A Quick Hit

A Quick Hit

As you already know, it has been over a month since I have written anything. As always, things here have been interesting and getting a blog posted has not been simple. For some reason we have not been able to access Blogger. Amanda recently thought of writing our blogs using MS Word, emailing it to someone back home, and having them post for us from the States. Brilliant! So, to quote the Beatles, with “a little help from my friends”, I will be able to blog again.

Here is a brief synopsis of the last month:

1. Our new apartment

a. We love our new place.

b. It is very quiet and peaceful. This place is more like a home.

c. Beau and Sara – Your room is waiting!

2. School

a. For the first time ever I am enjoying Chinese class.

b. I am beginning to see minute traces of progress

c. Our teacher is really good at getting us to use the words and grammar that we know

d. We took a test last week and I made an 85.5. For the record that is just 3 points lower than Amanda. (Inconceivable!)

3. Work

a. I am working at two universities. I teach computers at one and English at the other.

b. I did a voice over job for a tourism company. It was fifteen commercials of about thirty seconds each. She has promised more voice over jobs in the future. The spots will be airing on CCTV 9 sometime in the future. The people at the recording studio did not believe me when I told them it was my first time doing a voice over. They kept saying you are so professional. One girl said I was like Will Smith. That should tell you how good a judge of talent they are!

4. Travel

a. We went to Chengdu to visit Denice, a friend from America.

b. We made our requisite visit to Starbucks.

c. The next little trip we have planned is to visit some friends in Laos. J & K see you soon.

Well, that is all for now. I will write again this week because our school is taking us on a field trip. That should give me something new to write about. Until then, I have homework to do. Frank

Whirlwind

Whirlwinds are atmospheric phenomena that occur all over the world. They include tornadoes, waterspouts, and dust devils. Over the past few weeks, it has felt like we were caught in one. Almost immediately after our return to China, we enrolled in Mandarin classes again, began looking for work, and started searching for a new apartment. This may not seem like a lot, but if there is anything we learned during our first stint here, it is that even the most routine things take on a new dimension in China. For instance, our Mandarin class is for only about two hours. Easy, right? Not so much. The first class in which we enrolled, was so difficult that after fifteen minutes I told Amanda I wanted to go to the remedial class. She and the teacher talked me into trying it for a couple more days. After day three in that class, I felt like going to the back of the classroom, curling up in the fetal position, and sucking my thumb. Instead of doing that, during the break, I asked to be put in the special needs class. I felt better about quitting that class when a day later Amanda also tapped out. Now, we have a great teacher, but she insists on giving us tons of homework. So those two hours of class usually turns into at least four.
The other thing that has really consumed our time has been searching for an apartment. We did not expect things to be so difficult this time, because our language skills have improved and we knew what we were looking for. What we didn't know, however, is that the price on apartments have gone up and that we needed to be more specific on what we wanted. How so? You know how in America if you want to rent a place to live, you can expect certain things? Things like doors, a floor, a kitchen, a toilet, etc? Well, that is not always the case here. We were actually shown places without these things. In one such place, the landlord had the nerve to call me cheap when I said we would not rent it without them! If there were a rule book for living abroad, the first rule would have to be, don't take anything for granted. ANYTHING! You know, it is like Dorothy said after the tornado dropped her in OZ, "Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore." Eventually, we did find a suitable place, and should move into it pretty soon. Once that is over and as we continue to get used to school, hopefully things will settle down for us. After our time in America, Beijing, and Seoul, it is time for the winds to abate. It is time to enjoy the calm after the storm. - Frank

A Few Days in Beijing

We are on our way to a teachers conference in Seoul, Korea but we stopped in Beijing for a few days of sight seeing. After arriving in China's capital city, we were reminded of how crowded China is. There were people every where we turned. The squeeze was definitely on during our visit to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. It seemed that all of China must have been visiting on the same day. The Forbidden City is a museum that used to be the imperial palace. It's construction began in 1406. From within those imposing wall, 24 emperors ruled China for nearly 500 years. It occupies an area of 720,000 square meters and has over 9,000 bays of halls and rooms. It is listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO. Since I love history, I enjoyed the visit. If I had it to do over again, though, I would pay the extra money for the guided audio tour and to see the extra rooms.

One thing that Beijing in famous for is it's variety of foods. One that I really enjoyed is called "Beijing kaoya" or Peking duck. I have tried duck before, but always I found it to be really greasy. The duck we had here in Beijing, however, was not greasy at all. In answer to "what does it tastes like", it definitely does not taste like chicken but instead has a stronger, wilder taste. They combine that tastes with sauces that are a little sweet and tangy, then you wrap the slices duck, combined with scallions and cucumber in a thin crepe like pancake. It was excellent. At another restaurant in Beijing, we had a simple meal of rabbit, chicken, and broccoli. The food was very good but the thing that makes this restaurant nice is that you also get treated to a show. JingJu, or Beijing Opera, is not something that many Westerners enjoy because of the high pitched singing. However it does have interesting parts. The interesting thing about JingJu is the colorful costumes and the various masks that the actors use. It is always a highlight to see how they change their mask with just a jerk of the head. That is the show that this restuarant features. A costumed actress dances around to lively music. The multipule mask changes that are made in time to the music is completely fascinating. I got a little video of it, but my batteries died just as it was getting interesting. Sorry.

Later on we went to Wangfujing Jie, which is a street famous for it's open air vendors. As we were walking along, I was once again struck by the fact that my in laws must have been trying to prepare me for life in China since Amanda and I were married. They were always trying to get me to eat various critters that you can never buy at the local Walmart. For example, just two weeks ago, they served rattle snake (freshly killed by one of the family). On Wangfujing Jie, you find booths lining the street selling all kinds of "xiao chi" or snacks. Some of the things they sell are items that I would not be surprised to find on Morris and Teresa's table. So when the vendors offered me snake on a stick, I thought to myself, "that's not so bad. I have had it before!" (Thanks Teresa) But they also sell things that I think even the inlaws would shy away from. See the pictures below.

- Frank

Our Last Weekend

On our last weekend in the US, some friends took us to an amusement park called Six Flags Over Georgia. It had been about ten years since Amanda and I had last been and we had Lexi, Amanda's niece, with us and it was her first time to any amusement park, so we were really looking forward to going. Superman-the Ultimate Flight, Batman - The Ride, and The Goliath are a few of the featured roller coasters. These rides are not for the faint of heart. After the park, one of my closest friends, took me to Turner Field to watch the Braves play. For those who don't know, I love baseball, and there is something special about being at the ballpark. Where else can you see the Home Depot tools race? I uploaded video of Superman, Goliath, and the traditional singing of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh inning stretch. On our last weekend, we had a great time. Thanks to all who made it special. - Frank

Classtime Fun

One of the things that I find absolutely amazing is the fact that we were able to find work, when so many others have been unable to. Not only that, but we are doing the same thing that we did in China. We are teaching English. In our class, we have students from Mexico, Russia, Guatemala, and Turkey. We have really enjoyed teaching adults, instead of the children that we usually teach. We enjoy both groups but this has given us a different set of challenges, and we have had to come up with other methods of teaching. We have been asked many times "How can you teach English to someone when you don't speak their language"? Well, the methodology that we use is based on the way that children learn to speak. Our TESOL instructor holds to the belief that if the students are not having fun, then they are not learning, so we always administer a healthy helping of play in every class. It takes energy, imagination, and a lot of repetition, but we have seen results. I wish someone would use these methods to teach me Chinese. -Frank

Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater.
Gail Godwin

Move Over Alice...

We have been back in the US for almost a month now. In that time I have experienced a whirlwind of emotions. Our relationships with family and friends have been like a favorite pair of jeans, so comfortable that you can wait to get back into them. In this month, I have been able to spend more time with my parents than I was able to when we lived in Batesburg. So many of our friends have taken us to dinner, invited us over, or come to where we are staying. In so many ways we are made to feel at home. Then there are days when I feel as if we have stepped through some sort of looking glass, into a world where things are not quite the same as they have always been, into a world where things are just slightly out of sync. When things are this way, I often look around to see if I can catch a glimpse of the fleeting tail of the March Hare or the Cheshire grin of a cat perched in a tree. I remember how I used to fit in perfectly. I knew my place in all settings, and I didn’t have to struggle for integration. We stepped out of that life, though, and having gotten off that merry-go-round, you can’t just jump right back on. In every country there is a rhythm to life, an ebb and flow that you get accustomed to with the passage of time. Eight months and eight thousand miles have gotten me acclimated to a different rhythm. I guess I am experiencing a kind of cultural jet lag. Where it takes a week or two to get over real jet lag, I don’t know how long this will last. I do know, however, since we are planning on going back to China, we are still only on the outside looking in.

These feelings don’t last too long because usually someone does something to reach out and pull us in. Our first week back, our friend Chuck, had us out to his place on the lake. Two weeks ago, Amanda and I celebrated our thirteenth wedding anniversary. To celebrate it with us, my parents, her parents, and our close friends Mark and Sharon and Mike and Jeanie all took us out for nice dinners. Our friends Mike and Kelli even put us up in a hotel for the weekend. At a big three day event that was held in Columbia, we could barely walk around without friends coming up to us and welcoming us back with open arms. Then just two days ago, the Smith family had a big cookout at their place so that we could be with more friends. The love and acceptance has truly been overwhelming. - Frank

Cheshire Cat: If I were looking for a white rabbit, I'd ask the Mad Hatter.
Alice: The Mad Hatter? Oh, no no no...
Cheshire Cat: Or, you could ask the March Hare, in that direction.
Alice: Oh, thank you. I think I'll see him...
Cheshire Cat: Of course, he's mad, too.
Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.
Cheshire Cat: Oh, you can't help that. Most everyone's mad here. [laughs maniacally; starts to disappear]
Cheshire Cat: You may have noticed that I'm not all there myself

I Passed. Really!

Just a quick follow up on my exam. I passed. I really did! I actually made an 86. A solid "B". That is the good news. The bad news is that after making all of that progress, I am returning to the US where I will not get to use my Chinese as much. Unfortunately, speaking a language is not like riding a bike. If you don't use it, then you lose it. So, even though being home is going to be great, I hope I don't forget the things I have learned. So I guess that will be the true test. Let's see how I do in three months. - Frank