Yellow River Trip

One of the trips that Sias provides for its teachers is going on a hovercraft on the Yellow River and spending time in the park near by.  While the trip on the river wasn't terribly awesome, I did get to ride a horse and be in a hovercraft.  We got some pretty awesome pictures in the park.

This is a pretty awesome picture of Jon, who is a sophmore English teacher and coordinator of all the foreign teacher activites.  He went with us to the banquet (which will be my next post).

The Yellow River is filled with silt and it was also an especially rainy day that Saturday, so things were pretty muddy.  The hovercraft was pretty awesome and glided over all the mud and water no problem.  I think it was the first time I had ever been in one.  The tour guide said that having lots of Yellow river mud on your shoes meant that you would be prosperous.  My muddy boots are still in my room, I haven't cleaned them yet.  Those two facts are unrelated.

Halfway through the trip was a camp with all of these horses that you could ride for ten kuai.  They looked pretty healthy (not like other places I've seen) and it was pretty fun.  The woman wouldn't let me have control of the reigns, though.  She thought it was tood muddy and I might do something stupid.  I actually had worn my cowboy boots that day, so I was super prepared for horseback riding.

There was a lady selling pomegranates as well and they were pretty awesome.  It reminded me of the time we made pomegranate jelly out of all those ones sent by Nanny Gomez with Danielle.

After the ride was the park, so we spent two hours wandering around.  It began to drizzle halfway through so I ended up taking a nap on the bus.  But they did have these cool bell things that didn't actually make noise.

J.I. (one of the foreign students who lives in Peter Hall cause his parents work at Sias) taught Nick some break dancing moves.  Well, maybe one.  I just happened to get it on camera.

There is this huge statue of two of the early Chinese emperors that were built in the 1980s as a tourist spot, but it's pretty cool to to look at.  It makes for a nice park, and an awesome thing to take pictures with.  Erin did a great job of lining us up.

I just need a beard to match.  I already have the pensive look down.

There were a lot of rock faces that were fun to climb.  J.I. ripped a hole in the crotch of his pants because they were too tight and David hurt his heel jumping down from one of the higher rocks.  It does provide some cool shots.

All in all, it was a good day.  I was super exhausted afterwards, though.The rock climbing channeled my inner child (and a wayward youth spent climbing trees).

Things you shouldn't do with chopsticks

The first time I ever went to China, we were coached in Chopstick edicit.  If you have a bowl of rice, don't stick your chopsticks in it, that's what Chinese people do when they leave rice for their ancestors.  Don't use them as drumsticks, especially at a banquet.  Don't let the tips touch the table, always keep them on your plate or your bowl.  Never stick them anywhere inappropriate, the like.

Wellllll....  sometimes it's too much fun to resist.

Aaron and Winston are culture partners and because Winston and Jessica (my culture partner) are dating, we go on double dates.  Or whatever it is when only two out of the four people are dating.  A four wheeled date?  Half a double date?

This is Sarah, who is the teacher of the culture student program, who is now teaching sophmores that the culture program is done for the summer.  She's doing 'two fingers,' a ninja sign that the culture students made up when playing our favorite game called Ninjia Star.  It's like Big Booty only with ninjia signs.  It's pretty awesome.

This is Eileen doing wolverine, our shout out to Hugh Jackman in Ninjia Star.

Either a bumblebee or a new creature from the Star Trek universe.  (I had been watching some Star Trek movies before this dinner.)

I'm going to say this picture is the most attractive one of me, ever.  This also got the most laughs out of the culture students.  Erin is practicing her vampire fangs because she gets to play Bella in the upcoming Twilight skit for Culture Week.  And for those of you who know Erin (hi Erin's mom!), it's really ironic because we all hate Twilight with a fiery passion.  The fire of a thousand suns.  But they are doing a parody, so I guess that makes up for it.  A little bit.  Matt Hux is going to be Edward (hi Matt's mom!).  I can't wait to see it.

Faith jumped in on this action too, as a pretty convincing walrus.  An interesting note: that's Aaron in the yellow shirt before he shaved his head.  Good before and after of him in this blog.

There will more more, in the future, but I thought I would post these now.  I don't think they have been a major fau-paux (is that how you spell that word?) and I have been on my best behavior at the banquet I've been to. 

We just had our opening ceremony at Sias, and there was a banquet with the bigwigs of the university before hand.  Some of the foriegn teachers needed to go, so Jess and I volunteered.  It was a great idea, because there was a four course meal.  First was salmon and bacon with a quasi Ceasar Salad with REAL olive oil!!!  Next was a great tomato soup with cheesy garlic bread.  Then there was chicken and mashed potatoes and tiramisu for dessert!  And Jess and I got all dolled up to go, which was half of the fun part.

We have both volunteered to go to a banquet on Wednesday in Zhengzhou of university leaders and the govenor of Henan provience.  I have a feeling that will be more of a traditional chinese banquet (hello fish eyes and chicken feet) but it will still be pretty fun.  My parents (and Jess's (hi Jess's mom!)) taught me how to be polite and smooze, so why not practice and get some good food in the process?  I'll let you know how it goes.

Info Cards

So, I had all of my students fill out "Student Info Cards" so I can keep them straight and contact them if I need something.  Some of the students wrote me a note at the bottom.  Here are my favorites:

"I fancy perfection and pursue eternal happiness.  Perfect fantasy..."  Allen

"Hope Every class Happy!"  Heather (and every other chinese student says "I hope happy every day!")

"By the way, I like your hairstyle, like waves."  Maple

"Opportunities are not wait!"  Angel

"I hope I can learn how to write in English from you.  Esp, how to write the beauty essay."  Clark

"I like English firstly.  Then I like doing sports.  You are perfect."  George

"Hold fast to your dream
for if dreams die/go
life is like a broken-winged bird/barren field
that can never fly/frozen with snow."  Alexander

"In our life, we always meet some troubles, but there is a sentence that encourages me so much.  'Its like a web, sometimes.  You make it, you wait.  And something always comes.'" Lasia (girl)

"Yes, we can!!"  Cenny (girl)

"I believe I can fly." Karsa (guy)

"Do what I like, like what I do.  Interest is the best teacher."  Andy

"I hope u can find ur Mr. Right as soon as possible.  Good luck! (heart) Expect we can be good friends."  Cecilia

"I am a sincere boy."  Fisher

I also have a pretty awesome from my friend Erin's class, from one of her low level athletes.  Green 1 is her husband, Seth.  "Green 1 is very strong.  You would be fatter."  I think this is my favorite one.

It is interesting to note that in Chinese culture, cliches are encouraged and relied upon heavily.  Anything that is a collective saying or phrase is considered to have more weight than something you could make up on your own.  This idea is one we talk about in writing class to help them write in a western style.  I taught them the word cliche and what it meant after they all wrote cliches on their note cards.

I also asked my students to tell me a little about themselves and I got some interesting self assessments.

"I am an outgoing girl and willing to try my best to learn English Writing well!"  Brittany

"I am an easygoing girl.  I am patient.  I love smile."  Doris

"I'm not so confident and easy to be nervous.  I hope I can come over these."  Emily

"I'm bright and I like communicating with others."  Grace

"I am an outgoing girl.  I think my shortage is I am a little lazy sometimes, I will do my best to make full use of time."  Jessica

"I don't like talking.  I am a little shy."  John

"Hi Lane, I'm a diligent and honest girl and I love to spend time with dear family and friends.  However, there is also a self-esteem in my heart and it makes me a little ambitious and independent."  Joyce
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"I want to be a perfect man.  So I will try my best."  David

"I am lovely.  I like smiling.  Be kind and hope make more friends!"  King (girl)

"I am patient and careful.  I would try my best to do things well.  I love dancing.  I hope I can be confident and brave."  Alexis

"I want to be braver!"  Tammy

I think students spend a lot of time describing themselves, or being told about different types of people or virtues of what people should be like.  Something about the whole thing seems very cookie cutter and Chinese, but it's hard for me to articulate it (obviously).  It makes me want to sit in on their high school English classes to get a feel for where some of what they say comes from.

Chinese English is definately different than American English.  Its weird.  And makes for a good blog post.

Mid-Autumn Festival

So, we didn't have school on Wednesday because of the holdiay called Mid-Autumn Festival, which is a traditional Chinese holiday.  We ate a lot of these things called moon cakes, which are flaky pastry filled with different insides like peanuts, dates, red bean paste, egg, meat, etc.  I liked the peanut and red bean ones fine, but the other ones were kinda gross.

I'm not really sure exactly what the MidAutumn Festival is about, but I've heard two different legends so far.  Both have lovers that have been seperated and celebrating the moon reunites them.  I think.

We decided to go with the cultural students out to hot pot, which is my favorite type of Chinese food.  Its kind of like fondue, only with soup instead of cheese and everything gets cooked in the pot right in front of you.



There is the spicy side and the nonspicy side, and I have started embracing the spicy side.  They also provide you with some good dipping sauces, one being really spicy peppers and the other is a peanut and sesame sauce which is awesome.  There is a gas flame underneath the pot that keeps it bubbling and everything cooks pretty quickly. 

This is some of the stuff we put in the pot: sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, noodles, 3 kinds of tofu, meat, mushrooms, veggies, everything.  It's pretty awesome.

This is half our group, it was so big that we had to take up two tables.  From left to right:

Wayne, Neil, Faith, Jess, Sammi, Jacob, Jessica, Me, Eileen, Enoch's arms.

A couple of guys (Aaron and Neil) have now shaved their heads, which has been very surprising to some of the Chinese students.  I was thinking that maybe I could be next...  well, maybe not.  My hair has been pretty fantastic since I've been here so I'll keep my curls.

After toasting the moon, a group of us headed to one of the nearby amusement park to wander around.  I shot at baloons with a rifle bb gun and we rode a couple of really sketchy rides.  Again, most of those rides would be illegal in the states or condemned.  They are building a new one that looks pretty nice, maybe it will be done before the weather gets really bad.  I do have some good pictures, but that can be another post.

I'm now completely over my cold and back in action for most things.

All of the freshman teachers are now coming back from summer vacation and so I have a whole new host of people that I need to meet and remember the names of.  Many of them are returning teachers but a couple of them are new.  New people mean new personalities and so it will take another month before things really settle.  I'm always excited about new people, so hopefully some of them are fun to hang out with.

Hack, Cough

My body doesn't like moving to China.  Once I'm here awhile it doesn't mind, but the moving part is hard.

So needless to say, I got a cold the second day I moved here.  I recovered in a normal fashion, but it came back two weeks later as a sinus infection.

Luckily it wasn't bad enough to go to the doctor, one of people in charge of the foreign teachers had antibiotics that I could take. I wasn't the only person to come down with it, Erin and David also got sick.  Erin and I watched five movies over two days and filled up three garbage bags of kleenex. 

What to do when you are sick in China:
1. Drink lots of hot water.  Really really hot.
2.Turn off your AC
3.Get lots of rest
4. Go to the doctor and get an IV (no matter what your illness is)
5. Drink medicine tea by the bucket.

This is the medicine looks like this.

Well, okay, it's actually 999 medicine, but it took me a while to figure that out with the Chinese.  It looks like little molasses granules that disolve in water.  You are supposed to only add a little water and drink it like a shot of espresso.  It tastes okay but after five times it gets old.

There was something interesting about the medicine teas, though.  There are two types to treat the two ways the Chinese classify colds.  They determine your type of cold by your body temperature: either you have a 'hot' flu or a 'cold' flu.  I'm not really sure how the whole thing works, but it does.

I'm still blowing my nose, but I'm getting over it.  I hope this doesn't become a regualr occurence.

Vroom Vroom

One of my favorite things about living here are the electric bikes.  They are EVERYWHERE.  Instead of having a car, most people have electric bike and can fit all three or four members of their family on one.

This is a great example, even if its on a regular bicycle.  Chinese kids can sleep ANYWHERE.

So, I've been out on an electric bike twice now, once to go shopping downtown and once to ride through the country side.  Jess went with me both times, and the ride out to the country also included my Culture partner Jessica, some other culture students: Winston, Lisa, Faith and Aaron who is Winston's American culture partner.  We spent maybe an hour riding bikes and it was awesome!

Going through the countryside was really fun, even if it was pretty dusty.  Xin Zheng is a country town, so there was a lot of corn and something that is related to lotus root but not quite (Jessica didn't have an english translation for it but it grows everywhere).  Its super flat here too, so people have done this with regular bikes and its a nice ride.  Not like biking in Seattle.  Definately reminds me of Pennsylvania.

And always, the local livestock chowing down by the side of the road.  Maybe this is the cow that I get my raw milk from!

All in all, the whole thing is pretty awesome.  The rules of the road are pretty simple: 

1. Get out of the bigger trucks' way. 

2. Learn to love your horn. 

3. Sticking to the side of the road is optional. 

4. Driving the right way on the road is optional. 

5. Have a will ready.

6. What's a helmet?

7. Be fearless and it will be more fun.

Before my mother has a heart attack, its not too dangerous.  I never once thought I would actually die.  If you come and visit me (anyone), we will do this.  I would go riding every day if I could.  And the total cost to rent one of these puppies for an hour or two: 3 RMB.  $0.40  Yes, please!

Have Aviators, Will Travel

So, when I was in Zheng Zhou I wanted to buy a new pair of sunglasses and we found these aviators on in the open air "walking street" market.  I tried on a whole bunch of pairs and the Chinese students I was with (and Sarah, who has been in China for a while) talked me into buying these white aviators.  I usually like darker brown frames, but they said these 'popped' against my dark hair and earrings.  I decided that hey, I was in China and China fashion is different and I'm a foreigner so basically anything I do goes or is written off as a silly foreigner fashion, so I bought them.

Turns out, this is the best purchase I've made, leading to endless hours of entertainment.  This post is a result of these glasses.

We went to the resturant called Water Under the Bridge (I don't know if that's the Chinese name translated or if that's just what the American teachers call it) and we put these classes on the lazy susan in the middle with my camera facing opposite.  Then we set the 10 second timer on the camera and started spinning and hunched down to see if we could time it right.  This is Erin who was the first to get it lined up.

We decided these pictures would make great profile pictures.

This is my friend Jess who I drink coffee with in the mornings.  She is a TA for a business management class and super smart.  And super gangsta.  She just bought an air soft gun to join the rest of us in our BB adventures.

Boo-ya.

This is Erin and Seth.  Erin taught here a long time ago (before they required teachers had their degrees) and she and Seth were students two years ago for a semester.  So they know all the cool things to do, like bumper cars in the park that would be totally illegal in the States, and where to buy things like air soft guns.  They are also movie buffs, so we have watched a lot of movies in their room.

Nick is the other member of our group, and this is his first time to China.  He and Seth have planned out a whole Zombie movie starring us, defending Peter Hall against a zombie invasion.  Its pretty sweet.  Hopefully we start filiming soon.  I will be one of the few survivors.

This is David and Aaron.  They are also new teachers this year, David is a TA for one the buiness classes with Matt and Aaron is teaching history (his MA beat out my BA in history for the job).  We are working on swapping classes after the midterm so I can maybe teach a brief section on Mayflower history....!

And of course, Neil, who is in his element with all things Chinese.  He helped me download Rosetta Stone on my computer so I can work on my Chinese too (which I haven't touched for a week.  Maybe I should get on that...)

This is Jessica (not to be confused with Jess) who is now my Chinese culture partner.  We are going to spend 12 hours a week together until the October Holiday and I am going to visit her family in her town which is 3 hours drive away.  We've already spend quite a bit of time together so I'm excited that we were paired together.  Next is Amanda, who I've also spent a lot of time with, she helped my buy my cell phone and get my internet banking set up (which is a process, like anything in China).

This is Winston and Michael.  Winston has been hanging around a lot, he wants me to help out with the English choir that he is a part of, rehersals start next week.  Michael is Nick's Chinese culture partner and Nick is working on talking him into matching Dragon playing double necked guitars while surfing tatoos.  I don't think Michal will spring for it...

Last but not least is our friend Ole, (rhymes with holy moley not the spanish Ole!) (is is playing the guitar) who has been here for 4 years.  He was friends with Seth and Erin when they were students and knows all the best card games and has a wii.  Needless to say, he plays Guitar Hero on expert.  It's sick to watch.  I'm still on easy.

So, that's pretty much everyone.  There are some returning teachers that we are also friends with (like Matt and Mel and Vernon and Ashleigh and Jon and Lee) but I don't have pictures with them yet and I thought this would be a good start.

Top Favorite Chinglish Names

So, my students are far enough into their English studies that they all already have their own English names.  Most of my students have honest, respectable English names but there are always a couple pretty awesome ones.  Thus, these lists:

Top Five Most Common Girl's English Names:
5.  Jasmine
4.  Kitty
3.  Lily
2.  Sunny
1.  Angel

Top Four most Common Boy's English Names:
4.  James (After LeBron James)
3.  Kobe (After Kobe Bryant)
2.  Tiger
1.  King

Top Ten Weirdest Chinglish Names I Have Never Encountered Before:
10.  Cinderella (girl)
9.  Echo (girl)
8.  Shadow (girl)
7.  Enjoy (girl)
6.  Seven (boy)
5.  Whiteful (girl)
4.  Apple (girl)
3.  Potter (I'm assuming after Harry Potter, boy)
2.  Elvy (girl)
1.  Cullen (after Edward Cullen in Twilight, boy)

The Chinese concepts of names are much more literal than English names, they all have a very direct and literal meaning.  Looking at these lists, every one of the common girl's names has a literal meaning, and so do the boys (expecting the ones named after their favorite basketball and movie stars).

Often times Chinese students will name themselves something that is somewhat linked to their Chinese name, for example my student named Seven mentioned that his Chinese name had the number 7 as a part of it, so he decided to call himself Seven.

I'm planning on talking to the students will the particularly interesting names (I do have some names that straight up aren't English names at all: two sound Japanese, one is Amour, a few I don't even recognize where they might even come from).  I feel like it is my duty as their teacher to inform them that if they meet someone from America in a business meeting or if they go to America, they should not be called Cinderella, or Cullen.   Or at least they should know that real American people will think that is weird.  They can change it if they want, or they can keep their interesting names, but I will tell them nontheless.

The closest I have come to my name is one Elaine, and two Eileens.  I guess Lane hasn't made it over to China get, though it is a pretty literal name.  I just need to become a famous movie star first!

First Week of Classes

Finally the time has come that I get to do what I've moved here to do.  Teach!

I have switched the topic that I'm teaching from Oral English to Western Composition and have moved into the academic realm.  Does that make me a professor now?  I hope so.

I got my schedule and found that I had been scheduled for one more class than my boss, Nathan, had promised.  He said that my contract stated that I need to teach 12 hours and so the school is enforcing that.  So, that is going to be approximately 282 students and 282 papers I will need to grade at midterm and at the final.  Joy.  Thank goodness for rubrics.

The blessing for me is that I don't have any 8 AM classes.  And I only have one 10 am class.  Here is my schedule for the week:
Monday:  4-6 PM
Tuesday: 2-4PM
Wednesday: 10-12 AM; 2-4 PM; 4-6 PM
Thursday: 4-6 PM
Fridays: FREE!

So Wednesday is my heavy load, but I'll just wear my dansko shoes and get through the day well supported.

My friend Jess also has mornings free, so we've been doing coffee in my room in the mornings.  (Send me Stumptown coffee ground for french press!!)  This first week is pretty chill for me since I teach the same lesson every day, so it has given me time to post blogs and have leisurely mornings drinking coffee with Jess (who only teaches Thursdays and Fridays) and cleaning my apartment (between having people over and the fact that China get so dirty so fast, I'm cleaning something almost every day).

The two majors that I teach are Business English and English Translation.  My Business English students are called Bridge students.  They have been at university for three years earning their AA degree, but they got a high enough GPA that they had the option to continue to get their bachelors degree in another two years.   I have found my bridge students to be more outgoing than my English Translation students, even if their English isn't necessarily better.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that there are a higher number of men in the Business English classes, the average number of men in the English translation classes is 2.5 out of 49 students.  English related majors tend to be heavily female dominated, except for buiness English.  Chinese women are notoriously shy at first in the classroom, it was like pulling teeth to get them to say anything on Wednesday.

I planned a class discussion about writing to get their juices flowing about writing and its uses, but having had experience in Chinese classrooms, I knew I needed to warm them up to speaking in class first.  Chinese students rarely speak in their normal classes.  The teaching style in China tends to be based on the idea that the teacher is the teapot of knowledge and the students are the cups into which it is poured.  There is no 'cooperative discovery' of knowledge that is so prevent in many classrooms in America.  So students really like that the classes taught by American teachers not only have the glamour of being taught by an American but also much more interactive and interesting.

So, I had students break the ice by asking me questions they wrote down about America, or what I think about China, or what hobbies I have, etc.  Questions Chinese students ask are pretty typical, and I now can predict what is coming.  There is always a question on how I like China, do I like Chinese food, what is the most impressive thing I have seen in China?  How is China different than America?  Is America like what they have seen in American movies?  (NO, I do NOT sleep with a gun under my pillow). 

Then all the really cute little girls will start to whisper and giggle behind their hands and I know either: a) that question is coming next if one of them is brave enough to voice it, or b) that one isn't brave enough but they really do want to know if I have a boyfriend.

Keep in mind, that while these students are 19 and 20 years old, Chinese young people under the age of 25 are incredibly sheltered and repressed.  They are forbidden from dating in high school and college by their parents, who want them to study and get good grades on their final exams to be able to get a good job.  Some students do date, but they absolutely keep it secret from their parents.  And Chinese students are pretty amaturish when it comes to this; in many aspects teaching Chinese university students is like teaching middle school in the States.  Both the language and the emotional maturity are about the same, though Chinese students have life skills and smarts that are certainly in level or higher with their counterparts in the States.

Anyway, usually some girl (and occasionally guy) gathers up enough courage to ask me if I have a boyfriend.  But this time, two classes asked it in a totally Chinese, clever, indirect, and roundabout way.

One girl said she knew that rings could be significant in American culture (they are not in Chinese culture), did I have any rings that had any special meaning or that was given to me by a special person?  Needless to say, I was impressed.  I told her no, that I was not wearing a ring on my left ring finger so that meant I was single, and no I do not have a boyfriend (which I said with a dramatic sigh and got a laugh).  Of course, the next question that comes is always:  Do you like Chinese boys?  and everyone snickers again.  And I say that it doesn't matter is he is Chinese or American, if I meet a good man that I like, then maybe I would date him.

The second class went about it a different way.  After a long discussion of countries I have been to, one girl stood up and asked if my boyfriend got annoyed that I traveled so much and we were parted for so long.  Then the same conversation followed as before, and everyone had their curiosity satisfied. 

There is a sort of tension that builds up during this question time, so I feel its better to get it out of the way so they stop thinking about it. 

Chinese people are also incredibly romantic.  Something that is totally corny in America would get a warm welcome here in China.  In some ways its really cute and in some ways its a set up for failure because of the unreasonable expectations tossed around.  You thought America was bad.  China is worse.

I'll take a picture of my favorite dating custom at a later date and post it for you to see.


Here are some pictures of one of the buildings I teach in, building 13.  I teach on the third and sixth floor (uh!) and also in building 12 which is the next one over that is identical.

Here are some of my students and what the inside of my classroom looks like.  This is an English translation class, so pretty much all of the students are girls.

Coming next:  Top Five Favorite Chinglish Student Names.  Stay tuned!