Sacramento for the weekend

We flew back to California just for the weekend to attend Sam's sister, Emily's wedding.  Now we are back in China, recovering.  It was quite the whirlwind weekend.  We left on a Friday and because of the time difference we arrived on the same Friday.  Then we came back on a Monday but actually arrived home on Tuesday night.  It can make your head spin to think about.  The wedding was beautiful and well worth the inconvenience and expense.  People kept telling us we were crazy to fly back just for a weekend but what can we say? It was fun to surprise Emily and many others who didn't think we would make it. 

 

A few notes about the trip.  All the other times we have flown to or from China on a Chinese airline, but this time we used an American airline.  I really didn't want to fly on an American airline but it was the cheapest available and it seemed to offer the same services as the Chinese one we usually use.  I was wrong about that.  The seats were more comfortable though. It was a four movie flight, meaning they showed four movies in a row and then a couple of TV shows. The nice thing was that as soon as we stepped on board it was like we were in the U.S. and it felt good to be surrounded by people speaking English.  I didn't remember American's being so friendly.  The passengers were either coming home from a vacation or foreign studies and they were all discussing their personal views of China.  It was fun to listen to.  One of our flight attendants was born in Shanghai but moved to Hawaii when he was ten years old so both his Mandarin and English were very good.  He wasn't that friendly to begin with but after I asked him some questions he livened up a bit.  The other flight attendants all seemed to be from the south or midwest and I heard "sweetie" said a lot. On the way home we had to fly first to Oregon, then to Japan, and then to China.  It was 21 hours total travel time.  The flight from Oregon to Japan was not near as fun and the flight attendants were not near as friendly. Sam was happy though because we were sitting near some Chinese people.   He made a couple of new friends. The only nice thing I can say about it was that they served us Icecream sandwiches.   However, I loved the Tokyo airport.   We didn't have much time there but I really enjoyed hearing the Japanese speak English to me.  Their accents are so cute and the people are very polite.  On our flight from Tokyo we got bumped to some nicer seats and some nicer flight attendants.  So we ended our adventure on a high note, although very tired.  We slept until 2:30 in the afternoon the next day.  I told Sam I'm not sure what time my body clock is on.  Its not California or China, but perhaps somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Rollerskates, Icecream, and line dancing

Yes, I'm still in China.  The weather has gotten warmer lately and all the summer activities have begun.  It seems like everywhere I look people are eating icecream.  (McDonalds has their vanilla cone for 3rmb which is a favorite of many)  Sam and I have also noticed lots of people roller skating in the evening.  Most of them have rollerblades but we also see the occasional old school four wheelers and some of their skates even light up.  But my favorite summer activity to watch people do is line dancing.  There are many big concrete squares where people gather for activites such as kite flying, morning tai qi, or evening dancing.  The music can be pop or traditional and the people are all ages.....but mostly its an older crowd.  It's fun to watch the older ones really get into the dance.  It makes me want to jump in and join them but I haven't yet worked up the courage. 

Just nod and smile

"Teacher, Teacher can you speak Chinese?"  I hear this question quite often from the first graders that I teach.  (Well what they really say is: 老师，老师你会说中文吗?)  My usual response is just to look at them and smile.  It really keeps them guessing.  The school I teach at does not want me speaking Chinese at all so I only speak to the kids in English.  I have an aide who gives instructions or explains things when needed.  So the children are a bit confused about me.  Some know I can understand some chinese and others think I know nothing.  We did a short quiz the other day and I had all the children who got 100 percent raise their hand so I could give them a sticker. As I walked down the aisles checking papers one little mischevious boy raised his hand.   I started to look at his paper when two other kids said in Chinese that he had cheated by using his eraser.  He looked at the kids with a smirk and said "She doesn't understand" (她听不懂）I replied in English "You used your eraser so you don't get a sticker".  He looked stunned and I had to stifle a smile.  The problem with letting the kids know I understand some Chinese is that then they think I can really understand.  Next they want to tell me all kinds of things and I only get about half of what they are saying.  So I go back to the nod and smile, with an occasional "Now, tell me that in English."  

A disappointing turn of events

Despite having already booked our flight and paid for the hotel, we did not go to Hong Kong this weekend. Why? The simple answer is that we had to update our visa's and it took longer than expected.  Although I was really disappointed I wasn't totally surprised.  After living in China for a little over a year I've come to learn that nothing is as easy as it sounds and rules can change quickly with no explanation.  Along those same lines I have learned something about "face".  Chinese don't like to lose face.  What do I mean by that?  Well for one thing, they don't want to ever tell you they can't do something.  They would rather tell you yes and then not deliver.  I think they even do this with their children.  It makes for a very distrusting society.  Of course many of our friends don't follow this tradition.  But, I have learned that in any business arrangement if something sounds like a good deal then its a good chance it won't happen as planned.  It's good if you're an easy going person who deals well with disappointment and doesn't hold a grudge.  I'm glad I've got Sam here to keep my spirits up.  We had a nice anniversary dinner last night at our favorite Indian food restaurant.  I also consoled myself by looking at the weather forecast in Hong Kong.  Thunderstorms were predicted.  The weather here has been nice and sunny.  Looking on the bright side.......

Still don't know Mandarin Chinese

I ate dinner the other night with a friend of mine and her mother who speaks no english at all.  Not only was I not familiar with her mother's accent, I realized how difficult it is for me to have a normal speed conversation about subjects I'm not used to discussing.  Needless to say, the daughter translated a lot. (Sometimes she could just use simpler vocabulary but sometimes she had to speak english to me.) It was humbling, but then again everything here seems to be humbling. 
 
We go to Hong Kong this weekend!