Exhaustion hits

Today I hit a wall.  No not literally, but mentally and physically.  I actually wish I had gotten sick.  Since last week I've not had one good nights rest.  We decided not to take the kindergarten teaching job which was a big relief.  It was too many hours.  I had no idea how that would have worked.  Of course that still leaves us without regular work and that, plus all sorts of other issues, keeps me from resting soundly.  I knew I was irritable yesterday but pushed through it all.  I finished all my commitments but this morning I felt like I couldn't handle it anymore.  We were running late for school and had to run for the bus, then I got shoved pretty hard into the girl in front of me.  I felt so bad about it that I wanted to push someone back.  Ack!  Then at class I couldn't focus on anything.  It seemed like our teacher was writing every character I didn't know on the board.  I felt lost and when she asked me for an answer I told her I couldn't do it.  The look on her face made me want to scream and cry at the same time.  I told her to ask someone else then a few moments later I left the room.  Later on all the women in the place huddled around me asking me questions, giving me chocolate and motherly wisdom.  It was sweet but I knew that I was over tired.  It takes humility to know when you need to slow down. I guess I'm still working on that.  Foreigners here will remind you to rest but I admit sometimes I secretly think: "why?".  Now I know.  I went home and slept almost four hours amidst pounding and construction noise from the apartment above us. Ahh, I feel better but I also feel really embarrassed from my little break down.  What must people think of me?  And you, reading this blog, what do you think?  Just in case you are wondering, I don't want to come home.  I'm happy here.  I'm just impatient with myself and my situation.  I plan on saying no more to others and yes more to naps.  :)  Good advice wherever you happen to live. 

A different way of thinking

If you come to China and you need to go to the grocery store here are a couple of tips. 1. If you look for floss in the toothpaste aisle you won't find it.  It will be with the toothpicks... of course.  2.  If you want to buy fruit, vegtables, or anything loose you must place it in a plastic bag, then look for the store worker next to a scale, have them weigh it and place a price tag on it.  If you go to the register without the sticker they will not let you buy it.  3.  Just because the carton has a cow on it does not mean it is milk.  If you find that out after you get home go ahead and put it on your cereal.  Its probably just yogurt.  4.  You cannot buy medicine or rubbing alcohol at a grocery store.  You must go to a pharmacy to purchase those items.  These are all small things that I find amusing.  They are a reminder that just because something seems logical in your head doesn't mean you can't do it another way and have it work just as well.  New experiences I've found I like are; holding on for dear life when the bus or subway train stops suddenly (it feels like ride!), trying new food and finding its delicious, watching people as they watch me or the friends I am with, bargaining over an article of clothing,  ordering the many different types of bubble milk tea, correcting people's english, seeing my progress speaking or reading the language, and making new friends.  New experiences I don't like so much are; NOT having something to hold on to when the bus or subway train stops suddenly, sitting on the back of someone's bike, hearing a price for something go much higher when I ask how much it is, avoiding the poop on the side walk and hoping that it came from a dog, crusty black boogers(mine and others) that come from breathing the dirty city air, feeling like a sardine in a can on a crowded bus or subway, and the trials and tribulations of  miscommunication.  It's all pretty do-able though and I don't want anyone to think I'm complaining.  I'm just giving my observations.

 

We had an interview for a job teaching at a kindergarten today.  We have a second interview tomorrow.  We'll see how it goes.  It is a full time position but they said that we can split it between the two of us.  That still means 20 hours each.  I feel a little leary about working so much but it may be necessary.  We'll see how it goes.    

Sam gets a haircut

It had been six weeks since Sam's last haircut.  He was looking pretty shaggy and I told him so.  Although he agreed he needed one, he had daily excuses for not getting one.  The truth was that he felt nervous about not being able to say what he wanted.  Today he asked our teachers for some hair cutting vocabulary.  It seemed that we were also able to teach them some english words in the process.  Words such as; sideburns, mustache, and beard.  After class we set out to get Sam the haircut.  Around our house I've seen several haircutting places.  Some look like hair cutting schools, others plain barber shops, and some full on salons.  Sam wanted to go to one down the street that had several men working there.  It seemed to be a popular place because its always busy.  The men that worked there however.... looked like early twenties asian rock stars.  I wished I had my camera.  Their hair looked coiffed and styled.  The guy who cut Sam's hair  wore thick rimmed black glasses with no lenses. He wore a tight t-shirt with the word "Bike" on it, fitted jeans, and red converse shoes.  He said he liked to listen to Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and R&B music.  He spoke very little English so Sam was really happy he understood when he said "牛肉衣服"(niu rou yifu) which means cow meat clothing, something Lady Gaga is very famous for wearing.  The whole process was about 45 minutes (including two washes and styling) and cost 38rmb or just under 6 dollars U.S.  Thats a little pricey for a haircut here but it was a nice place and he did a good job.  When he was done he asked me if I thought Sam's haircut was cool and I replied yes.  It was a fun experience.  Who knows, maybe I'll get my own haircut there in the future.  Here is Sam's "after" picture.  What do you think?

Starting School

We started school on Monday.  Its in between a private tutor and a regular class.  There are four of us learning together.  Three hours Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday in the morning.  I can see it will be a big help.  We will have a lot of homework.  One of our first assignments is ordering food at a restaurant.  That will be a big help.  Currently I either look at pictures, then point, and say "Zhe ge" (this).  If there are no pictures then I look for characters that I recognize and go from there. We took home a paper menu from a close by restaurant and Sam has been translating it.  One of our teachers also gave us a list of most common dishes. We have to learn five dishes we like and then order them properly.  I saw a lot of food I know I like but also ones I may avoid.  For example, stewed pigs intestines and fish-flavored pork cutlets. I'm excited to be able to say what I want.  After school on Monday we decided to buy some supplies such as pencils, highlighters, notebooks, etc.  I found a couple of really funny chinglish notebooks.  I've included a picture of one.  If you can't read it, it says: "Love is we need to work together, not a personal matter mutual tolerance.  We must not allow our creative protestto degenerate into physical violence.  Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soullorce.  When will you be satisfied?"  I just had to buy it.  I'm not sure what my creative prottesto is but it sounds very important! Haha. I thought I wouldn't write about all the chinglish here because it seems like its already been talked about so much. But honestly, it never gets old.  I'm always amused by the bad english or funny sayings.  The other notebook I bought says "Our love is too much like a failure of the TV series, has been no high ratings."  

In other news, we painted that orange wall in the bedroom.  It is now a kind of sky blue.  That's the other picture I included.  There was a big nail in the middle of the wall that Sam didn't want to pull out so I put up the clock until I find a picture I like.  It's really starting to feel like home now.  I love that every outing is a new adventure but its nice to come home and really feel like you are home.  

Lost in translation

Someone told us the other day that if we really want to enjoy life here we must learn the language well. That felt like an insult but it was meant to be a good suggestion.  Recently I have seen that this is true.  I do enjoy all the new things we are experiencing but I also find myself very frustrated at times.  Take for example our situation with our neighbors.  I think we are the only foreigners in our building. (At least the only white people.)  That makes us especially interesting to our neighbors.  They like to watch us and make comments or ask questions.  Most of the time I have no idea what they are saying.  I just smile and say "Ting bu dong" (I hear but don't understand.)  The other day I got into the elevator with three other people.  I had a bag of trash and two empty bottles of laundry supplies in my hand.  One woman looked at me and said "blah blah blah bu lagi blah blah..."  I understood two words: not trash.  The man next to her said: "ting bu dong" and didn't even look my way.  What I understood that to mean was: don't even bother telling the foreigner because she doesn't understand. I just smiled and said to her "zuo shemne?"  (Do what?)  She just looked away.  Agh!!!  Was she saying that the bottles I had were not trash but they were recycling?  Or was she saying that now the trash bin had already been taken away or some other important information I needed to know?!  I will never know because they never said another word.  The trash bin was at the usual spot.  I looked in vain for another bin for recycling and then just threw all my stuff into the trash.  I asked some friends about this situation and they couldn't offer much help.  They said that we may have recycling at my building but it is rare.  

Another frustrating thing is the problem you can have when you understand most of the words but not the meaning of the sentence.  Lots of times I will look at the person speaking, think for a bit, then admit I don't know what they are saying.  After that they proceed to start the whole sentence over explaining all the words I already know.  So lately I just nod and smile.  Often this works because if I listen long enough I may piece the conversation together.  However, this can also backfire.  A couple of days ago I told someone I understood what she said.   Then she asked me to repeat it back to her.  I thought she meant in english but that was just wishful thinking. It was quite the mental work out.  I did come away learning some new words from that conversation.  I now know how to say "traffic jam" and "arrive early".  I'm hoping we start some official schooling in the next week.  Its fun to learn from being out and about but I think some structure will be helpful.  I'm also looking forward to teaching people english.  I can't wait to be the one correcting grammar and pronunciation.  Heehee.