September and October

So much for updating my blog once a week.... the following posts are a condensed version of what I've been up to since September!

September

• Letters from Students: It's always nice getting funny and sweet letters from students! 

• Hong Kong: Kelly, Henry, Keith and I went to Hong Kong for National Week. As most of you know, my parents apartment is not very big, yet we managed to all fit and had a great week. I have to say, the best part of the week was the birth of my sister's baby, Colin Jameson Barbour! I don't think I will ever forget waking up my parents and shouting, "STEPHANIE IS IN LABOR!!!" The looks on their faces.... priceless. My parents ended up leaving half way through the week and left the apartment to the 4 of us. Party timeee. Not really, but we did take full advantage of my dad offering all of his red wine to us. 

  

  Getting to Hong Kong was fun.... 

  

  Dragon's Back

  
  

  

  Shek O Beach

  
  

  

  Lamma Island

  
  
  
  

  

  Beach at Lamma Island

  
  
  

  

  Colin was born! October 3, 2013

• Mid-Autumn Festival: Appreciated the moon with Penny and friends

Appreciating the moon

Sophie and me at her parent's house for dinner

Lanterns

October

• Keith's Birthday: Keith's birthday probably revolutionized Little America's dinners... we discovered how EASY it is to make homemade pizza, which you will soon discover has been a regular thing here. 

Happy Birthday, Keith!

Sunset booze cruise

Sunset booze cruise

• Halloween: Little America put on the best Halloween party Ma'anshan has ever seen.... aka the first Halloween party our Chinese friends have ever been to. Kelly and I made a delicious pumpkin soup, pizza and cookies. 

采石矶

Starting off this year I promised myself that I would update my blog at least once a week... How hard could that be? Apparently I proved myself wrong. But in all honesty, I have been extremely busy for the past 3 weeks, which is a great thing!

Last year I found myself with a lot of free time and this year, it is the complete opposite. I thought I was going to hate being busy, but as usual, the busier I am, the more productive I am.

采石矶

Kelly and Keith are the new teachers here and they are awesome. Two weeks ago we went to Caishiji, a famous "tourist" sight in Ma'anshan. I had gone last year with Katrina, but we didn't do much exploring. This time with Kelly and Keith, I explored the whole park. Caishiji is located on the Yangtze River and we found this cliff walk that allowed us to walk along the Yangtze. It was incredible. I say we found it because the signs were all completely wrong with how to get to the "cliff walk".

We stayed at Caishiji for about 3 or 4 hours and then got a well deserved family style lunch at a local "hole in the wall" restaurant. We've discovered the "C" rating restaurants are the best. It's probably all the extra dirt that makes the food so delicious...

When we got back from Caishiji, I had to shower immediately. The humidity here is unbearably disgusting. You walk outside and you're immediately drenched in sweat. I am definitely ready for fall but DEFINITELY NOT ready for winter.

Here are some pictures from Caishiji:

"Elephants can't jump"

Today was my first day of teaching for the fall semester! Last night I wasn't nervous at all but when I woke up this morning at 7:30 I was so nervous!! I've been teaching for a year and I have the same students, why would I be nervous? First day of school jitters perhaps? I ended up waking up WAY too early. Being that I was anxious, once I finished getting ready and prepared I just paced around my apartment until it was finally time to head to class.

The second I walked into class all my nerves went away. My students were so quiet. I started talking and they all looked at me with these big round eyes like, "WHAT IS SHE TALKING ABOUT?!?" So I told them that I understood how they felt. When I was studying Chinese at Wofford the first day back was always the hardest. I remember sitting in the classroom wondering what in the world my Chinese teacher was talking about.... Relieved that I understood how they felt, they all perked up a bit.

I decided this year that I will start every class with a fun fact. I bought a book in the states called, "Learn Something Everyday". How accurate these facts are, I'm not sure. But today's was "Elephants can't jump" and all my students started dying laughing. So the fun fact a week to start class seems to be successful.

Since my students haven't practiced speaking English all summer we did what I thought was a simple warm-up. Say your name and say something you like or like to do that starts with the first letter of your name. Example, "My name is Rachel and I like to read." Well, it was evident that my students had totally checked out of English over the summer because half the class looked at me like, are you crazy??? This is so hard! In the end it ended up being a great warm-up.

So first class of the semester= Success! Tomorrow I have 2 more classes: Public Speaking 2 and American Culture.

This afternoon I went to the gym, which of course was another experience in itself. One of the trainers came up to me as I was running, with headphones in, music blasting and started speaking to me in Chinese. He kept telling me how strong American's are. We all love to lift. We lift everyday. I looked at him and I said, "Well, if you look at my muscles (and flexed my arms), you can tell we all don't love to lift and lift everyday..." It was a good 10 minute conversation before he finally left me to get back to run.

Tonight the 2 new teachers, Keith and Kelly are coming over for dinner with Henry. I'm attempting to make penne vodka... hopefully it goes well. Apparently women are looked down upon when buying vodka in China because I definitely got judged. Oh well. I'm American.

Tomorrow night Kelly is going to come with me to the spin class at my gym. I've chickened out going alone the past 2 nights. So excited to have a gym buddy!

SLIPPERS

This morning I woke up and went straight to the gym. Last time I went to the gym I went around 10:15 and I told myself never again. All the treadmills were taken and I had to wait 20 minutes for one. Well, today I went again around 10:15 thinking that since it was a Monday, it wouldn't be as crowded. Wrong. So I was sitting in the chairs they have on the side waiting and a Chinese man in his little workout speedo came up and in Chinese said "Hello. You want to run? Follow me." So I did, unsure of what was about to happen.... well, he kicked one of the guys of the treadmill and everyone started hysterically laughing. It really was hilarious and for some reason I wasn't mortified, I actually really appreciated it. I think Ma'anshan might be coming around. Last year I almost felt like a zoo animal and this year I feel like everyone is accepting me as a foreigner and being very helpful. Yesterday a lady at Carrefour picked a cleaning supply out of my basket and told me there was a cheaper one that was better. I was so grateful. These small, nice gestures truly make a difference. I feel like I am apart of the city and not some crazy person that they all point at and say, "lao wai".

So you're probably wondering why the title of this blog post is "SLIPPERS"... well here ya go.. the guy next to me was RUNNING in SLIPPERS. Really? I couldn't help but laugh.

This afternoon the two new teachers arrived. They are both from Colorado College and really nice. The school didn't end up hiring any other teachers so it's just us four this year. Should be a good year!

Tomorrow classes start for the sophomores, juniors and seniors. The freshmen don't start classes until the 4th week because they are in military training. Which means, I only have 4 classes for the next 3 weeks and then I'll have 10. YIKES. Last year I taught 6 classes the first semester and 4 the second so 10 classes this year should be interesting. I am excited that I'll be busier though. I feel like I'm more productive when I'm busy.

Off to cook dinner and watch Breaking Bad episode 4!!!

I now love going to the grocery store!

Day 1 back may have been a struggle but the past few days since I have been here have been great!

Thursday: 

I met with Penny (a Chinese friend who is in her 40s) to get a blind massage. You may be wondering what a blind massage is.... it's the best thing ever! A person who is blind S the massage and it only costs 30RMB for one hour.. so cheap! The place Penny and I go to is run my a family and most of the family is blind.

After the massage she took me to Carrefour to grocery shop. The perk... SHE HAS A CAR. So we PARKED at Carrefour, bought our groceries, brought the cart TO THE CAR and she drove me back to MY APARTMENT DOOR. You don't realize how easy grocery shopping is until you move to Asia. I mean... my dad brings a suitcase to the store. I, thankfully, have not done that yet. So as you can probably tell, this was the highlight of my day. And even better... she said we could go grocery shopping every Monday... meaning... I never have to trek my groceries home on a bus. So great.

Friday:

I FOUND OUT KATRINA (MY "CO-TEACHER") IS PREGNANT! Henry and I went to her wedding in June right before we left for the summer holiday. Her baby is due at the end of March.. maybe March 26th?!?! 

Anyway... Friday morning Katrina took me to join a different gym. Last year I joined a gym that was a 20 minute bus ride then a 10 minute walk away... I obviously did not go very often. This year I joined a gym right behind Carrefour. It was the first gym to open in Ma'anshan and has been "newly renovated". The gym is actually really nice and they have all sorts of classes I can take for free. Like... Belly Dancing! I will never go to that class, but I do plan on going to the Spin and Yoga classes. At least to try them out.... 

After I got back from joining the gym I called the "Waterman" and asked him to bring me a new jug for my water cooler. And guess what.... HE LEARNED ENGLISH OVER THE SUMMER! So exciting for him! Our conversation went something like this... "Hello! I come I come. See you in hour. Bye bye" Apparently my water cooler was disgusting because he had to "disinfect it". Which involved boiling water and salt. It was definitely a process but now I have water! 

Saturday:

Henry came today! I was so excited to not be the only foreigner anymore, I could hardly stand it. It really is a strange feeling being the only foreigner in a city... can't say I loved it. I hardly slept the 3 nights I was here. Yes, I am a baby. 

Saturday morning I went to my gym and when I walked in every single guy stopped what they were doing and looked at me. It wasn't awkward or anything..... 

The rest of Saturday afternoon I finished cleaning and unpacking... finally! Although, the cleaning never seems to stop here.

Saturday night Henry and I jumped back into our routine: dinner and Breaking Bad! Last year I started watching Breaking Bad and became, well.... addicted. We watched the first 3 episodes and I sat on the edge of my couch the entire time. Can't wait for episode 4! 

Sunday:

Penny and I got tea Sunday afternoon at UBC Coffee. The coffee there is $30 and the tea there is 30RMB.... huh. 

Tea was great! We decided we are going to meet every Monday to get a massage, get lunch and go grocery shopping (if I need to). I think my Chinese speaking will really improve by hanging out with her once a week so I am really excited about that! After all, half the reason I stayed a second year was to continue to improve my Chinese. 

"You got fatter over the summer"

I'm back!! I spent 2 months traveling around the states (California, South Carolina, Florida, DC, NJ/NYC, Texas) and then ended my break in Hong Kong for 2 weeks. It was so nice to be back, I loved being able to see most of my family and friends. If you hosted me while I was back, THANK YOU! I had a wonderful time everywhere I went and it made it so difficult to leave! 

I arrived back in Ma'anshan on Wednesday (8/28). As usual, I had bad luck traveling. I was delayed an hour and just barely made the 3:00 shuttle back to Ma'anshan. The entire shuttle ride I was anxious about getting my 2 VERY HEAVY bags up the stairs. I had asked my boss if one of my bags would be safe at the bottom of the stairs while I brought the second one up and his response was, "only if you're very fast". No way was I going to be very fast... Luckily he offered to meet me at my apartment to help me carry my bags up. 

As we are BOTH struggling up the stairs with my overly stuffed bags he told me I got fatter over the summer. My response was, "THANKS". He tried to tell me it was a compliment- that it meant that I had a good summer and ate a lot of good food. Clearly, I did not take his comment as a compliment. I had worked out this summer, went to all of Steph's crazy spin classes, ran, walked, etc., point being I felt like I had lost at least some weight, NOT GAINED. Mind you, I am the ONLY foreigner here until Saturday. So not only was I feeling fat, I was feeling alone. The second I got into my apartment I fell onto my couch and cried. I kept thinking to myself, "why am I here, why did I come back, this is miserable, I made a terrible decision". 

Luckily I have great family and friends who I reached out to. I was reminded of how different Chinese culture is from ours and how I can't take everything they say so personally. It’s funny how a "compliment" in one county is the complete opposite in another. 

After thinking about last year and what a great experience it was, I was quickly reminded as to why I stayed a second year. Eventually I got it together and shut out my boss's comment and moved on with what was left of the day. 

The first thing I did was put on my new slipcover for my couch... brought all the way from the states. YEP. You probably think that's crazy, but it's the little things that make living here a little easier. Here's  the transition my couch has gone through.... 

The rest of my afternoon was spent setting up my Sonos, cleaning, and unpacking some. I ended my first day back watching New Girl while I had popcorn and beer for dinner. At least I have my priorities straight........ 

As my mom always says, "This too shall pass. Tomorrow is a new day."

"It's just an adventure"

After a great weekend in Shanghai it would be absurd to even think we would have an easy return to Ma'anshan. From Shanghai we took the high speed train to Nanjing. It only took 1 hour since it went 300km/hr. You can do the math if you want (convert into mph) or you can just trust me when I say it was FAST. So that part was easy.

The next part, Nanjing to Ma'anshan. A DISASTER. Where I went wrong- taking advantage of mom and dad being there and taking the "easy" way to get from Nanjing to Ma'anshan: by taxi. 1) There is no easy way to do anything in China. 2) I should have just gone with my gut and we should have all taken the bus. It takes the same amount of time and is 1/4 of the price. I don't know what I was thinking.

So the story... After bargaining with this cab driver he finally agrees on 200RMB to take us to the Crowne Plaza in Ma'anshan where my parents would be staying for the night. We had so much luggage and the trunk only fit one suitcase. So, the rest of the luggage was on laps. Real comfortable. This cab driver drives us maybe a minute and stops in the middle of the road and flags another cab driver down. It happens to be a woman. I don't think women are bad drivers, but in China, THEY ARE. It's hilarious. Anyway, were in the middle of the road and he starts taking our stuff out and putting it in her cab. We all get into her cab and we wait. We waited a good 3 minutes until I realized the guy was giving this women directions to get to Ma'anshan. SHE HAD NEVER BEEN. It is literally like 2 different roads you're on once you get out of Nanjing, but if you don't know where it is, you're never going to find it. There are no signs. After giving her directions, she gets in the car and drives around the block. In 10 minutes we had gotten to the other side of the train station. So finally I tell her (in Chinese) to take us back to the train station and that we are just going to take the bus because she has NO idea where she is going. She literally stops in the middle of the road and refuses to take us back. I mean busses almost hit us. I start yelling at her in Chinese, my dad starts yelling at her in English and it is a complete disaster. She didn't want us to take the bus because she split the 200RMB price with the other cab driver who gave her the job. Meaning, she paid him a 100RMB and then we would pay her the 200RMB when we got there. So basically, her not taking us meant she was out 100RMB. WELLLL.... I DIDN'T CARE! Why would you take a job when you don't know where you're going?!? I don't have all day lady! So she starts crying and we all get out of the car, take our things and walk along the highway to get back to the train station where we get the bus to Ma'anshan.
Lesson learned: go with your gut and always take the bus.

When frustrating situations like that happen, and unfortunately it's more often than not, it makes me wonder if I made the right choice to stay here another year.  But then my dad sent me a text when we were on the bus saying, "It's just an adventure. It's the beauty of living in China" and that's when I knew I made the right choice.

These "adventures" that happen almost everyday are just part of the package of living in China. These adventures that have been so frustrating for me at one point, have somehow become part of the reason why I love living in China. Every single day is an adventure. Every single day is a challenge. And for some reason, I love all the adventures and challenges. Not only have they taught me how important it is to have patience (which I didn't have much of before moving here), they've also made me a stronger person. After living here for over 6 months, I've finally realized that the best solution is to just roll with the punches, look back and laugh. I know three years from now, I'll look back and laugh at the experiences I've had here, so why not laugh now? It's a hell of a lot better than being pissed off and letting it ruin my day. After all, at the end of the day, it's China and everyday is an adventure.