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.

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!

Posting comments

If you've posted comments for me and I haven't responded its because the Chinese gov. has blocked my ability to read them. I can see if I have any comments on a post but unfortunately I can't get to the page that tells me who wrote it and what they wrote :(

So keep reading and and send emails. Sorry I can't respond to your comments

An Exhausting Day Off

Well, everything is going well here. Yesterday was a vacation day for the Korean School because it was the Korean moon festival (I think). Rajdeep also had off so we spent the day together. I woke up early and made French toast for breakfast mmm then we set off on our bikes for what would be a 6 hour journey all over the city. First, we went to a furniture store and bought a nice comfy sofa for my apartment. Then we went to a culinary school where Rajdeep and his friend arranged a private vegetable carving course. Their teacher is amazing. In 5 minutes he showed us how to carve an intricate dragon head out of a gourd!

Then we rode our bikes to the other side of the city to look for a clothing market and a store that my Korean friend said makes inexpensive curtains. We rode and rode but never found it. ... Then back closer to my home we found another huge clothing market and we found a fabric store. I decided to ask the woman if she could make me some curtains. I chose the fabric, she measured, cut it, and sewed it within 10 minutes. And it only cost 50 yuan (about $6) for the whole thing! Now I can change in my bedroom without worrying if the neighbors can see.

After that Rajdeep and I watched a new movie "The Namesake" about a Bengali family living in America. It was really good. And finally, Rajdeep taught me how to make Chicken Biriyani, my favorite Indian dish!

It was a looooong day but I accomplished so much. Next week we have the entire week off work for China's National Day Holiday!

Sofa hunting

My apartment here is pretty nice: 2 bedrooms, modern, nice little kitchen which is my favorite room in the house, and a hard leather sofa. That sofa has got to go. I'll be living in the place for at least a year and I want to be comfortable so yesterday I set out on an epic bike ride across Tianjin to hunt for a new sofa. I found a few furniture places but they're a little too posh and pricy for my tastes. I'll try again tonight or tomorrow.

I also need to get some curtains. In the meantime I turn off the lights when I need to change my clothes. Who knows if the neighbors across from me are looking out their windows at me. I went to the Home Depot across the road to price curtains and they are not cheap! 180rmb per meter!!? That's like $23 per meter. NO Way. I'm going to find a tailor and have them made that way.

Tomorrow I have off because its the Korean mid autumn festival and I have all of next week off for the chinese national day and mid autumn festival!! I love working at an international school...we get both countries' holidays off!

Hey everyone! I"m getting settled back into life in Tianjin. I've been back 3 weeks, I have a nice apartment near the school where I'm teaching, and I'm learning to cook Indian and Chinese food pretty well. I cook all my meals at home so I'm getting lots of practice. In case you didn't know, my boyfriend, Rajdeep, is and Indian chef here in Tianjin. That's why I'm learning Indian cooking.

I'm teaching at the Korean International school and its a great job. Everyday from 8:30-5pm is tiring but its nice to have a full time teaching job. I'm getting to know my students well and even the kids who were bad in the beginning are behaving much better now that they are used to having class with me everyday. The 8 other native English teachers at the school are great too...as well as the Korean teachers.

Well I'll update more when I get another chance. For now, here's my mailing address!


中国 天津市
河西区，梅江
玉水园 25号楼，2门，502号
CHINA

I hope to hear from you all! Keep in touch and I'll try my best to update the blog

I'm back in China

Well I arrived last Friday back in my home away from home, Tianjin, China. Being back seems perfectly normal but living and working in a new area of the city with different people is strange. I started work at Tianjin's Korean International School yesterday and today was my first day teaching. All of the students and teachers at the school are Korean except for 9 foreign English teachers and 12 Chinese teachers. There's actually a large population of Koreans here in Tianjin...mostly businessmen and their families.

I'm living in a hotel, provided by my school, until I find an apartment. I've GOT to find one quickly, living in a hotel is just hectic!

Anyway, it's nice to be back in China. I really enjoy living here and I have a good job. La vie est belle :)