Sunday, October 28, 2007

I made two young girls cry yesterday. This past week we gave mid-term exams at school and two, usually good students, didn't do so well on the exam. I showed my classes their exam scores and final class grades and they were not happy. Now I have the reputation as the mean teacher who gives difficult exams. ... That might not necessarily be a bad reputation to have though.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Comments again

Hey all, good news. I found a way to view your comments to my blog so you can start leaving me messages again!

The Life of Luxory

To celebrate my new, substantially higher-paying job, I just splurged and joined the poshest gym I would have ever imagined joining. Yesterday I joined the gym at the Sheraton Hotel. It's pricey according to Chinese standards but I have a better job, there are no other gyms in my area, and a coworker is going there too so we can be "gym buddies".

The gym has all the standard equipment plus big screen TVs that are connected to headphones at each machine so I can run on the treadmill and watch AMERICAN TV! IT has been so long since I've seen a TV show in English!

Plus, my membership is good for the hotel's spa with hot tubs and saunas....the best of it if the swimming pool. So today should be my first day to go to my new gym! Can't wait. I feel so frivolous.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Me, me, me

Despite the few people who do have respect for others, I find that many or dare I say, most, Chinese people seem to have little respect for those around them. I mean this in terms of personal space and waiting in lines. Two days ago I went to the Tianjin History Museum. I'm standing about a foot from a glass encasement looking at a paining and a 60 something Chinese woman walks up beside me and scooches right in front of me! I was the only one there and she had to place herself right in front of me.

Another instance, well many instances actually, when I'm at the grocery store, shopping mall, etc., a Chinese person will walk fast to get around me then cut in front of me and stop to look around. This just drives me insane! The worst is when I"m waiting in line to buy something at the supermarket and the person behind me keeps inching closer and closer. So close that their cart or basket is pushing into my back. No, I was wrong. Worse still is when you're next to get on the bus and some old lady walks up beside you, sticks her arm in front of you and pushes onto the bus. errrr If its a younger person I'll fight for my place but I have enough decency to not be abusive with an old person. All I can say though, is that old folks in China are feisty.

Other than these things that drive me up a wall, their lack of respect for personal space can be sometimes funny. Again, at the grocery store, it never fails that people will walk up beside me and look into my basket to check out what I'm buying. I guess they're just interested to see what American's buy to eat. Sometimes the more daring curious person will actually pick something up from my basket and examine it.

I have my days when all the staring and random "hello's!" get to me. But I've been here in China long enough to block it out most of the time. And I just have to shrug it off when someone cuts in front of me, pushes, or examines the contents of my shopping cart.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

The Bicycle Thief

October 1st is China's national day (like the 4th of july in the US, except the Chinese aren't celebrating independence from anybody) so I have the entire week off of work. That's it for good news...

Sadly, my beloved bicycle, which I bought just 2 and a half weeks ago was stolen the other day. Its not a rare occurance here in China. I had it locked up with a massive chain and it was even hooked to a building but if theifs want it they'll take it. The Australian guy who sits beside me at work said he's had four bikes stollen in the past year. Well I went and bought a new bike today. Its more the hassle of buying a new bike than the money that bothers me. It costs just about $20 for a new bike but to buy one you have to first buy a lock from a store that sells bike locks, then you go to the store that sells bikes, then you ride your bike to a bicycle repairman sitting alongside the road and buy a basket. ..a basket might sound dorky but believe me, it's indispensible!

Well, lets see how long this new bike lasts. I give it 2 weeks. When this one gets stollen I'm going to get my 3rd one from the black market bike lot. They're all "used" and cost about $8 each. Who knows, I might even find the bike that was stolen from me there!