The Beijing chapter of this trip is swiftly coming to a close! Yesterday morning we had to have our big bags packed and ready to be sent ahead of us to Shenzhen, so they'll be there when we arrive on Aug. 20. They had to be in the designated spot by 7:30am; it was an early morning.
Then, yesterday after my morning shower, I opened the doors to see my bathroom floor was completely flooded. The funny thing was that the water was actually coming from our janky drain under the sink, which was literally connected to the ground by a half of a soda bottle. In fact, the floor was so flooded, I could see a comb floating across the floor. We got help. When we came back at lunch time, we ran into Gina, the head coordinator, who informed us that our room was flooded, so we were going to need to pack up and switch rooms. So much for nap time. We quickly packed everything and moved up a floor. The beds in 214 were so hard that my hips hurt when I slept on my side. The beds in 301 are just incrementally softer, but it makes all the difference.
I'll be teaching my last class today! My 9th graders are not as bad as anticipated. Sometimes they're still idiots (kids writing "F--k you" on small pieces of paper and flashing it at each other. Do you think I can't see you?!), but other times they're ridiculously impressive (Given a prompt for a writing a script about going camping and finding a red bump on your leg, turning the red bump into a bomb, then presenting the script using sound effects from your cell phone). They're a bit louder than Primary students, but they also think at a higher level. They also know how to joke in English, which can be quite entertaining. They'll also be performing in a talent show tomorrow, followed by a banquet for us. I'm already having teaching nightmares. It's so strange how much life can change in such a short time. Three weeks ago I was still waitressing in a small town in Texas. Now I'm teaching English in one of the biggest cities in the world to some of the best students in China.
We've been hearing a lot lately about cultural differences. You can't even imagine how many there are. I have no doubt you'll be hearing a lot about them in the coming months.
Sometimes the idea of finally moving to Shenzhen is exciting, but it's also a bit sad. I know how to get from place to place in Beijing University, and I could even survive on Beijing's metro. I know the best places for lunch on "Food Street"; I'm really going to miss a place I like to call "Noodle Palace," and the guys at the place with fried rice are finally starting to recognize that I will never want meat. We found an incredible Sichuan restaurant up the street from the hotel - incredible flavors and family-style dining. I've paid around $5 for a tableful of exquisite dishes both times that I've gone. It doesn't get much better than this.
It's also kind of scary. Like the coordinators told us a few days ago -- we've been in a nice bubble while we've been here. Soon we'll all be dispersed across a city that's twice the size of London, with an unofficial population of 20 million people. We won't have proficient Mandarin speakers with us; we'll have to fend for ourselves. I used my limited Chinese for the first time yesterday: "liang gen xiangjiao" or "two bananas". It's so frustrating sometimes not to be able to express even the simplest things. I went to a new place to have lunch a few days ago, and it was nightmarish. They only served particular things in each line, and they were out of some things on the menu. Trying to express vegetarianism is harder than it ought to be, but there is no one word for "meat" in Chinese. I literally have to ask about each type of meat, i.e. is there pork, beef, or chicken in this? I was trying to point at another person's bowl of noodles and express that I wanted the same thing, but without beef. At least 20 minutes later, I ended up with a dish that looked absolutely nothing like what I'd asked for. I've started incorporating more Western foods into my diet, because otherwise I'd go insane.
The next post will be coming from Shenzhen after a delightful 24-hour train ride!
Then, yesterday after my morning shower, I opened the doors to see my bathroom floor was completely flooded. The funny thing was that the water was actually coming from our janky drain under the sink, which was literally connected to the ground by a half of a soda bottle. In fact, the floor was so flooded, I could see a comb floating across the floor. We got help. When we came back at lunch time, we ran into Gina, the head coordinator, who informed us that our room was flooded, so we were going to need to pack up and switch rooms. So much for nap time. We quickly packed everything and moved up a floor. The beds in 214 were so hard that my hips hurt when I slept on my side. The beds in 301 are just incrementally softer, but it makes all the difference.
I'll be teaching my last class today! My 9th graders are not as bad as anticipated. Sometimes they're still idiots (kids writing "F--k you" on small pieces of paper and flashing it at each other. Do you think I can't see you?!), but other times they're ridiculously impressive (Given a prompt for a writing a script about going camping and finding a red bump on your leg, turning the red bump into a bomb, then presenting the script using sound effects from your cell phone). They're a bit louder than Primary students, but they also think at a higher level. They also know how to joke in English, which can be quite entertaining. They'll also be performing in a talent show tomorrow, followed by a banquet for us. I'm already having teaching nightmares. It's so strange how much life can change in such a short time. Three weeks ago I was still waitressing in a small town in Texas. Now I'm teaching English in one of the biggest cities in the world to some of the best students in China.
We've been hearing a lot lately about cultural differences. You can't even imagine how many there are. I have no doubt you'll be hearing a lot about them in the coming months.
Sometimes the idea of finally moving to Shenzhen is exciting, but it's also a bit sad. I know how to get from place to place in Beijing University, and I could even survive on Beijing's metro. I know the best places for lunch on "Food Street"; I'm really going to miss a place I like to call "Noodle Palace," and the guys at the place with fried rice are finally starting to recognize that I will never want meat. We found an incredible Sichuan restaurant up the street from the hotel - incredible flavors and family-style dining. I've paid around $5 for a tableful of exquisite dishes both times that I've gone. It doesn't get much better than this.
It's also kind of scary. Like the coordinators told us a few days ago -- we've been in a nice bubble while we've been here. Soon we'll all be dispersed across a city that's twice the size of London, with an unofficial population of 20 million people. We won't have proficient Mandarin speakers with us; we'll have to fend for ourselves. I used my limited Chinese for the first time yesterday: "liang gen xiangjiao" or "two bananas". It's so frustrating sometimes not to be able to express even the simplest things. I went to a new place to have lunch a few days ago, and it was nightmarish. They only served particular things in each line, and they were out of some things on the menu. Trying to express vegetarianism is harder than it ought to be, but there is no one word for "meat" in Chinese. I literally have to ask about each type of meat, i.e. is there pork, beef, or chicken in this? I was trying to point at another person's bowl of noodles and express that I wanted the same thing, but without beef. At least 20 minutes later, I ended up with a dish that looked absolutely nothing like what I'd asked for. I've started incorporating more Western foods into my diet, because otherwise I'd go insane.
The next post will be coming from Shenzhen after a delightful 24-hour train ride!
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