Hello. It's been far too long. I've learned a lot in these past weeks.
#1. Thanksgiving can happen in China
Thanks to everyone's efforts, I found delicious food twice with good company. I successfully Skype-d my family, and everything seemed grand. Oh, and I saw the pandas. The Chengdu Research Breeding Pandas and they pose for pictures, or so it seems. The weekend and the self-reflection that followed gave me a lot to be thankful for....and then the week that followed was just shit.
#2. Adults can act like colleges students.
Maybe I was naive to think that everyone older than me is wiser than me. And no, I'm not saying I'm wiser than them, but last week was difficult at work. Things do seem better now and I think most of the problems stemmed from outside stressors on everyone. But, some things happened that made my think--haha, what else is new. And I started realizing that maybe, just maybe, I've pretty much grown into the person I'm going to be for the rest of my life. Someone open to a life out loud. Sure, unexpected life events could alter me, but my core, the part that I call me, seems pretty whole. And you know what? I'm really starting to like that person--I've never spent so much time alone. This makes me even more thankful for having the family and friends that I have; and of course, the teachers! My colleagues are for the most part, wonderful, they just all have the same quarks that I recognize in my much friends. Guess those quarks, and my own, may also stay with us.
#3. Maggots suck.
Not for the faint of heart. Poor Cynthia has a few creatures coming into her place (same building as me) and after two weeks of fighting, she is moving. Still in my area, which is exciting to hear. I feel bad for be as she is quite phobic of the maggots. Then again, I don't know anyone who enjoys the company of a maggot. She's been so stressed mainly due to the language barrier. And I understand. It's really frustrating when one can't communicate to someone else. She can move Sunday, so hopefully all will be better.
#4. China lacks insulation.
Something I thought when I got here, but just like NZ, China lacks insulation. Which I now know as it's a bit chilly out and inside. I have heat pumps in three rooms; and a gas burner and toaster oven in the kitchen. Thank goodness I'm from Chicago(land). It won't get below freezing, but heating here is terribly inefficient. And has a side effect of MOLD, which I just discovered and irradiated this morning. I rarely use my heat though as it's costly and hey, why use the extra energy.
#5. My body can handle hotpot.
Chengdu is famous for its hotpot. Imagine a big bowl set in the middle of a table, with a burner underneath. Now fill that bowl in your mind with water. Add many red hot Chengdu peppers; then add in Chendgu peppercorns, you know, the kind that numb your mouth because they contain opioids. Now, get a small bowl and fill it a quarter of the way with oil. Add copious amounts of salt and MSG (both better than none) and some garlic and chives. Then panic as you realize how many peppers are floating. And that's a hotpot.
So there I was last Saturday night with Jerry, a new friend and his friends (all Chinese, all speaking Chinese) around two hotpots. Waitresses would bring us sticks of food ranging from quail eggs, squid, chicken, to strange vegetables, tofu, and more. Someone would put them in the hotpot and then we'd chat (or more listen if you happen to have a very limited knowledge of Chinese). Then someone would remember the food and sticks upon sticks of food would be removed. Using chopsticks, I removed the food from the stick into the oil bowl and then into the mouth. I was worried, like usual, about eating hot food, but guess what? It was delicious. I mean, really good. I wasn't sure exactly what I was eating (which I'm almost use to by now) and it was all pretty good. And not too spicy, though I probably blew my nose maybe 100 times. Needless to say, I left feeling very clear headed.
I asked them if they eat it often. They don't--it causes acne. Which of course makes sense as there's oil in the hotpot and a BOWL OF OIL where you dip it in. But it was good and I was so very proud of my stomach and taste buds; they're finally starting to give in!
#6. August is good.
Jerry, my new friend (gosh it feels like kindergarten to say that: "Hey mom, this is Jerry! We color together, he's cool") But he is cool. He runs August, a coffee shop that opened in...wait for it...August! They actually serve real coffee, really slow, but hey it's China and coffeehouses aren't big here. Tom showed me the place a while ago, but I'm finally getting out more.
Jerry is very sweet as are his girlfriend, partner, and partner's girlfriend. On Monday of this week, I hung out at August for a few hours learning some Chinese from the four of them. Last Saturday I went with Cindy and Jerry to hotpot, which was followed by truth or dare in a Sichuan tea house, where they serve Jasmine tea -- the only thing I've ever been allergic too.
But I digress, August is cozy. The people are nice and this weekend I might try to help Jerry figure out August's future; it's not doing to well business-wise...because it's coffee! We'll see!
#7. Biking is good.
I have a bike now. It's red. Jerry just lent me a helmet, which after raises the seat (by buying a longer seat stem) and adding a new lock makes my bike ride-able. Riding it this week to work is a rush. But so far, no accidents, just got stuck once in the middle of the road with a bus plowing at me, but I evaded well. I'll be safer now that I've learned green traffic lights can sometimes go straight to red (there is no yellow, the green just blinks, but at this particular intersection it blinks only twice).
#8 Chinese is hard.
But harder still is the discipline to practice.
#9 Teaching.
I've learned heaps, but will save it for an entry of it's own. I did survive my first principal review though. Not bad, for not teaching training to speak of!
I've almost finished decorating my apartment and making it feel like home. As I've been here 9 weeks now, I feel I need to finish this weekend. I bought spare sheets for my extra bed as I had some guests, Daniel and Sarah after a rockin' night out in Chengdu. Daniel and Sarah teach here as well; both from the UK. Daniel works in our school sometimes, which is how we met. So I'm trying to finish setting-up and need to start thinking about my three weeks off and how/where I'm going to spend them. I hear it's pretty miserable here in Chengdu weather-wise.
Also on my wish-list is re-caulking my kitchen. I bought the caulk today (or really adhesive--no caulk gun required) and a razor blade. Gosh I came home and you would've thought I was a kid on Christmas. Immediate I ran for the kitchen (like 2 feet from the door) and tested out the razor blade and started removing some old caulk before realizing I had to finish lesson plans. The goal of this little project is to stop water from dripping down the back wall of the kitchen and making my humid apartment wetter. Clearly I'm excited. Clearly it's bed time.
No comments:
Post a Comment