skinned ones to get totally fried! It was really beautiful, though, and there were a bunch of little waterfalls that we went down which provided us with a way to cool down a bit. We even stopped at some weighted-down rafts along the way to eat some fresh fish and buy pictures that were taken as we went down the waterfalls. It was so fun and was something that I'd never done before so I was happy for the new experience. Check out the pictures of the boating trip!



That night we went to a light show but we were all totally exhausted! The Yangshuo heat in June is unbearable...I don't think I've ever been that hot in my entire life. The kind of hot where you walk outside and you instantly have "back of the neck stickiness." Gross. It's nearly impossible to cool down! So, take my advice...if you go to Yangshuo, don't go in the summer!

The next day we went to see some other cultural sites but we were all kind of tired of battling the heat so we spent a lot of the afternoon playing Mah jong indoors where it was cooler! That night Echo and I left and Mark and Ari stayed one more night before going further south to do some backpacking. It was so awesome to see them!

Mr. Golden Sun

I think that through this blog I have emphasized many differences between Chinese and Western culture but I have forgotten a huge one! How beauty is defined. There are many aspects of "beauty" that are more important to the Chinese, many that Westerners would say, "huh?" to! Eventually I will talk about more of them but now I just want to mention one...skin tone and color. You know how in the states we will do everything we can to get a beautiful golden tan? We go to tanning beds, we use tanning lotion, we want to lay out and soak up the rays as much as possible. In China, it's totally the opposite! Chinese people have the same obsession over skin color except their goal is to become as white as possible! Having said that, you can now understand why I am considered to be "so beautiful" in China! Chinese women especially will take every measure to protect their skin from becoming too tan. They carry umbrellas everywhere they go...especially on sunny days, like in the picture below.


If they don't have an umbrella, then they just use a coat or hat to protect their face from becoming tan, like you can see here... Can you imagine this picture if it were a group of Americans? We'd be stretching out every limb in order to get an even tan, wouldn't we? :)


I learned very quickly that if I want to buy any kind of face lotion or face wash in China, I'd better just forget it. Almost every kind of lotion or make-up has whitening in it...now I just bring a year's supply with me from the states. Also, I've had a few facials in China and every time, after I finish, my friends say to me, "you had a facial today, didn't you?" They are able to tell because my face looks whiter! No! I don't do that anymore... Among my Chinese friends and I we have almost a constant back-and-forth about skin color and what constitutes beauty. They are constantly trying to protect my skin from getting tanner by covering me with umbrellas and I am constantly trying to get away from their umbrellas to get into the sun!

It's so interesting, isn't it? We grow up with certain ideas being instilled into our minds and there is no changing those long-practiced ideas. For example, I know what the Chinese think about skin color and I know that they love my white skin yet I still feel self-conscious about it and there is no amount of praising my skin that can make me change my mind! It's so ingrained! I even noticed that Tony, while in the states and knowing the goal of tan skin, stepped into shady places whenever he had the chance.

It's a classic example...we always want what we don't have.

I Done Got Certified

Since I am moving into the private school sector as a teacher this next year, it was required for me to get some actual teaching training. Unbelievable! :) So, in July I signed up for a Teaching English as a Second (Foreign) Language (TESL/TEFL) course online and got started. The course covered things like: classroom management, lesson planning, teaching vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, speaking, listening, the phonology and history of English, the role of the ESL teacher and using visual aids and culture to enhance lessons. The course has 13 modules with quizzes at the end of each section and after the quiz there are two essays or lesson plans that must be written. I definitely think that my teaching experience made this course a breeze for me and I finished the course with a 98%! The worst module was the one about teaching grammar, it was so hard! But, it ended up being the most useful module as well. It only took me about one month to finish the course, and I moved along at a very leisurely pace. If you're interested in the course, you can check out www.teflonline.com.

In High Demand

As many of you know, I am moving into a different job next year. One of the main reasons has to do with what I mentioned about Tony...it's not great for us to be working at the same school. Another reason is that I really dislike teaching writing and that's what I've had for the past two years. Also, my pay at the university was something like $400 USD a month which is enough to support myself in China but if I ever want to move back to the states, I'm going to need to start saving something. So, in February 2009 the job search began! I really had no idea where I wanted to be but the main requirements were that the job was: in Tianjin, not too far from my old campus, and teaching spoken English. I used my "connections" and started talking to some other universities, then I began looking at private schools which are more like company-run training centers. I went back and forth a bazillion times and just kept talking to more and more schools as people recommended them to me. The amazing thing is that in the states it is so hard to get a job right now but in China...for native English speakers...it's unbelievably easy. The difficulty came to be that there were just too many options!! After it was all said and done I had offers from 3 universities and 7 private schools. How many times in your life can you actually say, "I'm considering 10 job offers right now." It was so overwhelming and I was constantly making lists of pros and cons, comparing all of the offers to find the best one. I changed my mind so many times that I can't even remember all of the schools that I had "decided on" and then ended up changing to another one.

In China there is a huge market for learning English and, as you can see, there are so many schools which in turn means there is a large demand for native English speakers. Each school has a different package with its own advantages and disadvantages and many of the schools offered me jobs "sight unseen," without so much as an interview! They knew I could speak English and that I had 2 years of teaching experience so they wanted me without knowing a single thing about me!

In the end, after nearly 6 months of comparing and stressing, I decided on a private school called Lucky International English. Some of the benefits... no prep as the curriculum is provided and actually good, no grading - all spoken English classes, approximately 4x the salary I was making at the university, fewer students - 8 per class at the most unless I'm teaching an English corner, and more structure and stability than at the university. The downside is that I'll be teaching 25 hours per week compared with 12 at the university and some of those hours will be evenings and weekends. The students are mostly adults and college students who need English for their job or just want to fine tune the English they already know.

I've already done some part-time work at Lucky and the students are pretty good! There are about 10 other international teachers...I am the only female! My boss is a young Chinese woman and she is wonderful - I am looking forward to working with her. Also, one of my friends from Jian Hua will be starting at about the same time I do so I am happy that there will be a familiar face. If you want to check out my new school, you can go to www.liec.net but I can't promise you'll be able to read anything!

If any of you out there want to work in China, just let me know! There are 9 other jobs awaiting a teacher - it could be you! :)

Introducing...TONY!

Now that I'm back in the states I can actually get to my blog so I have made a list and I plan on trying to catch up on my blogs while I'm here. The first one, which is WAY overdue, is an introduction of Tony. Most of you already know that he is my boyfriend and yes, he is Chinese not Italian. He works in the Foreign Affairs Office at the university that I taught at for the last 2 years. Since he works as my somewhat-boss (I know, scandalous, right? :) we had to keep our relationship under wraps while I was still there. Now that I am not working at that school anymore (another story, yet to come...) I can finally formally introduce you to him.

We've been officially together since about December and his real name is Zhao Haike but is known to most of you as "Tony." He just spent 2 weeks here in the states with me meeting my family and friends and seeing some good ole' Iowa and Wyoming sites. He is 29 and is originally from Southern China...the land of the spiciest foods you've ever tasted! His home province is Hunan. He loves anything to do with basketball or the NBA and he's a pretty good cook when he actually attempts it! Fun fact - he was trained to be a professional ping pong player up until the age of 11 when his parents decided that he just wasn't good enough...haha. But, he's still got a mean spin-like-crazy serve that I've only returned once - by accident. He's fun, helpful, genuine, honest and he takes very good care of me. :)

Now, some pictures!

Here we are 4-wheeling in Sundance, WY.

Taking a brief break at a lake up in the mountains.

We visited the big bull at the Iowa State Fair...do you think he liked it?

At the Badlands, South Dakota.

So, there he is. Now you all know him! I hope you get the chance to meet him very soon.