Get REaDy!

In T-minus 5 days, my blog is about to get 10 times more interesting as I enter the land of Russia and then Hong Kong. Brace yourselves. Until then, Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas here is lacking a bit in the Christmas spirit. There are plenty of decorations, but none of the love. However, we did find little ways to celebrate. On Christmas eve, one of our students offered us tickets to a Georgian Folk Dance show, Samaia, and she had her chauffeur drive us there! It was a great show and definitely a classy way to spend Christmas eve.

In the theater where more than 2/3rds of the seats were empty

The theater from the outside. Pretty nifty huh?

Merry Christmas!

Christmas day was spent eating pancakes and drinking Starbucks downtown. We bought some dvds and had Japanese Hibachi for dinner. It was very Jewish of us but those are they types of Christmases that I love!

Overall Christmas was a good week! We got three packages in one week! Thank you so much to all who sent one!! We truly enjoyed each and every one. :)

Package from the motherland from my Dad.

Huge package from the glorious USA from my Mom!

Full of delicious goodies!

Package from the Goodpastures!

And we even had a tiny Christmas Tree!

Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year!

Beijing - Round I'm-going-stuff-my-face-with-western-food

So a few weeks ago Brandon and I went to Beijing with the sole goal of eating Western food (and getting me a visa to Russia). I not only ate but took pictures of everything that I ate. It was delicious, but I will spare you the pictures as I know you see this delicious food every day.

Fortunately, in between meals, we hit up some sites that we had missed last time: mainly Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. See below.

Pretty hand made waterproof traditional Chinese umbrellas

Beijing West train station. I cannot describe to you the sheer size of this building.

There are at least 6 cameras on this one post. There are what seem like 100 posts! Slightly paranoid I think. O and you can totally feel the slight tension in the air. Everyone goes through a security check to enter the square. And there are cops everywhere as well as more undercover cops that I couldn't distinguish. There are no chairs. Just two giant screens showing how awesome China is.

These screens are huge!

Maoing it up.

He had a little something... right... there!

Forbidden City

We're so sheek

Royal Throne

More security... or just a nice place for cops to nap

More Mao.

Back to School

I realized that I talk about school here assuming like you all know how it’s like. But when one of my friends sent me an email not even knowing what days of the week kids go to school here, I decided to write a bit about school. So here goes.

School here is Monday through Saturday at noon. I can’t say for sure that that’s how it is at all schools, but you can assume it’s relatively similar. Our school holds about 2000+ students all in three different grades and maybe up to three programs. I teach in the AP program and all kids in this program plan on going to college in the US.  It’s a special program that they have to test into OR know/be somebody really important (this is key since some kids do not deserve to be in this program).

The Campus.

The kids live on campus which has dorms, a cafeteria, a soccer stadium and basketball courts, a snack shop, a pharmacy and obviously class rooms. The kids are not allowed to leave this campus EVER. They get dropped off by their parents Sunday night and get picked up Saturday at noon. Sounds pretty miserable to me. They are also required to be in the class room essentially 7am til 10pm. It pretty much sounds like military bootcamp! And the kicker is that during the summer before school all freshman actually do have bootcamp! Anyways, the kids also have scheduled times to shower and a mandatory mid morning exercise routine. O and sometimes the kids order food for delivery. The crappy restaurants across the street pack up the food and walk it across the street. The lazy delivery people use their e-bikes to ride across the street.

The AP program that I am in spends a lot of their time worrying about the kids TOEFL and SAT scores. In fact, as I’ve ranted about previously, they like to frequently cancel classes so the kids could spend the week or two prior to the said exam studying and not worrying about school. Well, I’ve seen these kids study and their “studying” look an awful lot like playing computer games. This is where my rant about the kids not caring about their classes would be, but instead I will just say the following. I think the kids have figured out that their grades get upwardly adjusted (if you know what I mean) by the office (who is essentially paid off by their parents) and therefore have no motivation to even pretend to be engaged in their classes. The smartest kid in my class frequently skips questions on a test simply because he doesn’t want to do it. This does not reflect positively on the Chinese education. Other kids are simply struggling because their English is not good enough so they get lost and behind in class and are also failing (see note about how to get into school above). Overall, my views of the Chinese education have totally done a 180. The work ethic everyone raves about does not exist as far as I know, and the natural smarts in math and sciences is also not particularly there.

The bare hallways that open directly to the courtyard. Aka no heating.

Further, regarding the more fun social aspects of highschool, there are none! There are no dances, no lockers, no signs and posters, the class room walls are pretty much bare, the teachers don’t teach in innovative ways, no musicals, no school spirit, nothing! When one student asked for help with her application to some school in California, I realized that she doesn’t meet the schools requirements because her school does not offer any type of art, music, drama class that she needed to take to apply to that college. The arts as we know and have taken for granted back in America, do not exist in China. Sad. Very Sad.

Bare walls.

Three years worth of stuff piled up. Notice the phrase above the the board...

That is the highschool life of a Chinese student as I have learned. I honestly can’t imagine replacing my memories of class color days, locker groups, football games, pep rallys, homecomings, teachers who did cartwheels, School Chest, art classes with Mr. Bleck, Mr. DHS and school musicals with white walls, cold unheated hallways, same room for three years, no weekends, and zero highschool spirit. I am thankful to have gone to highschool in America.

DHS Warriors celebrating after a victory against HPHS

Happy Thanksgiving!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to share some thing that I am thankful for (and will get to see and touch and love in about three months!) outside of my family and friends, of course. You guys are number one!  I have a feeling that if I had never lived in China, I wouldn’t have noticed or appreciated these things.

1. FDA – I am sick of eating mystery meat. I mean, seriously, it’s not healthy and I think more than half of it is full of filler.
2. Western toilets – the eastern ones aren’t that bad but with lack of flushing and cleaning supplies, the western ones win hands down any day.
3. Cuisines of the world –The Chinese have yet to discover the joys of Mexican food, and their renditions of Italian food (and every other type of Western food) can really use some work.
4. Cheese- Why does this country not like it! It’s like a little piece of heaven and goes wonderfully with wine.
5. Wine –more specifically good cheap wine. The wine here is either cheap or good. Finding a wine that is both is pretty much impossible.
6. Microwave –I don’t use mine at home that often, but man, there are days where I would kill to have one here.
7. A separate shower in my bathroom – Who wants to shower standing next to the toilet? Enough said.
8. Good construction – I can’t put anything on the walls here because they are all cement. Did you know that at one point the world ran out of cement because China took it all?
9. A dryer –you would never know this, but the drier is just as equally important in maintaining your clothes as a washer is.
10. A good meal – According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the most basic human need is to fulfill hunger and thirst. I have never in my life (thank you Mom!) felt what it was like to be deprived of that need until I moved to China. Obviously, there is food here and I eat it, but the food doesn’t fully fill that need. It is very weird how depressed and unmotivated you get when you can’t get a satisfying meal. I hope to never experience this again, and I don’t wish this feeling upon anyone.
11. Unrestricted internet –I think many of us take this one for granted thanks to the US Constitution. J USA! USA!
12. A grocery store –You want butter? It’s there. You want some cereal? You have a whole aisle with every kind you could possibly imagine. Meat? Yes, just tell me how much, what kind and in what form you want it. Fruit? Yup that too, from every corners of the world, even when it’s not in season. I can go on…
13. A good school system –I now know what it’s like when the inmates run prison and I don’t like it one bit! It’s not good for the students, and its ultra degrading and frustrating for the teachers. Thank you and I heart you teachers!
14. Christmas spirit –It’s really weird to be surrounded by a bajillion people, but to have no one share your Christmasyness. No Santa songs, minimal Christmas trees, no decorations and no smiles and cheer between strangers. I never want to miss another Christmas again!

And many more…

Yes I realize that those are all a bit “preachy”, but it’s all true. We live in an amazing country and I think we take a lot of it for granted sometimes. And as the saying goes “you never know what you have until you lose it”. I may have had to go all the way to China to realize these things, but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to share with you so you can learn from my experience too. Maybe the next time you walk into a grocery store (or do any of the other things I’ve mentioned), you will stop and think for a second, how freaking amazing that act alone truly is. There are shelves full of products full of stuff from Mexico, and Poland and China and India and the Philippines. And for those who really want it, I’m sure they can even find some Veggie Mite (why they would want to, I have no idea! Heheh). Either way, the huge assortment of available food is astonishing and it’s definitely a rarity around the world. 

And that is what I am thankful for today. Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble!

Around ZZ

One our way to dinner, we walked around on this one nice night in ZZ. Just wanted to share some pictures with you.

Erqi Pagoda that was under construction earlier. But they fixed it quickly!

It's the new thing -  lettuce as decoration in flower pots

They do have some cute window decorations.

If you all didn't know: My name is Goda and I'm six years old. Here are the dvds that I buy. :)

Ooo China - Pizza hut

So we went to Pizza hut the other day. In China, Pizza huts are kind of a date place. The inside looks rather nice. In fact, they even have escargot on the menu. Fancy right? 

The Pizza Hut Extraordinaire 

Pasta with sausage that tastes like dog food

Well, in the good ol’ US of A, fancy restaurants are usually known for their impeccable service. Not that I want to compare the Pizza Hut in China to a Michelin grade restaurant in Chicago, but I still want to stress service or in my case, the lack there of. At the Pizza Hut, one of us ordered pizza and the other ordered pasta. The pizza came and was fully consumed before the pasta even showed up at the table. The concept of timing food so it arrives together so the party that came together can eat together is totally lost on the Chinese. This is not the first time where one of us has completely finished our meal before the other one even started.

Oooo China! Get your stuff together!

Bags and Frogs

The Chinese love their bags. Didn’t finish your meal and want a doggie bag? Well, your dripping noodles and your rice leftovers will all be put in a bag. Also, the bag will be so thin, that you will carry your leftovers home as if they were a basket of eggs that could crack at any minute. They also serve beer in bags. Brandon and I missed out enjoying this beer in a bag in Qingdao but we’ve seen it done! I’ve also mentioned this, but they have milk in bags here. Little bags. Brandon and I got sick of having to keep buying bags, so we went and bought a gallon equivalent. Surprisingly, it came in a box.

Box o' milk

Stack o' bag o' milk. :)

O and as a side note, they eat frogs here, obviously. You actually can go pick out your own delicious looking frog from a aquarium before they cook it for you. Gotta say that the live frog smell while eating is ultra appetizing. Yum :x

I like that fat one on the left. "shudder"

Jobs in China

      Yesterday I was on the bus taking my usual hour and a half trek to go get dinner, when I looked out the window and saw about three people standing in the middle of the road, wiping the metal highway divider with rags. Normally, this wouldn’t faze me, but I realized that most of you folks back home would actually find this unusual. So I’ve decided to actively try to pretend like it’s my first week in China, and report back all the “weird” things I see on a daily basis that I no longer find weird and have been desensitized to.

       So going back to the people wiping the metal highway divider, it is not unusual in China to see many people doing what appear to be unnecessary tasks. Wiping the highway divider is one. Having five attendants stationed at each aisle in a grocery store is another. Sweeping the sidewalks everyday is one more! I’ve never actually seen this as it probably happens late at night, but I’m pretty sure that there are people assigned to sweep up after a night markets so they can set up the next night and trash the streets again. For those of you that don’t know, all remnants of food and garbage are thrown on the street at night markets. Apparently using the garbage cans is too hard. Either way, labor in China is cheap. So cheap that a restaurant will have someone whose only job is to open the door for the patrons. As such, you will find the Chinese doing the most ridiculous jobs all over the place. With 1.3 billion people in China, the government has to sometimes find creative ways for all of them to have work.

 

This is a woman "sweeping" the floor. Only odd thing is that she is using wet sand and pushing it around with her broom. I mean it seems to do a good job. But really? Wet sand?

Ladies and Gentlemen....

All good things have to come to an end eventually. Specifically, our time here in China has to come to an end.... and in our case, the end is sooner than we thought! Folks, we have decided to come home early! Get ready to throw us a welcome home party for March 19th! :D Please play the National Anthem upon our arrival :)

USA! USA! USA!

Below, you will find our itinerary for our three week backpacking trip afterwards. So excited can't wait! That's seven flights we just booked today! Eek! :o I got a little excited and did a bit of over planning.

Shopping in China

      When you go to another place, whether it be the next town over, the next state over, the next country over, or even as far the other side of the world, odds are your desire to shop will follow you there. So it will be no surprise to you when I tell you that I’ve gone shopping here in China! :O

      So you enter a store. Let’s just say out of simplicity that the store is called Vero Moda (love this store!). Immediately upon entering, one or two of the eight sales people (remember the store is probably as big as two of your living rooms) attach themselves to you. They stand pretty much half a foot away behind you and they follow you as you walk through the store browsing. If you touch something, they will immediately come closer and start saying random stuff in Chinese (because I obviously understand that ) probably telling you how amazing said item is. This continues until you leave the store all claustrophobic and feeling like a burglar.

      One time I stopped and looked at the sales people while doing the “no” hand motion and the “shoo don’t bother me motion” to no success. I even once tried the “sit” “stay” while I slowly walk away commands like I would to a dog, but that still did not work.

      Needless to say, I guess shopping in China is a communal experience (just like everything else) and you are meant to share it in a close and personal way with every sales person in every store that you decide to shop in. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of this type of shopping experience since I hate being followed and made to feel like I’m being watched because I might steal something. As such, I probably won’t be procuring many things while here in China. L

Today...

Today I drank whole milk from a Coke Zero Bottle. Why you might ask? Well, milk here is served in a bag, a little bag. You cut open a corner and pour as needed. I just found it easier to put any milk that I didn't use into a bottle. Yes, it's weird to see the Coke label. But you get used to it.

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Kaifeng

Kaifeng is a town that is about an hour train ride away so Brandon and I decided to there for one night. We showed up in the late afternoon on Sunday and proceeded to walk around town.

 

View from our slightly dilapidated hotel.

 

In fact, the entire town was pretty dilapidated itself. 

But at least the night market was good! Here are the people setting up for a long night ahead of them.

Ummm..... one of the ladies offered these to us. Let's just say that we passed.

Stuff you can grill. I don't even know what some of it is.

Those are frogs if you were curious.

Candyland!

The garbage full of skewers actually looks pretty darn cool. It's like a Christmas tree.

Writing practice on the sidewalk. I wonder what it says.

Just horsing around. :D

Hot Pot at the night market

Shopping street after all the food ends

Cantaloupe on a stick. They usually have watermelon too.

To this day I'm not quite sure what these are. Fruit dipped in something

Big Boss

Pizza tofu?

Guy selling BBQ squid on a skewer.

Our fish that we had for dinner. Beware of bones!

Baozi aka Baos

Really expensive crab

Seafood!

No idea

So the night market (non food portion) is about fifteen feet wide. Apparently people think its OK to just "park" their E-Bikes smack dab in the middle of the walk way. I seriously don't get the Chinese sometimes!

More of something that I can't identify.

Look delicious and chocolately right? Wrong! It was a tasteless blob of crappy hard dough. O well it only cost like 20 cents.

Spongey tofu. It's pretty delicious.

Fireworks went off. People ran. I took pictures.

Overall Kaifeng was worth the over night trip just for the night market. Otherwise I don't really think the town has much more to offer than ZZ. It's also pretty run down and dirty so I'll just stick to my home. But the night market was definitely a sight to see. We ate a ton there! :)