Sick Strings

This was my busiest week yet in China. Thankfully, I am currently enjoying a week-long vacation (a Chinese National Holiday... but I don't know what holiday... I'll try to find out for next week)! Since my last week was so busy, that unfortunately makes it a rather uninteresting week for you to read about. I'll try an fill you in on some of the good details, but this could be a short one!

My First Chinese Class!

While I teach here in Xi'an, my school gives me the opportunity to take lessons in Chinese. This week I started! I meet twice a week for an hour with two different teachers and the classes are one-on-one. It's definitely intense and it would be a little intimidating, but thanks to my two years of study at Western Washington University, I am able to spend the whole hours speaking only Chinese (I was even able to skip the first book and start in the second). I have been dieing to get these classes started and I already feel like I've learn so much after one week!

Class Party!

As a reward system (or punishment... depending on behavior...), my students receive a star rating for each day: 5 for a perfect day and 0 for the worse day EVER (I've only given out a 4 star day yet). In addition, they can gain or lose stars for they behavior during the day.

Long story short, after the class has received 150 stars, we get a party- and what better day for a party then the Friday before a week-long vacation?! It was a lot of fun. We played games, ate pizza and watched a movie. Although, there was a slight problem with the pizza- in the US, two medium pizza would probably be good for six 5th graders but there were only two pizza sizes at the place we ordered from; 9 inches and 12 inches- both tiny in comparison to American standards. We ended up with only two 9 inches, so I had to order a second and grab some junk food from a nearby convenience stand. I'll definitely be getting at least three 12 inches next time! I tried to sneak a little work in, but as you can see, I had little control on party day!

Getting Sick... FINALLY

I've managed to be completely healthy this first month in China. I've continually heard about people getting sick from my coworkers and other travelers to China and i was starting to wonder if I had missed it all together!

That was arrogant of me.

Thursday, I was exhausted. It was like I had a really bad cold, but no symptoms- I didn't have a runny nose, sore throat, fever, etc.- my body was just tired. I managed to get through the day and fell asleep very early.

Friday I felt great! So, naturally, I ate nothing but pizza and sweets (thanks to party day) and stayed up way too late chatting to friends. Then, Saturday, it hit me- and hit me hard! I finally rolled out of bed at about 12:45 pm only to roll onto the couch. Then I would only move to visit the restroom where I experienced some bonafide Chinese diarrhea (or, more accurately, "the Bu" as called by my fellow Bonus Room Brothers). It was a long, difficult day. And, to top it off, I watch a very, very, very strange movie. The name of the movie was Strings and words can't quiet describe it. I'll say this: the opening scene is a puppet suicide... yeah- weird.

Another big accomplishment for the week was ordering Chinese food from a restaurant with Cari that had no pictures! Normally, I restrict my dining to places with a pictured menu so I can point and grunt at things I want, but on Friday Cari and I took a chance and we managed to orders some really good tasting food! It was a big step for me.

Well, like I said, short and not horribly interesting. This week is a vacation for me so I'll hopefully have some more exciting stories for next week. Although, no promises- it's feeling pretty nice just relaxing!

Thanks for reading!

The Best Thing About Living in China...

**Note to Reader: There was an error in my last blog! I claimed to see a Dragon Dance, but I was wrong- it was a Lion Dance! Just FYI.

**Reminder: Any text in my blog below that has orange text is a hyperlink. That means you can click on it and see another web page (i.e. my photo album) or right click on the orange text and select "Open in a New Window" to keep my blog open and see the other web page.

This blog will start with a long over-due geography lesson of where I am living in China. Below is a map of Xi'an with some place you may have read about or seen so far from my blogs and photos. Click on the map for a larger view!


This map was inspired by cousin Doug's facebook photo album "Where Gig Harbor is (for all you who don't know)" and powered by Google Earth (and, a note to Eric J, all layout done on MS paint... should have gotten PS CS before I left!). The map above includes some of the following hot spots:

Tang Paradise	Wild Goose Pagoda	My Apartment/School
TV Tower	City Center/Downtown	The Hutong

Study hard- you'll want to be able to cruise the city during your first visit while I'm busy during the day at school! Now that I've built some anticipation, on to...

The Best Part of China

I've only been here a month and I've already discovered my favorite part of being in China: riding a bicycle! Our apartment owns 6 bikes that the residents are allow to barrow whenever they like. I finally got around to borrowing one earlier this week and, eureka! In a matter of 3 days, I biked over 20 miles (I've been using my GPS unit to track my journeys)! There are so many reasons why I love riding a bicycle in China. I will try to cover them now:

1.) Having a bell- and using it!
All bikes in China have bells. I always thought the bike bell was a novelty for 1950's suburb kids to add a pleasant sound to the neighborhood. Now, I am experiencing the real purpose of bells on bicycles as I weave through streets full of other bikers and pedestrians.

2.) Exercise!?
I am beginning to understand just how spoiled I was my first couple weeks here in terms of weather. Now, the haze has arrived and good visibility is at about 2 blocks. It's been hard to decide how I want to exercise. Part of me really wants to avoid running because the air quality is so low and I would need to be up at a painful hour to get the cleanest air. By bike, I'm able to do some light exercising while exploring.

3.) Traffic!
There is a special kind of thrill that comes from riding a bicycle in China. My first journey on a bike, I was off to buy a guitar stand and a satchel or "man purse" (laugh all you want, but they are incredibly handy and totally acceptable in China. Plus, it's nice to know what I was missing out on all these years as a male with only a wallet). On the return trip, it was raining and dark and I found myself weaving between street lights to protect myself from the on-coming traffic. It's such a rush to pull out into a busy 4-way intersection using a bus as a shield or aiming for the back tire of a taxi as you cut across 4 lanes of traffic- the kind of stuff that would give your mother a heart attack (sorry mom!). It can't really be explain- just experienced. So far, I've followed this simple rule: never comfortable, but always confident.

4.) FREEDOM!
After 7 years of being able to drive, it was strange coming to China and having to rely on taxis, buses and my feet to get everywhere I needed to go. The obvious issue with taxis is the price (even though I rarely pay over $3 for a ride) and with both buses and taxis, it is helpful if you know where you are going. I'm all about walking, but the longer I'm hear, the more I want to explore further from the apartment and there are only so many hours in a day. The bike is perfect for getting around- I can be downtown in about 20 minutes (definitely faster than a bus).

Meeting My First Chinese Friend?!

Being here for a month now, I've met many Chinese people. I work with several at the school and many of the other teachers I work with have introduced me to some of their Chinese friends. Unfortunately I've had few good interactions with Chinese locals on my own... until this week!

Thanks to my new found love for bicycling, I was downtown last week just cruising. I had gotten off my bike to take a picture and a Chinese man came and said something about my bike. He noticed i was struggling with understanding his Chinese, so he began to talk to me in English. He was very good at English and we began to walk and talk.

He told me all about how he wanted to be an English teacher, we talked about the differences in table manors between Chinese and western cultures, we talked about some news and the difference in family structure between US and China- it was a great conversation!

After about an hour of walking, I told him we should get some dinner. We went to a delicious noodle restaurant and continued our time. His name is Jonathan and at the end our our evening I was sure to exchange cell phone numbers with him. I hope to see him again soon! The picture was a little blurry, but I had to get one with him since it was a big deal for me!

Other excitement from the week:

I tried to go back to Chinese corner at the cafe with Carrie, but the waiter said something about it not happening... maybe for a month? We decided to order some ice tea anyways and play a card game. About 10 minutes into our card game we were told we could not play cards (we figured this was because there is so much gambling in China) but the waiter brought us Chinese checkers- that was fun!

I was invited to dinner with by one of my student’s parents. It ended up being me and three other teachers and two families. The dinner was at a fancy restaurant and the food was really good. I sat next to my students at the table and we tried to trick each other with riddles the whole time. It was a great time.

Oh yeah- we played dodge ball in PE- that was cool too!

Well, that's it for now-
Thanks for reading!

This week was a piece of moonCAKE!

***Reminder***Any text in my blog below that has orange text is a hyperlink. That means you can click on it and see another web page (i.e. my photo album) or right-click on the orange text and select "Open in a New Window" to keep my blog open and see the other web page.

Another exciting week in the city of Xi'an! School was the normal struggle of attempting to look organized and trying to keep up with my super-smart 5th graders. My weeks are becoming slightly more routine and organized. I haven't had a schedule since I graduated college in June, so it feels nice to have a little more predictability in my day-to-day life. But, if things ever feel too predictable, all I need to do is step out of my apartment and I'm back into a city of 9 million where majority do not speak English. That's always guaranteed to mix things up a bit!

For instance: Wednesday evening, Cari (my fellow teacher and first-timer to China) and I decided to adventure to a cafe for "Chinese Corner," where local college students come to speak to the foreigners trying to learn Chinese. We arrived about 5 minutes late and found a table. There were only about 3 Chinese college students there and they were already speaking with some foreigners trying to learn Chinese. Not knowing what to do, we ended up surfing the internet for 2 hours on the wireless internet offered there and enjoying some deserts. Oh well, there's always next week!

Here are some other, more successful adventures from this week:

My First Chinese Holiday!

September 14th, 2008 was the date of the Mid-Autumn Festival- China's second largest Holiday! Although there ar many different versions of the Mid-Autumn story, each story contains the following elements: Houyi (usually the archer who shoots down 9 of the 10 suns to save earth), Chang'e (the goddess who Houyi loves/marries), a pill/elixer (that cause Chang'e to fly to the moon) and the jade rabbit (Chang'e meets on the moon).

Long story short- this is the time when the moon is full and best to see. In honor of this festival, not only did XIS, the school I teach at, have Monday off (AWESOME!) but we had a Party Thursday night with the teachers' Chinese teachers... confused yet? As a teacher, I also have the opportunity to learn Chinese from a nearby language school. The party was held at XIS and hosted by the Chinese teachers. It was a great event- check out the album to see pictures of my principal and neighbors on the 5th floor of my apartment!

Another tradition of the Mid-Autumn Festival (and possibly the most popular) is the purchasing and gifting of mooncakes! Mooncakes are a baked pastry that has a thick dough cover around a paste/jelly inside. Some are delicious: strawberry, apricot, peach. Some are not: fish. It's tricky when you can't read the Chinese very well! I gave out several mooncakes to the Chinese people I work with and even received one from a student! If you have some extra time, check out this folk tale about mooncakes and their role in with the Mongols.

My First Visitor!

That's right- I've only been in China a month and I've already had a visitor to my apartment! This weekend I had the privilege of watching Bebe, one of the cutest and most well-behaved dogs (besides Norma and Suze, of course!) I have ever met. Bebe (pronounced "bay-bay," like "Hey Bay-bay, what's up?") used to live in the Hutong behind our apartments. She was then taken in by the guy who lived in my apartment last year. Recently, she has been taken in by a family who works at the school. They were out of town for the weekend and asked if I would watch Bebe. Needless-to-say, I was thrilled!

Bebe loves to be held and when you pick her up, she grabs your shoulder. She never barks, unless she is playing with you, and she gets so excited when she sees familiar people that sometimes she pees a little. Sure it can make a mess but I wish everyone was that excited to see me! I was a little sad to see Bebe go- the apartment is a little more lonely now. But that means there is plenty of room for you to visit!

Tang Paradise

On our day off, Cari and I decided to journey to the attraction known as Tang Paradise. Located relatively near our apartments, this "park" lives up to it's title! Once inside, you feel as though you are in another time and place (a long as you ignore the city skyline)! There are beautiful trees, hills of grass and a large body of water. Although the Tang Paradise is considerably smaller then the Summer Palace of Beijing, there are shows that take place throughout the park during the day, creating a unique and entertaining atmosphere.

During our short time at the Tang Paradise, Cari and I saw a performance on stilts, a strange role-play of the examination system and a LION DANCE! The lions are soooo cooool! It's the coolest thing I've experienced in China short of Amanda swimming in Beijing.

Unfortunately, we visited on a day with very poor visibility. I've been very spoiled by the number of clear days I've had lately. It was only a matter of time before the smog caught up with me! But Cari and I are both planning on purchasing a season pass that lets you go into Tang Paradise and several other tourist attractions in Xi'an. There is so much to see and do at Tang Paradise- if nothing else, I'll get some better pictures (although, I did take over 90 pictures this trip... even with the bad visibility!).

So, the Blogs are becoming more frequent, but not shorter! Oh well.
Thanks for reading!

Mr. Bad Becoming Comfortable

***Note to readers***
Any text in my blog below that has orange text is a hyperlink. That means you can click on it and see another web page (i.e. my photo album). If you don't want to leave this page but also want to see the other web page that the hyperlink goes to, right-click on the orange text and select "Open in a New Window." Hope that helps!

It's amazing to think that I've been in China for an entire month already! It feels like much longer, although I feel like I just got here (isn't time weird?). And I can feel things starting speed up a little. Class is becoming more of a pattern and with things like Fantasy Football, I know it will seem like no time before I'm packing-up to come home.

School has been going well. I'm still trying to figure this whole teaching thing out... but I'm getting there, slowly. It does not help that my 5th graders are smarter than me... but I guess that way I get to learn too! I've managed to get a couple additional nicknames. One of them being Mr. Bad (not shown in picture- I had to lay down the law on a couple of the girls for misbehaving).

I'm beginning to be more comfortable in the area surrounding my apartment. Besides the difficulty with language, I've done some shopping in the small shops that cover the streets. To the excitement of my parents, I cooked my first meal this weekend: Eggs!! I was a little nervous using my gas stove for the first time... I didn't want to blow up my apartment. Here are some other exciting adventures. I added a few pictures to my web album as well, so check it out!

Thai Cultural Performance

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to attend the Thai Cultural Performance in Xi'an China. One of our student's father is the Thailand Consulate and he invited the teachers of our school to attend. It took place in one of the oldest theaters in Xi'an and we were in the front row!

The performance was incredible. Nearly every dance had an element of humor and the performers looked so happy and excited. It really gave me desire to visit Thailand and see more of their culture (conveniently for me, our school takes a retreat to Thailand during the Chinese winter vacation!!).

To get the full story on the Thai Culture Performance, you should check out my web album. I added a ton of pictures and there are captions explaining the dances. Some of my favorites were the stick fighting, ant searching and the rooster fight.

The Cloth Market

This past Saturday, I went on an adventure with Carrie, one of my fellow teachers that I had the opportunity to meet over the summer before coming to China, and two others who have been here in Xi'an a little longer. Our first stop was the Xi'an cloth market. This place was incredible! It covered over 2 city blocks with store front after store front. Anything, from silk to leather to linen to cotton, could be found in these alleys. In addition, there were some hilarious bed sheets with very poorly translated English on them... I might have to buy some of that!

That's it for now. Since I'm all settled in, the blogs will most-likely be coming more frequently and shorter in length!
Thanks for reading!

Life in Xi'an

The Olympics are over and I’ve flown from Beijing to my new home in Xi’an!! If you haven’t already heard, I have a photo album that you can visit to see all my pictures posted on the blog and more. I’ll be updating that often, so check it out!

Also, you can now comment on my blog postings or read other peoples comments! To comment or read other comments, read my blog (not required) and at the end, you will see a link for comments.

Here’s a brief recap of my life since Beijing:

Landing in Xi’an

For those of you who read my first entry from China about landing in Beijing, this story won’t be nearly as exciting, but I was certainly relieved I didn’t have to stand in the rain! After the short flight, I made my way to baggage, exited the terminal and was greeted by four people from my school. They helped me carry my bags to the small but luxurious bus that the school owned. In a matter of minutes, I went from being the only white person in the Xi’an airport to being on a bus with four other white people who were all talking about their favorite TV series (whether it be Lost, CSI, etc.).

After spending a week in Beijing as a tourist and having every trip be an adventure full of uncertainty, it was weird for me to pay no attention to where I was going or how I was getting there and hear people talking like everyone back in the states. During my first week, different teachers from the school would treat me to meal in order to get to know me better. Some of my first meals in Xi’an were hamburgers, Italian food, and pizza. Definitely a different experience than Beijing!

My New Apartment

My first stop was at the new apartment. I came to China with no expectation. I was thrilled to see my new apartment- it was much nicer then I was expecting! After moving in, I soon found that there was plenty of room for improvement: none of my air-conditioning units were working and I couldn’t get internet to work. This made my first couple nights in Xi’an very hot and very lonely (thankfully, that’s all worked out now).

Some of the changes I would need to get used to: no TP can be flushed, don’t drink the tap water, the beds are very hard and there is no dryer, so your clothes have to drip dry. Other than that, pretty much like any other apartment!

My New School!

After setting up my apartment (AKA unpacking) and spending a couple days in Xi’an, it was time to start school! Our school is K-12 (I think 12… not sure if we have any students that old right now) and we are located in a two-story building about 50 yards from my apartment. I could not ask for a better first year teaching experience! I am teaching a class of six 5th grade students and five of them are girls. All but one of the students is from South Korea, but they all speak English very well and are high achievers in the class. They are also a bunch of silly 5th graders. After meeting them for the first time, I had numerous nicknames (B.T., E.T., Big Happy Cheeks, Braddie Tommie, Mr. Frizzle- because I wore a tie with lizards on it and it reminded them of Mrs. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus) and they, at least the girls, are constantly trying set me up with another female teacher or find out if I have a girlfriend.

It has been a crazy first week and I have felt very unorganized and under-prepared, but from what I hear, that’s normal for a teacher for about their first three years, so I’m not too worried.

Other than school…

I managed to go out this last weekend with Carrie, a fellow teacher who just arrived, and be a real tourist for awhile. It’s nice going with Carrie because she speaks no Chinese and neither of us know anything about Xi’an so it makes everything a little more adventuresome (when I go out with other team members, they know exactly where they are and most speak Chinese really well- that’s way too easy!). We walked from our apartments to the Wild Goose Pagoda, a big tourist attraction in the city of Xi’an. It was a lot of fun and it was nice to see more of the city.

If I have encountered any culture shock yet, it’s been a little different then what you might guess. These first couple weeks, I’ve been spending all my time at the school and I haven’t gotten to experience the rest of the city much. Majority of the staff at our school seems to be from the South in the US. I’ve never been around so many Southern in my life- it’s been a real growing experience for me!

Here's a couple other adventures that you might want to check out:

The Hutong
Various trips through the City

Thanks for reading!