"Ting hao de" = Marvelous/Wonderful/Very good

My favorite weather has finally arrived in China. In my eyes, nothing is better than a cold, rainy, fall day. I love the change of seasons and how the fallen leaves find themselves glued to every surface. I love running through puddles and shielding myself from the pouring rain.

This morning, I readied myself for the elements with my boots, umbrella, and waterproof jacket. I crossed the bridge and waved to an oncoming taxi.

He slammed on his brakes and drove into a giant puddle.

I was drenched.

"Xie Xie." I dryly said to my driver as I got into the taxi.

"So sorry! so sorry!" he shouted.

On the days that I teach at the hotel, I usually just flag a taxi down, call one of the employees at TEC, and have them tell the cab driver where I need to go. My Mandarin skills are not nearly good enough to instruct a taxi driver how to get to this far off location. Unfortunately, this morning, no one answered their phones.

My driver looked at me and asked where I needed to go.

"Just go straight," I said in muddied Mandarin.

I frantically called Alex who then gave me the number of an employee at the hotel.

"Derrick! I need you to tell the taxi driver where to go."

"Where are you?" He asked.

"I have no idea.... just talk to him."

Derrick and my taxi driver ended up having a 10 minute conversation as he weaved his way in and out of traffic. After hanging up my phone, my driver offered me a cigarette and asked me to clean the back window. We had a nice conversation until my Mandarin skills were bled dry. I told him I was from America and I teach English both at the university and for private companies. He seemed happy with my language skills. We were about a half of an hour away from my destination when he started singing Chinese opera songs to me. Chinese opera, unlike every other opera, is not calming, soothing, or beautiful. The high-pitched tones and squealing verses make my ears hurt. He looked back at me in search of approval.

"Ting hao de," I said, and gave him a thumbs up.

On Mondays, I teach at the university from 8am until 5:40pm with a break in the middle for lunch. For the rest of the week, I spend about two or three days at the hotel training center teaching basic English from 10am until 3pm with an hour-long break for lunch. Even with the minimal teaching schedule, teaching for the hotel has become quite tedious and tiresome. I eagerly await my lunch break.

I shouldn't complain since the hotel provides my lunch, but it's glorified Chinese airplane food. I don't eat that much of it - even though it is customary to eat all that is put in front of you in China.

I was quietly enjoying my lunch today when Vicky, an upper-management hotel employee, joined me. She used to live in Seattle where "the weather is perfect all the time."

"Really?" I questioned.

"Yes. Perfect. Not like this."

I looked out of the window and saw rain, gray skies, and wind - what I though to be typical Seattle weather.

I took another bite of my lunch. Vicky looked at me with amazement.

"Your chopstick skills are very good."

"Yeah. Lots of practice, I guess."

"And your food? Do you like it?"

"Yeah, actually, it's very good today." I said as I put another bite of what I thought was chicken into my mouth.

"Really? Most westerners don't eat that. They think it's gross."

My mind was racing. "Did I just eat dog? What IS THIS?" I frantically thought to myself.

I set my chopsticks down.

"Oh, well... what is it?" I calmly inquired.

"Oh... it's... hmmm.... I don't know what you would call it. It's from a pig though."

"Ting hao de...." I said.

After work, I took a cab downtown for a warm cup of tea and dinner. I sat alone at one of my favorite restaurants. A group of three young adults sat across the aisle from me. As they giggled and spoke intermittent English I couldn't help but feel self-conscious. Their giggles were often preceded by finger-pointing in my direction. I'm used to the staring by now, but with my increasing understanding of the Mandarin language I find myself understanding conversations I wished that I did not. They were making fun of me.

I focused on my book and was determined to enjoy my warm bowl of curry. As soon as I finished, I hailed the nearest waiter and handed him my money. The three young adults had also just finished their coffees and handed their money to the waiter as well.

He returned with my change. Well, he returned with part of my change. I counted my money and noticed that he only handed me 64rmb when I should have received 75rmb.

He had clearly switched my bill with the three people sitting across from me - an understandable mistake to make in a busy restaurant.

However, as I waved the waiter over to settle the mistake, the three young adults realized their good fortune, quickly grabbed their belongings, and ran out of the door leaving me 11rmb short.

(11rmb roughly equals $2)

I couldn't help but laugh at my misfortune.

Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I have been invited to a friend's house for dinner. It is a holiday roughly equated to Thanksgiving (but without the pumpkin pie). It is a celebration of family, friends, good-fortune, and the new season.

I am excited to share this holiday with some close friends. Even after days like today, I find myself blessed to feel a familial type of support from those around me.

moon cakes

My inability to find any semblance of peace when things start to take a turn for the worse is a trait that I wish to rid myself of.

The issues that have been bothering me are really quite irrelevant at this point. I just wish that I could slow down, take a second, and put all of my issues into a more realistic perspective.

I fought with the school (yet again) about my internet, passport, and salary.

"Patrick, can I pick up my passport today?"

"I don't know where it is."

"I gave it to you to get my visa renewed 2 weeks ago."

"Oh, I gave it to someone else."

"Okay, well what about my salary?"

"You have to get that from someone else, too."

I stormed out of his office. Before the door slammed behind me, I yelled, "My internet still isn't working so I guess I'll get someone else to handle that, too!"

A few hours later I received my salary from Christina. After shoving a wad of cash into my purse, Christina shoved two small boxes into my hands.

"Here, take these. Moon cakes."

September 22nd is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I think I'll like this holiday. They celebrate by eating mini cakes.

I start working for TEC again tomorrow. I am meeting Alex at the subway station in the morning. From there, we will meet up with the other teachers outside of the TEC building and head to the HuaCheng Hotel. TEC has just won a contract teaching English to the employees of this new hotel. Tomorrow is our first day and we will be giving the employees placement tests to see what their level of English is.

Honestly, it all sounds a bit boring. I'm not very excited about interviewing hundreds of Chinese people and grading their English skills. However, I'm excited about this new teaching opportunity.

Last night, Cathy and I had dinner together. As we rode the subway back home, we talked about what an interesting life we lead. Neither one of us thought that we'd ever become English teachers in a foreign country. We did not go to college for this life.

But, for some strange reason, we found ourselves here. We talked about the various personalities we've come across and just how perfectly individual each person is. You'd think that in a country of 1.3 billion people you'd come across a few that were eerily similar. This is not the case. So, I am looking forward to meeting new people. I am looking forward to helping them with their English. I am looking forward to seeing life through yet another set of eyes.

basic necessities

I have always said that without the internet, living away from home would be pretty unbearable.

Currently, I am on day 4 without the internet. The school is undergoing a tremendous amount of construction which is the cause for the majority of these issues. However, it seems that I am the only person in our building without the ability to connect to the internet at this time.

Yesterday I called Patrick, one of my contacts at the school that speaks adequate English, and told him that I was unable to get online. He reminded me that it was Saturday and said, "I do not work on Saturdays. You must wait until Monday for me to help you."

It is a constant struggle with the school administration. Questions are continually deferred to other people.

Last week, I emailed Christina (another school contact) asking her where my classroom was located. Her response was "I cannot answer your question. Please email Grace."

Not only am I sure the Christina knows where my classroom is located, but Grace's desk is about 2 feet to the left of Christina's.

Like I said, it is a constant struggle.

My first day of teaching was wonderful; however, I worry that the large classroom sizes are going to cause a great amount of difficulty for me. I teach 4 classes with over 30 students in each.

After teaching, I had a lovely dinner with Alex, John, Jim, and Alex's girlfriend, Maggie. We celebrated my birthday and had a wonderful time catching up about our classes and summertime experiences.

My birthday cake and a lovely can of PBR.

Even with all of these difficulties I have been encountering over the past few weeks, I am still happy that I have returned. I had been greatly regretting my choice to return to China. After all, there are countless other locations around the globe I would like to spend time in, but I am glad that I have been given the opportunity to understand this culture more thoroughly. I still feel like I have so much to learn.

My Return.

After a mind-altering journey across China, a tour through Tibet (which I'm sure I will expound upon in the future), and an all too short visit home... I am back in Tianjin.

Two days before moving back to the states, I had an interview with the Tianjin University of Science and Technology and was offered a job teaching an English writing course. Luckily, I am only about a 20 minute walk from my old campus and have been able to keep in contact with everyone.

Parting ways with my family was much harder than my previous journey. My first few days here were terribly difficult, but now that I'm more adapted to my surroundings I'm feeling much more at ease with my decision to return for another semester.

My dear friend, Leah, just left after a week-long visit. We spent a few days in Beijing and then came back to Tianjin for the remainder of her stay. It was wonderful having her around. I had been regretting my decision to return to this area while there are so many other opportunities for teaching around the world. Leah's presence allowed me to see this country from a fresh perspective - I really have a lot more to learn and experience. Living in a foreign country is a remarkable opportunity that I hope to take full advantage of..

Classes start tomorrow. I am quite excited to see what new experiences lay ahead for me within the next few months.

On a side note: Tibet was the most eye-opening, awe-inspiring, breathtakingly beautiful experience of my life. I have just received an email from my tour guide asking me to visit him again in the near future. The happiness I feel from completing one of my biggest life goals and from experiencing such a wonderfully unique culture is unparalleled in everything else I have experienced. On the morning of June 26th, I woke up at the base of Mount Everest in a tent that was owned by local Tibetans. They cooked me a humble breakfast and filled my glass with strong coffee. We laughed together as we spoke about the mind-numbing feeling of being over 18,000 feet above sea level. I felt the purest joy imaginable.

Each evening I wrote ad nauseum. I will try to retell some of my experiences throughout the future and apologize for my poor upkeep of this site.

June 25th, 2010. Mt. Everest Base Camp. 18,192ft.

Tibet.

Day01(June19): take train from Beijing to Lhasa

Day02(June20): on the train

Day03(June21): Arrive in Lhasa

When you arrive in Lhasa, meet our local staff at the train station, they will hold you name waiting for you at exit, send you to your hotel for rest.(adapt to Mountain sickness)

Day04(June22): Sight-seeing in Lhasa city.

Visit Potala palace in the morning, visit Jokhang temple in the afternoon, walk around Barkor Street. Overnight in Lhasa.

Day05(June23): Lhasa-Namtso-Lhasa

You will have a chance to see Nyenchen Thanglha snow mountain ranges, and pass the Nagela. Namtso Lake is the sky lake which is one of the three holy lakes in Tibet, also the highest salt lake.You can do a little hiking around. On the way back, you can have hot-spring at Yangbachen if you like.

Day06(June24): Lhasa/Yamdrok lake/Gyanstse/Shigatse

Pass Gangbala Pass which is over 5000m, from there you will see Lake Yamdrok (40RMB/p) which is one of the three holy lakes in Tibet . Then drive back to Qushui, along Nepal friendship way to Gyantse, visit the famous Kumpum stupa in Gyantse. Then arrive in Shigatse Overnight at Shigatse.

Day07(June25): Shigatse- Shegar –Rongbuk(Everest Base Camp)

In the morning drive to Rongbuk, which is the highest temple in the world. In the afternoon we walk 7 km to the Base Camp and do some sightseeing there. Walking or drive by horse vehicle to Rongbuk. Overnight at Rongbuk guesthouse (dorm beds ) or EBC(dorm beds).

Day08(June26): E.B.C-Shigatse

If you are lucky enough, you will see sunrise at Everest base camp. Late morning start driving back to Shigatse. Overnight at Shigatse.

Day09(June27): Shigatse-Lhasa

Morning visit the Bachen Lama which was Built in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama. Then the spectacular tombs of Panchen Lamas. Afternoon drive back to Lhasa along Yarlong Tsangpo river by the Nepal friendship road. Overnight at Lhasa.

Day10(June28): Leave Lhasa

Flight leaves Lhasa airport and arrives in Beijing at 9pm.

I have a new boyfriend. I think his name is Mike

I can remember watching the 1994 World Cup with my brother. We were living in Canal Fulton at that time. Josh was old enough to take care of the both of us during the summer, so we were home instead of at our babysitter's house. As children, our parents enrolled us in a summer soccer league called NJSL (Northwest Jackson Soccer League). I admired Josh and all of his team mates. But that summer, we spent our days and nights admiring players like Alexei Lalas and Cobie Jones.

Last Saturday, I met up with a few friends at a new bar/restaurant downtown called Hannah's. It's a cajun bar run by an American born Chinese man named Jack. He has six restaurants in the States and just one in China. Alex, naturally, was rooting for England while Holly, myself, Jack, and a few random expats were rooting for the US. Deep down, I knew that the US was destined for defeat, but I was still excited to watch the match with my new-found friends.

We arrived at the bar at 10:30. Due to the time difference, the USA/England match did not start until 2:30 in the morning. This left us with ample time to ready ourselves for the match ahead.

As kickoff was approaching, the bar began to fill with more British expats. They fulfilled every stereotype I had about British soccer fans and alcohol. Holly and I tried to make up cheers and chants to sing louder than them, but we could only think of the Star Spangled Banner and Born in the USA. We got into heated discussions about the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and King George. After all, America is undefeated against England in all wars.

A few minutes into the first half, England scored. Holly and I were quieted by their cheers and laughter. With their team winning, the Brits became happier and happier. Holly and I found ourselves with two boys named Richie and Mike (I think). They are from Liverpool and work for AirBus. They thought we were the most beautiful girls they had seen in China since arriving a few months ago. We laughed at their blatant pick-up lines throughout the rest of the game.

Then, America scored.

Holly and I were deserted on one side of the bar while our new friends Mike(?) and Richie commiserated with their cohorts on the other side. After the first half ended, we met back up with our friends. Richie has been to America once. He drove across Route 66 with a few friends. Mike(?) had been to Florida and hated every minute of it.

I told him I had been to Florida as a teenager and hated every minute of it, too.

He told me that we had a lot in common and we should get married.

I laughed.

We hardly watched the second half of the game. Instead, we tried to speak with our two new friends. Being from Liverpool, their accents are much different from Alex's. I asked Alex to help me translate what Mike(?) was saying and even Alex didn't understand.

Mike(?) seems harmless and quite funny. But, I could be wrong. His accent is so hard to understand.

Thankfully, the game ended in a tie. The Brits were quite pompous about their team before the game, so it was nice to see them humbled a little bit. We exchanged phone numbers with our friends and left the bar at 5am. The sunrise in Tianjin is beautiful.

This Friday, we're meeting up at Hannah's yet again. Our new friends will join us. I am very excited.

__________________________

I had quite a disappointing meeting with Apollo yesterday. He thinks that my only hope for teaching here in the fall is to work for an English school - not a university. I would much rather work at a university, so I'm going to continue looking on my own.

I've been contemplating my future with great fervor lately. I refuse to limit my immediate future to China. There is so much more of the world that I would like to experience. South America? Africa? Who knows...

I am at such peace with my future. This has been the best decision of my life.

Adulthood.

I feel as though I have not been very candid to others about my battle with depression. Quite accordingly, it started after my father passed away and was only reinforced after the passing of my grandmother and a very close friend. After their passing, I saw depression as my eternal burden. It was something that I could not rid myself of. I felt destined for a lifetime of sadness.

However, a few years ago, I experienced love for the first time. The happiness it gave me brought up surprising feelings of guilt. Happiness was a foreign feeling to me; I felt like I was denying my late father by feeling the euphoria of love.

That relationship ended in the rawest of heartache. I fear that the cliches surrounding break-ups deny so many of the horrendous feelings we all go through. It was a tragic occurrence that I am thankful to have experienced.

Without everything that has happened in my past, I would not be here - sitting in a Starbucks on Ying Kou Dao in Tianjin, China during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday with plans of watching the World Cup with friends that I feel closer to than most I have in America.

_____________________

Last week the six of us went to our favorite dumpling restaurant for dinner. It would be the last time we would all sit around a table together. The semester has ended and we're all going off in different directions. I have grown especially close to two of the other teachers, Alex and Cathy. Alex is from London, England. He originally came to Tianjin to pursue Wu Shu (Kung Fu) and taught in order to retain his residency. Cathy is from the Philippines and has taught in Tianjin the longest out of all of the teachers. I refer to Alex as my GeGe or "older brother". He is a great friend and someone that I'm going to miss very deeply.

Not pictured are John and Jim. John is the only other American besides Jen and myself. He lives across the hall from me and I've grown quite fond of his company. His outlook on life in China always brings a smile to my face. Jim is Canadian and older than the rest of us. He teaches at another campus about an hour away from our dormitories, so I don't see much of him. It was a lovely evening of retrospect and story-telling.

I can remember sitting at a bar with a friend before I left for China in February. I was more than full of trepidation - I was completely regretting my decision to move. I didn't want to leave my friends and family back home. I didn't want to leave everything I knew behind. My friend laughed at me and said, "Come July, you'll be dreading that flight back to America. You won't want to come back here."

I knew he was right. I knew that the decision I had made to move here would prove rewarding. I signed that contract to feel independent again. I wanted to experience something new.

I've been thinking a lot about adulthood lately. I never saw myself as an adult until I moved here. I never felt purely independent. I always had a backup plan. I always had somewhere to retreat. Living in a foreign country gives you a sense of danger that is unimaginably powerful. Independence is intoxicating.

I've been toying with the idea of returning to Tianjin after spending the summer holiday in America. Just a few weeks ago, I was certain that my time was up - I needed to go home.

Tonight, I'm meeting with Apollo. He is an intermediary between English departments in Tianjin and teachers. He is attempting to find me a new job so that I may return in September to teach another term.