A Week in the Life

8:30 Wake up, eat a pear and piece of walnut-date bread
10:00 Go to Starbucks to tutor Anna (an 11 year old girl)
11:00-12:00 Study Chinese at Starbucks
12:00 Meet my foreign friend Bart for lunch at the hole-in-the wall dumpling shop. Eat huntun fen (noodle soup with small meat wontons and baby pok-choy, 5 yuan)
12:45 Arrive at work
1:00-2:00 Teach a class
2:00-3:00 Prepare for children’s class
3:00-4:00 Teach a class
4:00-4:30 Finish preparing for children’s class
4:30-5:30 Teach children’s class
5:30-6:00 Prepare for next class
6:00-7:00 Teach a class
7:10 Meet Bart outside my school and walk to Club Europe for Easter dinner with Daniel (German), Shirley (Chinese, Daniel‘s girlfriend), Lucy (Chinese), and Deter (German); (150 yuan).
10:30 Get home
11:00 Go to bed

7:45 Wake up
8:20 Catch the bus (2 buses: 1.2 yuan), eat an apple and drink orange juice on the way
8:50 Arrive at school, buy a small loaf of date bread from the street vendor (2 yuan)
8:55-10:35 Chinese reading class
10:35-11:00 Sit in Chinese speaking class so the school can get photos of (non-Asian) foreigners to put on their website and newspaper.
11:10 Catch the bus back to the center of the city (2 buses: 1.2 yuan)
11:45-12:45 Shower, eat some mangos and baked noodle snack
12:45 Arrive at work
1:00-2:00 Teach class
2:00-3:00 Prepare for English Corner, buy a blueberry and red bean pastry from the bakery (3 yuan)
3:00-4:00 English Corner
4:00-5:00 Teach class
5:00-7:00 Chat with students, study Chinese, order sweet-and-sour pork to be delivered to the school for dinner (15 yuan)
7:00-8:00 English Corner
8:00-9:00 Teach class
9:00-10:30 Wash clothes in my bathtub, study Chinese
10:30 Go to bed

6:30 Wake up
7:20 Buy a small muffins at the bakery (2.5 yuan) then catch the bus (1.2 yuan)
8:00-9:40 Listening class
9:50 Catch the bus (1.2 yuan), eat an apple on the way back
10:30 Call home
11:00 Shower
11:30 Walk to have lunch with Aaron at his restaurant
12:45 Arrive at work
1:00-2:00 Teach a class
2:00-2:30 Clean my room
2:30-4:00 Study Chinese
4:00 Start preparing for English Corner about the Beatles
5:30 Order wontons to be delivered at the school (6 yuan)
6:00-7:00 Chat with students and finish preparing for English Corner
7:00-8:00 English Corner about the Beatles, sing some songs
8:00-9:00 Teach a class
9:00 Go to convenience store next to the hotel for some bananas, apples, and snacks
9:30-12:30 Watch The Riches
12:45 Go to sleep

7:45 Wake up
8:20 Catch the bus (1.2 yuan), eat a banana and drink orange juice on the bus
9:55-10:35 Chinese reading class
10:45 Catch the bus back home (1.2 yuan)
11:15 Call Tom
12:00 Meet Bart for lunch at wonton shop (6 yuan)
2:00-3:30 Take the bus to a park in the new district in the north part of town
3:30-4:30 Hang out at a coffee shop by the park (25 yuan)
4:30 Take the bus back home
5:00 Get an ice-cream cone from McDonalds (2.5 yuan)
5:00-5:30 Text messages with people, clean up my room
5:30 Meet Aaron outside my hotel to go to dinner and a massage with Julia
9:00 Leave massage parlor early for meeting with Steven about acting gig (taxis: 18 yuan)
10:00-12:00 Study Chinese
12:15 Go to bed

7:45 Wake up
8:30 Catch the bus to school (1.2 yuan), eat a banana and drink orange juice on the way
8:55-12:15 Chinese writing class then listening class
12:20 Catch the bus (1.2 yuan)
12:45 Meet Shirley outside my hotel for lunch
1:00 Lunch at 7+7 (Shirley’s treat)
2:00-4:00 Walk to Lu Qiao to go shopping. Buy a necklace, eyeshadow, and dress (175 yuan)
4:00-5:15 Walk to Starbucks and have coffee, (my treat 50 yuan)
5:15 Walk back home, relax in my room, get things ready to go to the gym
6:15 Walk to the gym
6:30-7:30 Work-out with Ali and Sally
7:45-9:00 Dinner with Ali and Sally at Brazillian BBQ
9:10 Walk home, clean my room and get ready for bed
9:45-11:00 Study Chinese
11:00 Go to sleep

7:45 Wake up
8:30 Catch the bus (1.2 yuan), eat a banana on the way
8:55-10:40 Chinese reading class
10:45 Catch the bus (1.2 yuan)
11:10 Get off the bus and buy some bread at a small bakery (3 yuan), walk to the big pharmacy to buy some sinus medicine for Ali and Sally
11:15 Meet Sally at Starbucks for an English lesson
12:20 Get dumplings for lunch (3 yuan)
12:45 Arrive at work
1:00-2:00 Teach class
2:00-3:00 Prepare for English Corner today and tomorrow
3:00-4:00 English Corner
4:00-5:45 Chat with students
6:00-6:30 Dinner at KFC (17 yuan)
6:30-7:00 Prepare for evening classes
7:00-8:00 Teach class
8:00-9:00 Teach class
9:15 Write e-mails
9:45-10:45 Call my family and friends
11:00-1:00 Watch The Riches
1:00 Go to sleep


9:00 Wake up
10:00-11:00 Tutor Anna at Starbucks
11:15-12:15 Walk to the gym and work out
12:15-12:45 Malatang and fried bread for lunch (7.5 yuan)
12:45 Arrive at work
1:00-2:00 Teach class
2:00-3:00 Chat with students and teachers
3:00-4:00 English Corner
4:00-5:30 Chat with students and teachers
5:30-6:00 Buy a snack at the bakery (2.5 yuan) and study Chinese
6:00-7:00 Teach class
7:15 Walk to Nan Dajie to meet advertising company
7:30-9:15 Korean BBQ with advertising company and solar water heater company
9:15-10:45 Sit at coffee shop and have dessert and talk business with advertising company
11:00 Return home and get ready for bed
11:30-12:15 Call Tom
12:15-12:45 Make a resume suitable for acting jobs and e-mail out
1:00 Go to sleep

I Love Kunming Medicine Factory

For the last week and a half I have had the worst sinus infection ever. Chinese germs attacked my sinuses hard-core when I got back. All I did if I wasn't teaching or learning was sleep. Sleep, sleep, sleep. I slept terribly though, waking up every half hour to blow my nose. I took American medicine and Chinese medicine, drank many liters of water a day and still wasn't getting any better.
Yesterday I bought some salt to mix with warm water and sniff up my nose. The result was utterly disgusting and minorly helpful. I taught two classes early in the afternoon then played a word game with the kids' class in the evening. At 5:30 I sat down at my desk to revel in the sensation that someone was drilling a hole in my head over my left eye. When Jackie finished his class at 6 I told him I couldn't take it anymore and was going up to my room. Jackie gave me some medicine his wife recommended when he had pneumonia called Qingfei Huantan Wan. It was a packet filled with little brown balls that I was supposed to swallow.
Up in my room, I downed the little brown balls, took two tylenol for my headache, and sniffed up some more salt water. At 6:30 I passed out. I woke up at 8:45 to put on my pj's, blow my nose, and brush my teeth. Then I slept until 7:30 the next morning. When I woke up I had a massive headache but hadn't woken up once to blow my nose! I took two more tylenol for my headache, blew my nose a few times, showered and went to Chinese class.
By the middle of the day I was practically skipping around downtown I felt so much better. I bought myself a box of Qingfei Huantan Wan at the giant two story pharmacy nearby.

Main Ingredients: Radix Scutellariae, Semen Armeniacae Amarum, Semen Trichosanthis, Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae, Arisaema Cum Bile, Rhizoma Pinelliae Preparatum, Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae, Poria, Fructus Aurantii, Herba Ephedrae, etc.

Actions and Indications: Regularizing the flow of Qi, eliminating sputum and relieving cough and asthme. For treatment of cough, pant, haemoptysts, dry and ache throat, close in chest.

After reading the back of the box I reassured myself that the ingredients come from plants and rejoice in the regularized flow of my Qi.

Wal-Mart

As I was unpacking my suitcases I kept thinking, "Why do I have so much stuff?" There isn't room for all of it in my tiny new hotel room. Problem solver that I am, I decided a set of plastic drawers under the bathroom sink would be an efficient use of space and that way I wouldn't have to keep my stuff in a suitecase. I measured the height of the sink very scientifically by checking where the bottom of the counter hit my hand while I was brushing my teeth one evening.
On the way back from dinner with friends in Wujin a couple days later I stopped at Wal-Mart. Changzhou has grown by leaps and bounds in the year I have been here. I was wary of Wal-Mart in China since I don't like going to Wal-Mart in America, but it was 9:00 pm, and there was hardly any one in there. I mozied around getting batteries for my bedside clock, chapstick, scissors, and toilet paper packets before finding the plastic drawers in the back corner. I pulled the drawers off the shelf and measured them in the same very scientific manner I had measured the counter. Fully satisfied they would fit under my sink, I put the drawers in my cart and headed for the check-out counter.
The cashier was flumouxed because my drawers did not have a barcode and sent an identically dressed Wal-Mart girl to find the number. Other customers pushed through the line while I waited. When Barcode Girl got back they shuttled me and my drawers over to a new cashier. Unfortuately, Barcode Girl had the wrong barcode. I told them it was wrong and how much the drawers should cost. To help out I told her there was one other set of drawers with a blue top. Barcode Girl went hunting again and I had enough time to notice that all of the employees, men and women, were not only wearing the same jeans, but had the belts tucked behind the labels. Barcode Girl returned with the the blue topped drawers because apparently I had said I wanted to buy both, but I didn't. With much apologizing, I got out of Wal-Mart with one set of drawers.
I put my purse, work-out clothes, and other Wal-Mart purchases in the drawers and proceeded to walk back to my room in my high heels. I didn't take a taxi because my hotel is only six blocks from Wal-Mart. Six large city blocks may not seem that far, but when you are a laowai in high heels carrying plastic drawers down a main street at 9:30 at night, it can be pretty far. I was walking in the street against traffic since the sidewalk was closed and after walking past a staring bus stop and skillfully weaving through traffic I made it back to my room.
But the drawers were too tall. During my very scientific measuring the first time I had been wearing my slippers. When I went to Wal-Mart I was wearing high heels. Frustrated, I opened my other bags to find that the batteries were the wrong size and they hadn't put my chapstick in the bag. So now the drawers are sitting in my room, taking up space I don't have until I get a chance to carry them back.

Florida 2002

This may seem completely unrelated to my adventures in China, but I am going to share with everyone a story written by Ryan, Gerard, Kiel, Amanda, Megan, Emily, and myself in Florida six years ago. Each person added two or three words, I don't remember exactly. We do mention Chinese fortune cookies in the story. Though, I have to break everyone's heart and tell you that they do not eat fortune cookies in China. Nor do they eat eggrolls.

- - - - - - - -

On Mars, tiny lemurs climbed up seismic waves using their pectoral muscles. Just then, sea monkeys began to spit at the onlookers. A Ghandi stepped in. Frantically, he jumped on the lemurs in order to create the greatest dance move. It started to rain and the lemonade leeches danced along the purple sequined levee. The lemurs spat on Ghandi. The lemurs then exploded, unbeknownst to Ghandi. A Ghandi then turned aournd, swallowing the seismic waves again. Calmness returned, dressed as the glackket. Fabulous, it did look. Everyone clapped. Then suddenly, under the weight of Mr. Platypus, the glakket was broken. The onlookers stared in wonderment. However, Mr. Platypus' Chinese fortune cookie said, "Surprise!" And out of the lemonade stand, Canadian lemurs said, "Suck my nuts, eh?" The manila envelope became transparent and revealed that Mr. Platypus wasn't wearing any perfume. "Hodie-Dodie!" said lemonade leeches. Skipping along the lanky forearm of Mr. Platypus, Ghandi busted his yellowing, old silicon bubbles. "Holy Ashtray!" said Ghandi. Chuckling the national anthem of Marzania, Mr. Platypus died. Every time the sea crashes on sleigh bells, Santa comes. The onlookers all rejoiced in receiving party hats that glowed. Seemingly, thunderclouds crept in and Mr. Platypus farted deeply. And that's the way it was. Eh?

Under Construction

If I had to use two words to describe China they would be: Under Construction. Every direction you look there are old buildings being torn down and new high-rises going up. China has more cranes per captia than any other country in the world. For everything they build they use cranes. Construction causes so much of the air pollution that this summer in Beijing companies will have to stop construction for three months while the Olympics are held.
My new school is under construction as well. A week before I returned to China my school got a new Center Director (because my school is technically an "English Training Center"). The new CD has a strong belief in franchise, mostly in the sense that all of the World English Training Centers should look exactly the same. So we are getting new flooring, new paint, a new desk arrangement, new tables and chairs, a pool table, and hi-tech English Corner. Instead of orange, yellow, and light wood colors the school is now bright blue and grey so far, I'm not sure what color the new chairs will be. The paint is noxious even though we keep the windows open. They say construction will be done in another 5 days. The head foreign teacher, Jackie, would rather have had a printer for the teacher's office. But we are only small potatoes.
No one is very happy with the new Center Director. She is a very traditional Chinese boss. The teachers can no longer wear jeans to work, though Jackie still does. I wore jeans the first few days because I still hadn't gotten my iron from Ali's house and the CD told one of the students she didn't like me wearing jeans. One of the Chinese tutors used to have red hair that was a little bit crazy, but the new CD forced her to change it. The CD never chats with the teachers, just has meeting with them when she needs to. Unlike the previous Center Director she is removed from the every day going-ons of the teachers and students. It is the same sense I had last year about the leaders at my school. Leaders in China are an intangible and incomprehensible higher authority hovering above that much be reached through numerous other little leaders. Part of the appeal of this job was that the Center Director was so approachable and relaxed, much more like bosses in America. Supposedly the old Center Director should be returning, but nothing is definite in China. It is always under construction.

Sunrise in Korea

I watched the sunrise in South Korea on my way to China. Standing by the pay phones that I didn’t have the correct kind of money for, I patiently waited as the sky turned pink, then blue again, and finally the sun blazed over the horizon. The sky had stayed pink and blue for so long I wondered if the sun would make a grand appearance, or if it would simply fade in to view as it rose above the pollution. I have no idea what the pollution is like in South Korea, but after waiting I began to worry that the pollution was just as bad as in China and would ruin the event. However, I wasn’t disappointed, and the view from Gate 7 had the sun rising over a small hill beyond the airport bounds.
I have never set foot in Korea, I just stayed inside the Incheon Airport. When I was in high school my band played a song called Incheon that memorialized the decisive battle fought there during the Korean War. It was a fantastic song that was a severe departure from the usual classical fare we played. It used bizarre instruments and had some of the percussionist standing out among the audience.
Experiencing Korean language on the airplane, I wondered why I didn’t come to South Korea. I realize now that I enjoy both the visual and auditory aspects of the language more than Chinese. Maybe I was just momentarily wooed by the lovely flight attendants with their matching hair buns and trim professional uniforms, smiling and being ever so helpful. The short promotional video for Korea that they showed during the flight was also intoxicating; showcasing the beautiful historic buildings and farms, traditional dances and foods, infamous night life, and grandest hotels. How could a person resist? Especially if that person was already asking, “Why am I doing this? Why am I going to China again?”
I have been racking my brain while sitting and sleeping in the airport as to why I chose China and not South Korea, Japan, or the Philippines. One reason I chose China is to learn how to speak the language since China is quickly becoming and rival to the Western. Learning to speak Korean would open doors to study Korean artwork, and no one can deny the issues facing the West in regards to North Korea. To figure out why I chose China I had to recall my college classes. In my foreign policy history classes, China was settled in next to the Big Bear of Russia causing massive anxiety to the US government. China was previously closed to the West, but had opened up and has grown to an unsustainable size. Also, the Great Wall haunted me from my international art history class, as did the small ceramic women playing polo from the Tang dynasty and guardian statues from graves that I had studied at the Joslyn art museum.
Part of me being in China has reason, but the rest was just a random whim that I will never be able to explain.