has it really been two weeks since I wrote last? well, time has flown. these past weeks really went quickly, as we were waiting in anticipation of this holiday. It is the holiday of independence, when China celebrates it's birthday. so that means that this weekend everyone is working because during the week they don't have to work everyday. October 1st is the actual holiday, and that is the day that everyone in the city goes to Tiannamen Square, and we plan on joining them! we expect it to be a crazy experience, but an experience worth doing. still not sure how we'll get there even. maybe subway. it's a National holiday, so everyone in the country is travelling! that's why we've decided to stay in town, since there's so much we haven't seen yet.
our internet recently stopped working at home, which means it didn't get paid for....but I thought I paid it at the bank....better try again. everything here is "pay as you go"....so I was worried when our gas burner wouldn't turn on this morning, thinking we were out of gas credits. but we were fine. sometimes it's just finicky like that. but we have to remember to charge the gas and electricity bills so that we won't run out.
we bought a little oven yesterday!!! very exciting! this now means that I can finally make meals that go in the oven, such as baked squash!! I will be making that next Sunday because we've been invited to a Canadian thanksgiving! unfortunately turkeys are about $75 dollars here, so we'll be having some other form of poultry. but I'm quite excited about having a little oven. it's basically a bigger toaster oven. we even rode our bikes to go get it, and Scott tied it to the rack on the back of his bike to bring it home :)
so far at the start of this holiday we've enjoyed lots of sleep, reading, and a movie as well. we hope to visit other parks and sites around the city, as everywhere is decorated with flower arrangements, lights, lanterns, etc. every apartment compound even has a nice flower arrangement at the entrance.
my students do continue to amaze me. in a good way. this past week we played a game where I mixed up the subjects and predicates of various sentences, then they matched them up randomly and most often came up with a very silly sentence. they loved the activity! Language Arts had never been this fun! so the next day, a student arrived at school with a little envelope full of subjects and predicates she had typed out at home so that they could play on their own!!! wow! what a bunch of keeners! and they also have a book club, where the more pages you read, the more points you get! what a great class! we aren't free of troubles though. there are some social issues that go on among the korean girls. they also have a hard time getting along with others.
anyways, today we'll be watching the final for the women's world cup. should be a very exciting game. our neighbour also made us a DVD with Mandarin lessons. so nice!
that's it for now....
by the way, I continue to arrive alive every time I ride my bike somewhere :) it's not so bad once you get the hang of it!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
more change?!
YES, me and my hair were ready for a change! I was tired of how long it took to blow-dry, and how many long hairs were all over the floor! I'd been thinking about it for about a week. and after allowing Scott some time to get used to the idea, I took the plunge on Sunday afternoon.
It's nervewracking enough to cut off so much hair, but it's multiplied when I don't speak the language! I went in, looked and some magazines, picked a style, and we were off! once he started cutting my hair off (with many stares from other staff and customers), I began to wonder what I'd gotten myself into. because he seemed to be cutting it quite! after a few minutes of panic I calmed myself down, telling myself "it's only hair, it WILL grow back!" I wasn't truly satisfied with the cut until 2 hours later when he finally made my bangs and it all came together! I'm quite happy with the change! my head feels so much lighter!
some of the comments I got at school today were "I can't believe you trusted a chinese person to cut your hair!" and "did you want your hair that short?" hahaha.... some people here actually wait to get their hair cut until they go back home! whatever. it's no big deal.
I finally took the plunge and also went to the bank after school today! yes, it's actually quite an ordeal because it usually takes at least an hour. so I got my number, went and did some shopping then came back to continue waiting. finally an hour later my number was called and I paid the phone and water bills. and boy does it take a long time! so many little papers that she fills out and stamps, and I don't know what else she does. but it was only $16 for the past month of water and phone. pretty good!
by the way I'm still glad to hear of so many of you reading this!
love to you all!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
International Family Day
this week was a hold build up to the big fair at the school on Saturday. throughout the week we discussed the different cultures represented in our classrooms, and Friday everyone was invited to wear their national clothing. so much fun! I forgot my camera, but thankfully another teacher took some pictures of my class for me.
so today at the school, each culture represented at our school had a classroom, where they had trivia about their country, food, music, whatever. and it's a fundraiser for the Parent Teacher Association. the Canadian room rocked! some families have been doing this event for a few years, so they bring things back specifically for this day, including napkins and plates with Canadian flags. someone even had a huge tin of Tim Horton's coffee! which, combined with the giant Timmy's sign another girl and I painted, it felt like home. Scott and I also made waffles and crepes throughout the day. we sung the National Anthem a few times, and even had a bit of hockey going on. it was a real fun time. we got to enjoy food from Venezuela and Korea, and had our names written in chinese calligraphy.
this week riding the bike to work was quite fun! it's so nice to have your own space, rather than be crowded like sardines in a bus. it did rain a few days this week and I actually biked. I noticed that most chinese people biking have these ponchos that go right over the handle bars and keep you quite dry. thankfully someone at the school had one they didn't need, so I have one for next time it rains. I managed to stay fairly dry without it though. Scott and I also brave it, and I sit on the little rack on the back to the corner where he catches the bus. it's kinda scary because I can't see anything. but so far we've been fine. we feel quite chinese doing that.
just 2 more weeks of school and then we have a week holiday! woo-hoo!!!
that's all for now folks!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
moving into week 5!
starting week 5 of school that is, which means we've been here for 6 weeks! and married for 7! it's still hard to believe everything that has happened in that short amount of time. but here we are, having fun!
this past Monday I felt dizzy as soon as I stepped out of bed. I didn't want to eat and I thought I'd throw up any minute. but it passed so that I thought I could teach that day. I actually took the bus to school, but as soon as I arrived the feeling returned. so I handed over my lesson plans and went home to sleep. it must've been a bug from some food. all I did to recover was sleep, and I've been fine since. someone said it must be Beijing Belly, which every new foreigner experiences.
that meant I only had 3 days with my students this week, because Friday was a work day. our school is in the process of getting accredited with WASC and NCCT, 2 different educational associations. so it was mostly meetings for the day. then we had the privilege of waiting at the police station for 1 hour. all people living in Beijing must have a residence permit. chinese or not. so people can't just come in from the countryside to live here, unless they have a residence permit. the police actually goes around door-to-door to look for illegal residents. we have our "foreign experts certificates" but we still needed that permit. there were a pile of Koreans also waiting in line. but apparently we haven't experienced China until we've been to a train station. THEN, we are told, will we realize how many people China really has!
Saturday this weekend I was invited to join some of my female colleagues for a scrapbooking and stamping party! it started at 10 and didn't wrap up until 4!!! we actually didn't start making stuff until almost 12 because we were just chatting, and then we also had lunch. it was actually mostly a stamping party, because that's what most of them have. and boy do they have a lot!!!! they order from Stamp It Up. friends in the U.S. ship things out for them. I was so overwhelmed with all the choices! we had a good time though.
last night we called up our English speaking neighbour that we met randomly and asked him to join us going out for dinner. he's actually from Malaysia and has been living and working here for 6 months, but his Mandarin is quite good. we went for Hot Pot, which is almost like fondue. we got one big pot that splits into two: half spicy oil, have broth. then you order whatever meat and vegetables you want. then you throw them in a bit at a time, fish it out with your chopsticks, dip it in a sauce and enjoy! it's a long meal, but that's what the chinese like to do. sit around for a couple of hours around food and drink and chat it up with friends. chinese restaurants are generally really loud!
the bus to school has been getting increasingly crowded. it must be because of the start of chinese schools. they are sooo uncomfortable, I'm usually squished tightly between many people. and the other day I saw a colleague go by on her bike....and bikers always beat me to school, so I've decided to get one! yes, Scott might secretly be concerned about my safety, but I'll be careful :) it would be cool to get a video sometime on my bike and tape what happens on the streets. cars only follow traffic lights a little bit. if it's green though and you want to turn right or left, cars usually just go and weasle their way in. I don't understand it really. and sometimes riding in a taxi still makes my heart jump. but generally they're not going too fast, so that they can always stop before hitting someone. should be an interesting week of bike stories.
off to the market now to buy a cheap bike (because it'll probably get stolen) and a really expensive lock!
this past Monday I felt dizzy as soon as I stepped out of bed. I didn't want to eat and I thought I'd throw up any minute. but it passed so that I thought I could teach that day. I actually took the bus to school, but as soon as I arrived the feeling returned. so I handed over my lesson plans and went home to sleep. it must've been a bug from some food. all I did to recover was sleep, and I've been fine since. someone said it must be Beijing Belly, which every new foreigner experiences.
that meant I only had 3 days with my students this week, because Friday was a work day. our school is in the process of getting accredited with WASC and NCCT, 2 different educational associations. so it was mostly meetings for the day. then we had the privilege of waiting at the police station for 1 hour. all people living in Beijing must have a residence permit. chinese or not. so people can't just come in from the countryside to live here, unless they have a residence permit. the police actually goes around door-to-door to look for illegal residents. we have our "foreign experts certificates" but we still needed that permit. there were a pile of Koreans also waiting in line. but apparently we haven't experienced China until we've been to a train station. THEN, we are told, will we realize how many people China really has!
Saturday this weekend I was invited to join some of my female colleagues for a scrapbooking and stamping party! it started at 10 and didn't wrap up until 4!!! we actually didn't start making stuff until almost 12 because we were just chatting, and then we also had lunch. it was actually mostly a stamping party, because that's what most of them have. and boy do they have a lot!!!! they order from Stamp It Up. friends in the U.S. ship things out for them. I was so overwhelmed with all the choices! we had a good time though.
last night we called up our English speaking neighbour that we met randomly and asked him to join us going out for dinner. he's actually from Malaysia and has been living and working here for 6 months, but his Mandarin is quite good. we went for Hot Pot, which is almost like fondue. we got one big pot that splits into two: half spicy oil, have broth. then you order whatever meat and vegetables you want. then you throw them in a bit at a time, fish it out with your chopsticks, dip it in a sauce and enjoy! it's a long meal, but that's what the chinese like to do. sit around for a couple of hours around food and drink and chat it up with friends. chinese restaurants are generally really loud!
the bus to school has been getting increasingly crowded. it must be because of the start of chinese schools. they are sooo uncomfortable, I'm usually squished tightly between many people. and the other day I saw a colleague go by on her bike....and bikers always beat me to school, so I've decided to get one! yes, Scott might secretly be concerned about my safety, but I'll be careful :) it would be cool to get a video sometime on my bike and tape what happens on the streets. cars only follow traffic lights a little bit. if it's green though and you want to turn right or left, cars usually just go and weasle their way in. I don't understand it really. and sometimes riding in a taxi still makes my heart jump. but generally they're not going too fast, so that they can always stop before hitting someone. should be an interesting week of bike stories.
off to the market now to buy a cheap bike (because it'll probably get stolen) and a really expensive lock!
Saturday, September 1, 2007
eating out...
since it was Friday, and we were celebrating the end of the week we decided to go out for dinner last night. a new restaurant opened just outside our complex, and Scott said he saw a picture menu, which meant we can go! off we went, excited about the new adventure.
the restaurant had a very nice picture menu, but unfortunately not one english word. and it's hard to see in the pictures what exactly it is, unless of course if you see a fish tail sticking out :) after a long browse through the menu, with the waiter waiting at our table the whole time, we finally opted on a dish that looked like meatball stirfry, and another one that looked like stir-fried green beans and other things. dishes always come out as they are made, so we got one a few minutes before the other. the meatball one was good, with peanuts, green onions, and garlic, slightly spicy.....and who knows what kind of meat that was! both we're both fine today. then we realized we hadn't ordered rice, and we didn't know how to....hmmm...Scott got up and was telling them "rice", and they kept pointing him to the bathroom! one of them even walked him right over to it. hehehe....we were drawing attention, especially since it wasn't very busy. finally there was a chinese lady who understand what we were asking for, and then we all had a good laugh :) we of course asked the words for rice, which I have already memorized so we don't ahve to go through that again!
and then our second dish arrived! the green things in the picture were actually all hot peppers! it was a plate of green and red stir-fried HOT peppers with a bit of beef! hehe. the meat was good, and we ate a bunch of the peppers, but it eventually became too spicy for us. Scott was in tears!
so much excitement just going out to eat! and that meal was only about 7 dollars! we'll definitely go there again sometime. unfortunately we didn't have a camera with us to capture the meal.
next time!
the restaurant had a very nice picture menu, but unfortunately not one english word. and it's hard to see in the pictures what exactly it is, unless of course if you see a fish tail sticking out :) after a long browse through the menu, with the waiter waiting at our table the whole time, we finally opted on a dish that looked like meatball stirfry, and another one that looked like stir-fried green beans and other things. dishes always come out as they are made, so we got one a few minutes before the other. the meatball one was good, with peanuts, green onions, and garlic, slightly spicy.....and who knows what kind of meat that was! both we're both fine today. then we realized we hadn't ordered rice, and we didn't know how to....hmmm...Scott got up and was telling them "rice", and they kept pointing him to the bathroom! one of them even walked him right over to it. hehehe....we were drawing attention, especially since it wasn't very busy. finally there was a chinese lady who understand what we were asking for, and then we all had a good laugh :) we of course asked the words for rice, which I have already memorized so we don't ahve to go through that again!
and then our second dish arrived! the green things in the picture were actually all hot peppers! it was a plate of green and red stir-fried HOT peppers with a bit of beef! hehe. the meat was good, and we ate a bunch of the peppers, but it eventually became too spicy for us. Scott was in tears!
so much excitement just going out to eat! and that meal was only about 7 dollars! we'll definitely go there again sometime. unfortunately we didn't have a camera with us to capture the meal.
next time!
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