Moving In and Moving On

Wednesday was moving day! I moved to my new apartment in Wangjing and was then whisked off to work where I assembled several large pieces of playground equipment. I was sweaty and gross within minutes. The new center that I am working at is beautiful and huge! The people are great, as always, and I feel very comfortable and welcome here. I'm going to miss the other center I worked at in Zhonguancun (not sure if I spelled that right...) and I'm going to miss everybody that I worked with there, but I am excited to move on to this new adventure! Wednesday after work I walked to the Walmart that is just down the street (yes, walmart exists in China) and got some groceries and things to make the apartment livable (i.e. toilet paper, soap, dish soap, toothbrush, etc.). I also got sheets - this was quite an ordeal because they don't have the sizes "queen, king, etc" that we have here. Instead the sizes of the beds are measured by centimeters, which of course doesn't help me at all. A really nice lady tried to help me and through a lot of gesturing and Chinese that I absolutely did not understand, I realized she was trying to tell me that one of the sizes was for beds that sleep 1 person, and the other size is for beds that sleep 2 people. Thank you lady! Despite this, I was feeling very overwhelmed by the whole move and I went home feeling discouraged and lonely. For the first time here in China I cried because I was lonely and frustrated and just plain tired. Below you will find a couple pictures of the apartment - the view from the front door, the big living room, and the view from the balcony that overlooks the courtyard below.

Cute little dragon guy at 798

Thursday, however, was a new day. At work I was able to organize a lot of the supplies and I got all the lesson plans into binders and organized. It was a very productive and busy day. I take the bus to and from work, and my bus stop is right by a big mall so I decided to go explore it after work. I was pleasantly surprised by the wonders this place held. Most of the shops in the mall are pretty trendy and thus expensive, which is disappointing. I think after I get paid a full month's salary I won't be so concerned about this, but I think I will still do a lot of shopping at the bargain markets. Most malls here in China are several stories high and on the very bottom level is usually (at least in the few malls I have been in) a supermarket. The next level up is what I call the food floor. There are restaurants of all sorts here, from sushi to tapenyaki (sp? I never know), pizza to sizzler, with all sorts of noodle places and little milk tea stands all over. I gave in to my American side and had pizza for dinner, which turned out to be a phenomenal choice. The pizza actually had tomato sauce on it (most places here don't) and it was exciting to try out my Chinese when I called the waiter over: fu wu yuan (sounds like fooyen). They are always so surprised when foreigners know any Chinese, they usually laugh at me, which I tell myself is because they are caught off guard and not because my Chinese actually sucks. I also found a new favorite treat: dark chocolate mochi balls. These delicious treats are ice cream in the middle, dark chocolate shell, with (apparently) sticky rice on the outside. There are all sorts of different flavors and I am excited to try lots of them. On the way home I asked a lady if I could pet her giant fluffy dog and was pleasantly surprised when she said "he's a boy" to which I replied "he's beautiful". Then he licked my hand and I went on my way, missing my own puppies back home in Colorado. When I got home I decided to sit out in the courtyard of my apartment complex and read because it was such a nice breezy night and I was in such a great mood. Unfortunately, after about 30 minutes of being eaten alive by mosquitoes I was forced to go back in to my apartment. Another interesting thing about China: people leave things behind in the apartments. I have found a couple paintings, a lamp, a mattress pad, some pots and pans, and last but not least, a suitcase full of random stuff. Among this stuff were several movies and last night I decided to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's. It may be my new favorite movie. My two favorite parts are the drunk woman talking and laughing and then crying with herself in the mirror, and then when Holly is just drunk and funny. Things are looking up, and though I'm still lonely I am beginning to feel fiercely independent and learning to rely on myself more and more!

Are we?

Twos: Favorite

This morning I taught a twos class, which is the gym class for 2 year-olds. We don't run very many of these classes which is a real shame because in my opinion they are absolutely the most fun. By this age the kids are crazy and running around and almost always willing to interact with this crazy foreign instructor. In fact, it seems like some of them even like me! :)  It amazes me how well they follow directions and how well they know the routine. We have transition songs for going between activities, including a song we sing to bring their instruments back and they always know what to do without even understanding what I am saying. They are also experts at the parts of class that stay the same and are great with hand motions. Needless to say, I love this class. It's like crack for me, only without the nasty side effects and waaaaaaayyyyyy better haha. As though the class wasn't awesome enough, one of the little boys had his moment in the spotlight during the closing of class. We were singing a song and out of nowhere he runs into the room with absolutely nothing on except his shirt. No pants, no diaper. The pants monster got him good. Not only was he naked, but he wanted everyone to know about it, so he ran to the middle of the room and lifted up his shirt as though to say "Hey everybody, CHECK ME OUT!" Hahahahaha I was in the middle of singing and I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing and so did everyone else. Then, satisfied with the attention, he ran back out of the class. I found him later, still running around without pants and I asked him where his pants were (one of the girls translated for me) and he got this quizzical look on his face and thought about it for a second, and then just shrugged and went on playing. No shame, that's what I like to see. Haha, today has been a very fun adventure indeed.

Change in plans

You know, there's this thing about surprises - they always....surprise me :) The plan for my stay here in China was for me to stay here at the Haidian center for the whole year. Chelsie is currently holding down the fort in Wuhan and, this just in, I'm going to be making an appearance there as well! That's right, due to some unforeseen difficulties I am going to be going to Wuhan in the middle of July and staying until the permanent residents arrive in late August. I am absolutely dreading the heat - Wuhan is called the FURNACE of China. DUN DUN DUN......haha. I thought I was getting out of the heat when I left Arizona! But not so, turns out China is hot and humid - a combination I don't know if I will ever get used to. I am both excited and anxious about my stay in Wuhan. I've heard the food is great and my co-workers are incredibly friendly and helpful. I'm just nervous because word is I'll very likely be the only foreigner around. That being said, I am anticipating my Chinese getting much better because, as Anna put it, "you're forced to use your Chinese". Fantastic! Well, that's not the only change in plans that I've had today. After I get back from Wuhan, instead of coming back to the Haidian center I will instead be going to Wangjing. This is not really a big deal because it's just on the other side of Beijing - about a 30 - 45 minutes away from where I am now. It's going to be a brand new center and I'm super excited about being the first American instructor there! I will be closer to the airport, which is good news for anybody who comes to visit me because it will be a shorter commute (hint hint....) I am bummed about leaving my favorite little dumpling place that I was introduced to here in Haidian but I'm sure if I really get a craving for them I can just hop on the subway and come get some. Speaking of subway...they have it here! There is also McDonald's (duh) and KFC and DQ and Cold Stone and Starbucks (again, duh). That was such a random thought, my apologies, my brain is a little hyper tonight! Anyways, that's all the news I have for the moment, I'll write more as soon as I do something exciting!

Theresa laoshi

That's right, I'm now teaching my own classes at Romp n' Roll China! It's funny how I often do not understand a single thing anybody is saying, and then suddenly I'll hear "Theresa laoshi" and I know they're talking to or about me. Laoshi means teacher, and it sounds like "lao sure". My first few classes were rough, as expected, but I got better pretty quick because it was basically a sink or swim situation! Chelsie had to go hold down the fort at Wuhan and Anna was out of town for a rugby tournament this weekend, which left Alex - another American instructor - and myself to teach 5 classes each on Saturday and Sunday! It was pretty hectic and exhausting but I think I finally got the hang of it!
Now that the kids are used to seeing me around, they are more willing to interact with me when they see me and play along with me when we're in class. The mom of one of my toddlers today even told me, in very good English, that they were going on vacation for a month and she was sad he would be missing my class because he really enjoyed it today. That really made me smile and I told her thank you so much. It's kind of awesome how the parents automatically want their kids to interact with me just because I'm American and will speak English to them. There is also an overall cultural respect for teachers, which I honestly can't say is always the same back in the states. 
I am getting settled in here and getting braver by the day! Today I got some street food all by myself with only a little bit of pointing and a lot of great big American smiling haha. The lady understood what I wanted though and was even impressed that I knew a few words in Chinese (Hello, I want....*point to what I want*....thank you!)
Today is Father's Day and I just want to say that I really miss my papa and waking up to him singing on Sunday mornings. I remember I used to get soooooo annoyed by it, but now when I think of it I just think of the warmth that he filled our home with by always having such a cheerful attitude. I have been incredibly lucky and truly blessed to have such a wonderful father and role model. I love you dad!

This pretty much sums up my relationship with my dad: we're both incredibly silly people and when you put us together, there's no telling what will happen!

798 Art District

Again, I'm behind. Woops. Well this past Tuesday Chelsie and I went to 798, which is the art district here in Beijing. It seemed to go on forever and there was such a variety of galleries and statues, I can't pick a favorite because I have several. One of my favorites had pictures of the big cities of China, all in rubble and seemingly destroyed. They were very emotional pieces and the artist was obviously very talented.
I also really enjoyed a gallery that had some text projected on the screen that discussed the artist's memories and had the artist choose a color and an object for each memory. The paintings of these memories were hung next to the projected text and it was very powerful. Most of the galleries were pretty small and the art was pretty good. Some was more "out there" than others, but I really just love art so it was all cool to see. What I was most surprised by was how many statues there were! There were so many random statues and sculptures that I can't even begin to describe the variety, so I will just let the pictures speak for themselves!

Yashow/Olympic Park

Monday is fun day! We started out the day with a shopping trip to Yashow, the bargain market. I'm getting better at bargaining, but I definitely can still get better. It's funny how the people start at a ridiculously high price that tourists might go for if they don't know better. Sometimes they ask if we're students and we tell them no, that we live and work here, and then they give us "special friend price" haha....if that doesn't work we get offered "pretty lady price" or "only this low price for you. ONLY YOU!!" It's pretty interesting. I ended up getting a purse and a cute shirt!

What's your next move?

We also dinked around the larger brand-name shopping area a little a got some smoothies. There's always interesting stuff going on there. This time there was a big event for Lens Crafters and they had a beautiful carousel with horses and dolphins and unicorns. There was also a piece of a giant chess board, much resembling the one in Harry Potter.



Beijing 2008! There was a whole new subway line created just for all the Olympic buildings. We went later in the day so we could be there for sunset and see the bird's nest and the water cube (which is now a water park) all lit up. It was interesting to see all the tourists there. Most were Chinese but there were also many "foreigners" like us. While we waited for the sun to set we walked around the part of the area that seems to be more of a park. There were tables to eat at and lots of statues.

The bird is connected to the circle by an "S" curve, representing the yin and yang. How would you interpret the last picture? Chelsie and I both interpreted it differently and the description that was given for it was different from what either of us thought.

My absolute favorite pair of statues, though, were two of the first ones we saw. I don't know why the emotion of these statues hit me so hard. Maybe it's because I love the idea of love, or maybe because I appreciate simple yet poetic portrayals of complex emotions, or maybe it's because I miss Cody so much...whatever the reason, these two statues warmed my heart and made me smile.

This sign says "The grass is smiling at you. Please detour."

We had to wait much longer than we anticipated for the sun to set and so to kill time we walked down to this cute little lake area and gave our feet a break.

When the sun finally did set and the buildings lit up, it was beautiful. 

We were busy taking pictures when a young couple walked up to me with their baby and wanted me to take a picture WITH them. The mom put her daughter's arm around me and I smiled real big for the camera. We were later accosted by a bunch of squealing school girls who were beside themselves with excitement that they had found some Americans! We took several pictures with them and were cracking up the whole time. 

Houhai

I'm really behind on my blogging! Last weekend we had Wednesday off from work so we went to this cool place called Houhai. It has a lake in the center, where you can rent out paddle boats or a motorized boat that moves at the speed of slugs. There are also a bunch of shops and restaurants around the outside of the lake, making it a cute little place to spend the afternoon.

 We rented out a little motorized boat and went out for our adventure! We saw some people swimming in the lake and we passed by the little center island where the swimmers camp out. Our steering was very poor on the boat and we got uncomfortably close to the island and the several speedo-clad men. It was pretty funny, in an awkward kind of way. Unfortunately the motor pooped out on us at the tail end of our ride, so Anna called the number on the boat that we guessed was for assistance. She had to call several times because they kept hanging up on her when she would speak English! It was pretty funny, but we were pretty sure we were doomed to float around the lake at the mercy of the tides for the rest of the afternoon. Much to our relief, a nice little man showed up in a rescue boat and with  nothing more than a pocket knife fixed our engine and got us up and running again!

That night we moseyed through a hutong which is a really long alley-way with lots of cute shops and restaurants. There are several of them all over the city and they all offer many different things. We had dinner at a pretty good Mexican restaurant and then Chelsie and I caught a cab home. 

One very important but not usually incredibly useful word I learned is huailu (pronounced whyla): broken

Dragon Boat Festival!

This past weekend was Dragon Boat Festival, so on Monday Chelsie and I went out to Gaobeidian for a street fair. We got a little sidetracked, but eventually we found a map that was partially in English and with the assistance of a nice Chinese man we found our way to the festival!

On our adventure, we found this statue and decided that pictures were necessary. Also worth noting is that there were small children throwing rocks off the backside of the statue at each other and yelling "Fire in the hole!!!"

There were some street performers doing cool things with wooden boards....they basically looked like big yo-yos! There was also a guy with some kind of noisemaker...

We walked by several cool little stands. They varied from painting your own masks or making your own clay beads to bobble-head dolls and really awesome homemade pottery. There were several little knick-knacks that were very Chinese-looking and lots of jewelry places. Chelsie and I both bought a bracelet!

Note: the tan hand is mine :) however being tan here is a sign of poverty because the farmers are the ones who are out in the sun and getting tan, so I'm not sure it's such a good thing.

There was an area where kids could play games...there was a dart board and also fishing! There were a bunch of little red fish set up and the kids used real fishing poles to get them! Being in this part of town also made me really grateful to live in a nice area. It was interesting to see another way of life.

After the festival we decided to go to Wudaokou, for some food and shopping. First we went to a secret little pizza place that is tucked back behind bar street and you would never find it unless you knew it was there. The pizza was DELICIOUS!!!! 

After pizza we went to Yashow which is a big bargaining market in the middle of an even bigger brand name shopping area. I got a cute dress and Chelsie got a purse! I am never going to go bargain shopping without her, she is ruthless! The lady who sold her the purse originally tried to sell it to her for 850 kuai, and Chelsie got her down to 90! I'm just too nice and I feel bad asking for lower prices...I'm assuming I will get better at it and we will become a fearsome team. We saw some people playing ping pong in a park area and we also found a pretty funny sign on the subway telling you that if your finger gets stuck in the door, it will probably bleed hahahahaha

Another fun discovery has been hot pot! It's pretty much like fondue, but the slices of meat are really thin and of course the broth and sauces are a little different. But it is very delicious and a lot cheaper than fondue! 

I am making great strides in learning Chinese! I can now say several things: I do/don't want, I want to go to Suzhoujie subway station (which is right by my apartment, so I use this to tell cabdrivers where to drop me off), yes, no, this, that, here, there, I don't know, teacher, and I also know hand signs for all the numbers 1-10.

Comfort Food

Well, this week has started rather uneventfully (I now count Wednesday as the beginning of my weeks). I now know 3 ways to get to and from work, I can navigate myself around the work/home neighborhood fairly well, and I feel pretty confident about venturing out into the unknown. On Tuesday we went on a shopping trip to Carrefour and I was so excited to get some real, not filled, just plain old bread. As soon as we were out of the store, I gobbled down several slices....who knew bread would ever be my go-to comfort food! That night we all went out for Jill's going away dinner :(  we had duck! It was pretty good (I still prefer beef or chicken) but it was quite the experience.

Me and Jilly at her going away dinner!

These are called "waffle nuts"....delicious street food

This is the view looking up my staircase at work. Kinda cool eh?