Ant Killers

Ok, so after my marginally depressing post yesterday, I thought it'd be a good idea to reflect on things that keep me sane - a list of ant killers, if you will.  Here goes!

~The milk tea stand just outside the front gate of our campus with its limitless variety of flavor choices
~The awesome friends who run the milk tea stand and not only share their watermelon, but let me test my hand at things like lemon cake
~Looking at a sign in Chinese and realizing I understand it (!)
~The amazing group of people I get to share life with
~Receiving any kind of communication from friends in other places - encouraging notes, ridiculous articles, mundane details of life anywhere else (it's easy to forget when your day-to-day looks so different), phone calls (even in the middle of the night because math is hard and the time difference wasn't factored in)
~Sending and receiving text messages in Chinese - like a boss!
~Funnel cakes
~Setting aside time to reflect and study
~A weekly coffee shop trip
~Students who take the time to ask insightful questions or offer an encouraging word
~Knowing that I'll be able to catch up with those I've been missing in just a couple short months
~Blinglish shirts

And a great, big one*
~Going to meet with the Vice Dean about a couple of cheating students only to find out they've already thrown themselves at his mercy and been dealt with accordingly.

*I couldn't bring myself to call it an "elephant killer" - they're just such noble creatures.  Obviously I am biased against ants.

Oh, the City Life

I've gotta say, I love my job and I love the people I get to work with and all the ways we share life.  And yet, it took moving to a country of more than a billion people to irrefutably confirm that I decidedly lean more towards the introvert side of any kind of -vert scale.  So, as much as I love my students, my team, and even the cute little aunties at the supermarket, sometimes living here is just plain hard - you know, in the being-totally-overwhelmed sense of the word.  I have a friend who lives in a nearby country who may have put it best when he said that the culture basically "stampedes" us.

I've learned that in order to keep any semblance of sanity, sometimes it's necessary for me to just get away and have a little alone time.  Thankfully, working on a university schedule affords many such opportunities.  This week, for example, is Tomb Sweeping Day and so I was able to sneak off to a nearby-ish city for a couple of days before meeting up with a few of the other foreign teachers to check out a glacier park.  (Seriously.  Checking out glaciers.  In China.  How is this my life?!)  It's crazy how refreshing it is just to eat an omelet, drink non-instant coffee, and overhear English conversations in Irish, American, British, and even Polish accents.  I spent the whole afternoon yesterday on a comfortable sofa with a fresh cup of coffee, studying my Chinese characters in peace - pure bliss.  Last night I was able to talk to a handful of people back home that I hadn't been able to connect with due to a poor connection.  Few things are better (or more homesick-inducing) that hearing the voices of the ones I love.

On a different note, many times waiguoren choose not to acknowledge each other in China, like some kind of unspoken rule that this Texas girl just hasn't quite figured out yet.  However, when we're on our own and in a western business/setting, somehow it seems to make us more susceptible to speaking to each other.  It's always interesting to see the different personalities and hear their stories.  Whether it's a couple from Europe taking a four month holiday to travel the world or an organizer of an Ethiopian benefit concert wrapping up some real estate deals, I'm always fascinated to hear what could have brought them here.  With the (extremely odd/rare) exception of the random Frenchman who quite literally showed up on my doorstep last year, this kind of thing only ever happens on a trip into the city.  Sometimes just a reminder of international diversity is all I need to feel reenergized enough to dive back into the life of my city and appreciate the unique culture it has to offer.

Mr. Ed

One of the best things about my job is getting to have amazing, if not entirely puzzling, conversations with both my students and the locals on a regular basis.  One of our friends, Edward, has now won the prestige of an entire post dedicated to him due to his own unpredictable witticisms.  On two separate occasions he has made me laugh so long and hard that tears were literally streaming down my face as I attempted to hold my splitting sides together.

A little background, Edward is perhaps the nicest, most keqi (a Chinese word indicating an excess of politeness...frankly, almost too much) guy I think I've ever met.  And I'm from the South, y'all.  He is considerate to a fault, incredibly diplomatic in approaching perceived problems, and prides himself on being a fashionable dresser.  Overall, a pretty put-together guy.  As such, I think it's fair to say we've all grown accustomed to a certain standard of speech, etiquette, etc, etc from him.  So, you can imagine my surprise when he and a couple of students were visiting our apartment one evening and he cut off the conversation to say, "Ok, but let's get serious guys.  How about we take off our shirts and tell you about the real reason we're here?"  Uh, I'm sorry, WHAT?

Needless to say, my jaw completely dropped as I looked around to the other faces present as if to confirm what I'd just heard.  The only thought I was capable of was "WHAT is HAPPENING?!?"  It turns out that Arianne totally understood he was making a Friends reference and found it brilliant.  The shock of it all took a little longer for me get over and was only exacerbated when Edward was ruffled by what he deemed a total overreaction from those of us still cackling.  He tried to calmly repeat himself, but what came out instead was a rather flustered "Ok, seriously guys.  Let's just take off your shirts and tell you why we're here."  I'm sorry, that will not be happening, good sir.  Definitely one of my all time favorite moments here.

Last night, some friends were over and the topic of the recent sports meet came up.  Edward had participated in the long jump and triple jump, winning second in the latter.  He was explaining that the school's prizes were pretty weak (20RMB for 1st place (about $3USD), 16RMB for 2nd, and so on) compared to his high school meets.  He fondly recalled the high school prizes as such:

"Oh yes, first prize was a p-n."
"A what?"
"Well, not a pen...you cook with it...a pan."
"...for...a high school boy??"
"Yes."
"Oh. Ok.  What was second prize?"
"A mattress."
"I'm sorry...a...mattress, is it?  A pan and a mattress??"
"Yes.  They were very good quality."

The conversation went on to envision the flourish with which the presiding officials would have presented the champions with such illustrious gifts.  Ah, I guess money really would pale in comparison.

Christmas in China (or, alternately) How Do You Like Dem Apples?

I am so thankful that the internet connection has been (mostly) good enough for me to do the things I need to (eventually) since we've been back from our winter break.  So, I'll fill you in on what Christmas was like here before moving on to posts about my travels during the break and Chinese New Year and such.

Although this was not my first Christmas away from loved ones, it was my first one spent in a foreign country, namely one that does not especially celebrate the holiday.  It was a little strange to "get in the Christmas spirit" when nothing (outside our apartment) was decorated or festive, and no carols were playing anywhere we went.  In the same breath, it also made it easier to avoid homesickness.  Although our contract does generously allow for Christmas Day as a holiday, it fell on Sunday, making it a bit of a non-issue.

Naturally, my students were curious about the holiday because they are aware of its commercial importance in the West.  I had well over 500 students last semester, and had the opportunity to share the historical and cultural significance of the holiday with each class, as well as current traditions.  In an interesting break from local tradition, the foreign teachers were also invited to sing carols at the end of an annual (not holiday related) student event.  Our fearless leader even found sequin Santa hats for each of us to don for the occasion.  Oh, joy to the world.

Like any other class topic, some of my students were more interested in learning about the holiday than others.  A couple of my classes even came to our apartment for a short, little Christmas party.

Many of my students embraced the festivities with gusto, wanting to hear all about the Christmas Old Man (literal translation from Chinese for Santa Claus) and bringing me gifts.  I was touched, if not slightly confused, when the first student brought me an apple.  I thought perhaps she'd heard that an old tradition in America was to give apples to teachers and she thought that it'd thereby make the perfect Christmas gift.

Fun card and fruit (including an apple!) from some of my students.

Later, in a different class, I talked about having a gift exchange with the students and encouraged them to all bring one wrapped item the next week.  As they were leaving, one student practically winked as she grinned widely and asked if she should bring...an apple.  I thought to myself, "What is with the apples?!"

By the end of the week, I had my answer.  As well as many, many more apples.  

These came all at once from a group of students.

Apparently, the gift of apples has become a bit of a Chinese Christmas Eve tradition.  The Chinese word for apple is "ping guo" and sounds similar to the word for peace and safety (also "ping").  So, in essence, by sending someone an apple for Christmas, they are wishing them peace and safety.  Pretty sweet, huh?

The university was so kind and threw us a Christmas banquet a few days before the holiday to help us celebrate.  They catered in some Western style food (hence the plates stacked with white bread and the bottles of Pepsi).  It was really nice to be able to share a special meal with some of our new friends.

Later, on Christmas Day, the foreign teachers all met together for a Christmas brunch and to share some of our own traditions from home.  We had several breakfast casseroles, muffins, fruit salad, sausage balls, and other goodies.  We are definitely learning how to make things work here!

We spent time together singing carols, reading the Christmas story, and having a white elephant gift exchange.  My illustrious winnings included these lovely items:

So, although I certainly missed my family and friends in the states, I did not feel at all unfortunate.  Plus, the good thing about being overseas during the holidays is how the blessings seem to drag on.  For example, I started receiving cards in early December and just this week (yep, mid-February) I received an amazing Christmas package.  I kinda feel sorry for those of you who only get a month - tops, of seasonal joy.  Heh.

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.

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?