Packing time. Our trip on Saturday is looming, and I still haven't packed. But you know how it is when you have to do something: you just keep putting it off, and off, and off. Today was kind of like that. Except at about 4, I found something better than watching Ocean's Eleven to distract me.
I talked to Chris, and we came up with the idea of going to see Chinese Martial Arts. After securing Julia and Elle to come with us, we checked ticket prices, and decided to meet at Taiping Jiaozi guanr (太平饺子馆儿) for dinner. It's just a small, almost hole in a wall restaurant close to school that a lot of people go to for meals. I met Chris there, and Julia and Elle were on their way (meaning they came half an hour later.)
We took a taxi to the theatre, because we only knew the name, not where it was. As it turns out, when we got there, the tickets we wanted were 380 RMB, not 300, but there was a 30% discount if you had your student ID. Me, Elle, and Chris had ours, so we got our tickets for cheaper. Julia didn't, but it didn't matter. The math hurt our heads, so we all just paid 300. It worked out, somehow.
After a quick trip to the convenience store next to the theatre (to buy drinks, cookies, and banana chips) we went inside to get our seats. It was a pretty impressive theatre, and jut about all the seats were good seats (but our were really good.)
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
人山人海 (People Mountains People Seas)
Today is now the 2nd day of the Chinese New Year. It goes all week long, counting from 1 to 5, and for this whole time, fireworks and firecrackers continue to go off, but with decreasing intensity (which is a relief) as the city slowly runs out of things that go boom. There are still a few good, startling bangs every once in a while, when you think that a building is falling down or something, but they are just less and less frequent.
Today, Chris came over for lunch. My family is really funny when Chris comes over, because I am pretty sure that they just don't know what to do. They tell us to sit down in the living room, and eat, and then just leave. It's a little awkward. But lunch is always good, and the conversation is good.
After lunch, I was dying to get out of the house. I was going stir crazy. This week, there are these things going on called Temple Fairs. I don't know why they are called Temple, because they are in parks and temples. Basically, they are just huge fairs, which an amazing amount of people, with small little things to buy (food, drink, toys.) It's incredible. It only happens once a year, so I really wanted to go see it, because we don't have this kind of thing in America. Chris had already gone to one with his family, but my family doesn't go, and he didn't mind going again, so off we went.
We went to Ditan park, which was the closest Temple Fair to my house. Even when we first got out of the taxi, there were people everywhere. Getting across the bridge was a struggle to cut through the crowds. Everywhere you looked, there was just a sea of black heads: there were so many people you couldn't even see their bodies. We bought tickets, and as we walked closer to the actual fair, people got more and more dense. That term (the title) People Mountain People Sea (meaning a lot of people) is really the only way to describe it.
There were times when there were so many people around, it felt like I was in a mosh pit for a rock concert. The only way to get through it was to grab your friends hand, and just start pushing along with everyone else. Trying to get to a stall was crazy, because there were people everywhere. I pushed my way through, and bought a small New Years red Cow, and a purple lantern, which is rather pretty. Chris and I made our way to the carnival section of the Temple Fair, and he won me a snugglable panda named Pete. I named the cow Jenny.
The biggest draw of the Temple Fairs is the people. So after seeing that (and feeling it) for about 2 hours, we called it a day, and went off to our respective grandma's house, as it is still New Years. I can't even do this Temple Fair justice, but just wait until I show you pictures.
Today, Chris came over for lunch. My family is really funny when Chris comes over, because I am pretty sure that they just don't know what to do. They tell us to sit down in the living room, and eat, and then just leave. It's a little awkward. But lunch is always good, and the conversation is good.
After lunch, I was dying to get out of the house. I was going stir crazy. This week, there are these things going on called Temple Fairs. I don't know why they are called Temple, because they are in parks and temples. Basically, they are just huge fairs, which an amazing amount of people, with small little things to buy (food, drink, toys.) It's incredible. It only happens once a year, so I really wanted to go see it, because we don't have this kind of thing in America. Chris had already gone to one with his family, but my family doesn't go, and he didn't mind going again, so off we went.
We went to Ditan park, which was the closest Temple Fair to my house. Even when we first got out of the taxi, there were people everywhere. Getting across the bridge was a struggle to cut through the crowds. Everywhere you looked, there was just a sea of black heads: there were so many people you couldn't even see their bodies. We bought tickets, and as we walked closer to the actual fair, people got more and more dense. That term (the title) People Mountain People Sea (meaning a lot of people) is really the only way to describe it.
There were times when there were so many people around, it felt like I was in a mosh pit for a rock concert. The only way to get through it was to grab your friends hand, and just start pushing along with everyone else. Trying to get to a stall was crazy, because there were people everywhere. I pushed my way through, and bought a small New Years red Cow, and a purple lantern, which is rather pretty. Chris and I made our way to the carnival section of the Temple Fair, and he won me a snugglable panda named Pete. I named the cow Jenny.
The biggest draw of the Temple Fairs is the people. So after seeing that (and feeling it) for about 2 hours, we called it a day, and went off to our respective grandma's house, as it is still New Years. I can't even do this Temple Fair justice, but just wait until I show you pictures.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Fireworks, Fireworks, and More Fireworks
春节, or Chinese New Year. You can have any idea of this that you want, but unless you have actually experienced the New Year in China, then you don't have an idea of it. Aside from the Lantern Festival that happens later on next month, it is probably the biggest, most celebrated holiday. It would not be an underestimation to say that the whole city gets involved, and that at midnight, the whole city celebrates.
Today, it was family day, so to speak. We all had to stay up until 12, because it was New Years. Yesterday, we drove around and dropped off presents for all of the family members, and bought fireworks, and firecrackers, and lots of them. There are stalls everywhere around the city, bursting at the seams with fireworks. These things would never be allowed in America. It's funny, my sister demands that we all have to go buy fireworks, but she is scared of them. Sparklers it is.
My grandparents came over for dinner. New Years is a big family thing, and there are a bunch of tradtions that I am not used to. As it started to get darker, the fireworks started to increase, and the firecrackers got more intense. The huge bangs that shook the city set car alarms off, which only added to the chaos of noise that is Chinese New Years. I sat the window for at least a half an hour, just watching the fireworks (and listening to the firecrackers) that were being set off across the city. They were everywhere, as far as the ey could see. The only way to really describe it is that the city was celebrating.
I tried to stay up with my family, but they were just watching a New Years program on tv, and when you are tired, it is not the best idea to watch tv (that you can't understand) while on a very comfy couch. I kept going back to my room, until I finally just crashed on my bed and took a short nap. My mom and my sister woke up up at ten to twelve, and we went downstairs to watch the fireworks. I realized when I walked out of my room that I missed the making jiao zi thing, which everyone does. You are supposed to eat jiao zi (dumplings) at midnight, for good luck I think. I never actually got a straight answer.
Getting downstairs, when it was midnight, is something that I can't even describe properly. It was a frenzy, to see just how many fireworks could be set off in the shortest amount of time. The sky basically exploded. All over the road, fireworks were being set off, in a close proximity to each other. I am surprised that no one was killed from a firework going off in their face. Cars would weave in and out when the fireworks were done, only adding to the chaos.
Sometimes, you could have believed it was the middle of the day instead of the middle of the night, there were so many fireworks. The noise was incredible, as everything that could be lit was lit. People were standing around, watching and celebrating. There were fireworks bouncing off of buildings (doesn't seem like too smart of an idea to me) and at one point, fireworks that backfired all over the parking lot. One big flaming hunk fell on a bush and set it on fire, but people just ran over with blankets, beat it out, and kept setting fireworks like it wasn't a problem. Ambulances and fire trucks were circling around, waiting to pick up someone, or put a fire out. It was ridiculous.
The celebrations lasted at least an hour and a half, and easily hundreds of thousands of fireworks were set off. I didn't even know that many fireworks could be made, much less set off. My family and I went back upstairs at about 12:30 to watch fireworks from a better angle, and to eat jiao zi (饺子). In usual Chinese tradition, kept telling me to eat more and more until I was stuffed. I was wired, by this point, and stayed up until at least 2, watching fireworks and movies. My family went to bed, but after a celebration like that, how could I?
It really was amazing. I have never seen anything like it, and unless I keep coming back for Chinese New Year, I doubt I ever will. All the fireworks that had been set off just got left in the street for someone else to pick up, and walking through, it is staggering how many empty, massive boxes there were. This has not done this festival justice at all, but I gave it a go. Happy New Years, everyone!
Today, it was family day, so to speak. We all had to stay up until 12, because it was New Years. Yesterday, we drove around and dropped off presents for all of the family members, and bought fireworks, and firecrackers, and lots of them. There are stalls everywhere around the city, bursting at the seams with fireworks. These things would never be allowed in America. It's funny, my sister demands that we all have to go buy fireworks, but she is scared of them. Sparklers it is.
My grandparents came over for dinner. New Years is a big family thing, and there are a bunch of tradtions that I am not used to. As it started to get darker, the fireworks started to increase, and the firecrackers got more intense. The huge bangs that shook the city set car alarms off, which only added to the chaos of noise that is Chinese New Years. I sat the window for at least a half an hour, just watching the fireworks (and listening to the firecrackers) that were being set off across the city. They were everywhere, as far as the ey could see. The only way to really describe it is that the city was celebrating.
I tried to stay up with my family, but they were just watching a New Years program on tv, and when you are tired, it is not the best idea to watch tv (that you can't understand) while on a very comfy couch. I kept going back to my room, until I finally just crashed on my bed and took a short nap. My mom and my sister woke up up at ten to twelve, and we went downstairs to watch the fireworks. I realized when I walked out of my room that I missed the making jiao zi thing, which everyone does. You are supposed to eat jiao zi (dumplings) at midnight, for good luck I think. I never actually got a straight answer.
Getting downstairs, when it was midnight, is something that I can't even describe properly. It was a frenzy, to see just how many fireworks could be set off in the shortest amount of time. The sky basically exploded. All over the road, fireworks were being set off, in a close proximity to each other. I am surprised that no one was killed from a firework going off in their face. Cars would weave in and out when the fireworks were done, only adding to the chaos.
Sometimes, you could have believed it was the middle of the day instead of the middle of the night, there were so many fireworks. The noise was incredible, as everything that could be lit was lit. People were standing around, watching and celebrating. There were fireworks bouncing off of buildings (doesn't seem like too smart of an idea to me) and at one point, fireworks that backfired all over the parking lot. One big flaming hunk fell on a bush and set it on fire, but people just ran over with blankets, beat it out, and kept setting fireworks like it wasn't a problem. Ambulances and fire trucks were circling around, waiting to pick up someone, or put a fire out. It was ridiculous.
The celebrations lasted at least an hour and a half, and easily hundreds of thousands of fireworks were set off. I didn't even know that many fireworks could be made, much less set off. My family and I went back upstairs at about 12:30 to watch fireworks from a better angle, and to eat jiao zi (饺子). In usual Chinese tradition, kept telling me to eat more and more until I was stuffed. I was wired, by this point, and stayed up until at least 2, watching fireworks and movies. My family went to bed, but after a celebration like that, how could I?
It really was amazing. I have never seen anything like it, and unless I keep coming back for Chinese New Year, I doubt I ever will. All the fireworks that had been set off just got left in the street for someone else to pick up, and walking through, it is staggering how many empty, massive boxes there were. This has not done this festival justice at all, but I gave it a go. Happy New Years, everyone!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Below Zero Excursions
This blog probably won't be funny. I am more just writing it so I can remember the day. Just warning you before you invest a good 5 minutes of your life reading it. Don't want you to waste your time.
Today was a good day. Although for the most part it was below freezing, and I was ready to just curl up and die from the cold, I prevailed. As a little funny side note, because most people here at SYA are from the East coast, they are used to the cold, and are forever making fun of me and Jamie (the two Californians) for being so cold when we go outside. They think it is hysterical, but being cold is no joke. I can't help it if I start wearing 4 jackets, a hat, jeans, and am still cold. It's in my blood. I can't wait until it gets warm again.
Today, I didn't go out until after lunch, when I went out with Chris and Sterling. Originally, we were going to go to a place where Chris could get a backpack for our Yunnan trip, and then go to the Luxun museum to buy a couple of books for English class. We realized what time it was though, and just went to the Luxun museum first.
We didn't want to pay the entrance fee to get into the museum, so we just told the guards we just wanted to buy a couple books, and they let us go to the bookstore without paying. Once at the book store, we found Claire and Annie, some of our classmates. They had just bought the last copies of the books we needed for English, so Chris, Sterling and I waited while the lady who ran the book store went out and got some more for us, which was very kind of her. We told her a bunch of our classmates were going to be coming, and then left.
Walking back out to the main road, Chris and I decided that we should go backpack hunting, and Sterling wanted to come along. However, every free taxi that we saw simply waved us away, and wouldn't stop, even though they could stop. It was frustrating. I was freezing cold, and didn't want to move. When we did finally get into a nice warm taxi, and started to defrost, I could have kissed the taxi driver for stopping.
We had to go to a couple of store for backpacks, because Chris's sister had given him the names of a couple of good places. We went to a cheaper (but still real) Northface store first (for Chris.) He almost bought a bag, but decided he should probably check the other stores first. We went to another place, where I found a bag, but because I can't make decisions at all, I couldn't decide whether it was too big or not (55 liters.) This led to me getting so frustrated that I basically just gave up, and we left. But this second place also led Chris to the conclusion that he should have gotten the first bag. Ah well.
We decided to meet our friend Annie at a Xinjiang restaurant for dinner. She said she knew a good one close to her house (which was close to school) so Sterling, Chris and I got back in a taxi, and attempted to get to her house. It was a bit rocky, but we met up with her. It was still cold (I was also wearing an insane amount of layers, so everyone was laughing at me) and we walked quickly to the restaurant.
Walking into this restaurant is one of the awkwardest things I have done in my life. It was a little hole in the wall place, just for the locals. I was in front of a pack of 4 foreigners, and as soon as we walked in, every stopped what they were doing and just stared at us. I almost turned around and walked out, because I felt like I was intruding or something.
We sat down though, and ordered. It was really good food. Lamb Kabobs, noodles and vegetable dishes were good, anyway. And pretty cheap, which is an excellent, excellent bonus. Outside of the restaurant (when we were done) they were selling raisins (a big bag for 10 kuai, which is about a dollar and a half), so all of us except Chris bought a bag. They were basically frozen from the cold, but that only made them taste better.
On the way back to Chris's house (and the bus stop for me) we stopped in probably 5 outdoors stores, looking for backpacks again. It was fun, and a nice way to get out of the cold. I hate being cold, more than anything in the world. Even more than scary movies. At least those end. So overall, a very good night.
Today was a good day. Although for the most part it was below freezing, and I was ready to just curl up and die from the cold, I prevailed. As a little funny side note, because most people here at SYA are from the East coast, they are used to the cold, and are forever making fun of me and Jamie (the two Californians) for being so cold when we go outside. They think it is hysterical, but being cold is no joke. I can't help it if I start wearing 4 jackets, a hat, jeans, and am still cold. It's in my blood. I can't wait until it gets warm again.
Today, I didn't go out until after lunch, when I went out with Chris and Sterling. Originally, we were going to go to a place where Chris could get a backpack for our Yunnan trip, and then go to the Luxun museum to buy a couple of books for English class. We realized what time it was though, and just went to the Luxun museum first.
We didn't want to pay the entrance fee to get into the museum, so we just told the guards we just wanted to buy a couple books, and they let us go to the bookstore without paying. Once at the book store, we found Claire and Annie, some of our classmates. They had just bought the last copies of the books we needed for English, so Chris, Sterling and I waited while the lady who ran the book store went out and got some more for us, which was very kind of her. We told her a bunch of our classmates were going to be coming, and then left.
Walking back out to the main road, Chris and I decided that we should go backpack hunting, and Sterling wanted to come along. However, every free taxi that we saw simply waved us away, and wouldn't stop, even though they could stop. It was frustrating. I was freezing cold, and didn't want to move. When we did finally get into a nice warm taxi, and started to defrost, I could have kissed the taxi driver for stopping.
We had to go to a couple of store for backpacks, because Chris's sister had given him the names of a couple of good places. We went to a cheaper (but still real) Northface store first (for Chris.) He almost bought a bag, but decided he should probably check the other stores first. We went to another place, where I found a bag, but because I can't make decisions at all, I couldn't decide whether it was too big or not (55 liters.) This led to me getting so frustrated that I basically just gave up, and we left. But this second place also led Chris to the conclusion that he should have gotten the first bag. Ah well.
We decided to meet our friend Annie at a Xinjiang restaurant for dinner. She said she knew a good one close to her house (which was close to school) so Sterling, Chris and I got back in a taxi, and attempted to get to her house. It was a bit rocky, but we met up with her. It was still cold (I was also wearing an insane amount of layers, so everyone was laughing at me) and we walked quickly to the restaurant.
Walking into this restaurant is one of the awkwardest things I have done in my life. It was a little hole in the wall place, just for the locals. I was in front of a pack of 4 foreigners, and as soon as we walked in, every stopped what they were doing and just stared at us. I almost turned around and walked out, because I felt like I was intruding or something.
We sat down though, and ordered. It was really good food. Lamb Kabobs, noodles and vegetable dishes were good, anyway. And pretty cheap, which is an excellent, excellent bonus. Outside of the restaurant (when we were done) they were selling raisins (a big bag for 10 kuai, which is about a dollar and a half), so all of us except Chris bought a bag. They were basically frozen from the cold, but that only made them taste better.
On the way back to Chris's house (and the bus stop for me) we stopped in probably 5 outdoors stores, looking for backpacks again. It was fun, and a nice way to get out of the cold. I hate being cold, more than anything in the world. Even more than scary movies. At least those end. So overall, a very good night.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
"Are You Two Dating?"
I've decided to do things a bit differently from now on. No one wants to hear about how I wake up at 5:35 every morning and drag myself through freezing conditions to school. I will admit, that gets old after a while. Instead, I am going to write about my day, the interesting bits anyway. When I have them. I may be living in China, but there are not always stories I can tell that will be funny to others. So, here goes nothing. Cross your fingers!
We have a new Chinese teacher now. She has been at SYA for a while, but at every semester, the classes change. This year, Classes 7, 6, and 5 switched a lot (as in the students change classes), so the teachers for those classes didn't switch. However, only one student in my class moved up, and one student moved into my class, so we got a new teacher, so we could be exposed to new teaching methods. Which is good I guess. We had a really good teacher last semester, so it is hard to have anything else. I am working really hard with the new teacher though, which is nice. I like working hard, while complaining about it. It's just something all teenagers do.
We had Chinese tables (中文桌子）which means we all have to go to the cafeteria, sit with a teacher, and speak Chinese for all of lunch. I was originally sitting with Chris, and trying to get a teacher and one more person to sit with us. Ding Lao Shi (one of Chris's teachers) sat down with us, and started talking. Not more than 2 minutes into the conversation, she looks at us and goes "I have a question, can I ask it?" to us, but in Chinese. We told her of course, and she, all timid like, goes "Are you two dating?" We both burst out laughing, and neither of us could answer. She kept up with these questions, wanting to know, trying to get information, until we finally told her. All the teachers are surprisingly intune with who is dating who, and they think it is an absolute riot. I swear, they are more like kids than us teenagers are.
During lunch, there was another funny story. My favorite new word has become "bugger", which everyone here thinks is hysterical, and they make fun of me all the time. So today, I am at the lunch line, getting my food, and for some reason, something happened that caused me to say bugger. Both Zhang Lao Shi, and Li Lao Shi (male Li Lao Shi) were across the table from me. Li Lao Shi can speak English, and he looked at me and goes "Bugger" like he is trying to sound it out. And then he said "You always say this. What does it mean?" except in Chinese. I told him it was like a nice form of damn. Then that started a conversation on how I speak with an Australian accent instead of American (or Australian word usage, basically would be translation. Word habit? Something like that.) It didn't occur to me until later that I should probably not be teaching my teachers the word bugger. Hm. Oops.
Mr. Bissell has started showing us pictures of the places we are going to visit on our upcoming trip to Yunnan, whetting our appetite, so to speak. It looks like it is going to be amazing. Tough, physically, but amazing. We will be doing a lot of walking, through terraced rice fields and such, which look beautiful. I am so excited. I just want to skip the next couple of school weeks and just get to the vacation. Who wants to do Calculus when you have this fantastic vacation looming ahead?
We have a new Chinese teacher now. She has been at SYA for a while, but at every semester, the classes change. This year, Classes 7, 6, and 5 switched a lot (as in the students change classes), so the teachers for those classes didn't switch. However, only one student in my class moved up, and one student moved into my class, so we got a new teacher, so we could be exposed to new teaching methods. Which is good I guess. We had a really good teacher last semester, so it is hard to have anything else. I am working really hard with the new teacher though, which is nice. I like working hard, while complaining about it. It's just something all teenagers do.
We had Chinese tables (中文桌子）which means we all have to go to the cafeteria, sit with a teacher, and speak Chinese for all of lunch. I was originally sitting with Chris, and trying to get a teacher and one more person to sit with us. Ding Lao Shi (one of Chris's teachers) sat down with us, and started talking. Not more than 2 minutes into the conversation, she looks at us and goes "I have a question, can I ask it?" to us, but in Chinese. We told her of course, and she, all timid like, goes "Are you two dating?" We both burst out laughing, and neither of us could answer. She kept up with these questions, wanting to know, trying to get information, until we finally told her. All the teachers are surprisingly intune with who is dating who, and they think it is an absolute riot. I swear, they are more like kids than us teenagers are.
During lunch, there was another funny story. My favorite new word has become "bugger", which everyone here thinks is hysterical, and they make fun of me all the time. So today, I am at the lunch line, getting my food, and for some reason, something happened that caused me to say bugger. Both Zhang Lao Shi, and Li Lao Shi (male Li Lao Shi) were across the table from me. Li Lao Shi can speak English, and he looked at me and goes "Bugger" like he is trying to sound it out. And then he said "You always say this. What does it mean?" except in Chinese. I told him it was like a nice form of damn. Then that started a conversation on how I speak with an Australian accent instead of American (or Australian word usage, basically would be translation. Word habit? Something like that.) It didn't occur to me until later that I should probably not be teaching my teachers the word bugger. Hm. Oops.
Mr. Bissell has started showing us pictures of the places we are going to visit on our upcoming trip to Yunnan, whetting our appetite, so to speak. It looks like it is going to be amazing. Tough, physically, but amazing. We will be doing a lot of walking, through terraced rice fields and such, which look beautiful. I am so excited. I just want to skip the next couple of school weeks and just get to the vacation. Who wants to do Calculus when you have this fantastic vacation looming ahead?
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Just Calm Down...
So, it has to be stated. I may be losing my mind a little bit. I go from really testy (it is obvious) to fine, and then to freaked out in about 2 seconds flat. No lie. My emotions are all over the place. It may be because I don't exercise, but I know that if I join a gym then I will never go, and it will just be a waste of money. It is a problem that I still have no solved.
This morning was slow start, although I impressed myself. Although my alarm went off at the usual time, I didn't get out of bed until 5:50, a full 20 minutes later than usual, and still, I was able to get out of the house at the same time. It was pretty good. And I even had a bowl of corn flakes, my last one. It was great.
I almost missed my bus this morning, but another one came right after, so I wasn't too upset. The whole time (all during the bus ride that is) I was saying my speech to myself. I got it down so that I could say it quickly (rapid fire man, it's the only way to go) and I felt totally ready for my speech. Well, as ready as I was going to be. You know the point where you practice so much you make yourself nervous? I felt like I was hitting that point, and decided it was a good place to start.
People showed up pretty early to school this morning (not earlier than me though) some because they had Tai Chi and some because they just did. Everyone with speeches was really worried, as we should be, I imagine. I went into a room with my friend Elle, and she said her speech to me, as a practice run. Her topic was Chinoiserie, so it was pretty impressive. Then Chris came in and started saying his. He was smart because he memorized the concepts of his speech rather than the actual words, so it was much more fluid than mine and Elle's. That did not give me confidence.
We had to walk down to the room where all the speeches were going on, and it seemed to me that it went much faster than yesterday. Before I knew it, it was my turn to talk, and I had to do a long walk up to the microphone. It was probably one of the most terrifying things I have done in my life, I was that nervous. I didn't know where to look, or where to put my hands. As I was walking up the microphones, I took a deep breath, and said, in my classic screwball way "Bugger this." Apparently, I was too close to the microphones though, because that got picked up. It earned me a couple laughs.
By the end of my speech (I only forgot one part, for a split moment) my face was bright red, and I was shaking. It was absolutely horrible. I had to go back to my chair and hide my face. I don't ever want to do that ever again. The rest of the speeches were really good. When they were done, we had to go mingle with our family members who came to watch us. My mom met Chris, and laughed a lot. She is so funny. I got lots of looks from Chris's sister, but what can you do? Chinese people will be Chinese people.
A quick jian bing run, and I was back upstairs, and back into regular SYA routine. The rest of my day was pretty basic. History first, learning more about Mao and the Communist Party, and then Calculus. I was in a groove in Calculus today, and I could actually do the integration problems Mr. Pettus wanted us to do. It was amazing. Hopefully my streak will continue onto tomorrow. Cross your fingers.
I wasn't too hungry for lunch, but I went downstairs with Chris anyway, because I wanted to go outside. Today was a nice day, only 45 degrees, which is actually seeming warm to me now. I only wore a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt, which, on hindsight, seems insane to me. More evidence that I am slowly losing my mind.
I had the period after lunch off, as my study period, so the two hours until my last class went by slowly. I sat in the small study room upstairs with a variety of people (coming and going) and tried to do homework. I say tried because I have found that it is way to easy to get distracted here. I did get some work done though, and that is the important thing. English was last period of the day, and it is easy to tell that that was the last period. Both our teacher and us had run out of steam, and we were let out 5 minutes early.
After school, I made the lovely discovery that they only homework I had to do was studying. In celebration, Chris, Sterling and I went downstairs to the DVD store to buy something. After an intense study of the selection, I bought all 6 Star Wars movies for $6.11. I love China. Seriously. With a deal like that, how could I refuse? I also bought Because I Said So for about a dollar, but that one didn't work when I played it later, so we won't talk about it.
We had to run back upstairs to get our stuff, and then I went home (after helping Elle with her math. The math test tomorrow has the potential to end very badly...) When I got home at quarter to 5, no one was home, much to my pleasure. I made myself a cup of English Breakfast Tea (which is the greatest on this planet) and tried to get Because I Said So to work. I gave up after half an hour, and just put in the first Star Wars.
My sister brought dinner home at around 6:30, and after a quick dinner break, I went back to watching Star Wars, and didn't finish until about 8. It was great. I will admit it, I am a nerd, but at least I am a happy nerd. Chinese homework and studying followed right after that, and now, I am just getting ready for bed. I got 7 hours of sleep last night (yes!) but I am still tired. I think it is high time that I went off to slumber land. Good night all.
This morning was slow start, although I impressed myself. Although my alarm went off at the usual time, I didn't get out of bed until 5:50, a full 20 minutes later than usual, and still, I was able to get out of the house at the same time. It was pretty good. And I even had a bowl of corn flakes, my last one. It was great.
I almost missed my bus this morning, but another one came right after, so I wasn't too upset. The whole time (all during the bus ride that is) I was saying my speech to myself. I got it down so that I could say it quickly (rapid fire man, it's the only way to go) and I felt totally ready for my speech. Well, as ready as I was going to be. You know the point where you practice so much you make yourself nervous? I felt like I was hitting that point, and decided it was a good place to start.
People showed up pretty early to school this morning (not earlier than me though) some because they had Tai Chi and some because they just did. Everyone with speeches was really worried, as we should be, I imagine. I went into a room with my friend Elle, and she said her speech to me, as a practice run. Her topic was Chinoiserie, so it was pretty impressive. Then Chris came in and started saying his. He was smart because he memorized the concepts of his speech rather than the actual words, so it was much more fluid than mine and Elle's. That did not give me confidence.
We had to walk down to the room where all the speeches were going on, and it seemed to me that it went much faster than yesterday. Before I knew it, it was my turn to talk, and I had to do a long walk up to the microphone. It was probably one of the most terrifying things I have done in my life, I was that nervous. I didn't know where to look, or where to put my hands. As I was walking up the microphones, I took a deep breath, and said, in my classic screwball way "Bugger this." Apparently, I was too close to the microphones though, because that got picked up. It earned me a couple laughs.
By the end of my speech (I only forgot one part, for a split moment) my face was bright red, and I was shaking. It was absolutely horrible. I had to go back to my chair and hide my face. I don't ever want to do that ever again. The rest of the speeches were really good. When they were done, we had to go mingle with our family members who came to watch us. My mom met Chris, and laughed a lot. She is so funny. I got lots of looks from Chris's sister, but what can you do? Chinese people will be Chinese people.
A quick jian bing run, and I was back upstairs, and back into regular SYA routine. The rest of my day was pretty basic. History first, learning more about Mao and the Communist Party, and then Calculus. I was in a groove in Calculus today, and I could actually do the integration problems Mr. Pettus wanted us to do. It was amazing. Hopefully my streak will continue onto tomorrow. Cross your fingers.
I wasn't too hungry for lunch, but I went downstairs with Chris anyway, because I wanted to go outside. Today was a nice day, only 45 degrees, which is actually seeming warm to me now. I only wore a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt, which, on hindsight, seems insane to me. More evidence that I am slowly losing my mind.
I had the period after lunch off, as my study period, so the two hours until my last class went by slowly. I sat in the small study room upstairs with a variety of people (coming and going) and tried to do homework. I say tried because I have found that it is way to easy to get distracted here. I did get some work done though, and that is the important thing. English was last period of the day, and it is easy to tell that that was the last period. Both our teacher and us had run out of steam, and we were let out 5 minutes early.
After school, I made the lovely discovery that they only homework I had to do was studying. In celebration, Chris, Sterling and I went downstairs to the DVD store to buy something. After an intense study of the selection, I bought all 6 Star Wars movies for $6.11. I love China. Seriously. With a deal like that, how could I refuse? I also bought Because I Said So for about a dollar, but that one didn't work when I played it later, so we won't talk about it.
We had to run back upstairs to get our stuff, and then I went home (after helping Elle with her math. The math test tomorrow has the potential to end very badly...) When I got home at quarter to 5, no one was home, much to my pleasure. I made myself a cup of English Breakfast Tea (which is the greatest on this planet) and tried to get Because I Said So to work. I gave up after half an hour, and just put in the first Star Wars.
My sister brought dinner home at around 6:30, and after a quick dinner break, I went back to watching Star Wars, and didn't finish until about 8. It was great. I will admit it, I am a nerd, but at least I am a happy nerd. Chinese homework and studying followed right after that, and now, I am just getting ready for bed. I got 7 hours of sleep last night (yes!) but I am still tired. I think it is high time that I went off to slumber land. Good night all.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Ready? Because I Am Most Definitely Not...
Hello all. My life has been crazy, and I know that is an excuse I use a lot, but I am in Beijing for god's sake: have some pity on me. I go full steam all day. But here is another one, ladies and gents. Enjoy.
I have gotten very good at pulling myself out of bed at 5:35 every morning. My family, and most of my friends, think I am absolutely bonkers, which is entirely possibly, but never the less, the fact remains that I get 7 hours of sleep a night if I am lucky. Which, most of the time, I am in fact not. Last night, I think it was about 7. Maybe 6 and a half. I can't quite remember what time I went to sleep, which should worry me more than it does. Oops.
I was out of the house by 6:05 this morning, after a yummy breakfast of corn flakes (with Californian milk!) and some small coconut cookies, which are about as addicting as crack. A lot of food is as addicting as crack here it China. It is a serious problem for my waist line. But back to my story. It was 19 degrees when I walked to the bus stop this morning, which, surprisingly for many of you back in warm Davis, is actually warmer than normal for me. I was excited that it was 19 degrees. I actually had to do a 100 meter sprint for the bus (with a back pack on my back and books in my arms, mind you) to get to my bus this morning, which arrived earlier than normal. It is supposed to get there at 6:15, 差不多, (chabuduo, meaning more or less. It is quite a frustrating expression to hear, as a matter of fact) but this morning, it decided to arrive at 6:10 and make my life difficult. Of course.
As per usual, I was the first person to school this morning, at 6:20, which, I will admit, is a little earlier than usual. But only by 10 minutes, I swear. I have a speech to give tomorrow, in Chinese (please, someone just shoot me in the head now, thanks) so I sat down and started memorizing it. Before I got distracted and started doing my history homework, which I am embarrassingly far behind in. But don't tell. The deficit is slowly getting smaller. As soon as people started arriving though, I was distracted for good, and eventually, just gave up.
All of SYA walked to a bigger room for the speeches. Everyone has to get up and talk for a certain amount of time, in Chinese, while all the teachers and the students, and Chinese parents listen. Oh, and did I mention, it's filmed. Bugger. The speeches today were good, and I was just thinking, I have to do this tomorrow. It is going to be a disaster. I am really nervous.
演讲以后(The way I would say "after the speech" here in China) we trooped back upstairs for our weekly meeting, where all the faculty make announcements and such. This meeting frustrates me a little, because by the time we are done, there is not enouh time to run downstairs to buy my daily jian bing, which is a problem for me, as I am addicted. But, it is not good for me to eat one everyday. I will get fat. Or so I keep telling myself.
My Chinese tutorial was up first, with Shen lao shi. He made us read our speeches to him, so he could critique us. After deeming mine fine, he moved onto Elle's (another girl in my tutorial) who chose a really hard topic to write about. If I told you what it was, I would have to kill you. So she and Shen lao shi worked together on it for most of the time. I have to go after Elle, so I am going to feel like an utter fool.
English was next. Due to my want to censor what I write (Mom's orders) I will not go into detail about the class. He kept us past the bell though, which is frustrating to me. The bell rings, we are free. End of story. Teachers who keep their students past the bell should be shot. That's all I have to say about that.
For lunch I caved and got a jian bing. When it comes to these babies, I have no willpower. None at all. If you don't know what a jian bing is, look it up, because I can't explain them properly, and I am done trying to. It just ends badly. After eating, I went back upstairs, tried to get some history done, went to Mr. Pettus about math questions, and then dragged myself to history class. We are in about the 1920's China right now, and learning about Mao Zedong and the Communist party. It is embarassing how little I know about Mao. I like to fake my way through it though.
Calculus was last today, and we probably got yelled at for wasting our teachers time for about 20 minutes with stupid questions. He then proceeded to tell us about how we are one of the slowest learning classes he has ever had. Isn't that lovely? That is one of those thoughts that is better not said, thanks very much. And you wonder why no one pays attention in math. There is only so much that can be done when you are being yelled at for being stupid. Mhmm...
Today was the first day of me getting a math tutor as well, and I had to rush from Calculus to get to the room where I was meeting her. Due to a miscommunication, she wasn't quite ready, and so today was a little frustrating, as a lot of the questions I had she couldn't answer. I am going to try again next week though, and hope for better results. I definitely need a tutor, because if going to my math teacher is just not helping. It also does not help that I want to give him a black eye. Just a passing thought.
I hung around school for about an hour more until leaving at 5 and catching the bus home. I left my bus card all the way up at the 6th floor (I realized this as soon as I reached the bottom floor, of course) so I had to borrow Chris's. No one was home when I got home, so I busted about my speech, and started practicing. My mom and my sister came home at around six, and my sister went to go do homework, while my mom started making dinner.
The dinner conversation was interesting. My mother brought up Chris, and started talking about him, asking how he was, if we were still friends. Then she said she talked to his host mom, and his mom said he liked me alot. That got lots of kicks and giggles from my sister and mom, who started teasing me that we were going to get married. They most definitely know, although how, I have no idea. The social networks in China are truly amazing. A quick IM to Chris proved that he had gotten the same grilling, and we came to the conclusion that we had been ambushed. How very Chinese.
Now, I am freaking out about my speech, and trying to remain calm, as the airline hostess always tell us to do. I have memorized it, but I know I am going to forget it all. Wish me luck everyone!
I have gotten very good at pulling myself out of bed at 5:35 every morning. My family, and most of my friends, think I am absolutely bonkers, which is entirely possibly, but never the less, the fact remains that I get 7 hours of sleep a night if I am lucky. Which, most of the time, I am in fact not. Last night, I think it was about 7. Maybe 6 and a half. I can't quite remember what time I went to sleep, which should worry me more than it does. Oops.
I was out of the house by 6:05 this morning, after a yummy breakfast of corn flakes (with Californian milk!) and some small coconut cookies, which are about as addicting as crack. A lot of food is as addicting as crack here it China. It is a serious problem for my waist line. But back to my story. It was 19 degrees when I walked to the bus stop this morning, which, surprisingly for many of you back in warm Davis, is actually warmer than normal for me. I was excited that it was 19 degrees. I actually had to do a 100 meter sprint for the bus (with a back pack on my back and books in my arms, mind you) to get to my bus this morning, which arrived earlier than normal. It is supposed to get there at 6:15, 差不多, (chabuduo, meaning more or less. It is quite a frustrating expression to hear, as a matter of fact) but this morning, it decided to arrive at 6:10 and make my life difficult. Of course.
As per usual, I was the first person to school this morning, at 6:20, which, I will admit, is a little earlier than usual. But only by 10 minutes, I swear. I have a speech to give tomorrow, in Chinese (please, someone just shoot me in the head now, thanks) so I sat down and started memorizing it. Before I got distracted and started doing my history homework, which I am embarrassingly far behind in. But don't tell. The deficit is slowly getting smaller. As soon as people started arriving though, I was distracted for good, and eventually, just gave up.
All of SYA walked to a bigger room for the speeches. Everyone has to get up and talk for a certain amount of time, in Chinese, while all the teachers and the students, and Chinese parents listen. Oh, and did I mention, it's filmed. Bugger. The speeches today were good, and I was just thinking, I have to do this tomorrow. It is going to be a disaster. I am really nervous.
演讲以后(The way I would say "after the speech" here in China) we trooped back upstairs for our weekly meeting, where all the faculty make announcements and such. This meeting frustrates me a little, because by the time we are done, there is not enouh time to run downstairs to buy my daily jian bing, which is a problem for me, as I am addicted. But, it is not good for me to eat one everyday. I will get fat. Or so I keep telling myself.
My Chinese tutorial was up first, with Shen lao shi. He made us read our speeches to him, so he could critique us. After deeming mine fine, he moved onto Elle's (another girl in my tutorial) who chose a really hard topic to write about. If I told you what it was, I would have to kill you. So she and Shen lao shi worked together on it for most of the time. I have to go after Elle, so I am going to feel like an utter fool.
English was next. Due to my want to censor what I write (Mom's orders) I will not go into detail about the class. He kept us past the bell though, which is frustrating to me. The bell rings, we are free. End of story. Teachers who keep their students past the bell should be shot. That's all I have to say about that.
For lunch I caved and got a jian bing. When it comes to these babies, I have no willpower. None at all. If you don't know what a jian bing is, look it up, because I can't explain them properly, and I am done trying to. It just ends badly. After eating, I went back upstairs, tried to get some history done, went to Mr. Pettus about math questions, and then dragged myself to history class. We are in about the 1920's China right now, and learning about Mao Zedong and the Communist party. It is embarassing how little I know about Mao. I like to fake my way through it though.
Calculus was last today, and we probably got yelled at for wasting our teachers time for about 20 minutes with stupid questions. He then proceeded to tell us about how we are one of the slowest learning classes he has ever had. Isn't that lovely? That is one of those thoughts that is better not said, thanks very much. And you wonder why no one pays attention in math. There is only so much that can be done when you are being yelled at for being stupid. Mhmm...
Today was the first day of me getting a math tutor as well, and I had to rush from Calculus to get to the room where I was meeting her. Due to a miscommunication, she wasn't quite ready, and so today was a little frustrating, as a lot of the questions I had she couldn't answer. I am going to try again next week though, and hope for better results. I definitely need a tutor, because if going to my math teacher is just not helping. It also does not help that I want to give him a black eye. Just a passing thought.
I hung around school for about an hour more until leaving at 5 and catching the bus home. I left my bus card all the way up at the 6th floor (I realized this as soon as I reached the bottom floor, of course) so I had to borrow Chris's. No one was home when I got home, so I busted about my speech, and started practicing. My mom and my sister came home at around six, and my sister went to go do homework, while my mom started making dinner.
The dinner conversation was interesting. My mother brought up Chris, and started talking about him, asking how he was, if we were still friends. Then she said she talked to his host mom, and his mom said he liked me alot. That got lots of kicks and giggles from my sister and mom, who started teasing me that we were going to get married. They most definitely know, although how, I have no idea. The social networks in China are truly amazing. A quick IM to Chris proved that he had gotten the same grilling, and we came to the conclusion that we had been ambushed. How very Chinese.
Now, I am freaking out about my speech, and trying to remain calm, as the airline hostess always tell us to do. I have memorized it, but I know I am going to forget it all. Wish me luck everyone!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
