"A Smile is the Same Around the World"

I remember some teacher telling me in elementary school that even if you don't speak the same language as someone, you can smile. And they will know what it means. I don't think that teacher ever lived in China...

I was teaching a class the other day and discussing the 2008 Olympics, which will be held in Beijing. My students were excited to tell me what they know.

Did you know that there are five Olympic mascots? Their names are BeiBei, JingJing, HuanHuan, YingYing and NiNi. It's from the phrase Beijing HuanYing Ni, which means, "Welcome to Beijing".

Did you know that they have given cassette tapes to all the taxi drivers in Beijing to encourage them to learn English?

Did you know they are cracking down on spitting in public in Beijing? Spitting is very common here, and not considered taboo or dirty.

Did you know that every Tuesday is "Stand in Line Day" in Beijing? Standing in line isn't a Chinese concept. For months I never got anything done when I moved here. I would stand behind another customer at the counter and wait for my turn. That person would leave, and before I could move forward, someone from behind me would cut in front. It's not rude, because everyone does it. So I learned. You just push a little through, with your money in your hand, and "take" your turn. If you wait for your turn, it will never come.

Did you know that they are teaching Beijing residents to smile at strangers on the street? In China you only smile at people you know. In America, we generally have a cheery demeanor, and may even give a cursory "hello" to passers-by on our way somewhere.

I explained this last concept to my class, and demonstrated by walking down the aisle of the classroom, smiling. One student said "you're crazy"! And she meant it. A smile is *not* the same in all cultures. In America it means friendliness, or at least acknowledgment.

In China, it means mental illness.

The Kodak Store

Today I stopped by the Kodak store to get some photos developed. In China, if you take a picture of a person, you OWE them that picture. Literally, if I take a photo of a cute girl or an old man, that girl (or man) will expect the photo the next time I see them.

Anyway, since my dad worked for Kodak for so many years, I thought I'd take some photos of the store!

The Village

There is a very traditional, rather poor village right outside my college gate.
Here are some photos I took of it:
Walking into the village



A Typical Building




A waterbuffalo wandering through town

A vegetable vendor


A very cute little girl

Ups and Downs

Hi all,

Well, I'm finishing my final chapter of life in China. In 26 days I'll be on a plane home. I must admit, I'm looking forward to it. It doesn't reflect poorly on China, I'm just ready for the next step in my life.

Things here are about the same. My graduating students graduated. I miss them already. They spent the first six weeks of the semester student-teaching. The next month or so they had class here at the University. And then they were done. They were a good group of students, and it was hard to see them go.

I'm trying to get my apartment in good shape little by little each day. The state of my apartment when I moved in was quite messy, and I don't want to leave that for the next people. I'm also packing up some boxes to ship back via the mail, rather than schlepping bulging suitcases across the ocean.

I have two and a half weeks of classes left, plus a week of finals. I'll have to turn in my final grades before I go, obviously.

So life is odd here - trying to stay in the moment; not to "check out" too early. But I also have a lot of work to do to get ready to go home. And I have to get myself mentally prepared to go back to the States and look for a job. Life is stressful here, but American life is stressful, as well. The stresses are just different.

Well, it's been nice. I'll keep writing for the next three and a half weeks. :)

Bus 11

I love the bus. I know this isn't a common sentiment, but I truly enjoy public transportation. My bus is bus number 11. It's route starts and stops at the university, so it's easy to catch. And although it takes the longest way possible to the market, I still like it. I know the route. And I know Anshun completely relative to the bus 11 route. I know I could branch out and learn about the other buses, but I'm happy with bus 11. I also enjoy the culture of the bus. People know what to do and they do it. You can pretty much hail a bus anywhere on its route. If it's in a turning lane, it might not stop for you. You can also get off the bus pretty much anywhere on its route. You have to say "yo sha!" to get off. It took me about four months to get up the courage to actually yell that. Before that I would just walk to door and look at the kid and say in English "can I get off?" while pointing at the door. The charades worked. But it's also nice to say the right thing.

On the buses in Anshun there is a driver and a teenager (usually) who opens the door and collects money. It costs 1 kuai to ride the bus. When you ride the bus in Guiyang (the capital) you have to put the money in a box when you get on the bus. I find it to be very stressful. I prefer being able to sit down and give my money to the door person. They will also give you change if you need it.

People of all ages ride the bus. When an old person gets on the people sitting near the front will give up their seat for the old person. It's really sweet. Babies ride for free, and little kids only pay 5 mao (half a kuai). Kids ride the town bus to and from school. There are no school buses. And they ride home for lunch. If you go to town around noon the bus is overrun with little kids. Some people avoid it, but I like it. :)

The most fun thing about the bus is that people use it to transport goods. They have to pay a little extra (I think). They put whatever it is they are bringing in the front of the bus and sit in the back like everyone else. It's funny when the lady riding next to you yells "yo sha!" and then gets up and grabs two baskets of live chickens from the front of the bus before getting off. Once I saw some people transport large amounts of PVC pipe on the bus. They put the pipes down the middle of the bus between the seats. Everyone had to walk on and around it to get on the bus. It took four or five minutes to load.

The stops, and the PVC pipes, and the little kids and the smoking drive some people crazy. But I just relax when I get on the bus, and enjoy the view.

Happy "small" Moments

I had my first *real* telephone conversation today. (Chinese - English)

This is usually what happens
PHONE
PHONE: Ring, ring
ME: grrrr. I hate answering the phone
PHONE: Ring, ring
ME: Hello?
MAN: Wei? Ni Hao? - Hi? Hello?
ME: Hello?
MAN: blah blah blah blah blah
ME: Ting bu dong - I don't understand
MAN: blah blah blah blah blah (same thing, just slower)
ME: I don't speak Chinese
MAN: blah blah blah blah blah
ME: I'm sorry, I don't speak Chinese!
MAN: blah blah blah
ME: (hang up)

But today was better!
Here's what happened: (Chinese - English)

PHONE: Ring, ring
ME: grrrr. I hate answering the phone
PHONE: Ring, ring
ME: Hello?
MAN: Wei? Ni Hao? - Hi? Hello?
Me: Hello?
MAN: Blah, blah, blah Anshun Xue Yuan - something, something, something Anshun Teacher's College?
ME: Dui, Anshun Xue Yuan - Right, Anshun Teacher's College
ME: uhhhhhh, bu hui shuo zhongwen, wo shi waijo - uhhhhh, I don't speak Chinese, I am a foreign teacher
MAN: Ni shi waijo ma? - You are a foreign teacher?
ME: Dui - Yes
MAN: Duibuqi, xiexie - Sorry, thanks
ME: Xiexie, zaijian - Thanks, bye
MAN: Zaijian - Bye

Granted, my first real telephone conversation was just saying that I don't speak Chinese, but I still feel proud of myself! :)

Longgong Caves

I have attempted to write this blog entry for nearly two months now. I think I am trying to put too many photos in it, and the internet keeps kicking me off. So, it remains to be seen whether this attempt will be successful!

In mid-December I had a chance to visit the Longgong Caves. They are a local "scenic spot". The government called the school to see if the foreign teachers would visit the caves as a way of promoting it. They are trying to increase their rating from a "4A" to a "5A" standing. And apparently foreigners are a good endorsement.

I was less than thrilled by the prospect. First of all, it would take up my entire Saturday. Second, we had to meet at 7:20am. Yuck! But I am so glad that I went - it was great!

Kelsey, Sara and I went, along with two other English department faculty (Chinese nationals).

We went to breakfast first - noodles. I am still not used to eating noodle soup for breakfast, but it was yummy.

There were celebrations at the caves (promotions for this "5A" rating thing):

->local minority dances


dragon dancing<-





We also went on a boat ride through the caves. I must admit, I was expecting something cold and cramped. But the caves were enormous and beautiful! The boat ride was the most fun.

We were served a pretty good lunch. Because we were "special guests" we had special food. I don't generally appreciate the special food. Special means turtle soup with whole turtles in it, chicken livers and chicken feet and heads. I would prefer poor people food any day! This was good, though.

The day had some good examples of things that are typically Chinese:

-We were given a survey to fill out about our experience. The Chinese teacher who was interpreting said "they ask that you would please mark 'very satisfied' for each category". How's that for ensuring that the responses are accurate!!

-There was some mis-translation on the signs. Here is my favorite. Read the labels for the phone numbers!
:)

Electricity!

I took physics like 5 years ago, but I think I remember a little something about electricity. I think (don't quote me!) that if there is only a certain amount of electricity and more things are plugged into it, each thing gets less electricity. I think that in America there are regulators and stuff to prevent that, but here in China it's definitely true.

In the winter the electricity gets really low. My oven is not as hot, my light bulbs glow dimmer, my electric heater doesn't heat as well and my internet doesn't work as well. The internet doesn't quite make sense to me - isn't it about information, not electrons? Or maybe I'm just ignorant and I don't know how they can be connected.

Anyway, this winter the electricity was very, very low. I was downloading an episode of Lost from iTunes and it took 14 hours to download one episode.

Well, last week with the students being gone (fewer people using the same amount of electricity) and no one using heaters, it only took 35 minutes. Isn't that crazy!

My oven was much hotter this week, too. The students are back now, so the electricity isn't as great as it was, but it's still better than the winter.

I tell you, I'm learning so much by living here! And it isn't even things I was expecting to learn.

Electricity - who would have thunk it? :)

Happy New Year's

Well, it's 2007 here (you still have two hours left if you live on the Eastern Seaboard). It's been quite a year. A year ago I had just graduated from college and went on a rather unsuccessful job search. I think it was unsuccessful largely because I had unrealistic expectations of how quickly I would find employment. But whatever the reason, the search lead me to ULS and China, which is a good thing!

The Chinese obviously celebrate Chinese New Year (lunar new year), but they also celebrate the calendar New Year. The lunar celebration is in February (around the 18th, I think) and is a much bigger deal. But this is also a holiday. There is no school Jan 1-3 and there were many firecrackers set off last night. One of my students told me that they set off firecrackers to scare away evil spirits for the next year.

This week is grading for me, and packing for my trip. I need to get my house ready for me to be away from it for six weeks. That's about it. I'm glad that I have this quiet week before my trip.

While traveling I will *try* to find internet cafes and update the blog. And when I get back I will definitely post photos!

Happy New Year!

It's c-c-c-c-cold!

So, I live in sunny Guizhou province. It's a beautiful, temperate, sub-tropical environment. Or not. It's really cold here. Right now it 37 degrees Fahrenheit. I know it's not as cold as Russia (27 degrees) or even Western NY (16 degrees), but it's still cold!

See, there's no central heating in China south of the Yangtze River - that's me! Most people use coal to warm stoves. But that's messy and a little dangerous. So I use electric heaters, which are dangerous in their own right. Running too many electrical appliances runs the risk of burning wires.

Burning wires vs. Burning coal and smoke - what a choice! I just keep an eye on things and don't run more than two heaters at a time. Also, I have smoke alarms.

The students don't even have heat in their dorms. They rely on body heat to keep themselves warm - ten students share a room.

There is no heat in the classroom buildings. Everyone wears their coats during class. In fact, it's rude and a little scandalous to take off your coat during class (as I discovered last week!).

I bought a heater Tuesday that blows hot air. It's mounted on my wall and keeps my living room pretty warm. Think of it as a huge blow-dryer, but quieter.

I close all the doors in my apartment, and just heat the living room. I have taped all the windows shut with packing tape. Believe it or not, it makes it warmer! I don't even go into the study anymore - I moved the computer to the living room. My bedroom is cold, but I move a heater into it when I go to bed at night, and I have an electric blanket. My kitchen is cold until I start cooking, then it heats up some. But my back hallway is freezing! It is all windows and when I do the dishes I can see my own breath! Brrrr!! Thankfully I have a heat lamp in my bathroom for when I take showers. It doesn't make it *warm* but it keeps it from being too cold.

I'm sure I'll survive the winter, but I was not in for this shock! I wear long underwear every day. And in one month I'm going on vacation to Cambodia and Laos. It should be warm there!!

Cooking

I've been meaning to post about learning to cook forever. So here it is!

During October holiday one of my students, Danielle, taught me to cook. She called around 10 and we went to the market to buy the needed food.

Here is a photo of buying eggs. It's so different than in the States, don't you think? Every week the price is different and you can buy as many as you want.

We (well, mostly Danielle) decided we would have four dishes: eggs & tomato, winter melon soup, thousand year old eggs, and potatoes.

The very first thing we did was to render pork fat to make lard. I never ever want to do that again. I admit lard makes food taste good. But I'm much, much happier using canola oil, and I'm sure my arteries are too!

For each dish I'll write the recipe and show a photo.

Eggs & Tomato
-put some lard in the pan on medium heat
-crack eggs into a bowl
-add some salt and scramble (with chopsticks)
-cook the eggs in the pan, take them out
-put sliced tomatoes, garlic shoots, a little water and some salt
-cook for a few minutes
-put the eggs back in


Winter Melon Soup
-put some lard in the pan on medium heat
-add 1/2" water, bring to a boil
-add winter melon and sliced ginger
-put some meat tenderizer on sliced pork
-add pork and salt, cook for five minutes
-add bean sprouts, chicken bullion and sliced tomatoes
-cook until melon is tender, add green onions


Thousand Year Old Eggs
(you must know that I really don't like these at all. They are eggs that are buried in cement for two weeks and then eaten. Ewwww)
-peel the eggs, chop
-mix cilantro, green onions and garlic
-put the eggs in the cilantro mixture

Potatoes
-put oil & lard in hot pan
-add sliced garlic, sliced green peppers
-sautee one minute
-add sliced (tenderized) pork, sautee one minute
-add shoestring potatoes, cook 4-5 minutes
-salt, cook until potatoes are tender

My Birthday/The Wedding

My birthday was October 28th. I turned 23 (I feel so OLD!). It was also the day of Grace and Paul's wedding.

Grace is a high school teacher in Anshun. Paul works in the government. They're both Chinese and have Chinese names which I don't know. I know them because Grace knows Joni. And we got an invitation to the wedding!

Here's how the day went.

We met Joni at her apartment at 12:30 for lunch. When we got there we also found out that we were going to be making the bouquets! It was rather informal, but a lot of fun. We made the bride's bouquet and two bridesmaid's bouquets, plus a dozen corsages/buttoniers.

At 2:30 we all went to the church. Joni had made a groom's cake which we brought in the taxi with us.

Joni was doing the service, so she was all dressed up. The rest of us wore jeans. [Kris said that the first wedding she went to in China she wore a dress; and that she was the only person besides the bride to wear a dress!].

We brought a boom box for music and all of the flowers. The wedding was supposed to start at three, but Grace didn't come until almost 3:30. We were all a little worried...

The ceremony was very similar to an American wedding. There was a processional, the father gave the bride away, there were vows, rings were exchanged... it was very nice, but not very Chinese.

In China a wedding lasts two or three days. The first day is the "Bride's day". There is a ceremony, usually at a restaurant, and a big banquet thrown by the bride's family.

That night the friends and family go to the bride's house. They tell stories and play practical jokes. The groom comes to take the bride, but the family and friends won't let him. He must give money and gifts to the bride's family. Finally, they let him take the bride. This happens at 3 or 4 in the morning.

The next day is the groom's day. They have a ceremony and reception with the groom's family.

The bride can have up to six different wedding dresses that she wears for all the parts of the ceremony.

It is unusual to have a church wedding in China, but it was important to Grace and Paul, and it was very sweet. After the ceremony we had cake and then went to the restaurant. There was an emcee who welcomed everyone. As we entered we were offered sunflower seeds (a favorite snack here), candy and cigarettes.

Then we waited a long time (that part was like American weddings!) for dinner. We had a small opportunity to talk to Grace and Paul. They both looked so happy.

It's also traditional for the bride and groom to go to every table and toast with hard liquor. Thankfully, they don't drink! So there was only one toast for the whole reception.

We ate banquet food including turtle soup with a whole turtle in it. I have decided that I prefer cheap food to fancy food here in China. Fancy food is "delicacies" like chicken heads and pig's feet. I can live without those kinds of delicacies!

We didn't leave the restaurant until 8. It was a long day, but it was such fun to share in the joy of the wedding!

Shopping!

Grocery shopping in China is crazy! I actually love it. I go once or twice a week. I can't buy as much as I could in the states, because once I buy things I have to carry them to the bus stop, on the bus, off the bus, back to my apartment and up six flights of stairs.

There are no carts at the grocery store - only baskets. It's a good thing, because if there were carts I'd buy way too much stuff!

Anyway, I do all my shopping in two legs. The first leg is at the grocery store. The closest thing to it in America is Walmart: it has household items and non-perishable food items. There is a very small produce section, and I think you can also buy meat there.

The name of our grocery store is Wong Ke Long. I think it is a brand name like "Walmart" or "Wegmans", not a generic name for "grocery store". It's funny, one of the American teachers here who has lived in China for eight years and is fluent in Chinese calls it the "Wonka", for short. "Wong Ke" usually comes out "wonka". So we call it the wonka long!

We take the bus into town and walk three blocks to the wonka. I sometimes buy bleach or shampoo from the second floor. Then we go downstairs and buy non-perishable food. For some of the other teachers this means cookies and crackers. For me it usually means oatmeal, canola oil, brown sugar, or rice. I generally spend about 30 kuai (kuai = reminbi = yuan; it's the unit of money here, and there are 8 kuai in 1 dollar).

Then I put my purchases into my backpack and walk three blocks back to the bus stop for the second leg. I overshoot the bus stop by maybe 10 feet and arrive at the outdoor market. It is essentially a wide alley that has fruit, vegetable and meat vendors on both sides for 1/4 to 1/2 mile. We generally only shop in the first half since the second half just repeats.

Some vendors just sell what is in season. Peas are out of season, but squash is in season.

My pattern is to walk up to a vendor, point to something and ask "duoshao qian yi jin", which means "how much does this cost for one pound". (A jin is half a kilogram, which is 1.1 pound). If the price is too high I say "tai gui le" which means "that's too expensive!" and move on. If the price is reasonable I say "hao" ("good") and put as many as I want into a bag. Then they weigh the bag and I pay for my vegetables.

Some things are very reasonable: potatoes cost .8 kuai a pound, carrots and celery are generally 1.5 kuai a pound. Soybeans and tomatoes can be 4 kuai a pound, and peas (which are out of season) are upwards of 7 kuai a pound.

You can also buy meat at this market. There is one vendor which carries frozen chicken breasts (YAY!), or you can buy a whole chicken (whole as in head, feet, everyhing!). Most of the chickens in the market are alive. You can watch them pluck the chickens - I usually avoid that part of the market!! When I bought my [first] whole chicken yesterday I said "bu yao" (I don't want) and pointed to the head and the feet. They looked at me like I was crazy and I said (in English - good call, Liz) "I don't want the head or the feet". I was pointing to my own head and feet. Somehow, they understood me!

There is very little beef in this part of China. So we eat chicken and pork. Pretty much anywhere we use beef in the States, we use pork in China. The pork process is the same - "how much does it cost?", "I want one pound". They have machines right there (the market is outside!) that will grind your chosen cut of meat. Sometimes I buy ground pork, sometimes I buy it whole. They will also sell you pork fat, which you can render to make lard (I have successfully avoided that, so far!).

Oh, you can buy fish (which are alive) there. They sell it to you alive and you kill it, etc. at home. I am not nearly brave enough to do that!

Also at the market you can get good prices on spices (which you buy whole and are freshly ground for you), grains (I buy flour and cornmeal from one nice lady), and beans. You can even buy freshly cooked beans, which is very convenient. In fact, I bought a pound of cooked kidney beans for 1 kuai this morning!

Here is a list of all the vegetables I can think of that are available at the market:
Leafy greens, spinach, water spinach, eggplant, onions, tomatoes, green onions, garlic shoots, bean sprouts, potatoes, peas, soybeans, corn, carrots, celery, bamboo shoots, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber, peppers, squash, and a bunch of native vegetables that I don't know what they are.

Fruits include apples, bananas, oranges (which are green), pomegranates, pummelos, grapefruit, grapes, and kiwi.

When I have purchased all that I want to I head to the bus stop and take the bus back to the university.

The other option is to go to the morning market which is close to the school. It's a smaller version of the outdoor market and is set about 1/2 mile from campus. Most of the people who run the restaurants on campus buy their vegetables and meat there. The only thing is that it is gone by 10am. So when I don't have early classes I try to walk to that market. I'd much rather walk 1/2 mile than take the bus for a half an hour.

Chicken!

So, I just bought a chicken.

Yesterday sometime, I was thinking about how much I love a good, roasted chicken. You know, you put onions in the cavity and the skin gets crispy. You can even make gravy!

Well, the only chicken I had was in the form of boneless/skinless, so I decided to brave the fresh meat market.

Sara came with me, as we also did some general grocery shopping. I told her that I was planning on buying a whole chicken. She looked at me with disbelief, but accompanied me, nevertheless.

Most of the chickens at the market are still alive. As I've never purchased a whole chicken before, I was unsure as to whether you chose your favorite live chicken and they cleaned it for you, or what.

But luckily there were two and a half whole, dead, plucked chickens laying on a board. I walked to the people and said "bu yao" (I don't want) and pointed to the head and the feet. They looked at me like I was crazy and I said (in English - good call, Liz) "I don't want the head or the feet". I was pointing to my own head and feet.

Somehow, they understood me. The guy picked up the chicken and put his knife on the neck. I nodded my head, and Sara and I both closed our eyes (I don't want to see a chicken decapitated!). He also cut the feet off for me. I said to Sara, "hey, it looks like a chicken!".

They weighed it and I paid 13 kuai and got myself a chicken!

I'm about to go put it in the oven. I'll let you know if it's as delicious as I had hoped!

National Day

Well, it's the National Day holiday here in China.

*Guoqingjie, or National Day, marks the founding of the People's Republic of China by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949.* (from answers.com)

There are no classes this week. In America that means that you get two weekends, plus one week off (total of 9 days). Well, only three of the five school days are excused holiday days, so we have to make up the other classes during the weekends. So we had Thursday classes last Saturday, and Friday classes this Sunday. So the total days off is only 7 (Sunday to Saturday).

I was so looking forward to a week of doing nothing. My wish was not granted :)

Sunday we went out with Joni (another American living in Anshun) because it was her birthday. We met her at 12 for lunch, then facials, then head massages, plus a lot of walking around and window shopping. Finally we went to her apartment for dinner and birthday cake.
Monday a student of mine taught me to cook. It was informative, but a lot of work. She arrived at 10am and we didn't finish lunch until 3pm. Phew!

Tuesday we met up with Joni again to check out more of Anshun. We visited the fabric market, went shoe shopping and had lunch. In the afternoon Sara and I attended one of the classes that Joni gave at the English Salon on teaching methods.

Wednesday I met Sara at 7am and we caught a bus to Guiyang. We were there by 9am. Rickey (another student) was visiting her grandma in Guiyang and hosted us for the day. It was a long, full day of shopping, eating snacks and walking around. We got back to Anshun around 8 and to our apartments by 8:45 or so.

SO... Thursday I did NOTHING! I didn't even get dressed! Actually, I rearranged my living room, did dishes, and did my laundry. But still.

I'll post soon about learning to cook. I just thought I would catch you up on my little life here in Anshun.

Part-ay

In the past week I've been to three parties (part-ays).

The first one was last Friday (September 22nd). It was at my apartment. I invited two of my classes and 11 people came (a pretty good number). The theme was Mexican Fiesta! We had chips & salsa, chili and chicken quesadillas. Yum! It was so fun to have people in my apartment. I really made some good friends!




The second party was Tuesday Sept 26. It was a mid-autumn festival party thrown by one of the sophomore classes. Mid-autumn festival goes by the lunar calendar. This year it is happening right around now. It celebrates the moon - so people eat things that are round - apples, pomolos, and moon cakes (which I don't like - yuck!). The party was in their classroom and mostly consisted of karaoke performances and sunflower seeds (a favorite snack of the Chinese).







The third party was held at the Gateway English Salon in Anshun. The English Salon is run by an American woman who lives in Anshun. It's a place for students to borrow English books and movies, and learn more about teaching English (since this is a teacher's college). The party was for all new freshman. Sara, Kris and I gave out invitations in our freshman classes and accompanied the students to the Salon. They got to eat American food (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and chocolate cupcakes) and learn about the Salon. It was a lot of fun!

But I'm all party-ed out! Thankfully this week is a vacation in China. It's "National Day" and there is no school this week! I'm going to stay here and recover from my first month of teaching! Sara and I may go to Guiyang to visit a student who will be staying with family there. But we're not sure yet. I have no plans, and that makes me so happy! :)

I'll write more later!

Palmolive Tomatoes

There is an episode of "Friends" that goes like this:


CHANDLER: I'm serious, let me do something, just not the turkey or the stuffing, nothing "high profile".

MONICA: Ok, let's see... Oh, the cranberry sauce, it is easy to make and no-one really cares about it.

CHANDLER: Tell me more.

MONICA: Okay, I'm gonna go check on something across the hall. You start by washing these (she gives Chandler a bowl with cranberries. Then, while she's going outside, she sees him with a bottle of soap in his hands) Not with soap!! (she leaves)

CHANDLER: You obviously haven't tasted my Palmolive potatoes!

That's funny because you would never think of washing vegetables with soap....

....unless you live in China.



This is a photo of my dishwashing soap. There is a picture of dishes AND of vegetables! There is some spinach, a lemon and a red pepper. This is because here people use the same soap to wash vegetables & fruits and dishes.










They say "boil it, peel it, or forget it!" I was so prepared for a year without fresh fruits or vegetables. But washing with this soap seems to be sufficient. I've eaten (washed) raw carrots, celery, cucumber, apples, tomatoes...and I haven't been sick yet!

I think that the picture of the tomatoes in the sink and the dish rack is hilarious. By the way - did you know that tomatoes float?



Well, that's all I have, I'll write more later!!

Facials

Yesterday Sara, Kris, Joni and I went to get facials. When we met with Joni on Sunday she mentioned that she was going to get one this week, and we decided to join her.

We went to a little salon that looked more like the Nurse's Office to me. There were four beds and each of us laid on one. We were covered up with a sheet and our hair was secured back with a headband of sorts. There was one technician (young woman) for each of us.

They washed our faces. They used a soft washcloth to remove the soap, and then added something wet and squishy - like a gel or lotion. For about thirty minutes they massaged our faces and used acupressure on our temples and sinuses. It was weird, but good, I think.

Then we had some sort of stinky mask (sea weed, maybe) for about a half hour. During that time we got a scalp massage and an arm massage. That was more weird than good - a lot of gentle pounding, I think. Finally, they removed the stinky mask, cleaned us up, and put some lotion on.

When we were done I wasn't sure that my skin looked any better. In fact, I thought it may have looked worse. But I think it was just the impurities being drawn to the surface, or something, because I came home and washed my face and went to bed. And this morning it looks great!

The whole thing cost 20 kuai and it was pretty good!

The week with all the power outages

So around here they just turn the power off from time to time. It's not that there was a storm and the lines are down or anything - they choose to turn the power off. There is only so much electricity to go around, and they will turn it off on campus buildings to do construction or to check wires or something.

It happened twice this week - Tuesday and Thursday. They turn the power off around 8am, and it comes back on at 6pm. It makes for a quiet day. And it means no internet connection, hence few blog updates this week...

The week was good. Still no Literature book... Sara, Kris and I decided to do a rotating dinner schedule. I cook Tuesday dinner, Sara cooks Wednesday dinner and Kris cooks Friday lunch. It's nice to cook a big meal and to have company!

We started this week and it went pretty well. I made scalloped potatoes with green onions. The only "regular" onions I could find were red, and I didn't really want pink scalloped potatoes :) So I bought a pound of green onions (which is a lotof green onions!) and just used the white parts. It was reasonably successful. Sara made "coca cola chicken" which was good, and Kris made cream of chicken soup and biscuits. Mmmmm, I may get spoiled on this plan!

This weekend has been delightfully quiet. I have done very little. Yesterday my accomplishments included some grading, doing dishes and sweeping. And I spread that out over the whole day! Since yesterday I have watched the entire A&E Pride and Prejudice - three hours yesterday and three hours today.

I bought some yarn and am working on a blanket for my sofa. It's coming along pretty well!

I needed this weekend. I guess one of the biggest aspects of culture shock is just that it takes significantly more effort to do "everyday" things. Buying groceries in a different language, taking a bus into a new city, climbing 106 stairs to get to your apartment... they all take a physical toll, you know? So down time and rest are vital in maintaining sanity!

Well, I have a meeting with my group here tonight, but nothing else is on the agenda for today. Maybe I'll take a nap... :)

My living room

So I charged the batteries in my camera for like five minutes. It was just long enough to take a few photos. Here they are!


This is my favorite batik. It's teal and white and orange and is a scene of houses and a boat. It cost 20 kuai ($2.50) and I love it!










This is my living room from the front entry way. You can see the door to the kitchen (on the wall with the mirror) and to the bedroom (the other door). The batik is hanging on the wall there. I also bought some flowers that are in that vase. I just found out, though, that generally people only buy white flowers for funerals. I got many weird stares when I was carrying the white flowers around the market. I guess they were wondering who died...
You can also see my furniture. I have a couch, a love seat and a chair. I'm thinking about finding some fabric to cover the cushions. The gold velvet is a little 1970's...
This is my living room from the kitchen. You can see the front door and entry way. You can also see my water machine. It's empty now, but I just called for more water. They deliver it and it costs 6 kuai ($0.75) for five gallons. It's a pretty good deal!

I'll write about the other rooms in my apartment later. It's a really nice apartment, and I really like it! The only drawback is that it's on the 6th floor and there are no elevators!!