Chapter 17: About Ayi's First Day

Yesterday, I felt a little like a rich brat.

We had an ayi come to our apartment for an interview. For those of you who are not familiar with the word, "ayi," it's basically a house helper. She comes to clean, cook, do laundry, etc. It's like having a maid. (Most people had these in Nigeria as well.)

Because we didn't plan very well, we had Ayi come yesterday for an interview with a wonderful Filipino interpreter who was translating fluently between two languages that were not her native tongue. The poor planning comes due to the fact that we've been having a middle school technology conference these past two days. Utterly and exhaustingly draining.

So Zack's and my thoughts were on the IT Conference and not on the fact that we had to have the house somewhat clean with cleaning supplies marked or in obvious places.

Ayi came while we were at school. She was evidently overwhelmed. I can imagine what she must have thought of Zack and I as she was cleaning. "How did these crazy foreigners get this place so dirty in just three weeks here?"

But she seems like a really nice person, and she is certainly a great cook! Hopefully she doesn't get scared off by our initial mess.

Chapter 16: In Which the Author Has a Simply Wonderful Day

As in my last post, there are many topics just from today that are flying around my head as tentative blog posts. I could write about:
               - our (Zack's and my) first trip to Tai Dong market area by ourselves,
               - the bride we saw driving down the main road in a red Corvette convertible with her dress  
                  and veil flying out behind her,
               - the over-the-top flirting that was going on next to me on the bus,
               - the rush of being able to actually communicate my thoughts to someone without an  
                  interpreter,
               - buying and eating moon cakes for the moon festival,
               - the view of the ocean, 
               - the beauty of mountains,
               - or the incredible peace that has been so constant and almost overwhelming today.
Even though each one of these topics could easily fill an entire blog post by itself, I will choose to write about the moment that was the most heart-warming.

Even though today marks my third week in China, I have been so busy with school and getting adjusted to life here that I haven't really had much opportunity to even interact with Chinese people*. But today was a bit different.

We took the bus back from Tai Dong market today. We sat (thankfully we got a seat right away) for 75 minutes to get back home. I sat next to a middle-aged Chinese couple. They said, "Meiguoren ma" which means, "American, yes?" I said yes I was, and they tried to talk to me some more, but I couldn't really understand them. But still, they kept sneaking looks at me and I kept sneaking looks at them because they had such lovely smiles (it's not considered rude to stare in China) and they so clearly enjoyed being together.

Even though we didn't have a common language, or even any real cause to enjoy each others' company, we did. When I got off the bus at my stop, we said goodbye. But as I was walking next to the bus, I glanced up and saw the woman hanging out the bus window and waving goodbye to me.

What a great end to a beautiful day's adventure. 

Chapter 15: In Which the Cultural Differences Between East and West Become More Apparent

I have about a million things to post about, but since it's the most important, I'll post about my first week of school. It. Was. Awesome.

I love middle school. I love these students. I love this school. I know it sounds too early for me to be using the "L" word, but I can't really explain my feelings using the word "like." So the slightly over-dramatic "L" word it will have to be.

There are already some fairly large cultural differences between the Eastern-minded and Western-minded students in my classes.
In general, the Eastern-minded students are more reserved. I have had to tell every single class so far that when I ask a yes or no question that is not rhetorical, they should either nod or shake their head. It's something I never really anticipated having to teach to middle-schoolers.
In general, the Western-minded students are a bit more vocal in class and much more responsive to questioning.
Obviously there are exceptions to both generalizations (especially the Eastern generalization), but it's just something I noticed so far. It will be an interesting shift from my last school where students were really responsive to questions, almost to a fault. There's just a lot to get used to.

I am greatly looking forward to this weekend: eating out and games tonight, time to plan lessons, Settlers of Catan, fellowship, and general nonsensicality. 

Chapter 11: In Which Total Ignorance Is Less Frustrating than Insufficient Knowledge

Not knowing Chinese has already been frustrating at times. However, knowing only a few sentences and shopping words in Chinese is even worse. I understand some of the things being said, and I want to communicate more, but my language skills while shopping are basically limited to numbers, asking for a reduction in price, and saying thank you.

Yesterday we bought some house plants and some dishes (it's finally starting to feel like an apartment and not an empty warehouse!). I can't wait until I have a better grasp on the language so that I won't feel like an idiot standing there when a Zhongguoren (Chinese person) is speaking to me. But from what I hear and see, that won't happen for a few years. I guess I can try to be patient. ;)

So, what is the lesson that I have been learning in all of this? I have realized that it is far more frustrating and humiliating to know only a tiny bit of something than to be in complete ignorance. I could expound about the ways that this lesson applies not only to language learning, but also to knowledge of a skill or hobby, knowledge of current evens, or even knowledge of the Bible and biblical topics. Instead, I'll let you roll these thoughts around if this is an idea that causes you to ponder.

I have a feeling that China will hack away at my pride until there isn't much left. And that is more than okay.

Chapter 10: Being a Riveting Account of Extreme Culture Shock and Amazing Weather Systems

In the week since I left the U.S., I feel as though I have experienced enough things to fill up a month. I've started learning Chinese (fun, yet challenging), I've eaten some amazing food, met some even more amazing people, been a good neighbor, and started planning out my school year.

Chinese lessons have been really fun. So far we've learnt simple phrases and sentences like, "Wo qu Baishan xuexiao. Wo yao ban ge ping guo." I am going to Baishan school. I want eight apples. Nothing too impressive yet, but still rather fun. We've been focusing a lot on the tones. It's a challenge to constantly think about the tone of your speech. I thought that part would be easier. I'm sure it will be one day.

The food here is just wonderful. So far the hot pot from my first night has been my favorite, but we've also had Korean barbecue, chuare (beef, lamb, or squid on a stick. I had all three), lots of jiaoci (dumplings), and noodles. I'm excited to keep trying new things!

The teachers at the school are so great. I already feel as though I'm in a fantastic community, and I'm really looking forward to getting to know these people more. Also, they have some great insights and stories about living in China.

Like State Farm Insurance, I have been a good neighbor. A coworker lives two flights below Zack and me, and she's currently cat-sitting for a family on vacation in Thailand. Last night the cat got out and so we spent 45 minutes trying to corral this dumb cat to a place where we could actually catch it. We laid traps, tried being sweet, bribed it with food, but nothing worked. Eventually we just gave up and hoped that it would be in a more catchable mood today (It was. It has now been caught).

And finally this week I've started planning out my school year. I know now what classes I'll be teaching: one class each of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade math, and one class of 6th grade social studies (ancient history through the Middle Ages). I'm pretty excited about it. There's a lot of prep time available for me, even though some of that will be used up with Chinese lessons. I'm looking forward to this school year.

OK, well, I have to admit that I may or may not have created a misleading title to make you more interested in this post. Don't be mad.