Family Outing

A couple of weeks ago I was on the bus that holds 40 people with 80 of my closest friends and saw a Chinese family "walking" their dog. (Yes, I had angled my way into a standing with a streetside view. I suspect I am becoming claustrophobic, specifically on Chinese buses, and find it is better if I stand by the window.) This scene was notable for a few reasons.

First of all, most of the dogs in China are mangy little mutts who wander the streets gnawing on dropped meat-on-a-stick sticks, stalking small children, inviting themselves into hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and loudly harassing each other outside my window at night. But this dog looked well groomed, not purebred but maybe half-bred. And it was on a leash!

Secondly, the family was not walking. They were on an electric scooter - kid standing in front, Dad stradling kid while steering, Mom stradling Dad and holding the leash while the dog trotted alongside. Everyone look quite happy. If only the grandparents had been along in a sidecar.

Chinese toilets

I have been meaning to write about the toilets here in China for a while, but never got around to it. Lucky for me, Tom did. So I'm going to post his little tidbit about toilets in China. It was spurred by someone asking how my mom could have a traumatic experience in the bathroom at the train station in Xi'an.

First off finding a western style (sitting toilet) is nearly impossible outside of private homes and select high priced hotels. A majority of the toilets are " squatters". A squatter is a hole in the floor that you squat over. In some cases it is not a hole but a trough in the ground with a continually running water so you get to see everyone else's gifts drift by as you do your business. In either case you straddle the hole and squat as low as you possibly can or until your knees are touching the bridge of your nose, balancing yourself only on your toes and you do your business.
The lowest grade stalls are nothing more than square wooden partitions that come up to about your waist when standing, so if you get a taller person in the stall next to you they are basically watching you...and the Chinese are very curious. If your stall has a door, consider yourself lucky, otherwise you are watching the world go by. (I should note that we have been to places where there are no walls and it is a completely open area.)
Furthermore the bathroom has not been cleaned in probably over a year and if it was, soap or any kind of disinfectant was not used. Because of this everything is grimy, slimy, and to put it gently it seems like a lot of people do not have very good aim. The smell is suffocating and stays with you for many many hours after you have left. The smell makes me feel like retching. On top of that, toilet paper is not provided and the plumbing is so old that you can't flush the paper, so next to where you are squatting is a waste paper bin overflowing with used tissue, toilet paper, paper towels, cardboard and anything else that you could possible use to wipe. To make matters worse, if it is your first time, as you pull your pants up from the ankles you realize that you accidently let the cuffs of your pants rest on the floor which is covered in waste.
In short you learn to plan your day around finding clean facilities.

Black boogies and Lulu

I'm not sure if the wind shifted or some new horribly polluting factory just opened nearby, but my boogers have turned black. I am not ashamed to admit that I always check my boogers' density and color. It is a good way to gauge air quality as well as cold/sinus status. Another way I know the pollution has been really bad the past couple of weeks is that the sun has been a strange orange-tinged-with-pink color.

The weak rays seem good enough for my new plant though. I have been wanting a plant for a long time because indoor plants remind me of being home and brighten up a place. I was delighted in September when our students gave us a lovely little yellow and green cactus for Teacher's Day. Then it died. I maintain that I was in no way responsible for its death. I replaced the cactus a couple of weeks ago with something that looks similar to English ivy (which is nearly indestructible). Studies have shown that talking to plants helps them grow, so I named my new plant Lulu. "Lu" means "green" in Chinese. Lulu is doing well, despite the weak sunlight. I put her by the window every morning before I leave.

In my opinion, I've been pretty clever with my Chinese/English names. All two of them. (For those who don't remember there is also my giant stuffed rabbit Huo Er De which sounds like Howard and means Fire Ears.) When I get home in the evenings I put Lulu back on the little table where I keep my treasures from China. There is my round wooden carved man from Hong Kong said to bring long life, two ancient coins from the Song dynasty, a compact mirror that has flowers engraved on one side and a picture of an ancient beauty on the other, and lastly the framed bamboo carving.

The ancient coins were given to me by my friend's husband. He collects the coins. The ones he gave me are very common but are still a treasure to me. The mirror was given to me by a student last term. The bamboo carving was done by a famous Changzhou artist and was given to me by Jack, the guy who helped me find the job at the primary school on Saturdays. He is also helping me set up my teaching contract for next year. I helped his daughter with an English speech she was giving. He is very kind and his family is really nice.

Speaking of the primary school, I have another singing performance coming up! They are having an English Festival next Thursday (Thanksgiving) and so I'm going to sing Here Comes the Sun while the kids rollerblade, play basketball, and badminton around me. It it will be ridiculous.

The school had me do recordings of all of the English performances the kids will be giving during the festival. It took me about 30 minutes and they paid me 300 RMB, which was pretty sweet. I've got to find out how to get more recording gigs. ;) Or get some modeling gigs.

Yesterday Tom and Michelle (our new Canadian friend) did some modeling for a photographer so he can put their pictures up in his studio. We are all excited to see the pictures. I don't know if I'll get them in digital format, but if I do, they will definitely be posted.

Until then, here are some pictures of the Grade 1 kids I teach on Saturdays. They are too cute!