Creatures of the Night...and Day

Every biosphere (or is it ecosphere?) has its natural inhabitants and ours is no different.  The difference lies in the type of inhabitants in our new home.  The first bit of time we spent here was used to battle roaches of the gargantuan variety.  After finding bleach, raid, and some type of plug-in device, they have no longer been an issue.  I wish we could say the same for the rest of our little friends.

The mosquitoes almost seem more intent on making up for lost time now that the weather has cooled down enough that simply moving about doesn't seem like too arduous a task.  It's inevitable with the humidity here that a few of those guys and some wee gnats will make it into our home on a regular basis.  Though a bit of a nuisance, they are nothing compared to some of the other beasts we have encountered.

Some of them, like this goat, are cute enough at a safe distance.

A mouse or two has been found directly outside our apartment door...usually by the community, outdoor cat.  It's not unusual for us to either leave or return to speckles of blood trailing up the building's tiled stairway.  However, some of the creatures are a little more intimidating.

And yet, that guy - pincers and all - has nothing on what we have now termed the "cookie spiders."  Arianne first found one in her room and it was HUGE.  It earned the name cookie spider simply by being the size of a...well...cookie.  Her bravery was unrivaled.  Naturally, I contributed to the cause of ousting the beast by jumping around and screaming loudly enough to alert all neighbors within a 3 mile radius.

Our teammates (with the exception of one lady who had found a cookie spider in her kitchen) refused to believe us when we told of its massive size.  A few weeks in, one made its way into my room.  Thankfully, one of the guys was nearby and quickly returned it to its Maker.  That particular one was dubbed an "oreo spider" because it was significantly smaller than the monster that had graced Arianne's room.

Considering our relatively frequent encounters and my time being spent increasingly away from the other teachers (such as on their TL days), I decided to make an effort to be braver.  When I saw a normal-sized spider near my door, I quickly grabbed a flip flop, held my breath, and ever-so-swiftly smashed the ever-lovin' daylights out of him.  I patted myself on the back and went on my way.  Later that day, well into the night, actually, we went to our favorite tea stand after an especially grueling day and saw the Grandma's Great Spatula of Cookie Spiders (GGSCS).

Now, he may not look like much, just chillin' on the meter box (or whatever that is), but I can assure you he was Quite. Large.  As in, this Texas girl has seen tarantulas smaller than that guy.  I'm pretty sure the normal-sized spider I killed earlier that day must have been his son or something because he looked outraged - see the beady, red glint in his eye?  He wanted blood.  I'm sure of it. (Shudder.)

As you can see, David's no small fella himself, and the GGSCS looks more than ready to take on his over-sized flip flop.  We quickly and strategically devised a plan - Arianne would grab the camera from our apartment, David would smash him, Alice had the backup can of raid should David miss, and I was making sure the light on the landing (motion-sensor slap-pad thingy)  would not go out.

Thankfully the plan, as well as the GGSCS, was flawlessly executed.

The Little Things

This week was a bit of a marathon week for me.  Last Thursday I had my first weekly lunchtime class added to my schedule, followed soon after by hosting the massive Welcoming Ceremony.  The weekend was filled by spending time beyond what was expected in the city nearby, meetings, and then by reworking some lesson plans and preparing for my lecture to the Foreign Language Department on the American Revolution.

One of the other foreign teachers quipped that the day of my additional classes and special lecture that I would not have time to even use the restroom.  I retorted that since I wouldn't have time to eat or drink anything, I shouldn't need to!  That day was rife with issues - namely, the background of my PowerPoint presentation not being compatible with the school's computers.  Given the busy schedule of the day, I didn't have much time to try and sort it out.  I was extremely stressed and felt utterly unprepared.  I had also been told to "dress up and put on make-up" as they would be filming the lecture...with plans to post it online.  Goody.

Thankfully, my wonderful roommate foresaw the stress of the day and made extra coffee yesterday morning.  Judy, our dean's wonderful assistant and one of the Chinese English teachers, worked tirelessly between her classes to try and get the IT personnel to sort it out for me.  Arianne and David (another one of the foreign teachers) knew I wouldn't have time to grab lunch.  So, they were sure to pick up some tasty noodles, a tea egg (my favorite!), and a cafe nai cha (coffee milk tea - just the amount of caffeine I needed!).  Bob (yet another foreign teacher) had made PB&J sandwiches for himself and his wife, and came to my classroom to inform me that he also had one for me.  I nearly teared up at the gesture, not quite having the heart to tell him it would put me into an anaphylactic coma (which, frankly, might have actually been welcome at that point!).

Later that afternoon, as I went to give my presentation, the audience also included every foreign teacher that did not have class, and encouragement was quick to come from their lips.  I am truly blessed to have a team of people around me who give up their hard-earned, class-free hours just to support me!  We headed to Chinese class after wrapping up the lecture, and then I headed home so my feet could finally break free from their elevated prison.  I grabbed a quick dinner and watched a Glee episode before heading out (in flip flops, natch) to the next 2 hours of English Corner.  We've started a tradition of a post English Corner tea stand detox, and it certainly hit the spot last night.

I had asked for special strength to deal with the difficulties of the week, and He certainly provided in the form of noodles, a sense of calm, caffeine, and of course the amazing relationships that are being carefully cultivated.  All of them are things that are easily taken for granted as "the little things," but really, the ones that matter most.

Go Big or Go Home

Hardly a day goes by that one of us does not utter the well-worn phrase.  It provides a small window into how we are learning about a very different aspect of this culture.  Although most things lean towards being a big deal, when we're asked to do something here it is quite likely that we do not have the full picture with which to make a decision, but only 10% - the other 90% will (slowly) materialize over time.  It's a lot like an iceberg; we might be able to see the tip, but we're learning that there is actually so very much more lurking beneath the surface.  Simply put, China believes in going big.

About a month ago, Arianne was asked to sing with some of the students for a show in October.  Thinking it was no big deal, she easily agreed.  The fact that they had asked that far in advance should have been our first clue otherwise.  After a few practices, dance moves were added.  Then she was told about the "audition" she needed to attend.  Following more practices, more dance moves were added...and a solo part!  Finally, the week of the event she understood the significance of what she had actually been asked to do - she would perform at the 3 hour freshmen welcoming ceremony where faculty, staff, and the new 2,100+ freshmen class would be in attendance.  She, of course, was amazing - despite how the song selection (Upside Down by the A-Teens) was completely against every fiber of her musically artistic nature.  I loved looking across from backstage and seeing all the other groups of performers capturing her on their camera phones.  I'm looking forward to posting the video, but only after having a list of demands met that includes items from the states! (Hint, hint!)

Three days prior to the ceremony, when Arianne still had not yet been apprised of the full extent of the event, I received a phone call asking me to co-host with one of the male foreign teachers.  I knew if I declined, they'd ask another female foreign teacher, and no one really seemed quite...enthused...to do so.  I reasoned that Arianne had it worse and I could take one for the team.  Much to the organizers' dismay, I didn't have time to practice due to my two TL days right before the event and my busy class schedule the day of (Thursday).  I was told I could just show up to the event early and that wearing my teaching clothes (business casual) would be fine.  That day, when I had finished teaching, I went home to meet Arianne to head to our Chinese class.  Boy, did she look different.  The students had insisted she go to a salon and have her hair done - I don't think even anyone in Dallas could have made it bigger!  At that point, she informed me that the Chinese hosts were in suits and sparkly, strapless evening gowns.  Swell.

I got a call during Chinese class that I needed to book it to the event facility, so I ran home to change into the little black dress that I thankfully had the foresight to pack, downed a sandwich and headed over.  There, I learned about the mic situation, walking patterns and line changes - not exactly the exciting life I had prepared for as a history major.  Meanwhile, my foreign teacher co-host, bedecked in a suit, lamented that earlier in the day the Chinese hosts were "only in suits...now there are tuxes!"  Glitter abounded.  Once the event actually began, I peered out from backstage into the crowd - my fellow foreign teachers and faculty, the university president and administration, the massive camera crew (gliding track included), and well over 2,100 freshmen were gathered below.  We had been told that we were "surprise" hosts and that we would be covered by an umbrella as we walked onto the stage.  We had not been told that the umbrellas would actually be plural and accompanied by the opening dance number.  We were also not told that once the umbrellas were ushered away, we would walk forward to the front of the stage that would be exploding in an impressive pyrotechnic display.  Never have I worked so hard to mask my look of shock and maintain a simple smile.  The end of the show was nothing short of a full-fledged Jerry Lewis spectacle - there were bubbles, there were performers, there were confetti guns, and there were further pyrotechnic displays.  The president and other higher-ups joined us on stage to shake our hands and take massive rounds of photos.  It was truly unlike anything I have ever experienced.

After such an ordeal experience, it is no wonder that when I had the chance to go into the city and do a little Western shopping, I didn't think twice about buying the roughly 4 kg (9 lb) block of cheese.  "After all," I told myself, "this is China.  Go big or go home."

Americanese Food

Some food items that most American families would consider staples are a bit difficult to find here, especially in our little town.  So, we've had an interesting time trying to create meals that remind us of home - especially for special occasions, such as birthdays.  For the first birthday party, we were told that the guest of honor is quite fond of pasta/Italian food.  We knew noodles would be no problem, but finding a good sauce or canned tomatoes and dried/fresh herbs to make a good sauce, cheese, meat, etc might be tricky.  Indeed, it was.

I pulled up the ever handy google translate and looked up key words like "oregano" and "butter" so I could write down the pinyin (alphabetic romanization of Chinese characters) and try to scratch out the Chinese characters before heading off to our local street market and grocery.  The required herbs and dairy products were not to be found, but success was mine in the form of spaghetti sauce pouches - that's right, plastic packets of Hunt's for the bargain price of $3 (USD) a packet.  Ok, not so much a bargain as a purchase of desperation, but good enough.  It acted as a good base for Arianne to add in some additional tomatoes, onions and such.  So, we had noodles, sauce, and salad but still needed to find bread and dessert.  We  found some bread, but it was a bit sweet.  That made the pan-fried garlic bread taste a bit...off, but it must have tasted ok because we didn't have any leftovers!  We found oreos easily enough and decided to use them for a crust. We mixed more crushed oreos into some vanilla ice cream that we were lucky enough to come across and then drizzled some melted chocolate bars over the top - not too shabby.  One of the guys claimed the spaghetti was better than Olive Garden and the dessert was better than Dairy Queen.  Though grateful for the encouragement, I responded by asking him how much time has passed since he's been to either.

The next birthday party was in honor of a good, old-fashioned Texan.  We decided to aim high and attempt fajitas.  A nearby restaurant has a sizzling beef dish that comes with peppers and onions - we ordered several and also requested the same dish in chicken along with fried potato sticks - instant fajita filling.  We made the tortillas from scratch - that was sadly a first for this Texas girl, but surprisingly easy.  With the help of my friend in a nearby city, I also found a great recipe for apple pie with ingredients we could find here.  This meal came together quite a bit easier than the first and was probably more delicious.

High on the success of the birthday parties, I decided to attempt to cook for my teammates after one of their TL days.  I set off for the local grocery store rather optimistically.  We had some leftover pasta sauce and I thought grilled sandwiches with that as the dressing would be great - I only needed to find cheese, bread, and meat.  The store had one packet (five slices) of "breakfast cheese,"  bread with a few sesame seeds sprinkled on top - promising to be less sweet than the garlic bread, and...pig head?  Ugh.  I finally resorted to combing the canned meat aisle.  I found spam.  Not even real spam, though.  Knockoff spam.  I was desperate.  I grabbed some, went home to slice and brown the knockoff spam, then assembled and fried the sandwiches.  When David asked for the food to be blessed, we all heartily agreed and hoped for the best.  Amazingly enough, they tasted pretty good!  I also cut up different kinds of fruit and melted chocolate bars with milk to create a kind of almost fondue for dessert.

On the TL day for the guys and I, Arianne found a way to make crepes.  I still can't figure out how she did it!

On the TL day for Arianne and I, the boys returned the favor and picked up Pizza! from the local restaurant.

This is a picture of the chicken curry pizza - a first for me, but pretty darn amazing.

This is "Hawaiian" - spam (maybe not even knockoff!), peppers, and tomatoes.

We might really be in trouble if only one month in spamwiches and chicken curry pizza already top the list of favorites.

My Second Residence

That's right, twice a week I have a personal driver cruise me through the Chinese countryside to take me to a newly finished, second apartment far away from the hustle and bustle of my normal campus life.  It, however, is nowhere near as glamorous as it might sound.  Shortly before the school year began, we were informed that some of the foreign teachers would likely be teaching at another campus as well.  Apparently, our university had too many new freshmen enroll and an agreement was reached with another campus (TL) to both house them and provide classroom space.  Since the campus is about an hour away from ours* and since it's easier to transport a small number of teachers rather than the many, many students, five of us foreign teachers were enlisted to teach at that campus for a couple of days each week.

Three of us go at a time, on a rotating basis.  We're all, with the exception of one, scheduled there for two days each.  Although it gives us the opportunity to build relationships with a greater number of students, having our time, energy, and lesson plans divided between two campuses can somewhat hinder the quality of those relationships.  They are long, tiring days.  We leave at about 7 am, teach for 4-6 hours throughout the day, and get home somewhere close to 8 pm.  Since TL is such a small town, there are not any places around campus where we can spend time when we're not in class.  So, the school has provided another room for us there.

On the first TL day, I was the teacher who stayed behind and the group didn't get home until about 9:30 pm because the road was flooded out.  I had picked up dinner, so they came in and crashed.  Literally.

This is the room I have at TL:

Singles do have a top sheet here, but no fitted sheet. Heh.

The balcony just outside the room, which leads to the plumbed facilities.

Doors to said plumbed facilities.

I thought you might appreciate the lovely view from the balcony before the not as lovely view of the facilities.

The shower.

The toilet.  It is actually "flushed" with the cut garden hose tubing that is attached to the faucet.

The campus itself is new and still under construction.  This lends itself to an interesting teaching experience.  The technology in the classroom is top of the line, but the noise of spontaneous jackhammers (or workers cranking up the Mariah Carey) can be somewhat distracting.

 It's a lovely campus to drive up to:

This is the building where I have most of my classes, one of which is on the right side (2nd floor) where there is not yet a pane for one of the windows.  Luckily the rooms have mics so I don't have to yell too much over the construction!

 Side view of the building.

Yes, I believe they are mixing concrete in the middle of the shiny, new hallway.

 Scaffolding in the main atrium.

 I don't think that's quite the permanent roof for the structure...

 Even though the building's 7 or 8 stories tall, I would not recommend using that elevator just yet.

Each classroom has a great computer/projector/sound system.

 The classrooms are so shiny.

I hate to jump to conclusions, but I think it might be safe to say that OSHA does not have a TL branch.

*We were originally informed that the campus was about 30 minutes away.  However, when the single lane, unfiinished country road is washed out, it tends to take a bit longer.

Bleach, Starbucks, and Engrish

Alternatively titled, "Things That Make Me Oh So Happy."

Success!!!!  As you can see from the picture below, we found cleaner with Bleach! And Raid! (Or something to that effect...close enough, anyway.)

A couple of weeks ago, we were able to spend some time in the big city (about an hour away).  We were fortunate enough to encounter Starbucks (I can't tell you how much better it tastes in a country that currently imports ALL of their coffee - seriously, it is so hard to find any coffee here).  We were a little amazed to find that Starbucks adapted to the local culture by selling moon cakes in honor of Mid-Autumn Festival.

Why, yes...I believe that green tea moon cake is sporting our favorite mermaid (shh...don't tell Ariel)!

After the Starbucks run, we encountered a good deal of Engrish.  As an English teacher, it's tempting to be dismayed by the rampantly inappropriate use of the language.  However, I find it much more refreshing to have a laugh instead.  Here are some fun examples:

Ah, yes.  Taking the escalat is so convenient when you need an elevator from.

People really would be so much healthier if they would simply quit burning.

I believe this is exactly what Andy Warhol envisioned his artwork would one day become.

That poor mouse...he's now known as just "Ickey."

Finding the good and the humor in daily situations are a few of the things that keep me sane, especially when I miss the convenience of the states.  What are some coping mechanisms you rely on?