Shell in China
Friday, October 20, 2006
Green Action meeting/party/karaoke night
So, we got invited to attend a meeting/party (both words were used) for the Green Action Association here on campus. It is an environmental club thing, although we are not sure that they actually DO anything other than hold meetings. Well, we said we would attend; laowai attendance is appreciated at all events on campus, even when we don't understand a word of what is going on.
So, we made plans to go with Tomas and Rachel and then go to dinner afterwards. We were told to be there at 6, but when we showed up at 6 they said it was moved to 7. Fine. So we came back to our place and hung out until 7 when we went back. We were ushered into a room with a good 300 people in it, where we were given front row seats and bottles of water. (I basically am at the point where I expect water or tea to be brought to me at all of these functions...it isn't snobby, it just happens!)
As it got underway, we asked one of the leader girls how long it was going to last and she said 3 hours!!! Ack!! Tomas and Thad were both supposed to say a little something about environment stuff, so our plan was to stay until they spoke and then try to sneak out so we could get dinner. Well, not only were we in the front row, but the speaking was last! Before that there was over 2 hours of singing and dancing and other odd entertainment acts. At some point, Rachel happened to mention to someone that our plan was to go to dinner afterwards, so then they realized that we had not eaten dinner. They promptly (with us trying to refuse!) sent a girl out to buy us food! She came back with sweetbread and cookie things and we were given milk in what looks like a juice box! (Now, granted, I buy the exact same milk in the juice box all of the time, but I bring it home and put it in the fridge to get cold and then drink it in the morning. This was straight off the shelf juice-box milk.) Crazy! So, here are the 4 laowai, sitting in the front row with what basically amounted to a picnic! How embarrassing is that?!?! We had to eat it though, because otherwise it would be really rude after this poor girl went out (in the cold!) to buy us food. Awkward!
The performances were actually pretty intersting though. They didn't really have anything to do with the environment, but we finally decided that we think it was an anniversary of the founding of their club and that is why is was a "party." There were people who sang (basically karaoke) and of course there was the required "My Heart Will Go On" which seems to be a favorite in China. I have been asked on numerous occasions to sing it, but have no fear friends and family. I realize my tone-deafness stays with me across continents, so I always decline the offer to break out into Titanic theme-songs. There was also a strange dance/model thing where the girls made clothes out of trash (?) We aren't sure if this was supposed to be a cute "how to reuse stuff" skit or just modeling to Will Smith music, but it was probably the most entertaining thing of the evening!
Anyway, I don't think the environment is any better off for the "meeting" or our attendance at it, but it sure was an interesting way to spend a Friday night in China. :)
(The green font is for those of you that caught on that the post was color-coordinated with the theme. I may be in China, but I'm still Michelle!! hehe...)
So, we made plans to go with Tomas and Rachel and then go to dinner afterwards. We were told to be there at 6, but when we showed up at 6 they said it was moved to 7. Fine. So we came back to our place and hung out until 7 when we went back. We were ushered into a room with a good 300 people in it, where we were given front row seats and bottles of water. (I basically am at the point where I expect water or tea to be brought to me at all of these functions...it isn't snobby, it just happens!)
As it got underway, we asked one of the leader girls how long it was going to last and she said 3 hours!!! Ack!! Tomas and Thad were both supposed to say a little something about environment stuff, so our plan was to stay until they spoke and then try to sneak out so we could get dinner. Well, not only were we in the front row, but the speaking was last! Before that there was over 2 hours of singing and dancing and other odd entertainment acts. At some point, Rachel happened to mention to someone that our plan was to go to dinner afterwards, so then they realized that we had not eaten dinner. They promptly (with us trying to refuse!) sent a girl out to buy us food! She came back with sweetbread and cookie things and we were given milk in what looks like a juice box! (Now, granted, I buy the exact same milk in the juice box all of the time, but I bring it home and put it in the fridge to get cold and then drink it in the morning. This was straight off the shelf juice-box milk.) Crazy! So, here are the 4 laowai, sitting in the front row with what basically amounted to a picnic! How embarrassing is that?!?! We had to eat it though, because otherwise it would be really rude after this poor girl went out (in the cold!) to buy us food. Awkward!
The performances were actually pretty intersting though. They didn't really have anything to do with the environment, but we finally decided that we think it was an anniversary of the founding of their club and that is why is was a "party." There were people who sang (basically karaoke) and of course there was the required "My Heart Will Go On" which seems to be a favorite in China. I have been asked on numerous occasions to sing it, but have no fear friends and family. I realize my tone-deafness stays with me across continents, so I always decline the offer to break out into Titanic theme-songs. There was also a strange dance/model thing where the girls made clothes out of trash (?) We aren't sure if this was supposed to be a cute "how to reuse stuff" skit or just modeling to Will Smith music, but it was probably the most entertaining thing of the evening!
Anyway, I don't think the environment is any better off for the "meeting" or our attendance at it, but it sure was an interesting way to spend a Friday night in China. :)
(The green font is for those of you that caught on that the post was color-coordinated with the theme. I may be in China, but I'm still Michelle!! hehe...)
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Chalk ashes on my trousers? Oh no!
This is the note that was passed to me in class today as I sat at the back of the room listening to presentations:
"Mrs. Michelle there are some chalk ashes coated with your trousers."
Hehe...Yes, my trousers are usually coated with chalk "ashes" by the end of each class and it didn't help that I had black slacks on today! (This actually makes it sound as if I have taken my pants off and put them on a pile of chalkdust! Let me assure everyone that my pants did not come off during class! :) )
I don't know if Chinese chalk is dustier than American chalk or if it is just the hard floors that made the dust float around more, but I end up with chalk dust everywhere after each class. I am getting used to chalky pants and don't really notice it anymore, but I guess my students were worried that I looked like a dork. Hmmm, the real question is, does the chalk dust make me stand out any more than normal? Probably not, so I'll just go with it!
I miss middle schoolers!
Grrrr! I have decided that Blogger hates me, as it won't let me load any pictures! Thad got them to load on him page, but for some reason there are not working here! I'll keep working on it...
Yesterday was an interesting day. Thad and I went out to a local middle school to meet Emily, a PCV in Tianshui. Emily was coming to town to visit student teachers from her university that are working out here and she was bringing a toaster oven for us with her. We said we would meet her at the school to make the transition easier, so we went there at 4 as planned. While we waited for her to arrive, we were greated by staff from the school and asked if we would stay and talk to the students. We said that we would and when Emily arrived, we were all ushered into a large room that had probably about 300 middle school students crammed into it. At the front of the room was a long table set up with microphones on it. We were to sit up there as a panel and answer questions! It went really well, but was not quite what we expected when we went to get the oven! (I wished I had dressed a little nicer as there were about a million pictures taken of us!) The whole situation made me miss teaching middle school and miss my students in Marsing. College students are great, but China has really driven home to me how much I love middle school! Anyway, I think I am going to try to volunteer out at that middle school as one of my secondary projects. I actually ran into one of the English teachers in the grocery store this evening and we talked about it briefly. I will have to talk to my dean about arranging it, but I think that adding some middle school back into my life would make me happier! (Not that I am unhappy...don't worry Mom!!)
Yesterday was an interesting day. Thad and I went out to a local middle school to meet Emily, a PCV in Tianshui. Emily was coming to town to visit student teachers from her university that are working out here and she was bringing a toaster oven for us with her. We said we would meet her at the school to make the transition easier, so we went there at 4 as planned. While we waited for her to arrive, we were greated by staff from the school and asked if we would stay and talk to the students. We said that we would and when Emily arrived, we were all ushered into a large room that had probably about 300 middle school students crammed into it. At the front of the room was a long table set up with microphones on it. We were to sit up there as a panel and answer questions! It went really well, but was not quite what we expected when we went to get the oven! (I wished I had dressed a little nicer as there were about a million pictures taken of us!) The whole situation made me miss teaching middle school and miss my students in Marsing. College students are great, but China has really driven home to me how much I love middle school! Anyway, I think I am going to try to volunteer out at that middle school as one of my secondary projects. I actually ran into one of the English teachers in the grocery store this evening and we talked about it briefly. I will have to talk to my dean about arranging it, but I think that adding some middle school back into my life would make me happier! (Not that I am unhappy...don't worry Mom!!)
Monday, October 16, 2006
Bowling in China
I have a bunch of pictures from this weekend, but Blogger is being a pain, so this is the only one you get for now. Yes, that is bowling in China. On our way to Lanzhou last weekend, we had a stop-over in Tianshui and Emily took us bowling. The alley seems to not be doing so well financially, as there was us and then one set of Chinese men bowling. Emily said it is usually just the laowai. We bowled three games each, and if I add my scores, I break 100!! :) Oh well, I guess I don't bowl any better in China than I do in America.
I'll try to get the other pictures up soon.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Edward Scissorhands moved to Chengxian?
Yesterday I decided it was time for a haircut. I've been needing one for a while now and this last week with no kids has given me ample time to examine my many split-ends, so the time has come. I was putting off this excursion because it is hard enough to get a good haircut when you can explain in a fluent way what it is you want; I was worried about trying to do so with such a gigantic language barrier. Ever resourceful though, I went on the Internet (thank goodness for www!) and found a picture of something similar to what I wanted. It was a fairly simple haircut, just a few inches below the shoulders, straight across, no bangs, nothing fancy. Something that was still ponytailable (Yes, that is a word! As an English teacher, I reserve the right to make up my own words. It is an adjective if you were wondering!!) and yet shorter and requiring less time in the cold shower.
I've been scouting out salons in town for the last few weeks. There are a whole lot of little haircut places. Our town seems to have a higher than normal percentage of them so I don' t know if this means anyone with a pair of scissors can open a shop or if it is a good, steady job. Either way, I found one that looked like maybe the people in it knew what they were doing. They at least knew their way around hair color since one guy had orange/blonde hair, another had half dark, half purple hair (split down the middle) and the woman had color added to hers as well. We went in and I had my prepared "Hi, I need a haircut. Here is a picture." routine ready to go. They looked, said okay and off we went.
My haircut started with an intricate shampoo/massage. I have to say that compared to Chinese hairwashing stations, American ones could qualify as torture devices. In the States when I have my hair shampooed at the salon, I always feel like I need to build up more neck muscles before my next appointment. I get a kink in my neck and it really isn't a comfortable experience. In China, on the other hand, there is a platform to rest your head and and the chair is more of a bed that you lay back on. It's very comfortable. (Plus, they have warm water in for their shampooing, which if you've followed the blog, you are well aware that I don't have at my apartment!) The shampoo/head massage had three different substances, none of which I know, but they smelled good.
After the shampoo, it was off to a chair for hair drying. All of the volunteers that I have talked to have said that their hair was dried before cutting, which is the opposite of what usually happens at home. So, I was dried and then they pulled out the hair straightener. At this point Thad was questioning whether they knew I was there for a haircut! I told him they kept looking at the picture, so I thought they knew... A good fifteen minutes was spent making my hair stick straight before the cutting could begin.
Let the cutting commence! I felt like a scene out of Edward Scissorhands. The guy with the sissors was going crazy, cutting here and there and nothing that looked like it was straight across. He often referred back to the picture I had with me, but he must have looked at it in a "this is what I like, but do what you want" kind of way. I really started to worry when the cut that was to be a couple inches below my shoulders suddenly became long bangs around my face! What do you say though? The cut was made and bangs I had! Too late to do anything about it. I figured this guy obviously had some vision of what my hair should be and I was best off just to go with it. Hair always grows back...
Cutting completion brought out the hair dryer and straightener again, as well as a few random hair products. The overall haircut isn't too bad...I would say it is very Chinese. It looks like what many of the college-aged kids have and I think I can work with it. It is NOTHING like the picture I brought with me to the salon, but it is what it is
and I will make the best of it.
The "after" picture is pretty dorky looking, but that is what I've got now!
Friday, October 06, 2006
Rainy day thoughts...
China.
Where people spend more time looking at the laowai than the road.
Where you are never really sure what “maybe” means.
Where strangers in a restaurant offer you beer and cigarettes and welcome you to their country with heavily accented chants of “U.S.A. is great!”
Where a mini-bus is crammed so full that people are sitting on laps of people
on laps.
Where passing an English exam means a higher salary and you can be a step on
that ladder .
China.
Because teaching Oral English means being able to cover nearly any topic under
the sun.
Because learning a Latin-based language would not be enough of a challenge.
Because blonde hair automatically makes you beautiful.
Because rice and potatoes never get old.
Because students are students, regardless of nationality.
China.
So I can experience a new culture and language.
So I can give back what so many teachers have given to me.
So I will be more empathetic to people struggling to integrate in America.
So I will be a better teacher in the States.
So others will see that the US is more than greed and selfishness.
China.
An experience of two years.
A lifetime of memories.
A chance worth taking.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Lanzhou was the way to go!
This week is a holiday in China that celebrates National Day. ND is officially October 1, but the holiday is three days long. Many colleges, including ours, give the students the entire week off so that they can go home and visit family. We are lucky because we get the week off and don't have to do make-up classes. At some universities, the students and teachers have to make up their Thursday and Friday classes because officially the holiday is only three days long. Make-ups are usually held on weekends, so it is nice we didn't have to do that! Since it is a holiday, we decided to go into Lanzhou and visit everyone there! It is reunion time!! :) (Well, and there is the draw of the cheese alley that pulled us that way! More on that later...)
On Friday, we taught our classes and then headed to the bus station. The bus was an hour late leavning town, but we were eventually off on what turned out to be an eight hour trip to Lanzhou. Our students all told us to expect six hours, but it took eight. The bus made a lot of mini-stops along the way to let people out. There are many small villages that are off of the highway, so people buy a ticket on a bus that goes on that highway and then just ask the driver to stop when we pass their home. The drivers seem to not have a problem with it at all. It does mean that the trip takes longer because the people are always getting off. (People along the side of the road at these villages also flag the bus down and get on. Sometimes they just ride to the next village and sometimes they ride to the end.) We got into Lanzhou two hours later than we thought, so the people who were supposed to meet and pick us up had left. ( I don't blame them a bit-- I would have too!) So, we started making phone calls, but all the PCVs were at a special dinner for foreign teachers, so no one was home. After an hour of calls and hanging out, we finally got a hold of someone and they came down to meet us. That night we all went to Pierce's apartment and played cards and just hung out with nearly the entire group. We were staying at Angie's house, so around 3AM we took a cab back there. (The busses in Lanzhou stop really early, so anything after 11 means cab, which is crappy because they are more expensive, but it is the way of the city.) Angie's place was nice and she has a steaming hot shower, so
that was fabulous!! :)On Saturday, no one got moving too early since we were all out together until 3AM. We met some of the group for lunch at a KFC downtown. (KFC is the only western food in many cities here. I am not sure how they got the bid, but they are common in large cities.) We did some random wandering and shopping (didn't really buy anything) and then we met the entire group for pizza for dinner! Yeah for pizza! Lanzhou folks have access to western stuff often, but they don't go because it is so expensive. We all decided to splurge as some of us never see that stuff! Pizza was good...not as great as in the States, but it was a nice change. Then, we went back to Pierce's for poker again. Getting back to his place was an adventure. There is a bit of foreigner prejudice in town. We had the hardest time getting a cab. They wouldn't stop for us, but then they would stop 50 yards up the road and let a Chinese person in! Ack! We ended up catching a bus (I think the last of the night). The bus was really a mini-bus that had well over 50 people on it! Thad had a seat and I sat on his lap and then Derek sat on mine! The entire bus was that crowded!! The picture shows us all cramped on the bus. Derek moved so we could take it, but add him to my lap and you have a much more accurate view of the ride we took. We left about 3AM again, but I guess the poker game went on until 7AM! Needless to say, none of them were up early on Sunday!
On Sunday we made a trek to t
he blackmarket cheese alley. The PCVs in Lanzhou have found this little place in a back alley in the middle of town that sells cheese! The thing is, they sell cheese in GIANT quantities, so you need to take people to split it with! We think maybe the place is a supplier for a restaurant or something, but it is hard to tell. They don't seem to have enough inventory to acutally supply much to a hotel/restaurant type-set-up, but we also can't come up with why else it would be there. Not that it matters, it means cheese for us! We brought home a nice big chunk of mozzarella and some cheddar. We froze it overnight and it seems to have made the all day bus trip back in good condition. After the cheese run we went out to dinner as a giant group again and then to Kristin's apartment for Coke floats and we watched a terrible movie called Snakes on a Plane. This has got to be the worst cinemaphotography ever produced! Luckily is cost less than a dollar! The idea is that a bunch of poisonous snakes are put on a plane by terrorists and they kill people, except that there is a scene where a guy peeing in the bathroom gets chomped right on the wang and a woman having sex in a bathroom gets bit right on the boob! The group consensus was if she had gone the Hollywood route and had implants, she would have survived. There is a good argument for implants: in case your plane is ever filled with deadly snakes and you are running around without a shirt one, they could save your life. We were laughing hysterically about those! Good times....bad movie, but good times!On Monday morning we met a few p
eople for lunch and then headed out. The bus left Lanzhou at 1:15 PM and we got into Chengxian about 10 PM. We had to switch buses in TianShui. That bus was supposed to leave at six, but the bus driver decided to have dinner first, so it didn't leave until closer to 7. hehe...Nice! The first bus was roasting hot...no air circulating, but we survived and are now home.The weekend was a lot of fun and it was nice to see everyone again. We all wished we could have stayed longer, but PC has a policy against traveling within your first three months at site, which I can understand, except that it sucks to have a holiday and not be able to go anywhere! I think we won't see Lanzhou again until Thanksgiving, but the plan is to try to go up for the weekend and have a big dinner with everyone.
Pics- Me and a cute puppy on the bus! (Lanzhou has quite the animal market going on. There are these under-road walkways for the major intersections that have all sorts of puppies and kittens for sale in them. When we went through them I just kep walking--I don' t need the temptation of getting a pet in China! They are cute though...)
Everyone who was in town went out for pizza at Pizza Mira. We made quite a group. The restaurant actually moved people who where sitting at the end table so we could add it to ours for more room!
Me and Angie waiting for the rest of the group in downtown Lanzhou. Angie is the wonderful PCV who put us up for the weekend! Thanks Angie!!
Me and Thad on the VERY crowded bus!
Blog of a Peace Corps China volunteer serving as a TEFL teacher in Cheng Xian, Gansu, China.
About Me
-
- Name: Michelle Ross
- Location: Chengxian, Gansu, CN
In America, I teach 8th grade English and reading and really enjoy spending time with middle school students. Some people think I am crazy for it, but Marsing has a great group of kids and I love being a part of their lives as they grow up! Right now I live in China and teach English and teaching methods to students who want to be teachers. I am here through Peace Corps, which I think is a fabulous experience and something that more people should look into doing! The application process can be a bit of a pain, but it is well worth the time and effort. Check out Peace Corps and give something back to the world that has given you so much!! Teaching runs in the family, as just about everyone is involved in education in one way or another. My dad is retired, but he was a teacher, counselor and principal for 30+ years, my mom is an elementary counselor, my sister and husband are both teachers and my brother will finish his teaching degree this next spring! "Those who can, do; those who can do magic, teach!"
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