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Just to whet your appetite...
Story will follow of how I came to teach a sculptor to play the National Anthem on his trumpet.
Only 3 weeks of teaching left.
Hopefully planning an all night dancing session for this weekend.
But now sleep.
Mixed Feelings
Whilst reading The Guardian this morning I came across this article:
'Sars doctor joins 'disappeared' on Tiananmen anniversary'
I live a pretty average daily life here in Beijing. I teach, I go to the shops, the cinema, go drinking with my friends. Its easily to forget that China is still a developing country, not just financially but socially.
Reading this makes me somehow ashamed to live in China. Its not just the covering up of the whole thing, and the reluctance to admit mistakes and move on- for me its the little things, like being arrested for trying to mark your childs death with flowers.
This country is obssessed with becoming 'developed'- and by that they mean rich. Everybody wants some money for themselves, whether it be for a hundred extra lessons for their children, or for that new Audi. Why is nobody interesting in building a country with human rights for each citizen?
The answer maybe obvious, but to me, well, I will never understand.
Its too darn hot...
Well it seems I've been getting quite political recently and haven't been writing much about my general humdrum life. Things have been pretty hectic here actually.
There's all the teaching of course. But now there are the preparations to leave China. Yes, only 2 and a half weeks of teaching left, and then my contract ends and I am out on my ear. Out of China that is.. unless I can change my visa, which a number of people are saying isnt possible, but of course a number of people are saying it is possible too. Well, Saturday is D-Day so fingers crossed.
The school are currently driving me crazy. No real change there. They insist on taking my documents (such as passport, residence permit) and then say I am causing them too much trouble if I ask for them back. They lie to me and say they have to take the documents to the Police Station when really I know she has them in her desk. Grrrr... Basically although they say I am an excellent teacher and they claim they want to help me, all they care about is that I am out of their hair and their lives on the 30th June- no longer their responsibility. Which is kind of sad.
The fact that it is 36 degrees is not helping... though I am not actually in too bad a mood considering. When you go outside it literally feels like your skin is burning. There is only 20% humidity, compared to 68% in London, so you feel thirsty all the time. The sunshine is nice though so I shouldn't complain.
I guess there isn't much to say really. I'm just looking forward to teaching ending, travelling with my two best friends and then the return to the wonderful England!
You're probably living in China if...
- you barely flinch when you see a small child emptying his bowels in the street
- you know the news you're getting isn't the REAL news.
- a cup of coffee costs more than ten times a bottle of beer.
- you find yourself crying over a menu in a western restaurant because they serve potato salad.
- you haven't eaten anything baked in months.
- you eat every kind of meat off the bone, and spit the bones on the table.
- you speak really slowly and enunciate when you're speaking English, and sometimes find it easier just to speak Chinese.
- you have to ask if the VCD is in English when you rent it.
- you know what a VCD is.
- you ride a bike. All the time. Even in the rain, and people look at you strangely if you're not wearing a poncho.
- you can expertly maneuver your bike through any traffic situation.
-you know the currency exchange between RMB and your home country but not your home country and its neighbor.
- you spend less than 10RMB on a fully satisfying lunch, but might end up eating at a table with 4 strangers.
- you know how to use a squatter.
- you know what a squatter is.
-grown men and women often say hello to you, and when you reply they run away giggling.
- you can't decide if you love or hate the country you're living in.
- you realize that the smog-o-meters they use in western countries would explode if they were brought to the colder parts of the country in the middle of winter.
-you see nothing wrong with standing on a white stripe in the middle of a highway while cars whiz past you at 90kph
- you never stop for a right turn, particularly when the light is red, although you don't really understand why no one ever crashes into you
- it seems completely normal that some guy on a tricycle wants to buy your garbage
- you don't blink an eye when a complete stranger wants to take a photo of you with his family
- you no longer use articles when you speak
- you bargain with the grocer over the cost of a head of lettuce
- you no longer question why the expiration date on the milk you just bought is two months from now
- you buy a movie that hasn't been released theatrically yet at home...
- when you can get ANYTHING to eat on a stick
- when a trim at the barber invloves two washes, a scalp massage, a whole lot of time, and a crowd of onlookers
- When beer is most often served cold in the winter
- When you go to a park and you can't walk on the grass
- When you go to the park and get heavily sprayed with pesticide that keeps that same untouched grass green and strong
- where every city is (in)famous for some kind of food
- you speak chinese with other foreigners (even if they speak the same language) simply because it is easier
- you can access programs on computers even though there are no english prompts
- an entire class looks at you with a blank face when you ask them to try and discover something on their own, rather than you just telling them the answer
- your host offers you silkworms telling you that they are very good, and when you ask if they like them they reply no.
- you complain about that price difference of DVDs/VCDs/CDs bought in the stores and on the streets
- you find face lotion that actually bleachs your skin whiter....
- you have learned to enjoy being stared at
- you can climb 6 flights of stairs without a rest stop
- you can buy a NEW bicycle for US $17
- people offer you a stool to sit on when you stop in front of a shop
- long underwear is a wardrobe staple five months of the year
- you have ten different responses to the question, "Do you like China?"
- you're looking forward to blending in with the crowd.
- you know ten different ways to point out a foreigner in Chinese.
- you point out foreigners to your Chinese friends even though you're foreign yourself.
- your students bow and call you teacher when you enter a room.
- your Chinese friend Faye has such poor pronunciation you tell her she's speaking feihua
- you start thinking that stupid questions are reasonable
- you have strict mental rules as to when you reply to a hello (ie person must be within a 20 foot semi circle radius and not with a group of men)
-you stare at dogs that are over 1 foot tall
-you are becoming proficient in 4 other languages: Mandarin, local dialect, Chinglish, and gibberish
- if there are only 4 screaming children running around the classroom, you consider it a good primary class.
- if there are only 4 students sleeping, you consider it a good middle school class.
-you start saying 'play computer' 'I very like' and other assorted chinglish.
- you whole-heartedly agree with things that you don't agree with.
- you point over your back with your thumb when using the past tense.
- you're beginning to like fruit salad and mayonnaise
- every village is different from the rest of China but all foreigners are the same
- everyone wants to be your friend - all you have to do is teach them English for free
- you tell people you don't understand, so they write it for you - in Chinese.
- the ugliest western man always has a beautiful Chinese girlfriend.
- at the beach women wear bulky swimsuits from the 1950's while men wear speedos
-you realize that all wild animals are to be caught and eaten and/or ground up for medicine.
- absolutely everything that can possibly be eaten is in some way good for your health.
- buying a DVD is cheaper than seeing a movie in the cinema, and it's available before the movie is released.
- the local beauty spot is a concrete eyesore
- you no longer expect the truth
China.... you gotta love it.
Extracted from here
Ferrero Roche anyone?
I'm afraid this is only going to add to Pete's delusion that I am actually a famous person in disguise (I think it was Scarlett Johansson- who I just read is 19?!?) but here I go.
As I have mentioned before my friend J is in choir, and they have previously done a concert in the Forbidden City Concert Hall. On Saturday, J informed me that they would be doing a special concert that evening at the British Ambassador's House. She told me that there were a few tickets left but they were Y250 (thats expensive- consider you can eat dinner for Y10). She offered to pay half as she said it was going to be amazing and she really wanted me to come.
So Saturday night I put my glad rags on and headed over to the Ambassador's place. Needless to say, it was a beautiful, large house that seemed very out of placein Beijing. As we walked into the garden, I discovered it was actually a picnic, and people had spread blankets on the ground and were eating glorious food and drinking Champagne. I had arrived sans food and sans blanket....
The choir were hanging out in the house, so I went to have a look around. There was a grande piano in the spacious living room, with a signed picture of Tony on the top.
After a wander around the garden, I plucked up the courage to ask some nice folks if I could perch on the end of their blanket. They were super friendly and even gave me a glass of champagne and some cherries. And then the concert started....
It was a mixture of Madrigals and musical classics (Summertime, The Way You Look Tonight...) J had a solo in one of the French Madrigals which was beautiful. At the beginning the scruffy Ambassador came on and gave a little speech. He explained that the concert was being held in order to raise money for a charity in Chongqing that trains special needs teachers, and funds a small special needs school.
During the concert, and interval I got chatting to a number of people. As one woman arrived at the concert, a huge spark of recognition made me mentally fall about in fits of giggles. She is a television presenter from CCTV9- I was taking the piss out of her only a couple of weeks ago, as she presents this show, where her and the other presenter annoyingly finish each other's sentences. Anyway, she turned out to be a lovely lady. As did the presenter from China Radio International. Oh yes... all the glitterati of Beijing were present... ;-)
Anyways, it was a great night, not least because after, we went to the pub and had beer and grilled cheese sandwiches. Sadly, no Ferrero Roches though.
Nearly Finished
So here I am, with only two days of teaching left and how to I feel? Eh. Its that feeling of ending something where half of you feels happy and half sad, so you end up feeling a little indifferent.
So the visa news is that although I think it is possible to get a visa, my school are unwilling to help me, so next weekend I'm off to Hong Kong to get a new visa and have a weekend break. Hopefully I'll have somewhere to stay as the accomodation there is a wee bit expensive. I'm quite looking forward to having a look round HK though and getting a bit of Western-culture relief.
Now I'm off to do some packing, but this weekend should be alright. We're having a big goodbye meal for the teachers we know in Beijing, and some drinks and then I think there'll be some shopping, and only a little bit of teaching.
Have a good one all!