March 23, 2008- HAPPY EASTER!Ok, so it has DEFINATELY been a long while...sorry guys! This whole experience is just going SO fast! The classes are fast, the fun is fast, the sleep! It all goes SO fast! Ha, ok, first of all, now that I have been here long enuf, I can tell you that China is a giant clash of 2 extremes!On the 1 hand, you've got extremely "old school" where they still make street sweeping brooms out of tree branches & leaves and then on the other end of the spectrum, they offer internet cafes! I mean, these are pretty major extremes. So to try & make it easier to connect with, do you remember what southern cities are like in the country? Well, it’s similar to that. The Chinese landscape, in the city- not pretty- it just looks like 1 giant ghetto. Its a little dirt & the buildings need some love. Also, the buildings here are NOT insulated!!!!! This is HORRIBLE & it doesn't take long for them to build (not to mention I've seen construction going on well into the night). The work ethic here is still pretty strong out of necessity but then, the police stations all close at 9pm and they get 3 hour lunch breaks mid-day, so, I guess status determines the level of effort necessary to make $.Alright, now the good stuff! The Chinese language is AMAZING & intoxicating & frustrating & melodic & breathe taking! It REALLY is totally different from English, even "yes" & "no" are not the same here, like, for right now when I want to show that I agree with something or someone I say "Dui", which literally means "Right". If I want to disagree, I say "Mao" or "No, mao" which really means "Don't want" or "Don't have" but it can also be substituted for "no" cause they seem to get it!So let me tell you about just a FEW of the funny things that have occurred since I've been here. The first week we were all getting acclimated to China (as a group) & we were still in Shanghai sightseeing, we all hopped a local bus to get to our next destination & while we are in transit, one of my classmates, John the Virgo, & I were just getting to know one another. Well, because of the amount of ppl here in China, the buses, as you can imagine are super packed so we were standing & there was a little old lady sitting directly in front of me just watching us go back n forth, well... ALL of a sudden- out of nowhere- she starts mocking me!! Not meanly- I don't guess- but I really must have gotten her attention because EVERYBODY on the bus started laughing! AT ME, man! I can't believe I came all the way to China & I'm still being teased about how much I talk!Okay, so my favorite dish to eat here in China is a Cantonese dish, so, I decide to go up the street & buy myself my favorite dish, what the heck, right? So, I get there & I have to call the program assistant & my friend, Sailing, to bridge the language barrier & tell them what I want, so, they get my order & ask me to sit on a couch to wait for my order. I sit down, put my headphones on to listen to some music & all of a sudden I look up & I'm completely surrounded! There's like 7 girls in front of me! I felt like a dear caught in headlights... As it turns out, they just wanted to speak with me. They touched my hair & I pulled out my school books & they had me practicing my Chinese. I helped them practice some English, they wanted to know if my hair was naturally- yes, on & on....I ended up being there for like an hour & 1/2 & I had to keep calling Sailing because we couldn't always communicate & she was laughing so hard because she said I was the only student she'd ever met that consistently went through stuff like this. One girl even asked me to name her & I did: Nicole. She looked like a "Nicole" to me.I'm also working as a teacher: laoshi. Can you believe it? I teach 3, 4, & 5 year olds English- THEY ARE SO ADORABLE!! The parents seem to really like me too but I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I invite them into my classes. I prefer for them to be there...Hey, this is YOUR kid! Know what I mean? He, he. So how bout on Saturday my class is an hour & 1/2 so we have a break after the 1st 40 minutes & while I am standing there, this 1 particularly rambunctious little boy who's name I believe is "Jack" keeps giving me these little wrapped "candies" (or so I thought). He's sticking in my pockets & my hands & he's just a talking to me (& I can't understand a Damn word, but he so cute) & I open the "candy" & pop it in my mouth, right? OH MY GOD...it was a cube of beef! Not candy & it was also so different from what I was expecting that I immediately wanted to spit it out but I've the parents watching, jack is watching, so, I just grinned, bared it, & ate it! What smoothes the icing onto this cake is the fact that that same little boy hugged me about 4 or 5 times....He made me feel SO LOVED!!!!
Alright guys....I could just go on & on & oThe last thing I'll share is my favorite hotspot! Da Luan (Big Scarlet)! I got SOOOO much love for my boys at Da Luan...they SPOIL ME!!! Especially my brother Oscar! I LOVE THEM! So, I've added some pics of some of our adventures at Da Luan...Hope you enjoy!
Butterflys..
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