In my Daily Life

In my experience, language learners tend to absorb the patterns and pronunciations they find themselves surrounded by - perhaps explaining why my Texas drawl grows noticeably thicker each time I talk to my Grandma on the phone or take a visit to the panhandle.  Living here has proved no different, in some regards.  We all had a good laugh when a student said "As the going says, ..." but now I have to deliberately consider the accurate way to say the phrase Each. And. Every. Time.

Another example lies in the nation just north of my  home country (no, I'm not talking about Oklahoma).  After a student's mispronunciation, Arianne got in the habit of playfully calling the country by the name "Canadia."  Now I can't even begin to count how many times I've been in the middle of a lecture and have had to stop myself mid sentence to ensure proper pronunciation of the word.  Shameful.

However, perhaps my favorite linguistic adjustment is one that belongs primarily to Arianne.  The phrase that most grated on her nerves after moving here was "in my daily life."  She vehemently declared that we do not use such a phrase and adamantly advocated for her students to eliminate it from their vocabulary.  She was able to successfully fight off the urge to utter those words aloud for quite some time, up until they became an inseparable part of, well, her daily life.

So, I thought I'd use this post as a celebration of things that have become a part of my daily life.

Character practice and repetition.  (For those that can read Chinese - please don't judge me!)

Far from our normal daily weather, our campus really is quite lovely in the sunshine.

It's entirely common (and I'd say even expected, judging by those that brought their own stools) to encounter a costumed and choreographed dance routine while on a stroll through town.

The groups even provide their own music and sound system.

Passersby come and go at will to look on whatever may be happening, while you can see that the older generation of men still commonly dress in the style of clothing that was characteristic of New China. 

Food cart outside the train - contains goodies like instant noodles and spicy tofu.

Precious little boy trying to figure out why this aunty looks so different.

On the back of a motorcycle taxi, just cruising up the sidewalk.

Typical train station - everyone going every which way, all at once.

View from my favorite tea stand....wait...those aren't usually there!

Expecting the unexpected -
a man and his bulls just going for a walk outside our university.

Part of the beauty of living in another culture, for me, means not only finding the differences compared to how I grew up, but finding the ones worth appreciating.

A Colorful Box, eh?

Such flowery words with such little meaning.

Gladiator, CQ Style

Ancient Rome has provided quite a bit of modern western culture's foundation.  Considering the sole topic of one of my classes is western culture, what better way to learn about Ancient Rome than by watching Russell Crowe in action, right?  After spending a few weeks in lecture/discussion, I decided to assign the movie Gladiator and a few discussion questions.  Here are some of the responses:

The corresponding question, "What, if anything, did you find difficult to understand?"

I don't think he was especially concerned with any rules.

The question here was "How did you feel about the ending, and why?"

Own thoughts, indeed.

Ah, yes. Losing one's lover is, of course, a tragedy tantamount with death.

Narcissus, eh?

Sometimes it really is best to talk to the big, scary teacher to find out what you missed.

Perhaps from the student who advised another "It's not important.  Forget it."

Gossip Girl...Gladiator...same same, no?

A Little Conversation

Every Thursday evening, all of us foreign teachers go to English Corner.  On our campus, English Corner is a school club run by some of the sophomore and junior English majors.  Ours is held outside, next to the lotus pond, for two hours every Thursday night.  It's designed to be an opportunity for students/faculty/random citizens in the community to swing by and practice their conversational English.  Sometimes this goes exceedingly well and we have great conversations or even develop new friendships.  Other times, it's difficult to focus on the conversations due to the distraction of whatever is most biting that night, typically a toss up between mosquitos or the cold.  It can also be an insight into what makes the minds of these young scholars tick.

Take, for instance, this conversation I had with a student during English Corner this past week:

Student: So, which one of you dyes their hair...you, or Miss Patty?
Me: Well, neither of us really dye our hair.  We've both added some highlights, which changes the color a little, I guess.  Why do you ask?
S: My roommate and I have been discussing this and we can't agree.
Me: Agree on what?
S: Well, your hair is not the same color!
Me: Um, yes. That's true.
S: So one of you must dye your hair because it's not the same color.
Me (a little confused): Mine is usually a little darker brown, maybe, but Miss Patty's is naturally blonde.
S: But, you know, all of us Chinese have the same color of hair.  And you're both American...so...?

Like I'd ever color over those golden locks!

I had quite the time convincing her that not everyone who shares a nationality shares the same hair color!

You might live in China if...

~The term "toilet paper" no longer exists in your vocabulary.  It has been replaced with "tissue" because you must always carry small packs in your purse and it is not uncommon to see a roll of tissue prominently displayed on a restaurant table in lieu of napkins.

~You find yourself thinking, "We need more tupperware...time to buy yogurt!"  because the small, "Greek" yogurt containers are about the most useful storage containers you've found.

~You go to a restaurant known for its better rice to buy three orders to take home (to eat with the dinner your roommate cooked) only to have the restaurant staff look at you like you have three heads and tell you that they don't have any...while they are serving big bowls of rice to each table.

~Every time you see a non-Chinese person that is not a member of your team (maybe once a month on a trip to the city), you find yourself staring unabashedly as the first thought to pop into your mind is "wai guo ren!" ("foreigner!") , followed closely with a "huh, what are they doing here?!"  All before you remember that they are likely (rightfully) thinking the same thing about you.

~You find yourself cursing the Stairs of Death on a daily basis - whether it's to class, at the supermarket, train station, a local mountain, or just getting from once place in the city to another.  Then after realizing that you have been climbing said Stairs of Death for seven months, you notice you still feel just as winded as when you started.

~You get excited when you see Roman script in public - it doesn't even have to be English.

~You no longer notice the prolonged stares as you go about your daily business in town and are quietly amused at how your Chinese friends react with shock at what a spectacle you are.

~Every time someone sees you coming and declares, "Oo-ah? Na shi wai guo ren!" (Wha..? There's a foreigner!") you confidently respond with "Shi a!" ("There is!") for the sheer purpose of personal entertainment.

~While in language class, you try to put a new spin on the age-old Chinese insult of "pig head" by changing it to "chicken head" only to be met with the gasps of your teacher who quickly declares that she is indeed not an organizer of prostitutes.  However, you still leave the class feeling accomplished having effectively learned the term for pimp.

~You are suddenly watching your step for leaky sewage and then notice that "it's only" a street vendor selling stinky tofu.

~Your spirits are suddenly lifted to extraordinary heights because you see sunshine for the first time in nearly 6 months.

~Every night when preparing for dinner, the question is "What do ya wanna eat tonight - rice or noodles?"

~Shoes that have puffy rabbit heads or shirts with giant, sparkly teddy bears (especially when worn simultaneously) no longer even draw a second glance from you.

~You are writing a blog post and use all the words that don't exactly fit together the way you'd like them to because you can't remember any words you would prefer...the vocabulary of your native language diminishes daily.

The Boyfriend Post

I know I've mentioned it a lot in past posts, but my trip to Changsha was simply that revolutionary to my living situation here.  The morning before I left, my friend (who is happily married and a mother of three beautiful children) exclaimed, "I have to introduce you to my boyfriend!"  I was understandably intrigued as she went into the living room and started to dig through a trunk.  She pulled out what appeared to be a water/ice compress...and a cord.  She went on to explain that you plug it (him?) in for about five minutes and it (he?) stays warm for hours. HOURS!

This was big news as - rumor has it - no official buildings (including schools) south of the Yellow River (one of the major rivers separating China) have heat.  Although our regular apartments do have some heating units, none of the student dorms here or any rooms at the other campus do; everyone just layers up.  We tend to do the same so we'll be better able to handle both the outdoors and the classrooms on a daily basis.  So, having a boyfriend (the name stuck as we didn't know the Chinese word and "water pouch thingy with coils that heats up and stays warm" seemed a bit long) became a quick matter of necessity.  It also became a quick source of endless entertainment in the form of slight misunderstandings and absolutely ridiculous jokes.

Some of my favorites have been:

~Peter, our waiban (foreigner handler) in wait, overheard me saying I planned to buy a boyfriend at the local "mall" and hoped to spend no more than 20RMB (about $3).  Not knowing what I was referring to, he quickly and adamantly jumped to the defense of mankind with, "We boys are not so cheap!"

~David righteously proclaimed that his would be a "wife" (instead of "girlfriend") as she would keep him warm at night.  Arianne and I actually found him the perfect one (a cute little thing with curly hair - though none of the students can quite figure out why his is so girly!), so he has us to thank for that.  I do regret not having snapped a photo of the happy couple.

~I was heading into the city nearby for supplies necessary to survive the winter (you know, like butter and spaghetti sauce) and asked Arianne if she needed me to pick up anything.  She answered that she'd like me to keep an eye out for boyfriends and to give her a call if they seemed to be at a good price.  Our local friend overheard and immediately exclaimed, "Oh! Me too! Me too!"

~While trying to find the perfect boyfriend (Arianne had already found hers - Frgo), I lamented not being able to find one as cute (yet subtly masculine) as hers...at least until I met "Gip."

Definitely cute.  And subtly masculine.

~My student gave me a boyfriend as a Thanksgiving gift.

That's right, "Cute Panda."  Every girl should be so lucky.

~Over time, our boyfriends begin losing their warmth.  Or, in a worst case scenario, they wear out and risk exploding without warning.  Naturally, that means we ditch 'em in search of one that makes us feel happy, safe, and warm all over again.

Getting There

So many planes, trains, and automobiles...but we're here!  Well, in country that is - we leave for our university Thursday afternoon (not sure if that counts as today or tomorrow since it's sometime after 3 am and jet lag has mercilessly made me wide awake).  So, we hope to be settled in our new home soon.

Today was a great day of learning from an amazing woman who has been involved with English education here for 27 years.  It was also a great day of sampling TexMex this side of the Pacific.  Surprisingly tasty!

It probably goes without saying, but one of the biggest challenges for me is definitely the language.  Even words or phrases that I was  previously comfortable with have been lost on me and are having a hard time finding their way back from the long-abandoned crevices of my mind.  For example, I was trying to think of how I could tell the front desk that we would like a wake up call at 7 am.  Instead of remembering the phrase "wake up" (chi chuang), all that would come to mind was the phrase for "mentally insane" (xin jin bing).  Thankfully, I was able to sit and think for awhile before calling down and telling any hotel personnel that "We would like to be mentally insane at 7 am!"  Oh, language.